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Proton R3 Malaysia Rally Team targets APRC crown

April 19, 2010 at 3:36 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Malaysian Makes, Motorsports, Proton

The Proton R3 Malaysia Rally Team is back in town for the first leg of the 2010 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), which will be held in Johor this coming weekend (24-25 April). Drivers Alister McRae and Chris Atkinson gave us short taxi rides around Sepang International Circuit’s grounds, which was fun, but not as thrilling as this writer’s first rally car experience, which you can read here.

Atkinson, 30, may be new to the Proton team, but he’s no rally rookie. The Australian competed in the APRC before joining the Subaru works team in the WRC. With him onboard to partner Alister McRae, Proton is aiming for nothing less than the APRC crown with the “best drivers and the best team”, a task made easier by the withdrawal of Motor Image Racing Team and its star driver Cody Crocker, after winning the Manufacturers’ and Driver’s title again last year. Both Proton R3 drivers will have to battle with one Karamjit Singh this weekend, though.

What about the Intercontinental Rally Championship? Proton R3′s main focus this year is the APRC, which it has commited to for the whole season. In between APRC races, the team will compete in selected IRC events such as the Sardinia Rally (Italy), Ypres Rally (Belgium) and the Czech Rally. The focus on APRC is understandable, as it gives good visibility for the Proton brand in more important export markets, but Chris Mellors, boss of Mellors Elliot Motorsport (MEM) the company who designed the Neo S2000, said that “IRC gives a good yardstick on how we’re performing” referring to the level of competition there. Mellors also said that the Super 2000 platform is the way forward, and hinted at a possible WRC entry in the future.

Since the last time we sat in it, the Satria Neo S2000 has gone through some improvements. The 278 bhp normally aspirated 2.0-litre engine now sports bigger valves, different camshafts and a stronger sump. Also slightly changed are the gear ratios for the Xtrac six-speed sequential gearbox, damper and steering settings and suspension points.

A huge gallery of the media event is after the jump.
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Nissan Navara Calibre 4X2 launched in Malaysia

April 19, 2010 at 2:14 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Nissan

A rear wheel drive variant of the Nissan Navara called the Navara Calibre 4X2 has been launched in Malaysia! You get to save some money in purchase price as well as shed the extra weight of the 4X4 system – a smart bet if you want to buy a truck for its power and lifestyle applications but without the 4X4 offroad capabilities. However you will not be getting the same power as the other variants!

The engine looks the same – a 2.5 litre YD25DDTi common rail injection diesel engine with a variable geometry turbocharger – but the power output is quite different. We are used to the Navara’s massive 174 PS and 403Nm of torque engine output figures, but in this Calibre model the engine only makes 144 PS and 356Nm of torque. I wonder if a simple modification of ECU parameters and/or boost levels will help ‘unleash’ the 174 PS.

The rest of the Navara Calibre 4X2′s equipment sheet is not simply a version of the 4X4 LE Automatic without the 4X4 system. Its headlamps are halogen instead of Xenon and it does not come with the LE and SE’s Dual SRS front airbags. However unlike the baseline 4WD manual, the Calibre 4X2 has ABS and EBD brakes. Speakers are 4 instead of 6 mated to a single CD player instead of a CD changer. The interior trim is fabric. The overhead console box and passenger A-pillar assist grip has been removed. But the Calibre 4X2 does get the interior silver finish trim of the top of the line LE, something which the SE Manual and Standard Manual doesn’t get.

The following is the price for all Nissan Navara models including the 4X2 Calibre in Peninsular Malaysia, OTR for private registration:

  • Nissan Navara 2.5 Automatic LE 4×4 – RM105,800
  • Nissan Navara 2.5 Manual SE 4X4 – RM94,800
  • Nissan Navara 2.5 Manual Standard 4X4 – RM89,800
  • Nissan Navara 2.5 Automatic Calibre 4X2 – RM89,900

Look after the jump for some showroom photos of the Navara Calibre 4X2. It is available in a special Desert Gold colour alongside Supreme Black, Tungsten Silver & Twilight Gray.
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McLaren clinches 1-2 victory in China!

