Gong Xi Fa Cai

Advertisement

BMW 760i and 760Li: flagship V12 turbo power!

April 10, 2009 at 6:11 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, International News

BMW 760i

12 cylinders and 8 gear ratios, that’s what you get in the car above. I was almost thinking BMW had decided to axe its plans to introduce ZF’s new 8-speed auto when it didn’t appear in the Rolls-Royce 200EX Concept recently, but here it is now finally in the new BMW 760i and its long wheelbase 760Li counterpart!

Under the hood of the 760Li is a new 6.0 litre V12 engine featuring two turbochargers, which BMW now calls BMW TwinPower Turbo Technology. The 750Li already offers V12-like power levels thanks to its twin turbo V8 so its only natural that the 760Li has to take it one step higher.

BMW 760i

Power outputs are 544 horses at 5,250rpm and a massive 750Nm of torque from as low as 1,500rpm all the way to 5,000rpm, making this the most torquey standard BMW engine out there now, but of course it loses out in terms of horsepower to the twin-turbo V8 in the X5 M and X6 M.

The 60-degree V12 motor has a bore and stroke of 89mm by 80mm, and a compression ratio of 10.0:1. Unlike the V8, this engine has the turbochargers on the “regular” position of outside the V-bank. It has iron-coated aluminium pistons, forged conrods and crank, and an all-aluminium block construction. The block uses a closed-deck structure which holds the cylinder head down onto the floor-plate of the crankcase with bolts.

BMW 760i

The engine is mated to an exhaust system that handles the massive amount of exhaust gas produced by 2 turbos and 6 litres of displacement with the largest possible diameter for the exhaust pipes possible. BMW has also designed the system to be as straight as possible. There are flaps around the silencer that are electronically controlled by the ECU to produce the right sound according to driving conditions.

ZF supplies BMW with an 8-speed transmission for the new 760i, but despite an additional 2 gears, there are no negative effects on the size or weight of the transmission. Four simple gearsets and five gearshift elements form the 8 gears, and at any time only 2 clutches are open in each gear to reduce frictional losses. The 6th gear is a direct 1:1 gear, with the 7th and 8th being overdrive gears. The next generation of BMWs will also receive this new ZF gearbox.

BMW 760i

You can identify this top of the line 7-Series by subtle touches such as an extra wide chrome lining for the already huge front kidney grilles, a V12 badge on the side, and an extra chrome bar between the exhaust pipes at the rear which mirror the one on the front bumper. Open the doors and you’ll be greeted with illuminated door entry trims with V12 badging. Look after the jump for a full hi-res gallery of the new V12 7-Series.
[Read more...]

25 Comments      

GALLERY: Naza Italia Lifestyle Centre in PJ

April 10, 2009 at 3:30 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Ferrari, Local News, Maserati

Ferrari Showroom
Click for enlarged image

The Naza Italia Lifestyle Centre is the largest Ferrari and Maserati showroom out of Italy. Sitting beside the Federal Highway in PJ, it has 2 floors with Ferrari on the ground floor and Maserati on the top. I paid a visit last week to check out the limited edition Ferrari Scuderia 16M Spyder. Have a look at some photos after the jump, and remember you can click the images for a larger resolution version!
[Read more...]

53 Comments      


Proton in preliminary talks with Renault

April 10, 2009 at 2:23 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Renault

ProtonProton managing director Datuk Hj Syed Zainal says Proton is in very preliminary talks with Renault on a technical collaboration, which sources in the company say are centered around the supply of a diesel engine for Proton. Proton is also toying with the idea of a Laguna-based Perdana but this is just one of the many options that are being looked at including one based on the SAIC-owned Rover 75 platform.

Renault currently has various diesel engines ranging from 1.5 litres to 2.2 litres including the M9R 2.0L diesel, which comes from the same family as the MR petrol engines found locally in the Nissan Grand Livina and Nissan Sylphy.

These talks between manufacturers happen all the time and could range from a simple supplier and customer relationship to a technical collaboration, and this happens even more often these days due to the pressure on manufacturers to reduce costs, increase sales and improve profits.

