It's synonymous to Alfa Romeo's racing team.


 

The Quadrifoglio is the Italian name for a four-leaf clover and further proof that almost any Italian word sounds like a fast, exclusive sports car one can't afford. It has been used by Alfa since 1923. The first person to put a Quadrifolio shamrock on an Alfa was works race driver Ugo Sivocci.

Sivocci was a talented driver, but always seemed to come in second and never quite caught the breaks he needed to push him that little bit extra. His problem wasn't with his cars or his skill, it had more to do with getting the shaft from:

that eternal asshole, Chance!

And the only way to get on the good side of chance is with a little bit of luck. Which is where the clover comes in. Sivocci, knowing the long-established luck-granting properties of four-leaf clovers (among the highest of all the plants in the leguminous family Fabaceae), decided to paint a white square with a four-leaf clover on the grille of his car for the Targa Florio race.

That painted foliage paid off: Sivocci came in first, and that clover became Alfa's new racing team symbol because, hey, it works. And in a kid's-campout-ghost-story twist, the symbol proved its power in a macabre way a few months later when Sivocci was killed practicing for the Italian GP at Monza in an Alfa P1. Due to time constraints, Sivocci didn't get to paint the clover on the car, and the tragedy cemented Alfa's superstitious commitment to the clover.

Torque

A lot of folks understand horsepower as being a measure of how much energy an engine can output. "Torque," on the other hand, is far less well-understood.
It's essentially the amount of rotation that a given amount of power can generate. This is an important concept, because car engines take power that is moving up and down in combustion cylinder and transfer it to the drive wheels.
Gearheads love to talk torque because it's the physical factor that makes cars go fast, beyond just pure horsepower. Torque is also delivered at different points as a car accelerates, so heavy gearheads can debate where a car's sweetspot is.
For electric cars, torque is also an important concept, but for different reasons. Electric motors deliver 100% of available torque at 1 rpm, which is why a Tesla Model S with "Ludicrous Mode" can outrun some supercars from 0-60 mph.

Banger

Internal-combustion engines have cylinders. The controlled explosions that create power enable pistons to move up and down in these cylinders, or combustion chambers.
Modern IC engines have 4-, 5-, 6-, 8-, 10-, and 12-cylinder engines. The 4s, 6s, and 8s are the most most common, giving us V6s and V8s when the cylinders are arranged in a V shape with an equal number on each side; a 4-cylinder engine will usually set the cylinder up "inline" — in a straight line.
Gearheads will often call a 4- or 6-cylinder motor a "four banger" or "six banger" because the exploding gas-air mixture and pistons will "bang" in the cylinders.

Turbo lag

A turbocharger uses exhaust gases to spin a turbine that compresses the air that's fed into the cylinders.
This can increase an engine's power output, making a V6 perform like a V8.
However, unlike an un-turboed V8, which can pour on its horsepower continuously, a turbo V6 can take a few seconds to deliver its power.
Gearheads call the wait "turbo lag" and will often knock a turbo for it. But many modern turbos reduce or nearly eliminate turbo lag.

Power-to-weight ratio

It isn't rocket science: all things being equal, a lightweight car with large engine will go FAST.
This the "power-to-weight ratio," and expression of potential performance.
It's important to gearheads because of course a big engine is heavier, in many cases, than a small engine.
So adding motor size means that the car has to first move all that extra heft around. This encourages shedding weight in other places, which is why most really fast cars are made of lightweight aluminum, magnesium, and carbon fiber.

Oil burner

The are two main types of fossil-fuel engines: those that run on gasoline; and those that run on diesel.
Gearheads call diesels "oil burners" because the engines require a much less refined form of petroleum than gas motors. It's closer to oil.
Diesels have a bad reputation for burning dirty — the recent Volkswagen emission-cheating scandal is a case in point, as VW falsely claimed that some of its newer diesels were much cleaner that the oil burners of old.
But diesels also deliver better overall mileage than gas-burning cars. And diesels also serve up better torque, which is why big trucks, tractors, and industrial vehicles are mainly diesel-powered: that "low-end" torque helps them to pull stuff and move heavy loads.

