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More images of the Audi TT RS released ahead of its Geneva debut

February 24, 2009 at 9:27 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Audi, Cars

Following two official teaser images of the TT RS released by Audi a couple of days ago, more images of the most powerful TT ever has emerged on the Internet. This time round, there are some images of the convertible TT RS, that will join its hard top sibling in showrooms. A turbocharged 2.5 litre inline 5 with direct injection is expected to power the TT RS, which should be good for about 340HP and 450Nm of torque.

The power plant is expected to be coupled with either a 6 speed manual or a 7 speed S-Tronic twin clutch transmission. Audi also revealed that it would take slightly less than 5 seconds for the TT RS to hit the 100 km/h mark, and that the TT RS would go on to reach speeds of up to 250 km/h. Thanks to the Audi Space Frame principle, the TT RS would also offer excellent power to weight ratio.

The TT RS with Audi’s all wheel drive Quattro setup also features a distinctive rear diffuser, apart from large air vents, a fixed boot spoiler and other upgrades and features worthy of the RS designation such as performance brakes, RS insignias, improved interior and so on. Both Coupe and Roadster models should hit European showrooms by the second quarter of this year, after its debut at the Geneva Motor Show on March 3rd.
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GM and Chrysler to get funding from private institutions?

February 24, 2009 at 8:48 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Chevrolet, Chrysler, International News

According to a published report by Reuters, struggling American auto makers General Motors and Chrysler may end up getting funds from private institutions, if the U.S Government decides not to provide further funds to both companies, that will then force the auto makers to file for Chapter 11 which basically mean that both companies will go into restructuring, to become viable businesses.

A number of external advisers to The Treasury are rumored of trying to secure the funds from private institutions, which will be needed to restructure both companies. The amount which is rumored to be about U.S $ 40 billion, and to be backed or guaranteed by the government would also be used to pay back the U.S $ 17.4 billion the government initially lent General Motors and Chrysler late last year.

This means that the U.S Government would not tap into “the people’s” money to give a helping hand to both auto makers. However, this brings us to the next question; will these private institutions be able to extend the above mentioned amount during such uncertain times? If both companies file for Chapter 11, they would also be temporarily protected from creditors.

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Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid with supercharged V6!

February 24, 2009 at 12:40 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Porsche

Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid

The Porsche Cayenne Hybrid concept from 2007 is now back as the Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid! The S moniker indicates the gaso-electric Cayenne will not just be for celebrities who’ve outgrown their Priuses, it’ll also be fast! S could also mean Supercharged, as the engine under the hood is the same 3.0 TFSI V6 from the Touareg V6 TSI Hybrid Prototype, so you can’t really call it a Cayenne Turbo Hybrid, and Cayenne Super Hybrid just sounds silly.

In fact if you sit down and compare specifications the Cayenne S Hybrid looks like a reskinned Touareg V6 TSI Hybrid Prototype, since the Cayenne and Touareg share a similiar chassis. It’s got the same 333 PS and 440Nm 3.0 supercharged V6, same 52 horsepower electric motor, and the same 8-speed automatic transmission! The hybrid SUV can reach top speed in 6th gear, and uses the 7th and 8th ratios to lower engine revs for better fuel economy, since there is already so much grunt.

Like its Touareg equivalent, the Cayenne S Hybrid has an electric only mode with a maximum range of about 2km. This is used primarily for coasting along the highways on the 8th gear of the transmission (max speed of 140km/h) as the pressure on the accelerator pedal will restart the combustion engine within 300ms, and Porsche says the restart process together with reengaging the clutches is so smooth that the occupants won’t notice it.

Porsche says a similiar system will find its way into the Porsche Panamera so expect the currently V8-only Porsche Panamera 4-door to also offer a V6 Hybrid version called the Porsche Panamera S Hybrid.

