Gong Xi Fa Cai

Advertisement

Watch tonight’s Singapore F1 night race at the Shell Helix Ferrari Adventure Street Carnival!

September 26, 2010 at 11:22 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars

Wanna watch the Singapore F1 race with a crowd of Ferrari supporters tonight? Then drop by the Shell Helix Ferrari Adventure Street Carnival today at Jalan Telawi 3 Bangsar Baru, opposite Bangsar Village 2! The festivities will go on today all the way until 10pm, with the night race viewing starting from 8pm onwards.

There will be loads of family activities including:

  • Sludge Buster and Engine Cleansing inflatable games
  • Shell Helix Family Fun Booths
  • Special appearance by Hitz Radio DJs JJ & Ean from 4pm to 6pm
  • Shell Helix Hyper Dance performance
  • F1 Ferrari Pit Stop Experience

BTW, the first 300 people to print and bring along this PDF download link will get a chance to win a pack of Shell Helix Ultra 4L worth RM209.

You will be given a box of keys. Select one (1) key only and attempt to unlock the box that contains a pack of 4L Shell Helix Ultra. If the key chosen by you opens the box, you will win a pack of Shell Helix Ultra 4L. Each eligible participant will be given one chance to unlock the box that contains a pack of Shell Helix Ultra 4L.

You can check out some live pictures of the event after the jump.
[Read more...]

1 Comment      

Kia POP EV – more pictures revealed ahead of Paris debut

September 26, 2010 at 11:20 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Kia

Kia has released more pictures of the Kia POP electric vehicle that will be officially revealed at the Paris Motor Show which is just around the corner. As mentioned in a previous report, the city car concept features a 2+1-seating layout. The car measures three metres long, which is similar to Gordon Murray’s T.25 design. Design of the car was accomplished by letting the designers do what they do best.

“A concept car like the POP could only have come from us, designers very rarely have the opportunity to start from a clean sheet of paper and it’s great to be in a position to operate with such freedom,” said Gregory Guillaume, Kia‘s Chief Designer in Europe.

You can check out all the images in high-res glory after the jump.
[Read more...]

3 Comments      


Infiniti releases teaser picture of new EV – due in 2013

September 26, 2010 at 11:15 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Infiniti, International News

Nissan’s luxury brand Infiniti has just released an official teaser sketch of its very own electric vehicle. According to Infiniti Senior VP, Andy Palmer, the EV is expected to have its market launch sometime in 2013. This was revealed at a special ceremony during the opening of the Infiniti Centre in London. At the moment not much is known about the EV, apart from the obvious power source and the fact that it will be able to seat five passengers.

As you can expect, the picture doesn’t even reveal if it is a sedan, hatchback or even a coupe. All they have said was that “the Infiniti EV will be a stylish, compact, high performance, five-seat luxury car with zero emissions technology”. No word on when we will get more info on this new EV, but sources speculate Paris as a good location for more beans to be spilled.

A high-res picture is available after the jump.
[Read more...]

1 Comment      

Fernando Alonso takes crucial pole in Singapore!

September 25, 2010 at 11:27 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso has clinched pole position for tomorrow’s Singapore GP at the Marina Bay street circuit. The double World Champion will start from the top position ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton’s teammate Jenson Button secured fourth place in front of Driver’s Championship leader Mark Webber from Red Bull.

Rubens Barrichello will start from sixth place, followed by Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg and Renault’s Robert Kubica. Michael Schumacher who comes to the night grand prix as a rookie managed ninth while the tenth spot went to Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi. The new comers are led by Timo Glock in 18th place with his Virgin race car who was about 0.2 seconds quicker than Lotus Racing’s Heikki Kovalainen. Virgin’s other driver Luca di Grassi managed 20th ahead of Jarno Trulli. Christian Klien who momentary replaces the sick Sakon Yamamoto qualified in 22nd.

He was slightly more than a second quicker than teammate Bruno Senna. The final 24th position went to Ferrari’s Felipe Massa. The Brazilian’s qualifying session ended prematurely just after two laps. His Ferrari suffered from a mechanical problem and Massa was forced to retire right away. This means that Alonso, who is still contending for the championship will probably not receive support from Massa during the race. The session was temporarily red-flagged following Massa’s unexpected stop.

