“THERE’S no substitute for cubic inches” wrote Sports activities Automobile Illustrated in a February 1957 article that championed the substitute of a pedestrian engine with a fats V8.
The idea is hardly new, however mass manufacturing of the automobile unfold the viewers and it turned one thing that many American motorists took to with relish, significantly within the period of the journal article.
Occasions change and substitutes – within the type of digital management of the engine, improved combustion dynamics and particularly the domestication of efficiency aids akin to superchargers and turbochargers – have developed that tear down the 1957 pronouncement.
What hasn’t modified is the feverish search by a large client aspect for extra efficiency ranges and the response by car-makers to serve up this want.
Of curiosity is that it’s not the normal sportscar sector that’s being focused to performance-hungry motorists.
More and more, the sedan, hatch and now SUV segments have efficiency variants. No higher reflection of this pattern is seen than in 4 German producers – Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen.
Volkswagen in 2020 bought 2460 of its top-spec Golf R variants, out of a complete Golf pool of 10,012 models – a stable 25 per cent of complete Golf gross sales and a share that Volkswagen Group Australia PR and model expertise supervisor Kurt McGuiness says is rising.
“Our efficiency variants have at all times proved in style with Australian consumers and in some instances, such because the Golf GTI-powered Tiguan R-Line, they’re among the many best-selling inside a variety,” he mentioned.
“Final 12 months alone, Australia ranked second numerically for world R automobile gross sales, which is sort of an achievement given we solely supplied the Golf R mannequin in Australia, which for the higher a part of the 12 months, was additionally in run-out.
“It says so much for a way in style the Golf R Closing Version mannequin has been.”
The sports activities variant of the Golf is the one Volkswagen product to put on the badge however Mr McGuiness mentioned VGA sees “numerous potential for R model in Australia”.
“Our plan is to introduce extra R fashions subsequent 12 months, with the return of the Golf R in new Mk8 guise, in addition to the Tiguan R and T-Roc R within the fold for starters,” he mentioned.
“What we all know from the success of Golf R is that our consumers on this class are numerous demographically, however usually they’re interested in the vary due to premium options like the most recent tech and luxurious appointments, as well as in fact to the efficiency capabilities.”
Volkswagen isn’t alone in relation to Australians wanting extra efficiency.
Mercedes-Benz mentioned that Australia has the world’s highest gross sales of its AMG sub-brand on a per-capita foundation.
Mercedes-Benz Automobiles Australia head of media relations Jerry Stamoulis instructed GoAutoNews that in 2020, Australia was primary per capita and fifth globally by way of quantity.
“In 2020, AMG was 20 per cent of our complete Mercedes-Benz Automobiles quantity,” he mentioned.
“And it’s rising. On this 12 months’s gross sales to this point, the outcomes present that share has jumped to 26 per cent.”
Gross sales of the AMG model had been about 5900 in 2020. Mercedes-Benz has 20 fashions from AMG, opening with the A35 and thru the GLA/GLB/GLC/GLE and GLS SUVs to the AMG GT.
These are AMG merchandise and never the AMG accent strains which might be additionally accessible on most fashions.
The model bought 29,455 models (excluding utes and vans) in 2020. Within the first two months of this 12 months, it has 5258 gross sales, an increase of 16 per cent on the identical time in 2020.
BMW has 22 fashions carrying the M badge, from the M2 to the M8 and the X2 M35i to the X7 M50i. It bought 4659 M variants in 2020, representing 19.9 per cent of the model’s complete 23,520 models that discovered consumers in 2020.
Audi will launch its SQ2 efficiency SUV in Might, turning into the sixth sports activities variant of the model’s current SUV line up.
Audi has 19 variants with the “S” or “RS” brand that begins with the S3 and RS4, by to the S8 in passenger automobiles, and the RSQ3 as much as the Q8 RS in SUVs. It additionally has the R8 and TT S/TT RS coupes.
Audi Australia company communications supervisor Shaun Cleary mentioned S and RS gross sales represented about 20 per cent of the full Audi gross sales in 2020, which was one of many highest on report.
Much like the opposite Germans, Australia’s uptake of the efficiency fashions from Audi ranks very excessive in world phrases.
Audi bought 15,868 models in 2020, indicating the S and RS badges discovered about 3300 house owners.
Mr Cleary mentioned the addition of the SQ2 to the Australian vary is indicative of the native demand for hi-performance, premium fashions.