April 18, 2010 at 4:50 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

The British duo of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton were the first ones to cross the finish line after 56 laps at the 2010 Chinese Grand Prix. Both World Champions from McLaren secured the team’s first 1-2 victory and Button’s second win of the season after starting the race from fifth and sixth places respectively. Nico Rosberg managed to get onto the podium yet again for Mercedes GP with his third place.

The German was in fact leading the race at the early stages after starting from fourth place. Fourth place went to Fernando Alonso after making up to five pitstops! Kubica was fifth followed by Vettel who started from pole, Renault’s Vitaly Petrov, Webber, Massa and Schumacher. Yet again Schumacher was out-paced by his teammate. Kovalainen came home in 14th place for Lotus, ahead of the new teams. Jarno Trulli retired after suffering from what believed to be a pressure-related problem.

The race was mostly a wet affair although it started with an almost dry track. Alonso made a ‘good’ start and jumped ahead of both the Red Bulls. Unfortunately for him and Ferrari the start was classified as a jump start and the World Champion was ordered to serve a drive through penalty.

Moments later the SLS AMG Safety Car was deployed following a crash that involved Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi on the first lap. He spun after losing the car under braking, collecting both Sebastien Buemi from Toro Rosso and Kamui Kobayashi from Sauber. Rain started to fall and most drivers made their pit stops for intermediate tires. Rosberg wasn’t part of the list hence he went on to lead the race. Conditions got dryer a while later and it was another round through the pits for dry weather tires. Rosberg maintained his lead.

As the positions settled down it was Rosberg leading ahead of Button followed by Kubica and Vitaly Petrov of Renault, Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari and Lotus’ Heikki Kovalainen in sixth. Michael Schumacher, Adrian Sutil, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber made up the rest of the top ten. A couple of laps later Kovalainen dropped to tenth place which did not come as a surprise. Rosberg was the fastest man on track until Hamilton started to clock quicker times.

Rain started to pour again and Rosberg suffered from a spin which allowed Button to take over the lead. All drivers eventually pitted for intermediates and the rain got worse. The Safety Car came out again after Alguersuari left pieces of his front wing on track. As the race restarted it was Button in the lead in front of Rosberg, Kubica, Petrov, Schumacher, Webber, Hamilton, Vettel, Sutil and Alonso. Towards the end of the race most drivers pitted again as their intermediate tires began to give way.

The race was definitely interesting with a couple of incidents apart from the first lap accident and of course the rain. There were quite a few overtaking and nice defensive moves as well and I find that the Chinese GP is the most interesting race thus far in the season. Hamilton also had a go with Schumacher and managed to pass the 7-times World Champion. Other incidents included Hamilton’s and Vettel’s squabble when both entered and exited the pits.

The stewards later revealed that Hamilton’s move will be investigated after the race and he may be slapped with a grid drop penalty at the Spanish GP. Button also made a controversial move when he slowed down the pack tremendously right before the Safety Car came into the pits for the second and last time during the race.

Reigning World Champion Jenson Button now leads the Driver’s Championship with 60 points while Rosberg is second with 50 points. Both Alonso and Hamilton are in third and fourth with 49 points each. Vettel is in fifth with 45 points ahead of Massa with 41 points. McLaren is also ahead in the Constructor’s Championship with 109 points. Ferrari and Red Bull are in second and third with 90 and 73 points respectively. Formula 1 will now a have a 3-week break before the Spanish GP flags off on May 9th.

Please click here to view the results in full.

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Honda to discontinue the FD2R Civic Type R?

April 18, 2010 at 12:58 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, International News

Japanese press site 47News claims that Honda will be announcing the discontinuation of the Honda Civic Type R FD2R on the 19th of April 2010, which is basically this Monday. The report was published on the 15th, a good two weeks after April Fool’s day so it’s definitely not a joke, but then again we’re not discounting that it could be some pretty wild speculation.

According to the report, the reason for discontinuing the product is a sluggish market for high performance gas-guzzling cars. Honda is taking the whole green thing very seriously and perhaps a little too far – the end of the FD2R will mean the European Civic Type R (which sits on a different platform and is built in the UK) will be the last of the Type Rs.

And that’s just assuming that Honda will be leaving the Euro Type R alone while it pulls the plug on the FD2R. But I think the FN Type R will soldier on – this would explain why there was news in August last year that the FN Type R would be exported to Japan. Anyway if this is true, the sedan will follow the Integra and the NSX’s demise along with their F1 project. And Honda will be left with the 122 horsepower CR-Z as its ‘sportiest’ car.

