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Bentley Supersports creates world speed record on ice

February 16, 2011 at 9:54 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Bentley, Cars, International News

The combination of a crazy Bentley and a nerveless Finn has created the new world speed record on ice. Finland’s four-time world rally champion Juha Kankkunen drove a Bentley Continental Supersports convertible on frozen waters of the Baltic Sea, reaching 330.695 km/h (205.48 mph) to set the benchmark. The previous record was also set by Juha in 2007 when he did 321.6 km/h in a Continental GT at the same venue.

The Anglo-Finnish team used a car with minimum mods. A fully-welded, heavy-duty safety roll-cage, along with Pirelli SottoZero II 275/40R20 winter tyres and a rear bumper-mounted parachute provided reassurance. Front and rear spoilers provided optimum high speed stability. The AWD 6.0-litre, 12-cylinder Continental Supersports convertible was fuelled with E85 bioethanol.

Man and machine overcame temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees, sudden snow blizzards and potentially dangerous crosswinds on the 16.5 km track on a 70cm-thick layer of sea ice. The record attempt was driven on a 1000 metre long measured distance with the speed certified by officials from the Finland Traffic Police. His new world record was based on the average of two runs in opposite directions with measured speeds ratified by a representative of Guinness Book of Records.

A delighted Wolfgang Dürheimer, Bentley’s new Chairman and CEO said: “The ice speed record is an amazing feat by Juha Kankkunen, whose skill and courage in extreme conditions truly make him one of the modern-day Bentley Boys. We will be celebrating this achievement with a very special ‘extreme’ Bentley, which will be the most powerful model ever to bear the famed Winged B emblem.”

This limited edition of just 100 examples will make its global debut at the Geneva show in March. Gallery after the jump.
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VIDEO: Lexus LFA does donuts around a supermodel

February 16, 2011 at 9:44 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Lexus, Videos

Something interesting for those who are finally back to work today after a long extended Chinese New Year break – TWO “supermodels” in one video. The corn-like shade is not the best colour for a Lexus LFA though, I must say, but luckily the V10′s growl makes up for it!

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Perodua’s Myvi replacement might have a higher price

February 15, 2011 at 6:52 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under 2011 Perodua Myvi, Cars, Local News, Perodua

Perodua unveiled at a Chinese New Year media luncheon this week that its next car – likely to be the Myvi replacement that we’ve been sighting lately – could very well carry a higher price tag thanks to higher import costs, but will also have new features. One such new feature is speculated to be a larger engine like the one in the 1.5 litre Perodua Alza.

According to Perodua managing director Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh, a stronger Yen to Ringgit exchange rate has affected the price of components from Japan. Perodua however knows that it is in a segment that is price-sensitive and will try to keep its cars affordable for the common people.

While a lot of Perodua parts have been localized, there are still some components that are imported from Japan. The Perodua Myvi currently has a local content of 80%, and the latest Perodua Alza has the highest localization rate so far of nearly 90% local content.

I am guessing the price point of the various top of the line Myvis especially the ones with the larger 1.5 litre engines will definitely move upwards, but the baseline and medium line models should remain largely about the same price as the current Myvi perhaps with a RM1,000 to RM1,500 price difference. The new car should be launched this year.

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Novitec Rosso Race 606 – the California gets more CFRP

February 15, 2011 at 4:57 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Ferrari, International News

In essence, it’s pretty much the same vehicle as offered about a year ago, but German tuning specialist Novitec has gotten more zip out of its reinterpretation of the Ferrari California. It’s called the Rosso Race 606, and it makes its debut in Geneva next month.

Mechanically, there’s no change to the supercharged Euro IV-compliant 4.3 litre V8 block, with the Novitec Rosso engine conversion continuing to offer 606 hp at 7,900 rpm and 603 Nm of torque at 5,500 rpm. Same figures too performance-wise, with a 0-100 kph time of 3.8 secs and a 325 kph top speed.

In fact, pretty much about everything here is a dead ringer for the 2010 outing, from 35 mm reduced ride height and the button-activated hydraulic front lift system that ups the front by 40 mm to most of the aerodyanamic-enhancement package.

What’s new is that there’s a whole lot more carbon-fibre to be seen on this one – the front and rear spoilers and the rear diffuser are finished in matte clear-coated carbon-fibre, so that’s not so evident, but the elements that are include a hood centerpiece, the radiator grille, the outer skin of the folding hardtop and the taillight surrounds.

