Top Car

January 2016|TOPCAR.CO.ZA 19``````Mini pick-upSuzuki Mighty Deck concept (2015)Japan’s ‘kei’ ormicrocars subscribeto strict rules onenginesize andfootprint, but beyondthat, anythinggoes. Hence the new Mighty Deck, a tiny lifestyle pick-up. Sounds weird, but Suzuki has previousform with aproductionmicroute called the Mighty Boy. Quite.``````Mini people carrierSuzuki Wagon R (1993-present)A kei-carbest-seller now onitsfifth generation.Theoriginal 1993 Wagon Rwas amongthe first to usethe‘tall boy’ body design for extra interior space. Thebigger, non-kei Wagon R+(pictured)led adouble lifeasthe Opel Agila.``````Mini performanceSuzuki Cappuccino(1991-1997)Weighing 725kg andpowered bya 47kW657ccthree-pot turbo, this diminutive roadsterhits 100kphin 8.0sec– which probably feels fastenoughinsomething the size of a running shoe.``````Mini motoringSuzulight (1955-1969)Suzulight is the nameSuzuki chose whenit branchedout from motorcycles to cars in 1955, creating awholerange to takeadvantage of the new Keijidosha(‘lightcar’) regulations. Suzuki has been aleading kei-carproducerever since.``````WeknowSuzuki for Swift andVitara, butbackin Japanit’s a kei-carpioneerConnect 4SUZUKI KEI CARSLE MANSISa terrible movie. Thestoryl ine is thin and there’s nodial ogue for the first 38 minutes.Whenit was made in 1970 it had thebiggest budget of any Steve McQueen filmto date, but it still managed to goover-budget and its chaotic production cost himclose friends and creative collaborators. Thecritic s hated it and it was a box-office flop.Yet it now has a cult follo wing, beca use itremains arguably the most ev ocative,accurate repres entation of one of the mostexciting, glamorous eras in motorsport.That was really all McQueen wanted to do:he didn ’t want much of a script or storyl ine.‘I don’t think there is any racing driver whocould tell you why he races ,’ he said. ‘But Ithink that he could probably show you.’The sad story ofLe Manshas beentoldbefore, but a new documentary tells itafresh with remarkable ne w material. Ingarages and long-forgotten archives theproducers found hours of behind-the-s cenesfootage:Le Manswas prev iously thought tohave beena ‘closed set’. And hidden under astage in a studio in LA they uncovered theoriginal rushes: the famed ‘million feet offilm’ reported to have beenshot, but whichwas thought to have beendestroyed. LostLe Mans: thefilm of the filmNewdocumentarylaysbarethe truthbehind McQueen’s flawedraceodyssey``````GETTYIMA``````GES``````footage of Porsch e 917s and Ferrari512s thundering down Mulsannedeserves to be seen on the bigscreen, so the documentary isbeing given a cinema release.But although the material isbetter than the badTV footage theproducers of Senna had to workwith, the story isn’t as compelling orimportant, and the storytelling not aspolished.Steve McQueen: The Man and LeManscould do with another edit, not leastto the title. The narrative is pleasingly free-form and the recordings of interviews withMcQueen – some also newly discovered- allow him to tell his own story. Thecontributo rs are impres sive, from Swedishactress Louise Edlind, who beca me an MPand hasn’t spoken about the film fordecades, to Br itish racing legends DerekBell and David Piper, who drove in the racescenes. The film reveals a few new factswhich will be of interest to McQueen ormotorsport obsessives, and it’s of widerinterest as a document of how chaoticHollywood could be: theLe Manscrew shotfor months without a script, which explainsa lot. But the film feels repetiti ve in placesand there are some cheesy documentarytropes, such as the interviewees all beingfilmed in front of the same weatheredtarpaulin, and being asked to give long,meaningful stares into the camera. It’s an okay documentary ab out a flawedmovie. But likeLe Mans, you should go seeit anyway.BEN OLIVER