Source – thanks to Kent Lim for the pointer!

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Red Bull to start 2010 Chinese GP from the front row!

April 17, 2010 at 7:15 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Red Bull is showing its dominance in Formula 1 this season with its front row start for tomorrow’s Chinese GP. Fresh from a 1-2 victory in Malaysia a fortnight ago the team’s 1-2 qualifying finish was led by Sebastian Vettel closely followed by his teammate Mark Webber.

It looked as though Webber sealed pole position but at the dying minutes of the final session his German teammate crossed the finish line about 0.3 seconds quicker. Many expected a McLaren to be on top after Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton dominated the practice sessions on Friday but both British drivers settled for fifth and sixth respectively.

Both the Red Bulls will be joined by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in third place. Mercedes GP’s Nico Rosberg who finished the previous race in the podium will start from fourth. Drivers championship leader Felipe Massa of Ferrari managed seventh after making a mistake at the final corner on his last lap ahead of Renault’s Robert Kubica and Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher who was outpaced by his team mate yet again. The 7-times World Champion says that his Mercedes is struggling with balance. Force India is proving to be consistent with Adrian Sutil’s tenth place.

Further down the grid in 19th place is Timo Glock for Virgin followed by the Lotus Racing duo headed by Jarno Trulli. Lucas di Grassi in the other Virgin will start from 22nd position. Both Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok from Hispania made up the final two grid positions.

The new comers are still at least 5 seconds behind the leaders and it has been so since the season started in Bahrain indicating that Virgin, Lotus and especially Hispania still have a long way to go.

Full results can be found here.

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VIDEO: R8 Spyder promo features Ironman 2 footage

April 17, 2010 at 2:56 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Audi, Cars, Videos

Yes I didn’t get the title wrong – this is not an Ironman 2 trailer featuring the Audi R8 Spyder, it’s more of an Audi R8 Spyder ‘trailer’ featuring Tony Stark. Now this movie is a seriously must watch, even if you’re not interested in Tony Stark’s upgrade from the regular plain jane R8 to the new R8 Spyder which lets him enjoy countryside drives with the wind in his hair. Yes yes, he can easily don his suit and launch into the air but with his helmet on most of the time, this is probably the only ‘topless’ high speed experience he’s going to get most of the time!

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Ford now offering free service and wear and tear item replacement for Focus, Mondeo, Escape

April 16, 2010 at 9:49 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Ford, Local News

Ford and Sime Darby Auto ConneXion has announced that all Focus, Mondeo, and Escape registered from the 1st of April 2010 onwards will enjoy complimentary Extended Service Plan (ESP) Premium Maintenance Coverage for 3 years or 60,000km. This covers all the following at no charge in addition to the 3 year or 100,000 warranty:

  • Engine oil and filter changes
  • Multi-point routine inspections
  • Replacement of brake pads and brake linings when worn
  • Replacement of shock absorbers
  • Replacement of spark plugs
  • Replacement of clutch discs
  • Replacement of engine belts and hoses
  • Replacement of wiper blades

This basically ensures all the wear and tear replacement items on your Fords under the ESP programme are covered free of charge during your first 3 years or 60,000km of Ford ownership.

This should give potential car buyers another reason to consider a Ford as most competitors only offer a warranty and you still have to pay for expensive oil changes at the official service centers, which you will be forced to go to in order to keep your warranty. Some may only offer free oil/filter changes or sometimes only free labour. Ford ESP covers the brake pads, spark plugs, wipers and etc as well.

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Chinese GP Friday practice, business as usual for Lotus

April 16, 2010 at 6:22 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Lotus, Motorsports

After a disappointing “homecoming” race, where Heikki Kovalainen succumbed to mechanical problems and Jarno Trull finished last, Lotus Racing headed to China aiming to bounce back from their first real setback. And in today’s practise session for this Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix, it was business as usual for the Malaysian owned team

In bright Shanghai sunshine, everything went according to plan. The track was very dirty and grip levels were low for the morning session, but improved throughout the day and, despite a small problem for Heikki with a couple of minutes left in the afternoon session, all programs were completed and both T127s were again ahead of the other new teams.