The revamped look is rounded out with the same three-piece Novitec Rosso NF3 wheels as before (as well as the tyres), now finished in a matte carbon-fibre coating. So, the same, but different, that’s what it is.

Gallery after the jump.
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Infiniti Etherea – first images of Geneva-bound concept

February 15, 2011 at 2:48 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Infiniti, International News


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Infiniti has released the first official images of its Etherea concept, which will make its debut in Geneva. Designed under the direction of Nissan’s design guru Shiro Nakamura, the Etherea blends elements of coupe, sedan, hatchback and even crossover in one highly sculptural, near-mono volume form.


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Aimed at younger buyers, the Etherea – which rather funnily is one ‘l’ short of becoming intangible – is not just a smaller version of a typically conservative and traditional luxury car, says the company. The 4.4m offering is compact, but is space efficient and practical thanks to a new mechanical layout and innovative access arrangements.


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Novel features include fresh interpretations of traditional Japanese materials and finishes, as well as several design cues set to make their mark on future production models, including the highly distinctive crescent-shaped C-pillar first seen on the Essence concept.

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Kia Picanto takes GP-4 class win in the K4GP in Sepang

February 14, 2011 at 10:41 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Kia, Koreans, Local News

Score one for the little ‘un. At the K4GP Sepang 24-Hours Endurance Race 2011 held over the weekend, a Kia Picanto driven by a team from Adi Haslam Motorsports finished in the top spot in the GP-4 category .

The Picanto, which was sponsored by Naza Kia Malaysia, completed 378 laps to take the win in the class, which is for cars with automatic transmissions. In addition to winning in its class, the Picanto also made history for being part of the first Malaysian team with disabled drivers to participate in the K4GP Sepang and as the first ever Korean car to enter the race.

“This victory represents the first time a Kia has won a motorsport event in Malaysia. We are also very pleased that this was the only participant from Malaysia with disabled racing drivers,” said Datuk Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar, COO of Naza Kia Malaysia.

For this year’s event, 45 teams with a total of 270 drivers participated. Adi Haslam Motorsports was led by wheelchair-bound Adi Haslam and his fellow disabled driver and former TV3 host, Ras Adiba Radzi. Other members of the team were Keifli Osman, Halim Muazzam Ayob, Mohammad Zaid Shamsuri and Mohd Diazreen. The car featured hand-operated throttle and brakes for the disabled drivers.

The K4GP race is held twice a year in Japan, while the 24-hour endurance race in Sepang is held bi-annually. The 2011 edition of the 24-hour endurance race is the third time the race has been held in Sepang. The race is open to cars with an engine capacity of up to 1,300 cc, and each team can have from two to eight drivers and is limited to 350 litres of fuel for its entire duration of the race.

The teams that complete the most number of laps after 24 hours are the winners of the race in their respective categories, of which there are five in total – Overall, Class GP-2, Class GP-3, Class GP-4 and Class GP-5. There were six teams in total in the GP-4 class and only four teams finished the race.

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Hyundai Elantra Coupe gets thumb up from US dealers

February 14, 2011 at 8:31 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, International News, Koreans

Hyundai Elantra Coupe

Even though Hyundai already has a C-segment sports car in the form of the Hyundai Veloster, apparently it has another 2-door coupe for the C-segment planned to target those who prefer a more traditional coupe form, instead of the Scirocco-like Veloster.

It seems that Hyundai dealers in the US – the only country which still sells C-segment and D-segment coupes in a huge abundance – have already seen photos of the Elantra Coupe and they like it naturally, as anything appealing would do well to boost their sales coffers.

Hyundai Elantra Coupe

No photos or even sketches of the upcoming Elantra Coupe have been released so far, but Theophilus Chin has whipped up some renderings of what an Elantra Coupe could look like. I must say it looks pretty sexy!

Even though Naza Kia is electing to launch their 2-door Kia Forte Koup here soon, it remains to be seen whether Hyundai will make a right hand drive version of the Elantra Coupe in the first place, and only then will we be able to bug Hyundai Sime Darby Motors on whether they will offer it here in Malaysia.

