Rihanna is a hit machine churning out more number one songs in the charts than any other artist. Sometimes I feel that the world’s manufacturers churn out motor vehicles sticking to a formula and are too scared to rock the chassis.
Rihanna’s secret is that she and her producers know how to reinvent her vocal and, of course, physical attributes on a regular basis.
Recent proof was her rendition of Four Five Seconds along with 72-year-old Paul McCartney wearing no make-up.  Rihanna that is – I think Paul had been touched up a tad.
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I am inspired by two brands that have taken that leap from mahogany road, overstuffed seats and polished hubcaps to leading the way in design and performance without sacrificing their iconic image.
Not that long ago, when I was rather disappointed that a certain manufacturer didn’t seem to be embracing the modern era, I was curtly reprimanded. “Our customers don’t like to lose the identity of previous models.”
Really? Is that emanating from solid market research or a bunch of dinosaur designers not willing to stray from the well beaten path of history?
But there are some brave creative souls who are proving that even dramatic design changes do not have to harm brand identity in any way – and are being rewarded at the dealerships.
A decade or so ago, Jaguar and Mercedes Benz were the flagships of the successful executive – a bold presence, but overly solid, conservative, regal and the antipathy of a performance car.
There had been the major sporting exceptions of course, the stunning E-Type Jag, the revolutionary Merc 300SL Gullwing in the fifties… but they did little to change the ‘senior citizens only’ image of the badge.
Fast forward to March this year. A standard Jaguar F-Type R V8 (limiter off) smashes the South African land speed record on the Upington Airport runway. The timekeepers settle for a split of 294.68km/h although the supercar reaches over 300 on one of the runs. And the 13-year-old boast of the Porsche 911 GT2 is a distant echo because nothing on earth has the auditory snarl and crackle of the top of the range F-Type.
While Rihanna sings about Four Five Seconds, the F-Type blurs to 120km/h in just four seconds and with the Dynamic Mode switch flipped back it is a ride that stirs the adrenal glands like very few mechanical steeds can.
I did say standard – but there is very little about this Jag that is standard as it has transmogrified, along with sister company Land Rover, from British aristocracy to adopted Indian parents Tata Motors.
It is, in my (and my wife’s!) not always humble opinion, one of the best looking sports cars on international shopping lists and has managed to pull off that most difficult of design challenges – jaw dropping looks that retain all the elements of class and style.
And the muscular and raunchy front end is matched by a menacing rear with four trumpeting chrome-embellished exhausts that show that this car means business. But unlike the Alfa 4-C which is never happy poodling along suburban lanes, the F-Type doesn’t show withdrawal symptoms when idling to the corner shop for a pint of milk.
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And while mahogany has long given way to carbon fiber and burnished metal, the interior is neither flashy nor contrived. A symphony of red and black leather delicately stitched throughout, an electronically adjustable flat bottomed steering wheel that seems built for your sweaty palms and controls that don’t need an MBA course to understand. The infotainment touch screen is relatively basic but superbly user friendly.
It is no wonder that the F-Type, which made its grand entrance as a convertible, has helped to keep Jaguar sales stable despite the economic downturn and collapse of car sales
in Europe.
In South Africa, you can step in to a F-Type Coupe for less than $80,000 but the beast, the supercharged 5.0 liter V8, is going to set you back around $130,000.
It’s not just Jaguar who has been pushing the boundaries in the 21st century. Mercedes Benz has disposed of stuffy design and average performance, to the extent that AMG, once the rebels who souped up the basic Benz, have been fully incorporated into the brand since 2005.
The latest AMG offering is set to accelerate pulse rates on the highways and racetracks of Africa. It is the metamorphosis of the 2015 World Car of the Year into a BlitzBenz which must be about the best performance per dollar that you can get.
While the C63 AMG it is far too classy to be called a wolf in sheep’s clothing, it is a four-second sprinter that will compete with most of the supercars selling at multiples of the price. And the S variant is even a shade quicker!
Despite the overwhelming accolades, some found the look of the new C-class to be more mini-executive than sporting, but it lends itself gloriously to the traditionally aggressive AMG styling. And at a smidgeon over $80,000 it is a package that is going to be very hard to beat.
One of the most surprising developments in the second generation of Merc’s most popular AMG is under the bonnet. The truth is that the ‘63’ is a bit of a misnomer.
The 6.2-liter engine has disappeared and in a Houdini-like maneuver been replaced by a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8.
If, like me, you are something of a technophobe, the simple end result is improved performance, torque and fuel efficiency. These fellows seem to have mastered the technique of downsizing far better than a lot of European governments!
Mercedes Benz South Africa were brave enough to let the local writers put the C63 AMG through its paces at Zwartkops Raceway where they have shown enough confidence in the track to build a world class driver training academy run by the ebullient and skillful Clint Weston and his team.
With racing techniques being analyzed on two in-car cameras by Adrian Burford and his bewildering computer system, and laps being timed to the split second, it was white knuckle time for the scribes.
But the latest performance Merc showed that it is as comfortable and forgiving around the track as it is on a meander through the Cradle of Humankind.
<div id="attachment_3825" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3825" class="size-medium wp-image-3825" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Mercedes-4-IgnitionLIVE1-1024x672-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" />Mercedes-Benz C 450 AMG 4MATIC, (BR 205), 2015</div>
So… am I leaving you with a V8 problem? Jaguar F-Type R or C63 AMG?
Not at all. If you are married with kids, or even own a miniature Yorkie that has to get to the park, it’s the Merc. If it’s just you and your partner, and you don’t need to pack for long holidays or both play golf, it’s the Jag.
Either way I’m jealous.

