In this week’s automotive news you need to know: The GR Yaris is priced expensively but fairly, an Audi S1 Quattro is brought back to life with 600 kW, Porsche probably needs to step away from the Nurburgring for a while and South Africa’s ICE engine life is extended to 2050, possibly.

Yaris GR Pricing – Future Investment Loading

By no way should you be taking any investment advice from this, but the writing on the wall says “Toyota GR Yaris isa future investment car”. Toyota, being smart, offers a “more affordable” option to soften the entry and the more purposeful (some would say violent) GR Rally at a premium, which is the one you want anyway. The fact is, after all the rumours about pricing, the real numbers are out and one thing has dawned on me – as I sift through the noise of people who either can’t afford the car or are just having a big ol’ moan – Toyota’s rally homologation special isn’t priced as steeply as everyone expected.

Read more: Toyota GR Yaris Specs & Price

Again, bear in mind that this will be one of the last great fun cars to be sold before we’re all but drowned in EVs and, if you’re comparing this to a Golf GTI, it’s unfair to both cars. This is a far more focused piece of machinery than a conventional hot hatch and should, therefore, be offered at a premium to the VW – that is the world we live in.

Limited numbers, desirability peeking into the stratosphere… hmm… if you take the plunge and buy a GR Yaris, your R700kinvestment will do things for you in the next few years. Just watch!

Audi E-Legend – the ghosts of Group B

If we’re talking about technological revolutions in motoring, Audi’s quattro system comes sharply to mind.All-wheel-drive technologyis now ubiquitous in the Ingolstadt-based firm’s model line-up, but just think back to where it all began, when the most famous world rally car of them all – the legendary Audi Sport Quattro S1– stoked fervent desires in the hearts of petrolheads all around the globe.

Even though it didn’t win as many rallies as it could have in the era of Group B competition, it showcased what could be achieved and built upon the Ur-Quattro’s game-changing arrival. Four-wheel traction, immense power and, at Pikes Peak, it had an early version of the dual-clutch transmission – long, long before vrrr-pah!was even a thing.

Read more:The Quattro returns with 600kW

In the cold light of day, the E-Legend presents smaller manufacturers with an opportunity to use the DNA of the Audi Sport Quattro S1 to change the game in the EV industry. It has “come a full 360”, because the E-Legend doesn’t debut anything groundbreaking, which was the objective of (then-fledgling company) Audi with the original S1. This (admittedly handsome) creation is not much more than a vanity project, unfortunately.

Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT –More Nurburgring is not MORE

It seems like it has all got a bit out of hand, hasn’t it? Porsche is seemingly a little too obsessed with producing fast SUVs – it’s time to start focusing on other things. To illustrate just how ridiculously fast the brand’s performance SUVs have become, here’s a telling stat: The Porsche Cayenne Turbo can lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7 min 38 sec… which is the same time as set by a Ferrari 458 Italia, albeit not on the same day. Works Porsche driver, Kevin Estre, does a 6 min 53 sec lap in a GT3 race car. A 45-sec difference on a track of that length is paltry.

Read more:Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT is the World’s Fastest SUV

But truth be told, no matter how amazing it all is (advancing the cause of stupidly fast SUVs; that the Cayenne once rescued Porsche; what a feat it is to tame a track that’s as schizophrenic as one can get), it’s time for the Zuffenhausen-based firm to start focusing on other things with its premium SUV, like off-road capabilities. Why not slap on a few more roof tents to inspire Overlanding adventures? Play to the SUV’s strengths for a change.

VW engines till 2050 for SA – EV wheels turning slowly

Like a breath of fresh air, Volkswagen AGhas extended a lifeline for the ICE engine in Africa… Granted,we may not see massive changes like “camless”cylinder heads in mass-producedroad cars any time soon, but there will be more developments and who knows… perhaps a 13th-generation Golf GTI in 2045?

Read more:VW petrol engines for Africa – until 2050

There’s an invisible veil that separates 1st-world countries from Africa, but our continent brims with opportunities. Our policies with regards to the electrification of the automobile are much more “relaxed” than those in Europe.

Even if Volkswagen’s move can be interpreted as a “vote of no confidence” in Africa’s ultimate commitment to EV transformation, it may have a positive spin-off for our local motor industry: there are thousands of keen mechanics and an extensive supply chain that will now have 15 more years to move with the times and get their EV repair skills and service infrastructure in full gear or perhaps even start a restomod side hustle. Let’s wait and see.