Drift

When entering a corner on a race track at a good speed, it's possible to get the wheels of the car to lose traction.
The result is that the car will slide semi-sideways through the turn. This ruins lap times, but it looks cool and has been popularized by highly rated auto shows, such as the former BBC hit "Top Gear," as well as countless YouTube videos.
Some enthusiasts even build cars specifically to drift.
A skilled drifter can control the drift and get the car to straighten out when the corner is completed. A less-than-skilled drifter will spin the car.

Launch

A glorified technical term for a jackrabbit start.
Except that for gearheads, the idea is to control the launch, avoiding a burnout, which looks cool but robs the car of speed and destroys a good 0-60 mph sprint.
Modern high-performance cars often have something called "launch control," a feature that can be activated to prevent the drive wheels from getting loose at a start.

Wrench

No, we don't mean the tool — we mean the entire culture of that tool and what it implies.
When a gearhead says that they "wrench on their car" or "turn a wrench," what they really mean is that they know enough or care enough about cars to be reluctant to turn their ride over to a mechanic.
It's a macho thing to say, but it does have some gruff throwback validity. It's nice to know how stuff works and to be able to fix things yourself. It inspires self-confidence. And it means AutoZone will continue to have customers!

Bondo

Bondo is the catch-all name for a family of auto-repair products sold by 3M. But classically, Bondo is a type of auto-body filler — and sort of white flag of surrender, when it comes to do-it-yourself repair work.
You can't fix something properly, so it's Bondo to the rescue!
And unless you're pretty good at sculpting, sanding, and painting your Bondo work, it usually shows. Like a badge of defeat.

Heel-and-toe

This is one of those specialized driving techniques known only to people who drive stickshifts with clutch pedals — and beyond that, people who fancy themselves really good at driving stick. So good, that, you know, they could hit the track with their mad skills. Here's what the maneuver involves. When you downshift, you want to "blip" the throttle, giving the car a bit of gas, to match the engine RPMs from one gear to the next and keep the car's wheels turning smoothly. When you heel-and-toe, you blip while braking at the same time, typically by using one side of your foot for the brake pedal and the other for the accelerator.

Rockford turn

In the 1970's TV show "The Rockford Files," ex-con private eye Jim Rockford was famous for executing "J turns" in his sweet Pontiac Firebird to quick extricate himself from trouble.
The maneuver was well-known to drivers who liked to take to parking lots and pull the rather easy, low-speed trick for some easy thrills.
Basically, you accelerate in reverse, slam on the brakes and rapidly turn the wheel, swinging the front end of the car around, at which point you pop it into drive (or first gear), then punch it and speed off.

Hoon

This is a term that originated in Australia's "Mad Max," muscle-car crazy culture.
It means to drive a car in a reckless or irresponsible way. Which some folks consider fun.
"Hooning" is now more of a lifestyle choice: it implies that you enjoy taking your car out for a bit of high-performance pleasure, while respecting the law.

A dab of oppo

"Opposite lock" steering is a way of controlling a car that's into a drift and losing traction at its wheels (usually the rear wheels in a rear-wheel-drive car, a phenomenon known as "oversteer.).
In order to get the car smoothly through a turn, you steer in the opposite direction as the curve. But just a little bit.
Hence the "dab" of "oppo."

That'll buff right out

Rhetorically, it's what's known as "litotes" — intentional understatement.
Gearheads say this, with an abundance of lightly snarky false optimism, when a car or truck is severely damaged — like, totally trashed.
"That'll buff right out" makes light of just how hard it's going to be to bring the car back to its former self.

Grip

Driving like a pro is all about understanding the place where the rubber literally meets the road: the tires.
When seasoned drivers talk about how push their cars, they often speak of "grip" — a sense of how well the tires are grabbing the road or track surface.
When a driver is really pushing it, he'll talk about driving at the "limit of grip" — the dividing line between keeping the car under control as the tires lose traction and going into a slide or spin.

The Top 20 Cheapest New Cars in SA 2019

Despite the Rand continuing to strengthen and the economy looking slightly less bleak since Ramaphosa took over the reins, South Africans are still cash strapped in general and the situation will probably remain throughout 2019.

