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More details on Proton’s Geneva 2010 Concept Car

February 12, 2010 at 1:33 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Proton, Proton EMAS Concept

Proton has unveiled some additional information on the new concept series hybrid car they will be unveiling at the Geneva show.

Some of the text leads me to believe that this Proton concept and the Italdesign Giugiaro concept teaser on their website are one and the same.

UPDATE: Italdesign Giugiaro’s press release has confirmed that their concept car and Proton’s Giugiaro-designed car are one and the same. I’m updating this list with new info on the road via my smartphone. Check the list below for the new info. Italdesign says we can follow the development of the whole project step by step from the 12th February 2010 (probably some European timezone) on Italdesign’s website.

For now, there is no official name for the car announced yet – it is simply referred to by Proton as “Proton Concept Car” for now. Proton advisor and ex-PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will be in Geneva to launch the concept car.

Here are the released details:

  • The car is a creative collaboration with Italdesign Giugiaro.
  • The concept car will have 5 doors and will seat 4.
  • It is 3,550 mm in length, which is approximately a good half a meter longer than the Toyota iQ but shorter than the Proton Savvy.
  • The four seats will be independently adjustable and slideable.
  • The car will use a series hybrid drive. A combustion engine will be mounted at the front and will be used only to recharge lithium ion batteries.
  • The lithium ion batteries will drive the motor that moves the car.
  • It uses a special chassis with a raise floor that allows installation of the regular combustion engine at the front and batteries in the rear
  • According to Italdesign chairman Giorgetto Giugiaro, the car was designed to offer interior spaciousness of a D-segment car with the exterior dimensions of an A-segment car.
  • The hip point is designed to be at just the right natural and ergonomic height – you do not get down into the car like a short sedan or “climb” up into the car like an SUV.

I still don’t have official photos of the car provided to me by an official source yet – only some foreign publications have it, such as Autocar UK. Do you like the concept car’s styling? Cast your vote in the poll below.

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Italdesign Giugiaro teases Geneva city car concept

February 12, 2010 at 11:00 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars

Italdesign Giugiaro’s website has a teaser for a concept car that they will be showing at the Geneva show at the end of this month at their booth (204 in Hall 2). The teaser text simply says “How can you fit an SUV into a city car?” and leaves us with the image above showing a big boxy SUV tailing a much smaller compact city car.

I have no idea if this has anything to do with the new Proton concept car that’s set to debut at Geneva (the shape kinda looks similar), but we’ll see what it is exactly when the press days start at the end of this month.

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Photo of new Proton concept appears online!

February 12, 2010 at 10:47 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, International News, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Proton EMAS Concept

Autocar UK is the first with a photo of Proton’s new concept car designed by Italian design house Italdesign-Giugiaro. The vehicle looks like a supermini with a tallish roofline, and according to Autocar it is about 3,350mm long – that’s a good 360mm shorter than the Proton Savvy. There is no attempt to look space age with ultra curvy rooflines that hurt rear passenger room – this is clearly a design that’s quite suited to go into production with some minor modifications.

The concept car will showcase a series hybrid powertrain that works much like the system that Chevrolet is using for the Volt. It uses an internal combustion engine fitted at the front that runs in an efficient powerband to recharge lithium ion batteries. These batteries then power and electric motor that drives the car. From what I can understand from the Autocar story, the internal combustion engine does not power the wheels directly. The car’s platform is a new platform that’s designed to accomodate all the necessary hybrid drive elements such as batteries in a space efficient and safe way.

Lotus had previously showcased such a system at the Frankfurt 2009 show so given Proton’s obvious connections to Lotus, the powertrain in this concept car might just be one and the same. Or it might not – we’ll have to wait for official details to find out. The Lotus Range Extender system uses a 1.2 litre 3-cylinder single cam 4 valves per cylinder engine that weighs only 56kg dry and is optimized for 2 RPM points – 20hp at 1,500rpm and 47hp at 3,500rpm. Peak torque is 107Nm at 2,500rpm.