Proton says an equity sale is not being considered in these talks.

86 Comments      

2-door Kia Forte Koup unveiled at NYIAS!

April 10, 2009 at 12:09 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Kia, Koreans

Kia Forte Koup

Kia has unveiled the 2-door coupe version of the good looking Kia Forte at the NYIAS 2009 ongoing in the US this week. The 2-door Forte called the Forte Koup (Cerato Koup in some countries) will be Kia’s first 2-door coupe, and measures 176.4 inches long, 69.5 inches wide and 55.1 inches tall with a wheelbase of 104.3 inches.

It uses the same platform as the Forte sedan, using MacPherson struts and stabilizer bar at the front and a torsion beam at the rear. Two trims are available, the EX and SX, with the SX also featuring a sports suspension among other various equipment level differences like leather steering wheel and shifter, metal pedals, Supervision self-illuminating meter panel, and sports cloth seats. Interestingly in the US, tilt and telescopic steering is only available on the SX – if the car ever makes it here it better have that option, even on the Forte sedan!

Kia Forte Koup

Under the Forte Koup’s hood is a choice of either a 2.0 litre CVVT engine with 156 horsepower and 195Nm of torque mated to a 5-speed manual or 4-speed auto for the EX or a 173 horsepower 2.4 litre engine with 228Nm of torque for the sports SX version with a 6-speed manual or a 5-speed Sportmatic automatic transmission (with 2 overdrives, meaning more like Civic’s 5-speed rather than Mazda’s 5-speed).

Kia says the Forte Koup trumps its competitors like the Civic Coupe, the Scion tC and the Chevy Cobalt Coupe with a larger 90.7 cubic feet interior volume. It has 38.7 inches of headroom and 43.6 inches of legroom in the front seats, and 35.3 inches of headroom and 33.9 inches of legroom in the rear seats. The provision of such data clearly shows interior spaciousness is one of the factors that Kia is pushing for this car, since some people may think C-segment coupes are cramped.

Look after the jump for a full hi-res image gallery of the Koup, including multiple exterior angles and interior shots.
[Read more...]

55 Comments      

Motoring Ministers: the new line-up

April 9, 2009 at 8:37 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News

NajibOur new Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has rolled out his new cabinet today, and the following are the few people of note to motorists, people whose policies affects motorists and car enthusiasts in Malaysia:

  • Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry – has previously served the EPU. MITI affects industry policies such as automotive industry taxation and incentives
  • Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry – his father hopes he will solve the issue of AP holders who sell their APs.
  • Datuk Ismail Sabri, Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs – let’s see if the plan to switch to RON97, RON95 and Euro 2 diesel will happen under this new leadership. Or we could also see fuel moved to the new Green Tech ministry.
  • Datuk Tan Lian Hoe, Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs.
  • Datuk Peter Chin, Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water – this new ministry replaces the Energy, Water and Communication ministry, will the Green Technology portfolio affect hybrid cars, electric cars, biofuel, etc?
  • Noriah Kasnon – Deputy Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water
55 Comments      

Nissan reveals the 2009 Nissan NISMO 370Z

April 9, 2009 at 12:50 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Nissan

Japanese-based Nissan has unleased the NISMO-tuned 370Z Coupe. The in-house tuner has performed a number of upgrades on the NISMO 370Z which includes modifications on key areas including the exterior, suspension, and most importantly, under the hood.

On the outside aerodynamic body pieces are evident with an extended front nose design with a canard design at each corner for improved downforce and a fully integrated chin spoiler, special side sills and a unique rear bumper as well as a rear spoiler that helps increase downforce. Available in five body colours including Pearl White, Brilliant Silver, Magnetic Black, Solid Red and Platinum Graphite, the NISMO 370Z looks more aggressive thanks to a lower and wider stance. Just like the standard 370Z, this up-rated version comes with “boomerang” shaped headlights (with High Intensity Discharge (HID) bi-functional xenon design with an auto on/off feature) and tail lights.