Due to the fact that households inevitably have less disposable income, the majority of car buyers look for good second-hand options, or the very bottom end of the new car market. For those who can still afford a new car in this economic climate, we’ve compiled list of SA’s Top 20 cheapest new cars your hard-earned cash can buy your in South Africa in 2019.

The Chery QQ3 remains the only new car in SA that you can get for a cool R100k… Actually, the price is R99,995, but what can you do with R5 these days anyway? (Even car guards seem to turn up their noses at a R5 tip lately!) The Chery QQ3 offers a 3 Cylinder 0.8L engine which kicks out 38kW (70Nm torque) of tyre spinning power coupled to a 5-speed gearbox and a 35-litre petrol tank. Unfortunately, you don’t get any airbags, but aircon comes standard to keep you from breaking out in a sweat!

The top ten cheapest cars quickly go up from R100k to R150k with offerings from China & Japan mostly dominating the scene, whereas the subsequent ten cars (position 11-20) are from more established brands and range from about R150k to R180k.

The average power output of the top twenty cheapest cars is about 57kW and the first 5 on the list does not offer any safety features except for the FAW, which offers 2 airbags & ABS as standard. At the top end of the list, the Fiat 500 Pop offers 7 airbags and a power output of 63kW and 145nm torque.

SOUTH AFRICA’S TOP 20 CHEAPEST NEW CARS 2019:

(Only the cheapest model(s) from each marque is listed.)

1 – CHERY QQ3 0.8L TE – R99,995

The little Chery claims the sought-after title of the ‘Cheapest Car in SA’ – Unfortunately no safety features, and limited power output. In our opinion an ideal offering for the ‘penny wise dollar foolish’.

2 – DATSUN GO 1.2 MID – R106,900

The Datsun brand was relaunched in SA back in 2014 and the Go has proven to be quite a popular budget choice. The cheapest of the bunch is this one, the Go hatch Mid spec. There is A/C but unfortunately no safety features on offer.

3 – FAW V2 1.3L DLX – R114,995

Although not very good-looking, the Chinese FAW V2 offers quite a lot. There are 2 airbags as well as ABS as standard. Other luxuries such as electric windows and mirrors, remote central locking, and a sound system including a USB port makes this car a pretty good offering at this price point! The FAW also has the highest power output of the top 9 cars.

4 – TATA INDICA 1.4L LGi – R118,995

With so many new budget options from China over the last few years, Tata is one of the more established brands on this list. Not a whole lot on offer here, a bare-basics car that will get you from point A to B in relative comfort, but without airbags or ABS.

5 – RENAULT KWID 1.0L EXPRESSION – R124,900

A looker indeed, and the only brand on the top 10 list which originates from Europe. Even though it might resonate well with heritage-snobs, it still lacks safety features such as ABS, but at least the driver is protected with an airbag. Also, a digital instrument cluster with large colour touchscreen is offered together with Bluetooth and USB connectivity.

6 – KIA PICANTO 1.0L LS – R129,995

This car has a lot of character and has proven to be a popular choice. What the Kia lacks in the boot department (extremely small) it makes up with a rather nice cabin, especially at this price! Still no ABS brakes, and only one airbag, but features a 5-year unlimited warranty.

7 – SUZUKI CELERIO 1,0L GA – R132,900

From this position onwards, all the cars on the list features ABS and 2 airbags, so you can say the Celerio sets the benchmark for safety here. Other than this fact, there is not much to say here – You get A/C, but no radio or any other ‘luxuries’.

8 – CHEVROLET SPARK 1,2L CURVE 140,700

The Chevy Spark is rather well specced, has some safety features in the form of ABS and two airbags, niceties such as A/C, central locking, radio and lots and well… lots of charm!

9 – MITSUBISHI MIRAGE 1,2L GL – R149,900

Despite its advanced age the Mirage still looks relevant compared to the newer models here. The car has been around since 2014, but seemingly hasn’t proven to be very popular in SA. It has 2 airbags, ABS brakes, A/C, central locking and a radio.