Beasts  With Class And Style

Every designer has a list of celebrities they’re dying to dress. The star-studded names on Tanzanian fashion designer Mustafa Hassanali’s list included: Princess Diana, Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, Oprah Winfrey and Naomi Campbell, who he worked with in 2009 for her Fashion for Relief campaign.
Working with Campbell was one of the highlights of Hassanali’s career, one that began more than 15 years ago.
“She’s awesome; she has the most amazing skin. When you do fittings, you normally leave it to your staff, but for that one I had to be there.”
Campbell is infamous for her tantrums, punching cameras, hitting housekeepers and throwing cellphones at her assistants. So, before she arrived, Hassanali made sure he was prepared.
“I was planning how I was going to catch the phone if she threw it at me. I decided that, if she did, I was going to keep it and I wouldn’t sue her,” he says.
Luckily the British supermodel was on her best behavior.
As a young boy, Hassanali would rather stay indoors and make clothes for his paper dolls than play outside in the mud with the other children. As he got older, his skills with the needle and thread improved and he began making prayer mats with matching handbags for his family.
Hassanali was the only boy in a conservative Indian household. Although he had a great passion for fashion and design, society did not perceive it as a proper career. He was expected to become a doctor, get married and carry on the Indian family traditions.
Everything seemed to be going according to plan. Hassanali was studying medicine at the University of Dar es Salaam and to make extra money he made clothes for his peers.
His breakthrough came in 1999 when the 19-year-old made a dress for Hoyce Temu, one of the finalists for the Miss Tanzania pageant. Temu was crowned in Hassanali’s design and suddenly everyone wanted to work with him.
Then tragedy struck.
“My parents died, one after the other,” he says.
Hassanali began designing more frequently and used the money to continue his medical studies. At the end of his studies, he chose fashion over medicine.
In 2002, he had the chance to show his work at Kenya Fashion Week. But his lack of formal training in fashion made him feel like a fish out of water.
“It was like taking a person from a village and placing them in the middle of New York’s Times Square. They’re from a village with no cars, no light, no electricity, no running water and they go crazy.”
Since then, Hassanali pledged to learn everything he could about the industry, from telling a story with his designs to constructing his own stages. Over the years, he has worked hard to keep the essence of his designs the same. He works with a lot of traditional Tanzanian fabrics with kitenge colors.
“I do a lot of structure, silhouette gowns and a lot of flowy gowns. There has to be bling and most of my gowns have trains,” he says.
In 2007, Hassanali created Swahili Fashion Week as a platform for younger designers from Swahili-speaking countries to launch their careers. He wanted to give them opportunities he never had.
“It took me so long to build the brand. No money, no resources, nobody to guide me. So you basically fight your own battles. Your family does not support you and the people in the community do not support you. You could say my marriage broke because of it,” says Hassanali.
In his entire career, he has never won a single award and often finds it hard to see how quickly the young designers receive so much recognition and praise these days.
“[For the younger designers] if you can put your resources together, showcase a collection and if you’re good, then suddenly everyone will start noticing you. But the older designers really struggled… They might be big names today but the journey took so long.”
During difficult times, Hassanali stays grounded in his seven life philosophies: passion, patience, persistence, productivity, professionalism, principles and prayer.
Being a well-known African designer who has showcased in 27 cities and 18 countries, he still feels he has much to learn. One of his biggest dreams is to work with internationally renowned designer, Elie Saab.
“I wish I could have him dress me, that would be a dream come true. I hope I will have the chance to just work with him or even sweep floors for him for a month or two, just to know what’s happening and how they work in the global world.”
Before he expands into the global market, he wants to make sure he has fully catered to the Tanzanian market.
“East Africa has about 150 million people. If you get 0.001 percent of it in East Africa you still have 15,000 clientele. Their needs have not been satisfied. The thought of going outside the country doesn’t make sense, first you have to satisfy the needs of the country.”
In the next few years, Hassanali hopes to open a few stores and launch a shoe collection.
“Nothing less than six inches,” he says.
Having spent six years at medical school to receive a degree he never used, Hassanali’s advice to the youth is simple: Find what you love to do, make a career out of it and the money will follow.