The red flag wasn’t the only incident. Yellow flags were drawn when both Bruno Senna and Vitaly Petrov from Renault spun their cars at separate incidents. Tomorrow should be a very interesting race as the top championship contenders will go head to head under the beautiful night sky.

You can check out the full results here.

2 Comments      

Info on 2011 Subaru Forester released – gains new 2.5 boxer

September 25, 2010 at 11:23 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Subaru

Following the announcement of Subaru’s third generation boxer engine, the company has shed initial details of the 2011 Forester, which will debut with the new engine. The engine is in a form of a 2.5 litre, with different bore and stroke configurations that give a larger displacement, 2,498 cc to be precise. The engine it replaces has a 2,457 cc displacement. The new engine also benefits from a chain-driven cam, instead of belt.

Power remains the same at 170hp while torque increases to 236Nm from 230Nm. This peak torque is achieved at 4,100 RPM, lower by 300 RPM. Fuel efficiency has been slightly improved. Both manual and automatic models offer 21 MPG for city and 27 MPG for highway respectively. This compares to 20/27 MPG for the manual and 20/26 MPG for the automatic in the 2009 model.

Pricing in the US starts from $20,495 for the base 2.5X with a manual transmission and tops out with the 2.5XT Touring with a $29,995 price tag. The 2.5XT models retain the 224hp turbocharged engine. Features that will be offered include Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC), remote keyless entry, HD radio with 4.3-inch LCD screen and 6 speakers (standard for 2.5X Limited), rear-view camera (optional) and the list goes on.

Pictured above is the 2009 Subaru Forester.

27 Comments      

Topless 599 – 661hp Ferrari SA APERTA 599 roadster

September 25, 2010 at 10:55 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Ferrari

Ferrari is not about to miss out on the action in Paris. The company has released initial images that depict the SA APERTA 599 roadster, which is pretty much a drop-top version of the 599. The limited edition roadster is motivated by the familiar 6.0 litre mouth-watering V12 engine that pumps out 661hp and 620Nm of torque. This is the same engine used in the 599 GTO.

Only 80 units of the roadster will be put into production and rumor has it that all 80 have been pre-sold. Why 80 units you might ask? Well thats because this car pays tribute to Ferrari’s favorite designer Pininfarina. It is Pininfarina’s 80th anniversary and the “SA” designation pays homage to both Sergio Pininfarina and son Andrea who passed away in 2008 following an accident while riding a Vespa.

The SA APERTA uses a removable light soft top “designed to be resorted to only if the weather gets particularly bad”. Other features include a low-slung windscreen, two roll bars that mimic the outline of the seats as well as a stiffened chassis. Ferrari also said that the SA APERTA has a “negligible weight difference” compared to the hard top 599. More details and images will be released once the roadster hits the stands at the Paris Motor Show.

You can view high-res initial images after the jump.
[Read more...]

13 Comments      

It’s official – Lotus Racing will be called Team Lotus in 2011!

September 24, 2010 at 4:22 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Formula 1, Lotus, Motorsports

As previously reported Lotus Racing has officially announced that they will be known as Team Lotus as of 2011. This is due to the fact that team principal Tony Fernandes and Kamarudin Meranun’s Tune Group, has bought over Lotus Ventures Ltd. This is the company under David Hunt which owns the rights to the original Lotus brand that competed in Formula One.

In effect, the Malaysian-run team can now officially say that they are the one and only official Lotus Formula One team in the world. “Kamarudin, Nasa and I are absolutely delighted to have completed this transaction – It’s difficult to express just what it means to us to now be able to say we are Team Lotus, one of the most iconic names in any form of sport worldwide, but we have been working very hard to make this dream come true, and today it has,” said Tony. Previous owner and MD of Team Lotus, David Hunt, said that his previous plans of bringing Colin Chapman’s brand back to Formula One failed due to financial constraints.

“In relinquishing this responsibility I am confident I am handing over to a team who have the financial resources, passion, energy, vision and long-term commitment to give Team Lotus the best possible chance of returning to the sharp end of the grid. I look forward to assisting the team towards scoring Team Lotus’ 80th Grand Prix win – that will be the day when all the effort of the past 15 years will finally seem worthwhile,” said Hunt.

