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VIDEO: Red Bull’s Adrian Newey involved in Ginetta crash

August 11, 2010 at 4:33 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports, Videos

Red Bull Racing technical chief Adrian Newey was taken to hospital after suffering a crash while racing in England over the weekend. Newey was involved in a Ginetta G50 support-race to the British Touring Car Championship at Snetterton.

Driving a guest car, he was pushed into a spin, eventually stopping, only to be struck side on by another driver. Newey was removed from the Ginetta on a stretcher and taken to hospital as a precautionary measure. It was said that the RB6′s creator was talking on the way to the hospital, but was still in some pain. Overall, Newey is fine and this was confirmed by Ginetta series boss Lawrence Tomlinson. Red Bull fans can breathe a sigh of relief as he should be up and ready for the next race.

Red Bull is currently top of the Formula 1 Constructors Championship with 312 points, closely followed by McLaren with 304 points. Red Bull drivers Mark Webber and Sebastien Vettel are currently first and third place respectively in the Drivers Championship. 10 points separate the two.

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2011 Ford Harley-Davidson F-150 is mightier than ever

August 11, 2010 at 3:57 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Ford, Harley-Davidson, International News


The Ford Harley Davidson F-150 is a dream truck for many, combining the capability of America’s most popular truck with the branding of Harley-Davidson. In this 2011 edition, a new 6.2-litre V8 from the F-150 SVT Raptor makes it the most powerful Ford Harley-Davidson F-150 ever offered. The big V8 delivers 411 hp, 588 Nm of torque and maximum trailer tow capacity of 9,300 pounds.

The 2011 Ford-HD truck has a new front fascia and chrome grille, Harley-Davidson satin chrome badges, 22-inch Euroflange forged wheels enveloped in low profile performance tyres and the choice of Tuxedo Black or Ingot Silver paint. New graphics are also added to the hood and body side which feature dimensional satin chrome Harley-Davidson lettering. The graphics are reminiscent of the “speed scallops” used on hot rods.

The cabin is in Tuxedo Black with engine turned finishing on door scuff plates and console lid. Leather seats come with accent color inserts and a unique badge. New standard content for 2011 includes the touch screen voice-activated navigation, a 4.2-inch “productivity screen” (multi info trip computer), power moonroof and remote start system.

Hi res gallery after the jump.
[Read more...]

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Tata reaps rewards from profitable Jaguar-Land Rover, Indian Land Rover assembly starts next year

August 11, 2010 at 1:20 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Jaguar, Land Rover, Tata


Shares of Jaguar-Land Rover’s parent company, Tata Motors, rose to their highest level in almost 19 years after the company posted first quarter profits on strong demand for luxury SUVs and sedans. Tata made 19.9 billion rupees ($430 million) in the three months ending June, compared to a 3.3 billion ($71.26 million) lost last year. Tata Motors attributed the good news to the rebound in luxury vehicle sales.

Preparing for rising sales, chairman Ratan Tata, who is set to retire in 2012, wants to open Land Rover factories in India and China to pacify demand. This was confirmed by JLR CEO Carl-Peter Forster who said that Land Rovers will be assembled in India starting next year. Talks on producing Land Rover and Jaguar models on a JV basis with a partner in China is ongoing.

Jaguar-Land Rover is back into the black with a net income of 221 million GBP ($348 million) in the most recent quarter, a stark contrast to the same time last year, when it lost 64 million GBP ($101.6 million). In the period, JLR sold 57,153 vehicles, more than the 35,947 in 2009. Future plans for the leaping cat include the introduction of an XF estate (see Theophilus Chin’s version here) and a new entry level roadster.

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Bentley Continental Flying Spur Arabia special edition

August 11, 2010 at 12:33 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Bentley, Cars, International News

Bentley says that the Middle East accounts for 10% of its global sales. So apart from opening up nine new dealerships in Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jeddah, Riyadh and Al Khobar, the Flying B has released two special edition Continental Flying Spurs for the region.

