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Bertone creates ‘X-Type replacement concept’ for Jaguar

February 22, 2011 at 11:29 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Jaguar

Jaguar lacks a volume seller that fights in the 3-Series/C-Class market and plans to launch one in 2013/2014 to take over from where the discontinued X-Type left off. If it looks anything like what Bertone has in mind, they could have a winner.

This sleek and unmistakably Jaguar concept is the work of Italian design house Bertone. It’s created “in agreement with Jaguar as a view to a possible X-Type replacement,” said Mike Robinson, Bertone’s chief designer. Called the B99, it will be paraded at Geneva.

Looks like a modernised old XJ in photos, but the wide, low roofed B 99 is actually about the same length as a Mercedes C-Class at 4.6 metres long, but this show car is almost 2 metres wide. It also has a clamshell door arrangement, which opens to a pillarless entry. It’s nothing like the current Jags, except for the grille.

“Our B 99 is definitely not a fastback. We think the fastback lifts the body volume too high above the rear wheels. Jags have always had the weight concentrated on the wheels,” Robinson was quoted as saying. He must really dislike the current XJ then!

Gallery after the jump.
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Volvo V60 is the world’s first diesel plug-in hybrid

February 22, 2011 at 10:40 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Volvo

Diesel loving Europe hasn’t embraced the hybrid car in a big way, not when modern oil burners are as frugal without the aid of batteries. So how about a plug-in diesel hybrid? Wouldn’t that be the ultimate in performance (in EV terms) and efficiency? Meet Volvo’s V60 diesel plug-in hybrid, a world’s first that will debut in Geneva.

The fruit of co-operation between Volvo Cars and Swedish energy supplier Vattenfall, this production-ready V60 combines the best qualities of electric and diesel power. It will hit the market in 2012. Headline figures include a fully electric range of up to 50 km, C02 emissions averaging at just 49 g/km (current small car benchmark is around 100 g/km) and a combined output of 215 + 70 horsepower, 440 + 200 Nm of torque and 0-100 km/h in just 6.9 seconds.

The front wheels of the V60 will be driven by a five-cylinder 2.4-litre D5 engine with 215 hp/440 Nm, while the rear axle features ERAD (Electric Rear Axle Drive, an electric motor) with 70 hp/200 Nm. ERAD is powered by a 12 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The car features a six-speed automatic gearbox.

The plug-in hybrid can be charged via a regular household electricity socket at home or elsewhere. A full 10A charge takes 4.5 hours. The time is shortened to 3 hours with 16A, while a charge in a 6A socket takes 7.5 hours.

The driver chooses the preferred driving mode via buttons on the instrument panel: Pure, Hybrid and Power. In Pure the V60 runs only on its electric motor as much as possible. Hybrid is the default mode when the car is started. The engine and electric motor interact to provide the best balance between required performance and low emissions.

In the EU combined cycle, this car is rated at 53.1 km/l and the range is nearly 1,200 km. Volvo says that fuel cost will be one third of a normal V60. In Power mode, both engine and motor go all out for the best acceleration.

Using the car setup menu, the driver can key in the planned route’s distance (short, medium or long). The control system calculates the balance between diesel and electric power to obtain the lowest possible CO2 emissions for the given distance. The driver can also switch off hybrid functions to save battery juice for later use, a full city route for instance.

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Nissan March gets new supercharged three-pot engine

February 22, 2011 at 3:38 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Nissan

A supercharger to boost efficiency and emissions in a small car isn’t a very common solution, but Nissan has chosen this path for its March (Micra in some markets) supermini. The word ‘supercharger’ itself hints at performance, but the headline figure here is emissions of just 95 g/km, among the lowest in the world. Cars producing less tan 100 g/km incur no road tax and are exempt from London’s daily congestion charge.

Known as the DIG-S (Direct Injection Gasoline-Supercharger), this 1,198 cc three-cylinder engine is said to provide power expected from a conventional 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine plus diesel beating economy and exceptionally low cost of ownership. DIG-S uses the Miller cycle and direct petrol injection to raise the compression ratio to 13 to 1 for greater combustion efficiency. Start/Stop and energy regeneration are also recruited.

The results are great for such a small engine: 98 PS and 142 Nm, CO2 emissions of 95 g/km for the manual and 115 g/km for the CVT. Maximum speed is 180 km/h for the stick shift while combined cycle fuel economy is 24.4 km/l. Very impressive!