The Designer Who  Dreams of Sweeping Floors

Meet the BMW X6 M50d, a rare turbo diesel-powered machine coming straight out of BMW’s motorsport division factory. Similar to the electric-powered 1 series active E and Mini E, BMW is proving with the X6 M50d a Sports Activity Vehicle, that you don’t need petrol to have fun.
Diesel motors, once considered dirty, grafting tools for the working class, are now intertwined with luxurious high performance motoring. In essence, what was utilized as the means of production is now on the high performance menu for the bourgeoisie.
The styling of the X6 has been debated, but it’s what we’ve come to expect from vehicles targeted at the left wing, SUV niche market. As subjective a topic as design is, I think the X6 dressed in an M-Sport body kit hits the nail on the head. On to the exterior, the X6 M50d looks impressive with the M-Sport signature hallmarks and the 20-inch double spoke BMW motorsport alloy wheels are menacing to the eye. A visible M-Badge on the boot lid rounds off the finishing touches and will certainly keep those behind you in check.
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Distinguishing it from the initial model is a nip and tuck on the exterior, which includes a broader grille, repositioned fog lights, rejuvenated rear lights and new color shades, that accentuate the big bodied BMW.
The interior is awash with quality leather with alcantara stitching. All the controls fall easily into the driver’s hands. The front electrically-adjustable sport seats are both comfortable and offer good lateral support in the mid corner.  As we’ve come to expect with BMW’s high-end cars, fit and finish is exceptional and there is an aura of quality as you open the door.
Interior M-Sport hallmarks come in the form of an M-badged leather steering wheel and gear shift, summed up by door sills bearing the M-Performance logo.
The talking point is the triple-turbo 3.0 liter diesel engine, which is the most powerful six cylinder diesel. It’s an advancement of the twin turbo 3.0 liter six cylinder engine that powers the X6 3.0d and X6 4.0d variants, and is the first diesel fueled vehicle that sits right below the petrol powered V8 M-badged vehicles.
The 3.0 liter diesel is not a creamy smooth affair. When idling, it exposes its agricultural traits but that’s the price you pay for free-flowing power, which comes at the command of your right foot. As you sweep through the revs the engine emits a growl that finds its way into the cabin, through the hi-fi loudspeaker Logic 7 system. The remapped eight-speed gearbox was well composed and decisive during gear changes, and with sports mode engaged the revs fly upwards.
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The X6 M50d is not oxygen starved, and is supported by the most advanced life support system yet. There are three turbos feeding the motor, two small ones and one big one. Lag is virtually non-existent at low speeds. More turbos equal more thrust, and that is what sets it apart from the regular BMW range. The lag, which presents itself at take off in the twin turbo variants is covered by the third blower under the lid that features a dome shape for obvious reasons. Adding a third turbo alters living conditions.
More pressure equals more output and torque. These three blowers return a mammoth torque delivery of 740Nm trumping the 680Nm of torque the X6 M possesses.
M-specification chassis set-up produces accurate steering and precisely controllable, agile handling, when driving on the road. Regular reality checks of the speedometer are recommended or you risk finding traffic fines in your post box.
It’s safe to deem the triple-turbo X6 M50d suspicious, but not guilty. This could be BMW’s guerrilla warfare against Audi’s S line and Mercedes Benz’s AMG tuned cars. However, the X6 has no direct competitor so it’s cunning to think which performance model it’s gunning for.
On paper it’s not far off the rival petrol-powered performance cars, achieving a zero to 100km/h in 5.3 seconds—not shabby for a vehicle weighing two tons. In return you get a low consumption of 8.0 liters per 100km from the 280kW monster. Once again BMW has successfully put its dynamic efficiency philosophy into play, turning expectations onto their heads.
Expect to pay over R1 million ($100,00) for the BMW X6 M50d, however, if the winds of change continue to blow, diesels with the help of turbo charging may soon become the ultimate performance machines.
What you are paying for is perhaps thrilling raw power, economy and a long list of standard options. That’s enough to make you feel
empowered.

Tag: Machine

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Beasts With Class And Style

The Designer Who Dreams of Sweeping Floors

The Seat Of Power