They are the Flying Spur Arabia and the Flying Spur Speed Arabia. The standard Arabia is powered by a W12 6.0-litre engine with 546 hp and 637 Nm. It goes from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.9 seconds creaming off at a top speed of 312 km/h. Not enough? The Speed Arabia gets 600 hp/750 Nm for 0-100 km/h in 4.8 seconds and a 322 km/h vmax.

Enhancements include 14-spoke diamond alloys that increase airflow to the brakes for the Arabia and 10 spoke, 20-inch wheels with optional carbon ceramic brakes for the Arabia Speed. Other discerning features that set the Arabia cars apart include a front fender badge, tread plate and ashtray lid badge – all bearing the Arabia signature. Inside, owners will be treated to ventilated seats, veneered picnic tables with vanity mirror and deep pile carpets with hide trimming. Quite thoughtful on Bentley’s part is a valet key, which allows the car to be driven by jockeys without giving access to the boot or glove box.

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Mazda design: Nagare no more, yesterday once more?

August 11, 2010 at 11:50 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, International News, Mazda

Are you a fan of the current Mazda look, with its curvy shapes, smiling mouth and eye-catching jewelry? It all started with the Nagare concept shown at the 2007 LA Motor Show, where the carmaker showed off a car that “flowed”. A couple of concepts later – Ryuga, Hakaze, Taiki and Furai – the Nagare design language was in full flow (pardon the pun), as Mazda tried to implement it onto its road car range.

They’ve finally managed to apply the Nagare design in full with the new Mazda5 (as shown in Geneva), before killing it. Yes, the Nagare design language is dead.

Creator of Nagare, Laurens van den Acker, left the company for Renault last year, and the brand’s European design boss Peter Birtwhistle was recently quoted as saying: “Nagare is done. After the 5, it’s highly unlikely that there will be another Nagare car. Mazda has moved on.” He adds that Mazda top guns in Japan aren’t fully convinced with the Nagare look, which the Brit describes as “particularly difficult to apply to a boxy people carrier shape.”

So what can we expect from them next? Birtwhistle told Auto Express that Mazda is aiming to become “more like a Japanese Alfa Romeo, producing cars which are great to drive, but crucially that also have the right premium feel, particularly inside.” Mazda’s global design chief Ikuo Maeda, who led the RX-8 and Mazda2 design teams, is the man in charge.

A number of concepts are being designed under the “thrusting motion” theme and Maeda will select a winner in September. The chosen design will debut at the Paris Motor Show along with the name of Mazda’s new design philosophy. Interestingly, Nagare creator van den Acker is set to show off his best for Renault in Paris, so the stage is set!

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Virgin Racing on track to overhaul Lotus for 10th place?

August 11, 2010 at 10:57 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Malaysia owned Lotus Racing is commonly described as the “best of the new teams” but fellow rookie team Virgin Racing hasn’t given up on snatching that title away. VR technical director Nick Wirth believes that the team must still target finishing 10th in the Constructors’ Championship this year. Virgin is currently 12th behind Lotus and HRT.

FIA ranks non-point scoring teams based on their best finish, so Lotus’ position is courtesy of Heikki Kovalainen’s 13th place in Australia. Virgin’s best finish of 14th was achieved by Lucas di Grassi in Sepang. HRT is also ahead of Virgin because Karun Chandhok has chalked up two 14th places.

“We must keep putting performance on the car. We’ll keep pushing to the end and see what happens,” Wirth told Autosport. “We switched our focus to development (previously just reliability troubleshooting) in the second half of this year and we’ve got to keep the learning curve going.”

He added that VR’s Hungarian GP showing, where Timo Glock qualified as the best of the new teams, is proof that Virgin now has the pace to challenge Lotus. “The Hungaroring type of track, with low speed corners, hasn’t traditionally favoured us compared to Lotus, so our performance there shows the underlying progress that we’ve made,” he said.

Virgin might stand a chance, especially when Lotus is now putting its resources on designing the 2011 car. Mike Gascoyne said so in our previous post. So who will wear the skirt at the end of the season?

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Civic Type R hatchback to be discontinued in Europe!