“Ultra low emissions with no compromise when it comes to drivability means the Micra DIG-S sets new standards for the current generation of city cars. No other petrol-powered compact hatchback can beat its overall efficiency and it is more than a match for an equivalent diesel,” said Pierre Loing, VP of Product Strategy and Planning, Nissan International SA.

“We have been able to achieve this ultra low CO2 figure in a cost effective package and without the complication of particulate filters needed to clean up diesel engine emissions and which are not entirely compatible with a car that spends much of its life in the city,” Loing added.

The March/Micra DIG-S will be shown at the Geneva show with sales starting over the summer. We hear that this cute car will be arriving on our shores from Thailand this year; stay tuned. Gallery after the jump.
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Hyundai introduces Quick Service and 24-Hour Key Drop

February 22, 2011 at 2:43 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, Koreans, Local News

Sime Darby Auto Hyundai recently launched a host of innovative services targeted at its busy urban customers. Among them are Quick Service (QS) and 24-Hour Key Drop.

QS is self explanatory. It’s currently at Hyundai’s Glenmarie, Old Klang Road and Plentong JB outlets. Services offered include wiper blade change, battery check/change, spark plug change, drive belt change, coolant hoses change, air con belt change, lubrication, oil/filter change, transmission/steering/radiator fluid change, air filter change, tyre pressure check, tyre change/rotation, wheel alignment/balancing, and brake pad change.

Customers who opt for QS have to make an appointment prior to sending their cars. They also need to provide sufficient information and instruction on the services required. The numbers are 017-6991147 (Glenmarie), 017-6990807 (OKR) and 07-3576868 (Plentong). Two service bays at each outlet are allocated for QS and there will be two technicians working on each car.

24-Hour Key Drop is only available at Glenmarie for now. With this facility, customers can now drop off their cars at any time of the day without having to make an appointment. All he/she needs to do is to fill a form, place their keys in an envelope and drop it into a secured box. This service comes with a free car wash and there are no extra charges.

“The 24-Hour Key Drop facility is secure, so customers need not worry about the safety of their cars as we have security personnel on duty 24 hours a day. Once the envelope is picked up by the Service Assistant, a call will be made to the customer to confirm the type of service or repair required. The SA will then inform the vehicle owner once the car is ready for collection and explain the content and charges for each work done,” explained Dennis Ho, Director of Sime Darby Auto Hyundai.

Another value-added service is the Fleet Customers Outreach Service, applicable to companies who purchase a fleet of Hyundais. Under this programme, technicians will be sent to the companies upon request to service and repair the vehicles.

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It’s official: 2011 Bahrain GP opener has been cancelled!

February 22, 2011 at 1:42 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

The 2011 season’s opening race scheduled to happen on March 13th 2011 at Bahrain has been called off thanks to anti-government protests in the kingdom, ending a week of question marks on whether the race would proceed or not.

Bahrain has been on the F1 calendar since 2004. No new race date has been set, and the next GP is supposed to be on the 27th of March in Melbourne.

“We felt it was important for the country to focus on immediate issues of national interest. At the present time the country’s entire attention is focused on building a new national dialogue for Bahrain. I would like to extend my personal gratitude to Bernie Ecclestone for his support and understanding,” said Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al Khalifa.

There is no word on what will happen after this but we could see the Bahrain GP rescheduled and moved further down the F1 calendar.

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Wearnes is official McLaren dealer for Singapore!

February 22, 2011 at 12:57 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, McLaren

Wearnes Automotive have been officially confirmed as the dealer for McLaren’s new road car division in Singapore. Soon we’ll all be able to hear the shriek of McLaren’ MP4-12C’s 3.8 litre twin-turbocharged flat-plane V8 as it charges away from traffic light to traffic light. Wearnes has confirmed that it will be launching the 2-seater MP4-12C sometime this year.

No confirmed pricing yet as that is still being worked out. They’re not even taking orders yet, but if anyone happens to be interested you can call Wearnes at +65 9795 7880 to register your interest. There’ll definitely be no short of people who can afford the car in Singapore – the country has after all one of the highest concentration of millionaire households in the world – a staggering 11.4%!