Word is that Proton will be sending some journalists to Geneva because of this car. If Proton wants to maximize the value of the air tickets and accommodation for these journos, those lucky guys might even get to drive the car, if it is a running concept using the Lotus engine. That would definitely generate more buzz and get Proton more coverage in international publications.

As for us, we are still completely in the dark about this concept car other than whatever Autocar UK has revealed now, so we hope to bring you confirmed facts as soon as Proton says something, hopefully today!

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Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid to be revealed in Geneva

February 12, 2010 at 10:44 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Porsche

Porsche has announced that it will launch the 911 GT3 R Hybrid at next month’s Geneva Motor Show. The company said that the hybrid technology on the car is specially developed for racing which makes it different from the hybrid systems we are used to. It features two electric motors (each developing 60 kW) on the front axle while the rear axle has a 4.0 litre flat six that pumps out 480hp.

Apart from providing extra power the hybrid system can also help reduce fuel consumption which means drivers may not need to visit the pits that often. Porsche revealed that after its debut in Geneva the 911 GT3 R Hybrid will be tested in long-distance races at the Nurburgring including the 24 Hours on the Nordschleife which happens on May 16th and 17th. More images can be found after jump.
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Qazana-based Nissan Juke crossover revealed

February 12, 2010 at 10:39 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Nissan

What you see above is the 5-seater Nissan Juke crossover. It looks familiar because it is based on the Nissan Qazana concept that was previewed in Geneva last year. This crossover is underpinned by Renault-Nissan’s B-Platform and measures 4 meters long, 1,765mm wide and 1,570 meters tall. Its wheelbase measures 2,500mm. This makes it a size smaller than the Rogue/Qashqai/Dualis.

The crossover (which looks a little weird if you ask me) will be sold in Europe, Japan and in the United States. There are several engine options including a 1.6 litre normally-aspirated engine with 117hp and a turbocharged version of the engine that can output 190hp and 240Nm of torque. Diesel fans don’t worry as Nissan also has a 110hp 1.5 litre dCi unit for the Juke. This unit also produces 240Nm of torque.

Transmission wise potential buyers can choose between a 5-speed manual cog box or a continuously variable transmission. Apart from a standard front wheel drive setup buyers can also opt for an ALL-MODE 4×4-i system. The Juke will premier at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, till then you can feast on some images after the jump.
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Kia Ray concept revealed at the Chicago Auto Show

February 12, 2010 at 10:24 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Kia, Koreans

Kia was present at this year’s Chicago Auto Show and took the opportunity to reveal the Ray concept vehicle. The Ray is based on the Forte platform and measures 4,400 mm long, 1,850 mm wide, 1,360 mm high and has a wheelbase that is figured at 2,700 mm in length.

The concept which is able to seat seat four utilizes a plug-in hybrid powertrain that is made up by a 1.4-litre Gamma GDI engine that outputs 153hp as well as a 78 kW electric motor. It uses a continuously variable transmission. The Ray is able to deliver 1,200 kilometers in terms of overall range and can travel for 80.5 kilometers on pure electric power.

Overall fuel consumption is figured at 1.2 litres per 100 kilometers which sounds very good. Key features on the Ray concept includes a “cool car” technology along with nano-laminate films and cool-glazing materials that reduce solar heat which can help keep the interior cool. This will then reduce air conditioning loads and subsequently greenhouse emissions.

It also has a drive-by-wire steering system, touch screen controls, Kia’s UVO voice and touch-activated controls and more. More images can be found after the jump.
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Citroen teases the DS4 concept?

February 12, 2010 at 10:06 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Citroën

What you see above is believed to be a teaser image of the Citroen DS4 and many are saying that it is a concept instead of a production-ready version. This vehicle, concept or not is said to be based on the company’s C-SportLounge concept that was shown back in 2005. Unfortunately we have nothing more to share with you at this moment but we know that Citroen will unveil the DS4 at the Geneva Motor Show which will take place next month. Stay tuned!