August 11, 2010 at 9:49 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Honda, International News

It looks like the Civic Type R Euro hatchback will follow the path of its larger sibling the FD2 Type R Sedan – Honda has decided to discontinue it in Europe. It will not be phased out altogether though, as Honda will continue to sell it in certain European markets as well as some markets outside Europe such as Japan.

It will disappear from most of its core European markets thanks to the car’s high-revving 2.0 litre engine not being able to keep up with rising emissions regulations, with the most recent being Euro 5. Honda should just switch to a smaller turbocharged engine to keep up with the times. Perhaps it will finally do so with the next generation of Civic Type R, which should be hitting the news in perhaps 2 years.

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Peugeot distributor Nasim and Kuwait Finance House collaborate to provide Islamic auto financing

August 10, 2010 at 5:51 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Local News, Peugeot

Kuwait Finance House (KFH), Malaysia’s first foreign Islamic bank, has entered into an Automobile End-Financing Agreement with Peugeot distributor Nasim Sdn Bhd to provide auto financing based on the Shariah concept of Al-Ijarah Thumma Al Bai (AITAB) to Nasim’s customers.

The finance package will be made available to current and future Peugeot models. You can find detailed information about the finance packages at Nasim showrooms nationwide, where KFH representatives will be present to deal with queries. Adding to that, KFH will also engage Nasim dealers to provide attractive rates for banking facilities to customers.

“We are pleased to be entering this partnership with KFH. With this partnership, we will be able to extend the range of financing options offered to Peugeot customers to include these Islamic financing packages from KFH which offer attractive rates,” said SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin, Nasim CEO and joint group executive chairman of the Naza Group.

Do share your findings here if you’re checking out this Nasim-KFH scheme!

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Saab joining the World Rally Championship in 2012?

August 10, 2010 at 5:05 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Motorsports, Saab

It has long been a two horse race between Ford and Citroen, but the World Rally Championship could be looking at a revival. With MINI/Prodrive joining the fray next year, Saab could be joining the WRC by 2012, according to reports.

Autosport magazine says that Saab-Spyker CEO Victor Muller has met top officials from the WRC, quoting sources at the WRC claiming that the saved from death Swedish brand will make a partial entry into the 2012 season and full entry in 2013. “We could have four, possibly five manufacturers competing in the WRC in 2012. People are realising that they need to advertise their way out of the tough times we’ve been through,” WRC promoter Simon Long told Autosport. The mag’s insider added that “Saab is looking at the World Rally Championship as the perfect platform to launch a new product and to rebuild the brand.”

This could be the new small Saab that the company is finding a partner for, and BMW’s MINI platform and drivetrains are being eyed, according to the rumourmill.

Saab was active in rallying in the post-war era, with the 92 and 93 models regularly taking chequered flags. The company quit the sport in 1980.

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VW-owned Italdesign Giugiaro reveals top management

August 10, 2010 at 3:29 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Volkswagen

As previously reported, Volkswagen now owns a 90.1% stake in Italian design house Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A through its Lamborghini brand. This purchase includes Giugiaro’s brand name, rights and patents. Now VW has named the senior management for IDG.

Living legend Giorgetto Giugiaro will be the Chairman of the Executive Committee, while his son Fabrizio is Vice President. Ralf-Gerhard Willner has been appointed as an Executive Committee of the Board of Directors while Salvatore Cieri will join as a member of the Executive Committee and Managing Director of IDG. Willner is currently head of concept development at Volkswagen Passenger Cars, after previously holding the same position in Audi, while Cieri is a Lamborghini board member in charge of finance and admin.

IDG was founded in Turin by Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani in 1968. VW and IDG have cooperated on a number of projects including the first Golf, Passat and Scirocco. Giugiaro also penned memorable cars such as the Alfa Romeo Alfasud, BMW M1, Lotus Esprit, Maserati 3200GT and the original Quattroporte. The DeLorean DMC-12 made famous by the movie Back to the Future was also his work.

Most recently, IDG has been involved in projects like the Proton EMAS concept shown at the Geneva show. It is also helping out Proton with the Persona replacement model.

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