Wearnes sells Bentley, Bugatti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mazda, Renault, Volkswagen and Volvo in Singapore. They also have businesses in Malaysia selling Volvos and Volkswagens. Apparently they’re also the official Bugatti partner for the whole of Southeast Asia, and anyone who wants to bring in a Bugatti Veyron 16.4 (left hand drive only) through official channels will have to speak to them. Grey imports are another matter of course.
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Renault Captur to go into production as a crossover Clio

February 22, 2011 at 12:22 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Renault

Renault will be putting the Renault Captur concept into production – it will join the Renault family as part of the next generation Clio range, making it somewhat like a “CrossClio”. The next generation Clio will debut in 2012, and other than the Captur-derived crossover body, it will also come in wagon, 3-door and 5-door variants.
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Ford Fiesta Sport+ 1.6 Ti-VCT upgraded to 134 PS

February 21, 2011 at 11:34 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Ford, International News

Ford has launched a new limited edition Ford Fiesta Sport+ in Europe, which has its 1.6 litre Ti-VCT engine pumped up to 134 PS and 160Nm, up from the stock numbers of 120 PS and 152Nm. The extra power boosts 0 to 100km/h acceleration performance to 8.7 seconds down from 9.9 seconds.

Of course if this isn’t enough for you there’s always the Mountune kit for the Fiesta, which manages to squeeze out a few more horses and Newton meters, resulting in a peak of 140 PS and 170Nm, going up to 0 to 100km/h in just 7.9 seconds. The 140 PS kit maintains your Fiesta’s warranty in the UK, but if you don’t mind your powertrain warranty being voided there’s also a more aggressive new 155 PS and 180Nm kit which shaves the century sprint time down to 7.5 seconds.

The Fiesta Sport+ is the general European name – it will be called the Fiesta S1600 in the UK and the Fiesta Sport S in Germany. There already exists a Fiesta S1600 in the UK, but it only had a bodykit and a unique paintjob. I guess this update adds extra power into the mix as well.

8.7 seconds or even 7.9 seconds can be fun but is hardly thrilling – where’s the Fiesta ST? The chassis can definitely handle some turbocharged power, and throw in a manual transmission as well!
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Nasim to up exports of 207 to Thailand, Indonesia is next

February 21, 2011 at 7:36 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Naza, Peugeot

Nasim Sdn Bhd, the official Peugeot distributor in Malaysia, will be increasing exports of its 207 to Thailand. Nasim began exporting the 207 to Thailand in November last year with an initial batch of 44 units, and this latest order is understood to be much bigger than the previous shipment. The next destination for the B-segment sedan is Indonesia in March.

SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin, CEO of Nasim announced this during the visit of Marc Barety, France’s Ambassador to Malaysia, to the Naza Automotive Manufacturing plant in Gurun, Kedah. Barety was accompanied by members of the French Embassy and the Malaysian French Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

“Besides Thailand and Indonesia, we will soon begin exporting the 207 to other markets in the region such as Brunei and Sri Lanka as well as right-hand drive markets in Africa. This in turn will further establish Malaysia as Peugeot’s hub for the region,” said SM Nasarudin. He also revealed that Nasim sold a total of 306 units of the 207 sedan locally in January.

Naza’s Gurun plant is preparing to roll out a C-segment sedan codenamed T73. The plan is to make 60,000 units of the T73 over a five-year period from 2012 to 2016, with some 60% set aside for export to right hand drive markets.

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Geneva bound Audi A3 ‘notchback sedan’ previewed

February 21, 2011 at 3:04 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Audi, Cars, International News


Click to enlarge

Audi has toyed with the idea of offering a sedan bodystyle for its A3 before, and now it looks like they’re pushing ahead with the plans. The sketches you see here are of a concept car that’s bound for the upcoming Geneva show. It’s a four-seater notchback sedan “based on the coming generation of the Audi A3″ and “offers a glimpse of the future expansion of the A3 family”.

In other words, the new A3 family will include a sedan in addition to the current 3dr/5dr hatchback and cabriolet. The current generation A3 made its debut back in 2003 and is due to be replaced next year. The A3 sells very well in Europe, but less so in America and China, where saloons are favoured.


Click to enlarge

Audi says that this booted A3 concept is is 4.44 metres long, 1.84 metres wide and 1.39 metres high, which makes it about 150 mm longer than the A3 Sportback. It’s also wider and lower than the current 5dr. Audi’s current smallest sedan, the A4, is 4.7 metres long, so this “A3 Sedan” slots in comfortably below.

These sketches show nothing to shout about – what we see here is a neat, taut shape with cues from recent Audis. The trademark single-frame grille with tapered upper corners, fancy headlights with LEDs, dome roof and “coupe-like low C pillar” are among the elements.


Click to enlarge

The concept’s engine bay will house a 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbocharged engine with 408 hp, as found in the Audi Quattro concept from Paris 2010. Drive goes to all wheels via a seven-speed S-tronic twin clutch transmission.

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