43 Comments      

Porsche’s US$1 million dollar Christmas calender – includes a yacht!

September 24, 2010 at 4:05 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under International News, Porsche

In the lead up to Christmas, Porsche has released an advent calendar to celebrate the festivities. Traditionally an advent calendar begins from the first day of December, which counts down till the 25th of the month. Some may house compartments that reveal little gifts and toys.

Porsche as always, has gone a step further, this time with a million dollar advent calendar. A design showpiece in itself, the advent calendar stands 1.75 metres high and is made up of brushed aluminum with double coat finish surfaces.

Inside each compartment you’ll find gifts you wouldn’t even expect from your mother such as a Porsche Design P´6910 Indicator in rosé gold, an individually customizable Porsche Design kitchen P´7340 and a motor yacht!

Most fascinating is the yacht, which is 8.5 metres in length and more than 2.5 metres wide. It houses a 525hp Mercury engine and is capable of reaching speeds of up to 148km/h. The interior will no doubt be decked out in luxuries such as custom-made teak sole and ergonomic sport bucket seats.

Other goodies behind the 24-window calendar will include sunglasses made of 18 carrat gold, fine writing tools, cufflinks, cowhide luggage series and award winning Bounce:S² running shoes. As expected, with a price tag of US$1 million dollars, only five units will be made and most interesting is the fact that one unit is limited per continent. A set of pictures after the jump.

[Read more...]

15 Comments      

VW to open engine plant in Mexico with 330,000 capacity

September 24, 2010 at 1:48 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Volkswagen

Volkswagen has announced that it will build a new engine plant in Silao, Mexico as part of its long-term expansion strategy in North America. The Silao plant will supply the latest generation of engines to VW’s vehicle plants in Chattanooga, USA and Puebla, Mexico beginning in 2013. The new plant has an annual capacity of 330,000 engines. Investment volume for the development of the new engine as well as for building the site totals US$550 million.

“This investment is yet another signal of the importance of North America to the Volkswagen Group,” said Jonathan Browning, President and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America. “The current expansion of capacity of the plant in Puebla, the upcoming start of production in Chattanooga, as well as the opening of the new engine plant in Silao, clearly shows Volkswagen’s commitment to winning in this market.”

Currently, the Volkswagen Jetta, Golf Estate and the New Beetle are produced in Puebla, Mexico. Production of the New Midsize Sedan (NMS) will begin in Chattanooga in 2011.

The VW Group is planning sales of one million vehicles in the US annually by 2018. The core element of this strategy is vehicles tailored to the demands of Americans, such as the Camry/Accord battling all-new Jetta and the D-segment NMS.

1 Comment      

Ford to prove its Ecoboost V6 engine in Baja 1000 race

September 24, 2010 at 11:33 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Ford, International News

To prove that its 3.5-litre Ecoboost is more than enough engine in the F-150 truck and that it’s durable, Ford will give the Ecoboost its racing debut at the famous Baja 1000 desert race this November. The twin turbo, direct injection engine will be in stock condition (said to have been selected randomly off the line from Cleveland Engine Plant), and the machine is this cool F-150 you see here.

“The engine going into our race truck for the Baja 1000 is the same engine going into the 2011 Ford F-150 that customers can purchase starting next year,” said chief engineer Eric Kuehn. “No special blocks or structural upgrades. We are fully confident that because of the strict testing the 3.5-litre EcoBoost truck engines underwent before we started manufacturing, it will take anything the desert can dish out.”

Ford will compete in full-size stock class, which includes competitors with unlimited V8 engines. For safety, a full roll cage is added to each truck. Also allowed for competition are modifications to the suspension, tyres and wheels.

Baja is part of a “torture test program” by Ford to convince customers that its 365 hp/570 Nm Ecoboost V6 is a class leading engine. Visitors to Ford’s US website can see a poor engine enduring thousands of miles on the dynamometer and in the lab to ensure 150,000-mile durability (240,000 km) for the most demanding F-150 customer.

The site will also show a series of web-based documentaries hosted and narrated by Mike Rowe of the Discovery Channel series Dirty Jobs. The “jobs” include towing a pair of Sprint Cup Ford Fusions for 24 hours around a 1.5-mile oval track and hauling timber in Oregon.

More pics after the jump.
[Read more...]

21 Comments