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Bentley reveals the 4-seater Continental Supersports Convertible

February 17, 2010 at 2:42 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Bentley, Cars

Bentley has unwrapped the all new Continental Supersports Convertible which joins the coupe variant that was launched last year. The convertible which will make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show is powered by the same 630hp twin-turbo W12 mouth-watering engine (with 800Nm of torque) found in the coupe version making it the most powerful four-seater convertible in the world.

This engine is able to run on petrol, E85 bioethanol or a combination of both. 0 – 100 km/h takes 4.2 seconds while top speed is figured at 325 km/h. It also features reworked suspension, steering and ESP settings, carbon-ceramic brakes as well as sticky Pirelli Ultra High Performance tires, among others. An image gallery can be found after the jump.
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2011 Lotus Elise revealed ahead of Geneva debut

February 17, 2010 at 2:21 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Lotus

Lotus has decided to give the Elise a facelift and this is the final product. Lets go over the key changes in regards to the design. The most significant change is the new headlight design which is part of a revised front fascia. The headlights are now combined with LED daytime running lights and LED direction indicators.

Over at the rear, the vents which were placed at the side of the outer taillights in the previous version have been removed. The rear bumper has been restyled and there is also a new engine cover.

The Elise’s aerodynamics efficiency has been improved as well, by 4%. There are also new alloy wheels. The company also revealed that it has increased the Elise’s warranty period from 2 years to 3 years and 36,000 miles.

All three engines offered with the Elise now output lesser emissions. The 136 PS 1.6 litre outputs 155 grams of CO2 emissions per kilometer followed by the 192 PS 1.8 litre with 196 grams and lastly the 220 PS supercharged 1.8 litre with 199 grams. The above mentioned 1.6 litre powerplant is a new entry-level unit and it features Valvematic and Dual VVT-I technologies.

Other upgrades include a new 6-speed close ratio gearbox and the availability of cruise control which is part of the Touring Pack. Potential buyers will also be able to open the rear boot from the interior instead of making do with a separate key.

You can check out more images after the jump together with a detailed press release with more technical details on the new Elise.
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Negaraku will be played if Lotus Racing wins a race!

February 17, 2010 at 12:54 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

This is an interesting piece of news. When a driver wins a Formula 1 race, the national anthem of the country his team represents will be played during the podium ceremony along with the national anthem of the driver’s home country. So which anthem will be played if Lotus Racing wins a race in 2010? As the title suggests its Negaraku, according to our source that is.

You see Lotus is based in the UK so one might assume that it will represent the country hence God Save The Queen will be played. But Lotus is first of all owned by Malaysian auto maker Proton and the Formula 1 team is also backed by Malaysian companies so it only makes sense for the team to represent Malaysia and the Negaraku to be played.

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Teaser vid reveals details of new Nissan compact

February 16, 2010 at 6:21 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Nissan, Videos

Nissan March Sketch

A new Nissan compact car will be unveiled at the Geneva show at the end of this month, and Nissan has given us a preview of what they will be launching in the form of a video that shows interviews of members of the project team.

Some juicy details revealed include the fact that the car will be powered by a new 1.2 litre 3-cylinder engine, although both 3-cylinders and 4-cylinders were considered at first. According to Nissan, it was “obvious” that the 3-potter delivered the best balance of performance, cost effectiveness and environmental friendliness. This new engine will also be mated to a new CVT transmission that uses a sub-planetary gear. All these new components will sit on a new platform called the “V-platform”.

Nissan March Spyshot

This new compact car will be none other than the new Nissan March/Micra and we’ve actually already seen spyshots of this car (shown above) – and they seem to match the previously released sketches (shown at the top).

Check out the video below. You’ll have to put up with the team members going on and on about what a breakthrough the car is though. Nissan says sales of the production car will begin in Thailand in March, with European sales starting in the autumn. Wonder if a Thai introduction means ETCM are able to bring it in Malaysia anytime this year?

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Porsche Panamera V6 variant finally here!

February 16, 2010 at 6:08 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Porsche

Porsche has finally released the “baseline” model of the Panamera – the Panamera and the Panamera 4. Up until now the Panamera has only been available with normally aspirated or turbocharged versions of its V8 engine.

The new Panamera variant is powered by a 3.6 litre V6 engine with direct fuel injection, producing 300 horsepower and a very impressive 400Nm of torque. That’s about 111Nm per litre of displacement, while a lot of other engines barely touch 100Nm per litre. Normally you only get 400Nm from well-tuned 4.0 litre engines.