Source

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Second-generation Volkswagen Touareg premieres with Hybrid model

February 11, 2010 at 3:41 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Volkswagen

This is the second generation VW Touareg, which is lighter, more fuel efficient and cleaner than the original SUV to bear the name launched in 2003. The big news is that the Touareg range includes a hybrid model, Volkswagen’s first production hybrid.

The Touareg Hybrid combines a 3.3-litre supercharged V6 petrol engine producing 328 bhp and 360 Nm of torque and an electric motor generating 46 bhp, resulting in a total output of 374 bhp and 580 Nm. The electric motor can operate independently of the combustion engine, making the Touareg a full hybrid. On electric power alone the new Touareg is capable of travelling at speeds of up to 50 km/h, but most of the time it supplements the V6 to provide more grunt -the Touareg Hybrid does 0-100 km/h in 6.5 seconds before reaching a top speed of 240 km/h. On the combined cycle, fuel consumption is 12 km/l.

The entry-level engine and the likely volume seller is a 3.0-litre V6 TDI engine generating 237 bhp and 550 Nm while returning 13.5 km/l and emitting 195 g/km of CO2. A new 4.2-litre TDI V8 engine producing 335 bhp and a massive 800 Nm of torque sits at the top of the range.

VW says that the new models are up to 20 per cent more fuel efficient than the cars they replace, also thanks to a weight reduction of 200 kg, a new eight-speed automatic and Start/Stop technology. The new body also has a lower drag coefficient. Overall length and wheelbase of the Touareg have each grown by 40 mm to measure 4,758 mm and 2,900 mm respectively. Width remains at 1,928 mm while overall height drops by 20 mm to 1,724 mm.

The new car is easily recognisable as a Touareg from the outside, even though it features VW’s new family face. The all-new cabin looks good too, and while it remains a five-seater, rear room is claimed to have grown significantly due to the new sliding rear bench and reclining backrests. More pictures after the jump.
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New Hyundai Sonata and Tucson coming in April!

February 11, 2010 at 3:58 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, Koreans, Local News

Hyundai Sime Darby will be a very busy company in 2010, and the first launches we can expect from them this year is the introduction of the new Sonata YF and Tucson SUV, which is scheduled for April. Both cars will be imported CBU from Korea, and our source has also revealed the variants that will be brought in.

The sixth-generation Sonata, codenamed YF, will come with two Theta II engines – a 163 bhp/198 Nm 2.0-litre and a 176 bhp/228 Nm 2.4-litre, mirroring the engine options of its D-segment Japanese rivals. Not only the Sonata’s figures compare very well with its competitors, it also has a six-speed automatic gearbox (Accord and Camry 2.4 have five forward ratios) which is self-developed and claimed to be “maintainence free”.

The Tucson SUV will also ship with these two engines and the six-speed auto ‘box. If you want 4WD, opt for the 2.4-litre model, as the 2.0-litre Tucson will be front-wheel drive only. Hyundai’s Theta II, which is a development of the GEMA world engine, is 10kg lighter than its predecessor, more frugal, cleaner and comes with Dual CVVT. The latest GDI direct injection engines won’t reach our shores however, due to below par fuel quality.

Spec levels for these two cars will be competitive and prices will undercut their immediate rivals, which we take as the Honda CR-V for the Tucson, Accord and Camry for the Sonata. You may have noticed the Arab number plates on these pictures; they were snapped this afternoon as we have been test driving the new Hyundais in Muscat, Oman. Unfortunately, we cannot share our impressions with you yet as the story is embargoed, but do stay tuned for updates as the launch date nears. Let’s just say for now that these new entries have great showroom appeal and are very decent to drive!

174 Comments      

8 videos to catch the Volvo S60 in action!

February 11, 2010 at 1:37 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Videos, Volvo

Volvo has released a few videos of the soon to be available Volvo S60 sedan, and you can catch them all here on this blog, streamed from local servers. The videos cover a few topics such as exterior and interior beauty shots as well as demonstrations of various technology in action such as adaptive cruise control, collision warning and pedestrian protection. Check the videos out after the jump.
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