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Opel Flextreme GT/E is a “big Chevrolet Volt”

February 19, 2010 at 1:34 am By Danny Tan Filed Under 2010 Geneva Motor Show, Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Opel

This is the Flextreme GT/E concept car that will be Opel’s showstar at the Geneva show next month. Using the Chevrolet Volt’s extended range electric vehicle (E-REV) technology, the 4.7-metre Flextreme is the first big bodied housing for the E-REV drivetrain.

As a recap, the wheels of E-REV cars are powered by electricity at all times (unlike hybrids). For journeys up to 60 km, energy is supplied by a lithium-ion battery pack. However, unlike regular EVs, E-REV will continue running when the battery is depleted, as a small gasoline engine then acts as a generator to provide current. GM says that this arrangement “eliminates any possibility of range anxiety through fear of being stranded without power”. Charging the Flextreme via a 230V outlet takes less than three hours.

The Flextreme GT/E has a drag co-efficient of just 0.22, which helps it reach a 200 km/h-plus top speed. Weight reduction measures include the use of carbon composite panels, polycarbonate window glazing and aluminum alloy structural components. 370 Nm of torque comes in at 0 rpm to propel the Flextreme to 100 km/h below nine seconds.

More pictures after the jump.
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Tesla loses three employees in plane crash

February 19, 2010 at 12:56 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Tesla Motors

Tesla Motors, maker of the battery powered Roadster sports car, lost three employees in a plane crash which happened over California’s Silicon Valley. The twin-engine Cessna 310 crashed shortly after taking off in fog from Palo Alto Airport. No injuries were reported on ground, but the accident cut off power supply to companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Facebook.

“We are withholding their identities as we work with the relevant authorities to notify the families. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. Tesla is a small, tightly-knit company, and this is a tragic day for us,” said Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk.

Police said that the plane struck a power tower and one of its wings came off, hitting a residential structure. Electricity was cut across the town, affecting about 28,000 people and forcing two hospitals to rely on emergency systems.

This unfortunate incident aside, things are looking up for the company. Palo Alto will be the future base for Tesla Motors, which is set for an initial public offering and the announcement of the location of its US assembly site. The 500-staff outfit has delivered about 1,000 of its $109,000 Roadsters (0-96 km/h in 3.7 seconds, 200 km/h limited top speed) to buyers, which includes celebrities like George Clooney.

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VIDEO: V6-Powered Porsche Panamera Promo

February 18, 2010 at 4:27 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Porsche, Videos

Porsche Panamera V6

Here’s another one of those Porsche promotional footages of their products – this time it’s the new baseline Porsche Panamera and Porsche Panamera 4, which with their V6 power joins their more powerful Panamera S, Panamera 4S and Panamera Turbo 4S siblings to complete the Panamera range. Or at least for now – I’m expecting at least one hybrid variant, and could we perhaps see a diesel as well, since there is a diesel Cayenne?

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Tesla EYE Concept to make Geneva debut

February 18, 2010 at 4:06 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars

This is the Tesla EYE Concept, a concept car which was commissioned by EV carmaker Tesla to a group of IED Turin (L ‘Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin) design students. The project brief was this – a 2+2 sports car that can be used everyday with an affordable price that targets young, cosmopolitan customers.

A total of 11 students of the Masters of Arts in Transportation Design programme at the IED coordinated by Pininfarina senior designer Luca Borgogno and FIAT senior designer Andrea Militello worked on the project, and were supervised by Tesla Motors chief designer Franz von Holzhausen. Pirelli and OZ Racing also helped out wherever needed.

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Porsche teases the new Cayenne in 911 GT3 R Hybrid promotional image

February 18, 2010 at 2:20 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Porsche

One half of the Cayenne-Touareg ‘twins’ have already been unveiled, but there has already been hints of the new version of the popular Porsche Cayenne being dropped around by Porsche. Look at the promotional image of the new Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid shown above – notice there’s an SUV following it? All we can see is the headlamps right now but with a little Photoshop magic…

Tada! We’ll see the all-new Cayenne in full in the Geneva at the end of this month.

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Honda introduces new Wave 110i with CV-Matic

February 18, 2010 at 1:52 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Bikes

Honda has developed a variant of the Honda Wave 110i equipped with a CV-Matic automatic transmission called the Wave 110i AT. Instead of the regular step-through transmission, you get a belt-based CVT so you don’t have to shift through the gears yourself. The normal Wave 110i with PGM-FI costs upwards of 34,000 Thai Baht, but for the Wave 110i AT with the CV-Matic you have to top up and pay a starting upwards of 44,900 Thai Baht.