The V6 engine will be mated to Porsche’s PDK gearbox and will also include Auto Start/Stop, allowing 30.4mpg for the Panamera and 29.4mpg for the four wheel drive Panamera 4. Both models are EU5 emissions compliant.

The introduction of this new V6-engined Panamera and Panamera 4 in Malaysia should lower the cost bar for entering the realm of Panamera ownership, and the 3.6 litre engine will enjoy significantly lower road tax too.
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5 by Peugeot concept car for Geneva previewed!

February 16, 2010 at 2:11 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Peugeot

This is the 5 by Peugeot concept car that previews the upcoming 508 sedan. The concept will make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show which is just around the corner. Under that pretty good looking thing is an all wheel drive HYbrid 4 powertrain which means it has a 163hp 2.0 litre DHi FAP diesel engine and a 37hp electric motor.

The former is mounted on the front axle while the latter sits at the back. The powertrain is able to output 200hp collectively and its fuel consumption is figured at 74.3 miles to the gallon. The system also releases 99 grams of CO2 emissions per kilometer. More information will be released soon meanwhile continue reading to view an image gallery.
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Toyota to unveil 2010 RAV4 and production-ready Auris HSD in Geneva

February 16, 2010 at 12:32 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Toyota


2010 Toyota RAV4

Toyota has announced that it will launch the 2010 RAV4 compact SUV as well as the production-ready Auris HSD at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.

The front end of the RAV4 is now treated to a more aggressive styling along with revamped headlights and a redesigned grille with more chrome. Toyota also said that the interior has been ‘refined’ as well.


Toyota Auris HSD

The Auris HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive) is a C-Segment full hybrid that will be built at Toyota’s Burnaston factory in the UK. The company said that the hybrid vehicle will go on sale across Europe by summer this year.

Apart from these two cars, Toyota will also showcase the Prius Plug-in Hybrid as well as the FT-EV II electric vehicle concept. AE-86 fans in Europe not to worry, the company will also present FT-86 sports car concept at the motor show.

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Fairuz Fauzy will be the first to officially test the T127

February 15, 2010 at 11:42 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

The Lotus Racing team has just launched its 2010 contender and will make its official test debut on February 17th which is this Wednesday. According to some reports on the internet Fairuz Fauzy will be the first to test the Lotus Cosworth T127 in Jerez, Spain. Fauzy was also behind the wheel when the team had its private test session prior to the launch in London. He will then pass the duty to Heikki Kovalainen and the Finn will then hand the steering wheel over to Jarno Trulli. Fauzy’s last official test was back in 2007 when he was the test driver for the Spyker team.

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New Ford Focus to be sold as a Mercury?

February 15, 2010 at 11:21 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Ford

According to a report published by Automotive News, Ford will rebadge the all new Focus as a Mercury. Apparently Ford revealed to its dealer network that it plans slap on the Mercury badge on a redesigned Focus and some are saying that the vehicle will be called the Tracer. With its market introduction expected to take place in 2011 the rebadged Focus should help give Mercury a breath of fresh air as we have not heard much about the brand for a while now.

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MINI Countryman’s UK pricing released

February 15, 2010 at 9:07 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under BMW, Cars

MINI has just announced UK pricing for its fourth model, the Countryman. This 4-door MINI is the brand’s first ever crossover and it is available in all wheel drive as well as two wheel drive forms. There are a total of five models and two of them are powered by diesel engines. The base model is the MINI Countryman One which goes for £16,000. This version is powered by a 98hp 1.6 litre 4-pot.

Next up is the MINI Countryman Cooper. The normally-aspirated 1.6 litre engine in this model makes 122hp and carries a £17,510 price tag. The range topping petrol model is the MINI Countryman Cooper S that produces 184hp from its force-inducted engine. The price for this model breaks the £20,000 mark with a £20,810 price tag.

The base diesel model is the MINI Countryman One D. This 90hp model carries a £1,000 premium over the most basic petrol with a £17,000 price tag. The other diesel spot is taken up by the 112hp MINI Countryman Cooper D.

This costs slightly more than the MINI Countryman Cooper at £18,810. The all wheel drive option called the ALL4 is available with the Countryman Cooper D (additional £1,065) and Cooper S (additional £1,220) models while an option for the Cooper will be made available in 2012.

Compared to the MINI One hatch, the Countryman One is more expensive by £3,270 and when compared to the basic BMW X1 (only diesel versions are sold in the UK) the Countryman which has a wheelbase of 2,595mm (X1 has 2760mm) is cheaper by £7,325.

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