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BMW TwinPower Turbo filters down to 4-cylinder range

February 14, 2011 at 3:09 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, International News

BMW’s TwinPower Turbo tech has filtered down to its four-cylinder engines, and the X1 xDrive28i that will be shown at Geneva to Europeans for the first time will be the first model to receive the motor. Munich wasn’t known as proponent of forced induction until recently, but since adopting turbo, the firm’s blown six-cylinder 3.0L that powers variants with ’35′ in their name has been a serial winner of engine awards.

BMW is now trying to replicate the success of that 306 hp engine with its four-pot engines. The recipient is a 2.0-litre direct injection petrol unit with an all-aluminium crankcase including a motorsport-derived bedplate. With 245 hp at 5,000 rpm, it has 74 hp more than the previous highest powered BMW 2.0L petrol unit. By the way, the 320i sold in Malaysia makes only 156 horses – can you imagine the quantum of improvement at play here?

This Valvetronic (latest gen is faster acting thanks to an optimised stepper motor with integrated sensor) and double Vanos unit also makes 350 Nm from just above idle at 1,250 rpm! BMW promises “vigorous power delivery” and that could still be an understatement. With all that firepower, the X1 xDrive28i sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.1 seconds or 6.5 seconds with an 8-speed automatic transmission. Top speed is 240 km/h.

How fast is that? If you have not experienced it, do a standing start acceleration run in a Golf GTI, then imagine a BMW X1 pulling away beside you. It’s quite something.

The efficiency department is covered by a computer-controlled oil pump and an on-demand electric coolant pump. The six-speed manual comes with Auto Start-Stop as well. The X1 xDrive28i has an average fuel consumption of 7.9 litres per 100 km (12.7 km/l), 16% better than the old NA engine, so it’s a gain on all fronts.

There’s clearly more performance and efficiency here than in BMW’s base six-cylinder engines. Would you prefer this or the “bragging rights” and sweet revving nature of Munich’s naturally aspirated straight-six?

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Ford Australia introduces new look Territory

February 14, 2011 at 12:35 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Ford, International News


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Ford Australia has introduced its redesigned Territory SUV, which has been given an extensive visual update both inside and out.

There’s no mention of any mechanical changes to the Australian-designed-and-developed vehicle, which is also exported to South Africa and Thailand; looks like the 4.0 litre Barra inline-six pot – in various output configuration/tunes ranging from 244 hp up to 362 hp – continues on pretty much unchanged.


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So it’s all to sight and touch, the changes, with kinetic design cues leading the way for the exterior. At the front, the vehicle feeatures an all-new tri-plane front-end architecture, and the new trapezoid-shaped main grille is one of the new Territory’s most noticeable updates.

Besides a redesigned front bumper and bonnet, slim-line projector headlamps are new, as are LED position lamps on the higher end variant. There SUV also gets a number of new 17- and 18-inch wheel designs to wear.


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Moving rearwards, a new C-pillar design smooths the transition from front to rear. Other changes include new horizontal tail lamps and a new rear lift-gate applique, as well as a redesigned bumper and new lower-level valance panel.

Inside, the cabin gets new materials and colours, and among the items on the update list are a new instrument panel featuring an 8-inch touchscreen as well as a host of new functional storage solutions.

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Nick Heidfeld: ‘I don’t think I could have done any better’

February 14, 2011 at 12:35 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports, Renault

Already the favourite to replace the injured Robert Kubica at Lotus Renault GP, Nick Heidfeld strengthened his case by topping the time sheets on Day 3 of testing at Jerez, Spain. It was an impressive showing by the veteran German driver considering that it was his first taste of the R31 and his first time back in an F1 car since November last year. He is justifiably happy with the outcome.

“I’m pleased with the job I did, very pleased. I don’t think I could have done any better, and I didn’t do any mistakes,” said Heidfeld, who was Kubica’s teammate at BMW Sauber.

“We already started today to try and improve the car, find directions, where the problems are, where the strengths are. I’m obviously trying to do the best job today so I can drive in the future, but I’m also just using it as a normal test and trying to develop the car,” he told hacks at the track.

“The car is already very different to how it was this morning, suiting my driving style a lot more. It is still not ideal – I hope there is more to come from the feeling I have – but it’s a good base,” added Quick Nick.

“Today we had the chance to give Nick time in the car and we carried out a big evaluation. Our first feelings are very positive: he worked well with the team, gave good feedback and improved the car during the day. We managed to cover 86 laps and the times are encouraging, which is also thanks to Robert and Vitaly’s early feedback and the hard work of everybody in the team,” praised team boss Eric Boullier.

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