Nismo 370Z

Minor modifications were performed on the interior, with the NISMO logo visible on the seats which were finished with black/red fabric and red stitching, a NISMO tachometer, steering wheel with red stitching, leather-wrapped shift knob and aluminum trimmed pedals. As standard the NISMO 370Z comes with front seats with 8-way driver’s/4-way passenger manual adjustments and adjustable front seat Active Head Restraints, Nissan’s Intelligent Key with Push Button Start, power windows with one-touch auto up/down feature, power door locks with auto-lock feature, a center console box with a new non-intrusive cover design, automatic climate control, rear window defroster with timer, two 12-volt power outlets, four cupholders, dual overhead map lights and a AM/FM/CD/AUX 4-speaker audio system with illuminated steering wheel-mounted controls.

Safety and security fitments are made up by Nissan’s Advanced Air Bag System (AABS) with dual-stage supplemental front air bags with seat belt and occupant classification sensors, front seat-mounted side impact supplemental air bags, roof-mounted side-impact air bags, seat belts with pre-tensioners and load limiters, Active Head Restraints, Nissan’s Vehicle Immobilizer System, Vehicle Security System and a Tire Pressure Monitoring System.

Now onto what is under the hood. Well, first of all, the NISMO 370Z uses the same 3.7 litre V6 powerplant found in the standard 370Z, but with upgrades to help offer a higher output figure. These upgrades include a H-configured exhaust system design and muffler tuning, along with optimized ECM (Engine Computer Module) control. This means, power is up to 350HP (at 7,400 revs) from 332HP and torque is now rated at 374Nm (at 5,200 revs) instead of 366Nm.

Continue reading for the rest of the report and to view an image gallery.
[Read more...]

27 Comments      

Nissan 370Z goes top-less!

April 9, 2009 at 12:03 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Nissan

Nissan has officially revealed the drop-top version of its Nissan 370Z sports car, and this new roadster is offered in two forms: the standard Roadster and the Touring Roadster. The top-less 370Z which is shorter in terms of its wheelbase length by 101.6 mm over the model it replaces features a fold-able soft top that takes 20 seconds to open or close. Sharing most of its other features and design elements with the 370Z Coupe, the roadster also comes with an aluminium hood, door panels and trunk to help reduce weight. At the same time, the body structure has been extensively revised, improving rigidity and stability. The 370Z Roadster includes additional structural reinforcement over the 370Z Coupe, in both the A-pillars and side sills.

Other features include long nose/short cockpit proportions, vertical door handles and distinctive headlight/taillight treatment, which features a fierce “boomerang” shape. There are also High Intensity Discharge (HID) bi-functional Xenon headlights with auto on/off feature, and the option of choosing between seven body colours including Solid Red, Magnetic Black, Brilliant Silver, Platinum Graphite, Pearl White, Monterey Blue and Black Cherry.

Over on the inside, the 370Z Roadster features black woven “Carbon” cloth seats with 8-way manual driver’s/4-way manual passenger’s seat adjustments. With the Touring Roadster, buyers would get unique leather-appointed “net” seats with 4-way power/4-way manual operation on the driver’s seat with 4-way power on the passenger’s seat plus heating and cooling.

Other standard interior fitments include Nissan’s Intelligent Key with Push Button Ignition, power windows with one-touch auto up/down feature, power door locks with auto-lock feature, automatic climate control, two 12-volt power outlets, three cupholders and an AM/FM/CD/AUX 4-speaker audio system with illuminated steering wheel-mounted controls. With the Touring Roadster, you also get a 6-CD Bose audio system with eight speakers and MP3/WMA playback, XM Satellite Radio, Bluetooth connectivity, HomeLink Universal Transceiver and aluminium-trimmed pedals.

Just like the 370Z Coupe, both models of the roadster are powered by the 3.7 litre DOHC V6 with Variable Valve Event and Lift Control (VVEL) that is able to output 332HP at 7,000 revs and 366Nm of torque at 5,200 revs. The powerplant can be coupled with either a 6 speed close-ratio manual transmission or a 7 speed automatic that comes with Downshift Rev Matching (DRM) and Adaptive Shift Control (ASC) that are designed to offer quicker shifting when operated in manual mode. Buyers can also optionally add the SynchroRev Match function for the manual with the Sport Package. This basically does the rev-matching for the driver during up-shifts and down-shifts.

