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Proton Exora SE Concept by Theophilus Chin

April 16, 2009 at 3:49 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Malaysian Makes, Proton

Proton Exora Theophilus Chin
Click for enlarged image

Our resident photo-manipulation wizard Theophilus Chin has whipped up this lightly kitted sporty Proton Exora for the benefit of our imagination. Kudos to Theo for managing to churn this out in such a short time. This should provide some inspiration to early adopters of the Proton Exora who want to make their new MPV look a little more different. Of course certain things like the different headlamps are not very feasible to do. Then of course there are the show cars that Proton themselves prepared for the launch, that’s coming up next. For now, what do you think of this design?

Look after the jump for a rear view.

Related Posts:
Proton Exora: Malaysia’s first MPV from RM69,998!
Proton Exora platform to spawn new models
Proton Exora Prototype Test Drive Experience!
Proton Exora: Body Control Module and a few more juicy details!
[Read more...]

30 Comments      

Proton Exora platform to spawn new models

April 16, 2009 at 12:05 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Proton Exora - Proton MPV 2009

Proton Persona

Proton has always had this problem. The high development cost of vehicle platforms. Vehicle platform and engine technology are some of the main reasons that they need a technical tie-up. Whether it is to share a platform with an existing manufacturer, or sell their own platform to recover some of the development cost, the world economy is just in too much of a crappy condition for Proton to have so many platforms.

Continue reading after the jump for a glimpse into Proton’s new platform strategy.
[Read more...]

74 Comments      


Proton Exora: Malaysia’s first MPV from RM69,998!

April 15, 2009 at 10:27 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Proton Exora - Proton MPV 2009, Videos

Proton Exora

After a long long wait, Malaysians finally have a decently sized MPV at a decent price to choose from. The new Proton Exora is here and two variants will be available at launch time – a 1.6 litre automatic high-line and a 1.6 litre automatic medium-line, priced at RM75,998.00 and RM69,998.00 respectively OTR with insurance. Head on after the jump for the full scoop on the Exora.
[Read more...]

753 Comments      

New Proton Exora to be launched tonight!

April 15, 2009 at 1:42 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Proton Exora - Proton MPV 2009

Proton Exora
Click for enlarged image

We’ve seriously come a long way and it has been a long wait for this vehicle which will be Proton and the country’s first ever affordable people mover, at under RM80k for a vehicle that can decently move 7 adults and some minor luggage. We first knew this vehicle simply by the name Proton MPV until its name – Proton Exora – was handpicked by a contest winner and unveiled a few months ago.

Stay tuned for 1030pm tonight where this site will unveil plenty more juicy details on the new Proton Exora. There was a previous report on a test drive experience of a prototype car, I hope you’ve all read that already otherwise please check them out in the linked related posts in this story. Some interesting BCM details in those stories!

Other than the specs and price of the Proton Exora I will also share with you my initial driving impressions of the actual production car, instead of the previous drive session which was with a prototype. So come back later tonight, it’s a decent product and I am as excited about writing the story as you hopefully are about reading it!

Related Posts:
Proton Exora Prototype Test Drive Experience!
Proton Exora: Body Control Module and a few more juicy details!

172 Comments      

Mercedes-Benz: no new CLK AMG car!

April 15, 2009 at 1:33 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Mercedes Benz, Rumours

E-Class Coupe

According to the latest scoop from Autocar, there will be no new CLK63 AMG, or rather the E-Class Coupe AMG since the CLK has been replaced by the E-Class Coupe. You see, the CLK has always been somewhat an odd product, as it looks like an E-Class coupe (shown above) but was based on C-Class underpinings, until the latest version of course where not only it is based on the E-Class, Mercedes-Benz decided to rename it to an E-Class coupe to better reflect its new positioning.

“We had a good look where it would fit into the line-up and eventually came to the conclusion it would be too close to the CLS63 AMG, both in positioning and price,” said a Mercedes-Benz source. That is quite true actually, as the E-Class Coupe and CLS are both “coupe” versions of the E-Class, just that the CLS has its own unique styling and 4-doors. But still, it doesn’t really make sense.

At that sort of price levels, exclusivity and profit margins, who are they to deny a potential customer from his very own proper 2-door (instead of CLS 4-door) D-segment AMG car if he wanted it? I bet it will happen sooner or later. And isn’t the E-Class AMG so much closer to the upcoming new CLS AMG, hint hint: 4 doors?!
[Read more...]

8 Comments      

Aston Martin Rapide all set for late-2009 debut

April 14, 2009 at 8:57 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Aston Martin, Cars, International News

Aston Martin Rapide

The Aston Martin Rapide is still on schedule for a late 2009 debut and has now entered the final stages of its development process. It’s been a long time since the concept was shown in 2006 but it still looks as sexy as ever, a timeless design!

Under the hood will be a 470 horsepower 600Nm V12 engine with 6.0 litres of displacement, hand-built at Aston Martin’s Cologne factory. There will be no funky all-wheel drive system here, the engine puts its power through the rear wheels only through a Touchtronic transmission. The whole car will be built at Magna Steyr’s facilities in Austria.

