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Walter Röhrl to race stock standard Porsche 911 GT3 RS in Nürburgring 24 hours

December 23, 2009 at 8:49 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Motorsports, Porsche

Porsche test driver Walter Röhrl is set to compete in the Nürburgring 24 hour race in May 2010 with a stock standard Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The double world rally champion, now 62, returns to the famous endurance race since last competing there in 1993.

But he’s far from rusty. Röhrl has tested every standard Porsche on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife since 1993 and said this about the current GT3 RS: “Right from the word go, the 911 GT3 RS reminded me of a race vehicle. No other road-going 911 has ever been as close to a race car as this current GT3 RS. That’s why I’m thrilled to be able to prove that this sports car is up to the challenge of the 24-hour race.”

The GT3 RS is powered by a 450 bhp, 3.8-litre, six-cylinder boxer engine. Befitting its hardcore nature, it comes with extra short transmission ratios as standard. The car’s dynamic engine mounts change in their stiffness and damping to “improve the connection between the engine and body when driving under racing conditions”. These, plus a body optimised for downforce makes for a good track car out of the box.

Walter may face stiff competition from the race cars he helped to develop though – Porsche’s GT3 RSR has been dominating the race for the past four years!

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Proton Persona facelift snapped at Petronas Sepang

December 22, 2009 at 6:34 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Spyshots

Our little hardworking secret project for 2010 team was having a short break and discussion at the Petronas near the Sepang International Circuit a few weeks ago and it so happened that a lightly disguised facelifted Proton Persona was being refueled there

We wasted no time and snapped away to bring you a closer look to what we’ll soon be able to buy next year. Look after the jump for all four photos in high resolution goodness.
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BMW Malaysia launch limited edition 50th anniversary MINI variants

December 22, 2009 at 6:26 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, Local News

MINI is British. And to cement that rich heritage, there’s a trio of limited edition MINI variants that sport names such as Mayfair, Camden and Earl Grey. These cars are to commemorate MINI’s 50th birthday, and they’re now available in Malaysia.

Just like the districts they’re named after, the MINI 50 Mayfair is the posh sibling while the MINI 50 Camden is the vibrant, energetic one. Both these variants are available for the 175 bhp turbocharged Cooper S, while the MINI Earl Grey is based on the 120 bhp Cooper.

Find out what’s special about this trio after the jump!

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Entry level Scirocco gets 120 bhp 1.4 TSI engine

December 22, 2009 at 3:14 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Volkswagen

The UK market will get a new entry level Volkswagen Scirocco next year. It will be powered by a 120 bhp version of the 1.4-litre TSI engine which packs in 200 Nm of torque. Next step up is a 158 bhp/240 Nm version of the same engine while the just launched in Malaysia Scirocco GT comes with a 197 bhp/280 Nm 2.0-litre engine.

The entry level Scirocco comes with a six-speed manual gearbox. 0-100 km/h acceleration takes 9.7 seconds before reaching a 200 km/h top speed. Claimed average fuel consumption is 15.6 km/l.

The equipment list is still pretty good: a six-CD changer with iPod preparation, auto lights and wipers, 17-inch Donington alloys, ABS, ESP and six airbags are standard. Adaptive Chassis Control (ACC) is optional.

I have sampled this engine before in a Mk5 Golf with seven-speed DSG, and it performs much better than the modest figures suggest. No GTI style kick in the back acceleration, but there’s very little turbo lag, it pulls strongly from low rpm and is smooth and refined. In real world performance terms, it should have no problems matching 2.0-litre saloons.

It’s unlikely that this variant will make its way here, but here’s hoping that Volkswagen will bring in 158 bhp 1.4 TSI versions of the Mk6 Golf and Scirocco to lower the entry price of these very desirable cars.

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Jay Leno rides in pre-production McLaren MP4-12C

December 22, 2009 at 11:31 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, McLaren

US talk show host Jay Leno is one of the most well-known car nut celebrities around and his equally famous car collection includes rare cars ranging from a 1906 Baker electric car to the McLaren F1. He was across the Atlantic at McLaren’s Woking HQ recently and was allowed to ride in a pre-production unit of the McLaren MP4-12C (at Top Gear’s test track, he will appear on the show too), which is set to be one of the great supercars with 600bhp from the self-developed, mid mounted twin-turbo V8 engine pulling a chassis that counts carbon fibre as its main ingredient.

What’s his verdict? “All supercars should be like this,” was what he told The Sunday Times. Leno wrote about his taxi ride for the UK newspaper, which you can read after the jump. He sounds very impressed by the MP4-12C for someone who owns about every supercar in the market.

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Rome to host Formula 1 street race!