Trulli and Heikki ended the day in 18th and 19th respectively. While they were only rookies to dip below 1:40, Trulli’s best time of 1:39.624 was way behind the “last of the rest” Nico Hulkenberg’s time of 1:37.867. Perhaps this familiar pattern will change once teams bring on updates for the Spanish GP, which is the next race after China.

“It was a satisfying day today and we achieved everything we wanted to on both cars, despite the fact grip levels were very low in the first session and both Jarno and Heikki were struggling slightly with rear grip. Jarno lost a front strake on his first run of the day and we replaced that quickly for his second run. Over lunch we changed the gear ratios on both cars and sent them out for the beginning of the afternoon session on hard tyres. Heikki pulled over after 30 laps as he had a low oil pressure warning and he stopped the car, but it’s not a problem and we’re looking forward to getting out again tomorrow,” Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne said.

Up front, Lewis Hamilton topped the time sheets with a 1:35.217 lap. Mercedes GP Petronas’ Nico Rosberg was second, 0.248 behind the McLaren. Hamilton’s compatriot and teammate Jenson Button was third with 1:35.593. Michael Schumacher showed good pace to finish the day fourth ahead of the Red Bulls of Vettel and Webber. The Ferraris were down in 10th and 11th. Watch qualifying tomorrow to see if there’s a change of places between the “big four”.

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Finalised Renault Fluence Z.E. unveiled, on sale next year

April 16, 2010 at 3:33 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Renault

Renault has unveiled the finalised designs of the Fluence and Kangoo Z.E. vehicles while announcing that those who wish to be among the first to drive them can pre-reserve their unit at www.renault-ze.com. Renault will contact these pioneering customers closer to the date of the vehicle’s release to obtain confirmation.

The Fluence Z.E. will be built in Turkey, on the same production line as the internal combustion engine-powered variants of the C-segment saloon. Production is due to begin in the first half of 2011. It will first go on sale in Denmark and Israel before reaching the rest of Europe from 2011. The Fluence Z.E. is powered by a synchronous electric motor with rotor coil. Peak power is 70kW at 11,000rpm, while maximum torque is 226 Nm.

The 22kW/h lithium-ion battery pack is located behind the rear seats, which explains the Z.E.’s rear heavy appearance (the electric Fluence is 4.75 m long, 13 cm longer than conventionally powered variants). The battery can be charged in between six and eight hours. At fast charge stations using a 32A 400V supply replenishes the battery in 30 minutes – this facility will be available from 2012. Range is 160 km and top speed is 135 km/h.

But what’s good EVs without the supporting infrastructure? As part of its zero emissions strategy, the Renault-Nissan Alliance is working actively with governments, administrative bodies, local authorities, energy providers and other partners. To date, it has signed more than 50 agreements across the world aimed at preparing markets and establishing the necessary infrastructure for the mass marketing of electric vehicles from 2011.

Renault estimates that electric vehicles will account for 10% of the world market by 2020. The Alliance is investing €4 billion in its zero emissions programme and a 2,000-strong team (1,000 at Renault and 1,000 at Nissan) is already working on electric vehicles

More pics after the jump.
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Honda EV-neo electric scooter – perfect delivery machine

April 16, 2010 at 1:54 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Bikes, Honda, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel

Honda has revealed the latest prototype of its EV-neo electric scooter and announced plans to begin lease sales in Japan by the end of this year to businesses that provide delivery services.

The EV-neo was designed with the durability required for commercial use, and when the maker of the Honda Cub says it’s durable, we’ll take their word for it. Powered by a Toshiba lithium-ion battery and a brushless motor, the EV-neo provides zero emissions commuting of “over 30km per charge”. This figure is calculated at 30 km/h on a flat road, so real world range should be less than that. 30 km isn’t much, which explains the delivery service target market. In Japan, these businesses need transport to move about swiftly in crowded inner cities, and don’t cover long distances.

About 80% of the battery capacity will be charged in 20 minutes (200V power source) with a quick charger. Using a normal charger, a full charge takes four hours (100V). Honda says the EV-neo provides performance equivalent to that of a 50cc gasoline engine motorcycle. The electric motor’s immediate response and strong low end torque should make it a nippy little thing to ride.

More images after the jump.
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