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Toyota HC-CV (Hybrid Camry Concept Vehicle) by Toyota Australia for the Melbourne 2009 show

February 24, 2009 at 12:09 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Toyota

Toyota Camry HC-CV Concept

This is the car Toyota Australia will be exhibiting at the 2009 Melbourne International Motor Show, probably in commemoration of the announcement last year that Australia will be building the Toyota Camry Hybrid, in addition to Thailand.

“The hybrid Camry – which will share some key design features with the HC-CV – will play a key role in bringing the future to the Australian automotive manufacturing sector. It is a future that uses less fuel while delivering better performance,” says Toyota Australia head Max Yasuda. The first Camry Hybrid to roll out of Australian production lines will be in 12 months time from the HC-CV’s unveiling.

Toyota Camry HC-CV Concept

Other than the pointless large chrome blings, other design cues are actually more purposeful. The lack of much air intakes on the front end helps with the car’s aerodynamics and fuel efficiency. The weird pattern of the small lower intake grille on the bumper is quite interesting as well, it has a very tribal pattern rather than the regular mesh pattern we’re used to. The tribal pattern continues inside with a totally random streak of blue on the front seats that is supposed to look like the Hybrid Synergy Drive logo, and some random embossing here and there that’s supposed to look like tree bark though you have to look at the hi-res photo to actually see it.

Under the hood is an inline-4 engine paired with an electric motor and there’s no reason why this won’t most likely be the 2.4 litre Atkinson cycle inline-4 that the American Camry Hybrid (and recently the Lexus HS 250h) has. Mated to a CVT, it’s got a combined total output of 187 horsepower thanks to the 40hp electric motor, with the combustion engine alone putting out 147 horsepower at 6,000rpm and 187Nm of torque at 4,400rpm.

Look after the jump for a full photo gallery.
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240hp Alfa MiTo GTA initial details revealed!

February 23, 2009 at 11:27 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Alfa Romeo, Cars, Concept Cars

Alfa Romeo MiTo GTA

Alfa Romeo has unveiled more details on the Alfa Romeo MiTo GTA. It’s still called a concept right now but I reckon it’s quite close to a production version.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Alfa Romeo nomenclature, GTA actually stands for Gran Turismo Alleggerito and is associated with mad and scary cars full of torque steer such as the 147 GTA.

Under the hood of the MiTo GTA is a 1.8 litre turbocharged engine with dual variable valve timing and direct fuel injection producing a nice 240 horsepower. Although torque figures were not given you can probably expect between 300 to 350Nm of torque. The MiTo GTA has been lowered by 20mm, and the front suspension uses new geometry for the aluminium leading arms, and all-new bushings for the rear suspension. The dampers also have active damper control for a better balance between handling and comfort.

There is also something Alfa calls a “Sky-Hook” function which is supposed to improve comfort levels, but it’s not known what it is or how it works at the moment. We’ll have to wait until Geneva to find out.

Check out two more photos after the jump.
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Takanobu Ito: new Honda CEO from June 2009

February 23, 2009 at 5:16 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, International News

Honda CEO Honda CEO

Honda Senior Managing Director Takanobu Ito will become Honda Motor Co Ltd’s new President & CEO effective late June 2009, taking over from the current President & CEO, Takeo Fukui. Both the outgoing CEO and the new CEO are from engineering backgrounds. Ito has a M. Eng in Engineering from the Kyoto University and joined Honda Motor Co Ltd in 1978 as a chassis design engineer. He was in charge of the all-aluminium monocoque chassis of the mid-engined Honda NSX.

In addition to the President and CEO positions of Honda Motor Co Ltd in June 2009, 55-year old Takanobu Ito will also first assume the President and Director positions of Honda R&D in April 2009. 64-year old Takeo Fukui who has been President and CEO since 2003 will continue in Honda as Advisor and Director.
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Tesla Model S electric sedan: New teaser image

February 23, 2009 at 3:02 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Tesla Motors

A new teaser image of Tesla’s latest product; the Model S has emerged on the Internet. We were recently teased with another image which gave us a bellow-shoulder line sneak peak. Looking at the teaser above which reveals a glass roof, you can definitely tell that the four-door fully electric sedan will be a pretty handsome automobile. The sexy side profile reminds me of the Aston Martin Rapide four-door coupe.