With both transmission options, the 370Z Roadster delivers 18 miles to the gallon for city driving and 25 miles to the gallon for highway. With double-wishbone front suspension and a stiffer and lighter 4-link rear suspension, the roadster comes with 18-inch aluminium-alloy wheels wrapped with P225/50R18 front/P245/45R18 rear Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tires. With the Sport Package, potential buyers will get 19-inch RAYS forged lightweight aluminium-alloy wheels with Bridgestone Potenza RE050A P245/40R19 front/P275/35R19 tires.

Continue reading for the rest of the report and to view an image gallery.
[Read more...]

8 Comments      

Perodua MPV (D46T) to sell for RM66k and below!

April 8, 2009 at 2:42 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Perodua, Perodua Alza - New Perodua D46T MPV 2009

Toyota Passo Sette

As Proton gears up for its Proton Exora MPV to be launched next week, our other national carmaker Perodua is also prepping up its Perodua MPV, set to be launched in Q3 this year. The new Perodua MPV is internally called the Perodua D46T codename and is expected to be priced between RM57K to RM66k, according to Perodua MD Datuk Syed Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar in Bernama.

The new Perodua D46T will be based on the Toyota Passo Sette, also known as the Daihatsu Boon Luminas. It measures 4,180mm long, 1,695mm wide and 1,620mm tall, with a long 2,750mm wheelbase to maximize the interior space (2,550mm long).

Passo Sette Interior

It sits 6 or 7, depending on how big the people are, but the intention is 7 of course, because some of the Japanese model pix shows 3 headrests for the 2nd row. The same Bernama report also confirmed it will come with a 1.5 litre engine, likely the 3SZ-VE in transverse-mounted front wheel drive configuration.

There has been an interesting video that’s surfaced on Youtube, but it could be removed soon. Watch it! Also, please read the link below to find out more about the Toyota/Daihatsu car that the Perodua D46T will be based on.

Related Posts:
Toyota Passo Sette 7-seater MPV: full details!
[Read more...]

259 Comments      

Proton hires BMW man as Director of Quality

April 8, 2009 at 1:26 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton

Wolfgang Karl EppelProton has appointed a new Director of Quality, 56 year old Dr Wolfgang Karl Eppel. Dr. Epple was previously serving in BMW AG as Vice President of Quality Management R&D. He was also previously in charge of Hybrid technologies, and was also the project leader for the E90 3-Series.

“We believe that with his strong technical and managerial expertise and leadership, Dr Epple would be able to drive the Quality transformation process for the PROTON Group,” said Proton MD Datuk Hj Syed Zainal.

Dr Epple has a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Karlsruhe in Germany. But I wonder how much Dr Epple really can do in Proton. Yes, he can improve the assembly lines. But quality is more than how the car is put together. Proton being Proton, there is always the case of the untouchables… no 23 years of experience in BMW will help with that.

115 Comments      

Standardised “World Engine” for F1 and WRC?

April 7, 2009 at 1:56 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Cosworth

The FIA is supposed to be working on a new “World Engine” due in 2013 that can be used for 3 FIA categories – F1, F2 and WRC. Max Mosley described the engine as one single engine that could be aspirated and tuned differently for the different categories.

It could be turboed for F1, normally aspirated for F2 and perhaps lightly boosted for the WRC. He added that the project is only in its planning phase and in very early stages. FIA will consult the manufacturers on this matter. The engine will be standard but teams will be able to customise its peripheral areas, such as KERS and other forms of energy recovery such as from the brakes, brake heat and exhaust heat.

“Our basic objective is that the money spent in motorsport on research and development should be relevant and useful to the car industry rather than a highly specialized area which has no relevance to anything else,” says Max Mosley, referring to KERS and other peripherals.

With more and more standardization going into F1, the latest seems to be the engine itself, which takes a big variable and element of excitement out of the sport. There is already going to be a standard Cosworth engine that teams can pick from soon. What do you think guys, will a standard engine take the fun out of F1?

76 Comments