Wheels Australia — August 2016

machine dynamically. G-Vectoring

Control is intended to smoothly

co-ordinate that transition.

By retarding the ignition slightly

to decrease engine torque enough

to transfer weight onto the front

end of the car – a seemingly

insignificant 5kg – the electronics

replicate what a good driver would

do when lifting or feathering the

throttle, or by left-foot braking

(while still on the throttle) when

entering a corner.

Mazda says work began eight

years ago, with a domestic-market

Demio EV chosen due to the

instant response of its electric

motor. Mazda’s then-current MZR

engine family lacked the response

time to be able to work with

GVC, as all this happens in just

50 milliseconds – faster than the

human body can detect.

The reason it has taken until

now for G-Vectoring Control to

surface is that it needed an

engine responsive and linear

enough, as well as an ECU with

sufficient processing power, to

enable such quick adjustments.

GVC is a simple solution to

a highly complex study of the

connection between man and

machine. We’ve driven it (see p40)

and it will roll out across Mazda’s

entire line-up beginning next month

with the current 3’s mid-life update.

If you remember how Radial

Tuned Suspension (RTS)

transformed Holden’s line-up in

the late-’70s, there’s a chance GVC

will achieve an element of that for

Mazda’s passenger-car range.

GVC brings an effective, if

subtle, improvement to fluidity of

movement and turn-in alacrity.

This new technology will debut in

unison with refreshed suspension

tunes intended to more fully

realise the dynamic potential of

Mazda’s lightweight, modular

SkyActiv platform.

NATHAN PONCHARD

2

GVC REDUCES

ENGINE TORQUE

3

VEHICLE LOAD IS

TRANSFERRED

TO THE FRONT

1

STEERING

INPUT

4

WEIGHTED TYRE

TRANSFERS HIGHER

CORNERING FORCE

5

DELIVERS MORE

LINEAR DYNAMIC

RESPONSE

Beer-budget AMG GT

Too poor for a Mercedes-Benz AMG GT R (see

feature on page 86)? AMG has unveiled its

‘budget’ GT, which is even cheaper than the

GT S version currently on sale in Australia. The

GT slashes $25,000 off the GT S’s $295,000

price, and will have less power, torque and

standard equipment, but is lighter than its

flashier sibling. The 340kW/640Nm GT is

expected to arrive in Australia in the next

three months. All the style and performance

of AMG’s flagship suddenly became just that

little bit more attainable.