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Volkswagen reveals the 178hp Polo GTi!

February 18, 2010 at 12:47 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Volkswagen

Volkswagen has finally unwrapped the all new Polo GTi. This high-performance Polo has a supercharged 1.4 litre TSI engine under its hood which is able to crank out 178hp at 6,200 revs and 249Nm of torque from as low as 2,000 revs.

This enables the mini GTi to hit 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds and it will continue till it reaches 225 km/h. That’s actually pretty decent as anything below 8 seconds starts getting fun. Fuel consumption is figured at 47 mpg on a combined cycle.

The engine in paired with the company’s 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, fondly known as DSG. The hot super mini also has an XDS electronic differential system which is part of the standard ESP system. The Polo GTi is treated to new springs and dampers which bring the hatch lower by 15 mm.

Exterior wise it has a honeycomb grille with red strips, a subtle bodykit, new headlights with the option to add LED daytime running lights and a pair of chrome-tipped exhaust pipes at the back. It sits on 17-inch alloy wheels which are also found on the Golf GTi.

Inside you will find a flat-bottomed steering wheel with paddle shifters, aluminium pedals, front sports seats finished in tartan trim, gloss black trim on the centre console as well as a black headliner.

Continue reading to view an image gallery.
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Fairuz Fauzy qualifies for Superlicense!

February 18, 2010 at 12:17 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport. Its the most expensive and technical of them all. Only few are lucky enough to race in Formula 1 and most of the time these drivers are the crème de la crème, although some circumstances have proved us otherwise. Now what is Formula 1 without a strict license requirement that is the ‘king’ of motor racing licenses? The answer is: Superlicense.

Anyone who wishes to race in Formula 1 needs a Superlicense from the FIA. To qualify for the license one needs a ‘decorated’ experience in motor sport. On top of that one has to cover 300 kilometers with a current Formula 1 car. Following yesterday’s official test session in Jerez, Fairuz Fauzy has qualified for a Superlicense as he clocked in about 334 kilometers.

This means that if Kovalainen or Trulli is unable to race anytime during the season, Fauzy can step in. The test session in Jerez continues later today with Heikki Kovalainen behind the wheel of the Lotus Cosworth T127. Force India’s Paul di Resta also qualified for the license as well.

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Fauzy ends Lotus Racing’s first official test session ahead of Virgin

February 18, 2010 at 1:06 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Today the 2010 Formula 1 circus had its busiest official test session at the Jerez circuit. A total of 12 drivers from 11 teams clocked crucial laps at the Spanish race track. All teams were present except for USF1 and Campos, the only two teams that have yet to launch their 2010 contenders.

Today was also Lotus Racing’s first official test session and the team’s third and reserve driver Fairuz Fauzy was behind the wheel. He completed a total of 76 laps and managed to set a personal best lap time of 1:31.848. That lap time put him in 11th place but he was more than 2 seconds quicker than Virgin Racing’s Timo Glock who set a lap time of 1:34.453.

The fastest driver was Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull who set 1:22.593. The German was quicker than Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa from McLaren and Ferrari respectively while Michael Schumacher from Mercedes GP Petronas completed 111 laps and managed to set 1:23.803 which put him in sixth.

However its very hard to use these lap times as an accurate performance indicator. During such tests sessions, different cars may run on different fuel levels, tires and other settings such as aerodynamics. Teams are still developing their cars hence a more accurate indicator will be the performance during the season-opening race in Bahrain which will happen next month.

At the same time Virgin Racing has been spending a lot of time at the bottom end of the time sheets for the past five test sessions. This may be a sign that Lotus Racing’s ‘rival’ is struggling with its car. Nevertheless lets catch the first race on March 14th and find out!

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Bufori set to unveil MkVI luxury saloon in Geneva

February 17, 2010 at 8:41 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Bufori, Cars

Bufori has announced that it will present an all new vehicle at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. Called the MkVI saloon for now, it will be powered by a 6.1 litre engine. Unfortunately we do not have information regarding its power figures at the moment. It took Bufori two years to develop the MkVI which is the brand’s first 4-door vehicle.

Pictured above is an initial sketch released by the company and it points to Bufori’s typical design language: modern day motoring under a vintage-styled skin. It will be made to order and production is scheduled to start in June 2010. Bufori will also reveal the saloon’s official name during the launch.

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