December 22, 2009 at 9:51 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1

Staying on the topic of Formula 1, there’s more for fans to look forward to as rights holder Bernie Ecclestone has agreed a deal that would bring the F1 circus to the streets of Rome. The street race has been in planning for over a year and a half, added course planner Maurizio Flammini.

“The agreement with Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone to give life to the Rome Grand Prix has already been done and signed,” he told Sky Italia. “The appropriate course still has to be defined.”

Should it happen, Italy will join Spain in playing host to two GPs, as the Monza circuit is already a permanent fixture in the F1 calendar. Rome will join Monaco, Singapore and Valencia in the street race club.

I can already imagine the Scuderia’s scarlet car zoom past the Colosseum!

UPDATE: Organisers are targetting a 2012 entry into the F1 calendar.

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Alex Yoong “ashamed” with Petronas over Mercedes GP sponsorship deal

December 22, 2009 at 9:16 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Mercedes Benz

Following yesterday’s shock announcement that Petronas has signed up as the title sponsor of Mercedes GP, Malaysia’s ex-Formula 1 driver Alex Yoong has showed disappointment at the snub towards Lotus F1. Yoong is now head of driver development for the Malaysian backed Lotus F1 team.

“Petronas signs with Mercedes GP,” he wrote. “Words fail me. Mercedes is a good team, no doubt, but what Lotus is doing is completely ground-breaking and brave and Petronas not seeing that fills me with shame,” he posted on his Twitter account.

Lotus F1 boss Tony Fernandes has been courting the national oil company as a sponsor after the latter ended its deal with BMW Sauber, and was quoted before as saying: “We would love Petronas to sponsor us”

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BREAKING: Petronas is now the title sponsor of Mercedes GP!

December 21, 2009 at 5:47 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Mercedes Benz

Petronas has just moments ago announced that it will be the title sponsor of Mercedes GP! This comes as a surprise after it was widely reported that the national oil company will be ending its involvement in F1 as a team sponsor. The choice of Mercedes GP is also unexpected – after all Malaysia has its “own” team in Lotus F1.

The five-year agreement with Mercedes comes after Petronas’ deal with BMW Sauber ended in the just concluded 2009 season. Under this new deal, Petronas will be the title partner to the Silver Arrows works team, which will be officially known as the Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team.

The official media statement explains that “this partnership allows related business arrangements with Mercedes that will support Petronas’ international business expansion efforts, particularly in its global lubricant business. The exclusive rights of a title partner and association with the premium, internationally-renowned Mercedes brand will further enhance Petronas and Malaysia’s ongoing global brand positioning efforts. Petronas will also be able to continue to leverage on the extensive international exposure offered by the sport to grow its existing business activities.”

This tie-up also presents Petronas with the opportunity to utilise and leverage on Mercedes’ long motor sport heritage to further supplement its talent development initiatives as part of its contribution towards the development of Malaysia’s motorsports industry, it said.

Petronas will continue to be the title sponsor of the Malaysian Grand Prix, as reported earlier.

Quotes from Norbert Haug, Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsports and Ross Brawn, Team Principal are after the jump.

UPDATE: The Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team’s race car will make its track debut in its new livery at Valencia on 1 February to start pre-season testing ahead of the 2010 season.

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Honda to debut small car concept at India Auto Expo

December 21, 2009 at 3:14 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, International News

Honda has announced plans for a world premiere at the India Auto Expo 2010, to be held in New Delhi from January 5 to 11, 2010. Called the “New Small Concept”, the debutant will preview a small car Honda is currently developing for India and emerging markets.

After the Tata Nano, which was launched at the previous Auto Expo, carmakers are all rushing to capture a slice of the Indian market, which has serious potential for growth as a big section of the population are beginning to graduate to four wheels. Early settlers Suzuki (with its Maruti brand) and Hyundai are doing brisk business selling small cars and others want in on the action.

In addition to the New Small Concept, Honda will also parade the CR-Z Concept and wow showgoers with a demonstration by humanoid robot, ASIMO.

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New Hyundai Tucson set for 2010 local launch?

December 21, 2009 at 1:56 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, Koreans, Local News

I stumbled on an ad by Hyundai-Sime Darby in today’s The Star newspaper. The page 18 half pager had the title “Welcome 2010″ and had a picture of the all-new Tucson in the background. This is a clear hint that the mid-sized SUV will be coming our way next year. The other pictured cars are the Avante and i10.

Called the ix35 in Europe and Tucson ix in Korea, this Honda CR-V rival made its global debut at the Frankfurt motor show earlier this year, and is designed by Hyundai’s European design studio in Germany. It was introduced last month in Singapore with the 166 bhp/197 Nm 2.0-litre Theta II engine paired with a new six-speed automatic – figures that should put it as the best in class, on paper, if we get the same spec.

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