10 – BAIC D20 1,3 COMFORT – R149,990

The unproven newcomer, but with a shape slightly resembling a Mercedes B-class and Baic’s slogan ‘happiness can be easy’, it sure looks promising. :-p Quite well specced – and with 75kW / 128Nn on tap, it is the most powerful car you can buy for below R150k in SA at the moment.

11 – HONDA BRIO HATCH 1.2 TREND – R151,600

Recently refreshed, the Brio boasts a 1.2 i-VTEC engine delivering 65kW at 6000rpm and 109Nm torque with a choice of either 5-speed manual or 5-speed automatic transmission. Safety features include dual front airbags, ABS and EBD and the Brio comes standard with a not too shabby 2 year/30 000km service plan.

12 – HYUNDAI I10 1.1 MOTION – R154,900

The i10 is ever-so-popular for a good reason. It comes with a good amount of ‘bells-and-whistles’ at this price point and the 1,1L engine only consumes 5.7litres/100km. Couple this with Hyundai’s Automotive SA standard five-year/150 000km warranty, as well as a five-year/150 000km roadside assistance and you have a winner!

13 – TOYOTA AYGO 1.0 – R157,600

Dramatically styled and futuristic looking Aygo offers buyers more opportunities for personalisation than its rivals. The 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine is nippy and frugal but this entry-level Aygo does not offer a lot in terms of technology. At least it comes with AUX and USB connections and two speaker radio system… and remember it’s a Toyota!

14 – NISSAN MICRA 1.2 VISIA+ – R159,900

The Micra Active offers great value for money with an extended standard spec list and a variety of safety features such as ABS, EBD, remote central locking and 4 airbags. The 1.2-litre engine, offers a respectable 54 kW / 105 Newton metres of torque. Nissan’s also offers a very respectable 3 year / 90 000km service plan and 6 year / 150 000km warranty!

15 – TOYOTA ETIOS HATCH 1.5 XI – R163,900

A very sensible option from Toyota. Together with the Ford Figo, it offers the biggest engine capacity on this list with a good amount of torque. Fuel consumption is 6.0 l/100km. In terms of features and safety, it comes with everything that you might expect in this price range as well as a good service plan.

16 – VOLKSWAGEN TAKE UP! 1.0 5-DR – R166,800

Volkswagen’s Up! offers impressive build quality and great driving traits in an affordable package, albeit a little pricey compared to rivals. Interior fit is good but VW offers no standard service plan on the Up adding to the cost if you would like to have it included. The Up! is a great little package, but for a few thousand rand more, the Polo is a better package.

17 – VOLKSWAGEN POLO VIVO 1.4 CONCEPTLINE – R173,800

The Polo Vivo is also well thought out and sensible little everyday car. When it comes to transporting luggage, the practicality is easily seen. The standard 270L boot and can be expanded to 635L by folding down the rear bench. The1.4 litre 55kW/132Nm engine accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 12.9 seconds and has a top speed of 171km/h.

18 – PEUGEOT 208 1.0 POP ART – R174,900

The little Frenchman’s interior features good quality materials and creature comforts. The engine has been replaced in the new model with a more efficient 1.2-litre three-cylinder with 50kW and a claimed, but impressive consumption figure of only 4.4 litres/100km.

19 – FORD FIGO HATCH 1.5 AMBIENTE – R175,700

The Figo, which is essentially a toned-down Fiesta is Ford’s ever-popular budget hatchback entry. That stands to reason, because it offers most of the bells and whistles without the much more expensive price-tag of a Fiesta. Couple this with a very lively engine and good service plan, and it is clear to see why this little hatchback is so popular.

20 – FIAT 500 0.9 TWINAIR POP – R179,900

With its innovative two-cylinder petrol engine, Fiat’s 500 TwinAir is notably frugal kicking out 63kW and 145nm torque! (The highest on this list) This trendy little Italian city car has retro charm in buckets, and with 7 airbags and ABS brakes with EBD, the 500 scores a 5-star EuroNCAP rating. If you just have to have a super-mini for below R180k, this is it!