The Rapide will feature “swan wing” doors, which rise upwards and outsides as they open to facilitate access to the individual rear seats. Yes, this baby will be a 4-seater, with individually crafted sports seats at the rear.
[Read more...]

26 Comments      

Castrol EDGE Sport Speed Challenge Videos

April 14, 2009 at 5:37 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Videos

Castrol EDGE Sport Speed Challenge

Now that the Castrol EDGE Sport Speed Challenge contest is over (results announced yesterday), they’ve released the full videos of the 4 teams who had to change their car’s motor oil. For those that didn’t know about the contest, it involves members of the public guessing how long each team took to perform the task. The 4 teams were The Geeks, The Pros, The Sweet Young Things (they took over 53 minutes, gulp!) and the Hot Chics. Look after the jump for the 4 videos.
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42 Comments      

Facelifted S 63 and S 65 AMG unveiled early!

April 14, 2009 at 4:36 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Mercedes Benz

S AMG
Click for enlarged image

Can you tell the difference between the three cars above? Let me help you with that. The top most is the S 63 AMG, and next up is the long wheelbase S 63 AMG, while lastly you have the long wheelbase V12-powered S 65 AMG, which seems to be available only in the long wheelbase form unlike the normally aspirated V8 S 63.

The new S-Class has not been unveiled yet, only due at the Shanghai show this year but these few photos you will find after the jump have already been revealed in Mercedes-Benz Germany’s online configuration tool.

The S 63 AMG uses a normally spirated 6.2 litre V8 putting out 525 PS and 630Nm of torque, mated to an AMG SPEEDSHIFT 7G-TRONIC transmission (no indication that it has the MCT system), and costs 144,823 Euros in long wheelbase form. Now this is actually cheaper than the V12 S 600.

Here comes the killer. The top of the range in terms of starting asping price is the monster S 65 AMG, with its turbocharged V12 putting out 612 PS and that magical number – a whole 1,000Nm of torque! This baby costs 221,221 Euros onwards. Because of that crazy torque you don’t get the SPEEDSHIFT 7G-Tronic though, as only their 5-speeder can cope with the twisting forces.

Look after the jump for some images extracted from the config tool. The full details with high res images will come along when Mercedes-Benz decides to release the official press release and photos.
[Read more...]

21 Comments      

2010 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Facelift: Official Details

April 14, 2009 at 3:23 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Mercedes Benz, Videos

Mercedes-Benz W221 Facelift

Hot on the tail of the new F01 is an updated S-Class, it’s still the W221 but with a mid-life facelift that adds a few aesthetic changes including a more prominent grille up front, a revised bumper, the LED daytime driving lights that we also saw on the new E-Class, LED tail lights at the rear, and an integrated exhaust.

With the facelift also comes the new S 400 HYBRID, which unlike the hybrid-diesel version shown in 2007, is powered by a petrol engine, the 3.5 litre V6 to be exact from the S 350. The 279hp generated by the V6 is complemented by a 20 horsepower electric motor that has 160Nm of torque, integrated with the 7G-Tronic transmission.

Mercedes-Benz W221 Facelift

The motor acts as a dynamo during braking to recover kinetic energy, recharging the lithium ion batteries with them. The result is an economical 7.9 litres per 100km of combined consumption, impressive for such a large car. I wonder if Mercedes-Benz Malaysia will introduce this here. Companies might just go for it as a company car in their efforts to look green, perhaps as part of their social responsibility programs, plus there is that tax-free period for hybrids. In Germany, the S 400 is less than 10,000 Euros more expensive than the S 350.

Mercedes-Benz W221 Facelift

Something new is a feature called Active Body Control which is a crosswind stabilisation feature. This is standard on the S 600. The S-Class is expected to run cross-state journeys sometimes, since the bosses here may have to visit branches in other states once in a while. During highway journeys you do get hit by crosswinds which can upset the car’s balance, thus Active Body Control tries to make up for it.

It senses crosswinds via the yaw rate and acceleration sensors that are part of the ESP program, and this data is used to vary the spring load to compensate the effects of crosswinds.

Look after the jump for a full hi-res gallery detailing the changes in the design of the S-Class. It should be quite easy to spot.
[Read more...]

15 Comments      

Land Rover LR4: the facelifted Discovery 3

April 13, 2009 at 1:23 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Land Rover

Land Rover LR4

The Discovery was called the LR3 in the US for some marketing reason or another, but isn’t it stretching it too far to call the facelift a LR4? Land Rover doesn’t seem to think so, so here’s the Land Rover LR4, which is what the rest will know as the Discovery 3 facelift, unless they decide to call it the Discovery 4 too?

There is a new 5.0 litre LR-V8 that comes with this new model, that replaces the 4.4 litre outgoing engine. It has direct injection too (rated at 150 bar with twin high pressure fuel pumps), and puts out 375 horsepower and 508Nm of torque while keeping to US ULEV2 standards. The V8 also idles at a lower speed – 600rpm instead of 700rpm.

Other changes are mostly equipment level and aesthetics. Look after the jump for a full hi-res gallery.
[Read more...]

36 Comments