The standout cars of June 2014!

Ferrari F12 TRS

Ferrari are rather good at making good-looking cars, but they’ve gone a step further and made the stunning F12 TRS for a special customer.  The one-off car is rumoured to have cost around $4.2 million, and for that you get the same 6.3-litre V12 producing 740hp and 690Nm of torque as in the F12 Berlinetta, allowing it to get from 0-100km/h in 3.1 sec and from 0-200km/h in 8.1 sec.  You also get one of the rarest cars ever, and a car that will be very sought after by collectors.

Ford Focus ST

The Ford Focus ST has received a few updates, the biggest of which is the availability of a diesel engine.  The turbocharged 2.0-litre EcoBoost with 250hp is carried over from the previous version, but it now comes with a stop-start function – improving fuel efficiency by a claimed six percent.  As mentioned before, a new diesel engine is available – a 2.0-litre TDCi unit producing 185hp and 400Nm of torque, with CO2 emissions being 114g/km.  Acceleration from 0-100km/h is 6.5 sec for the petrol option and 8.1 sec for the diesel option.   Other updates include new chassis control technologies, tuned suspension and steering, and bespoke tyre specification.  The exterior gets new headlamps, grille, bumper design, and 19-inch wheels.  The interior now gets a new SYNC 2 connectivity system with a high definition 8-inch touch screen. 

Jaguar F-TYPE Project 7

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Le Mans winning D-type, Jaguar will be building a special edition F-TYPE called the Project 7.  The car will come with a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine producing 575hp and 680Nm, propelling the 1,585kg roadster from 0-100km/h in 3.9 sec and on to an electronically limited top speed of 300km/h.  The Project 7 name pays homage to Jaguar’s seven Le Mans titles, and will be limited to 250 examples.  An eight-speed Quickshift automatic transmission is standard, as well as an Electronic Active Differential, Carbon Ceramic Matrix (CCM) brakes, and Torque Vectoring by Braking (TVbB).  Other items found on the Project 7 are carbon-fibre aerodynamic aids and a different suspension set-up to the standard F-TYPE.

Mercedes Benz CLS Coupé and Shooting Brake 

Mercedes Benz have given the CLS Coupé and Shooting Brake both cosmetic and technical updates.  The new CLSes get new MULTIBEAM LED headlamps, which Mercedes Benz say “provide the best possible illumination, whatever the road and traffic conditions.”  There are six engine options, ranging from the CLS 220 BlueTEC diesel producing 170hp and 400Nm of torque, to the range-topping CLS 63 AMG producing 585hp and 800Nm of torque.  The biggest news is that the non-AMG models now get a new nine-speed 9G-TRONIC automatic transmission – which helps decrease fuel consumption.  The interior has also been thoroughly updated, including a new three-spoke steering wheel and a “free-standing” 8-inch screen.

Audi S3 Cabriolet

Just in time for the summer, Audi showed how slick-looking a high performance A3 Cabriolet can be in the form of the S3 Cabriolet.  As the first-ever S3 Cabriolet, the car comes with a decent 300hp from a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, and comes equipped with Quattro all-wheel drive as standard.  The S3 Cabriolet gets a six-speed double-clutch S-Tronic transmission as standard, and helps to get it from 0 to 100km/h in 5.4 sec and reach a top speed of 250km/h (electronically limited).

Renault Megane RS 275 Trophy-R

Last month Renault revealed the Megane RS 275, and barely a month later they have brought out an even more hardcore Megane RS 275 Trophy-R.  But what’s special about this car is that it now holds the record for fastest front-wheel drive production car around the Nurburgring race track – having covered it in 7 min 54.36 sec.   The Trophy-R is a strict two-seater and comes standard with the Cup chassis, Recaro bucket seats, an Akrapovic exhaust system, adjustable Öhlins dampers, and specially-developed Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres.  The Trophy-R weighs 100kg less than the standard car, and as the name of the car suggests, it has 275hp from a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine. Production is limited to 250 examples.

MINI 5-Door Hatch

If you wanted a MINI with five doors, you had to get yourself a Countryman.  Now you can get a five-door version of the normal MINI Hatch, and there’s no denying that it will divide opinion in terms of the way it looks, but will no doubt be as successful as the other MINI variants.  In terms of power options, you get the same selection of three-cylinder petrol and diesel engines as the normal three-door Hatch, with CO2 levels coming in as low as 95g/km.  The Cooper S variant has a four-cylinder, turbocharged 2.0-litre engine with 192hp (0-100km/h in 6.8 sec) and the diesel Cooper SD has a 170hp (0-100km/h in 7.4 sec), also from a four-cylinder 2.0-litre engine.

Audi RS7

The Audi RS7 – like its Mercedes Benz CLS 63 AMG opponent – has received a facelift.  Although it’s only been on the market for a year, the RS7 receives LED headlamps as standard, modifications to the bumper, and a Singleframe grille with black honeycomb.  The taillights also get a redesign.  The engine and transmission remain unchanged, of which is a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 producing 560hp and 700Nm of torque, sending power through an eight-speed automatic transmission to all four wheels.  Acceleration from 0-100km/h takes 3.9 seconds while top speeds can be either 280km/h or 300km/h depending on the dynamics packages selected.

By Alex Kisiri