The Model S will make its debut on March 26th next month in California and potential buyers should be able to place orders with a US$ 10,000 deposit. Selling price should be figured at US$ 60,000 (approximately RM 220,000) while it should be able to deliver 386 kilometers in terms of driving range.

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BMW 3-Series E90 LCI M-Sport Kit

February 23, 2009 at 2:59 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars

BMW E90 LCI M-Sport

Just in case you were wondering what the new BMW 3-Series E90 LCI facelift looked like kitted up with M-Sport parts, here are a few shots. Though the overall shape of the front bumper especially the curve of the central lower air intake on the bumper is similiar to the standard E90 LCI, BMW has made the intake alot more larger and prominent. I believe the bumper also extends lower than the standard E90 LCI. The side air intakes on the bumper also loses the plastic horizontal strips on the standard look. The rear end looks pretty similiar to the outgoing pre-faclift E90′s rear bumper, with a little integrated diffuser-like design emphasizing the car’s sporty intentions. Look after the jump for a few more shots of the E90 LCI M-Sport kit.
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MITI Proposal: RM 5,000 incentive if you sell your old car for a new one?

February 23, 2009 at 2:08 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News

Car sales in Malaysia are continuing to drop, and given that our protected car industry has many government-linked players including our national car manufacturer, it won’t be long before they step in with some kind of incentive program that actually works and appeals to the rakyat other than the earlier proposed car-scrapping scheme that wanted to put an age limit to cars on the road and force you to scrap your old cars for a measly sum. This new proposal sounds alot more appealing, IF I am interpreting the news reports correctly, otherwise it is still the same old thing they’ve been proposing, which I suppose is decent if it is voluntary.

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry is proposing a RM 5,000 incentive scheme if someone with a car that’s 15 years old or older sells their car and buys a new one. So he doesn’t need to scrap his car for a pathetic amount, he can actually sell it off for whatever value it has and on top of that get an additional RM 5,000 to buy a new vehicle. If my assumption is wrong, you scrap a car for the RM 5,000 and that’s it. How the RM 5,000 will be given has not been decided yet though. It could be a reduction in excise duties and sales tax or other ways safer and less prone to abuse than giving cash directly to the owner.

Another plus point is there is nowhere in the news reports that this would be restricted to new Protons only, though we don’t know the final details yet. Nothing is confirmed yet as the proposal still needs to be tabled.

Source

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Speculation: Mini roadsters from Mercedes and BMW to hit the market between 2011 and 2012?

February 23, 2009 at 11:04 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under BMW, Cars, Mercedes Benz, Rumours

Rumors are circulating that both Mercedes Benz and BMW are planning to develop mini roadsters to taken on other similar-sized roadsters such as the Mazda MX 5 / Miata. Mercedes’ hot little convertible is said to be based on the platform from the 2011/2012 Mercedes A Class and B Class, and is expected to a feature front wheel drive setup, instead of a typical rear wheel drive arrangement.

According to Auto, Motor und Sport, the mini roadster from Stuttgart which could hit the market sometime in 2012 is also expected to feature design cues based on the Mercedes SLA project, which is an 8 year-old concept. Power plant wise, there may be at least four engine options to choose from, with a diesel unit being one of them. The roadster should also carry a fabric convertible top, instead of a more fashionable foldable hard top to save space.

Over at Munich, the BMW Z2 mini roadster is said to be based on the current BMW Z4 platform, and may hit the market a little earlier in 2011. The Z2 should retain the rear wheel drive setup and feature a 150hp 4 cylinder engine, while there may also be a range topping 300hp variant with twin turbochargers.

BMW will most probably also offer an electric powered model of the Z2, but there is no news if Mercedes will offer a similar emissions free version of its mini roadster. Mean while, you can expect the BMW Z Vision Concept to be previewed sometime towards end of the year which will showcase potential design cues for the baby Z4.

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