Volkswagen has finally unwrapped the all new Polo GTi. This high-performance Polo has a supercharged 1.4 liter TSI engine under its hood which is able to crank out 178hp at 6,200 revs and 249Nm of torque from as low as 2,000 revs.

This enables the mini GTi to hit 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds and it will continue till it reaches 225 km/h. That’s actually pretty decent as anything below 8 seconds starts getting fun. Fuel consumption is figured at 47 mpg on a combined cycle.

The engine in paired with the company’s 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, fondly known as DSG. The hot super mini also has an XDS electronic differential system which is part of the standard ESP system. The Polo GTi is treated to new springs and dampers which bring the hatch lower by 15 mm.

Exterior wise it has a honeycomb grille with red strips, a subtle bodykit, new headlights with the option to add LED daytime running lights and a pair of chrome-tipped exhaust pipes at the back. It sits on 17-inch alloy wheels which are also found on the Golf GTi.

Inside you will find a flat-bottomed steering wheel with paddle shifters, aluminium pedals, front sports seats finished in tartan trim, gloss black trim on the centre console as well as a black headliner.

Continue reading to view an image gallery.

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Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport. Its the most expensive and technical of them all. Only few are lucky enough to race in Formula 1 and most of the time these drivers are the crème de la crème, although some circumstances have proved us otherwise. Now what is Formula 1 without a strict license requirement that is the ‘king’ of motor racing licenses? The answer is: Superlicense.

Anyone who wishes to race in Formula 1 needs a Superlicense from the FIA. To qualify for the license one needs a ‘decorated’ experience in motor sport. On top of that one has to cover 300 kilometers with a current Formula 1 car. Following yesterday’s official test session in Jerez, Fairuz Fauzy has qualified for a Superlicense as he clocked in about 334 kilometers.

This means that if Kovalainen or Trulli is unable to race anytime during the season, Fauzy can step in. The test session in Jerez continues later today with Heikki Kovalainen behind the wheel of the Lotus Cosworth T127. Force India’s Paul di Resta also qualified for the license as well.

Today the 2010 Formula 1 circus had its busiest official test session at the Jerez circuit. A total of 12 drivers from 11 teams clocked crucial laps at the Spanish race track. All teams were present except for USF1 and Campos, the only two teams that have yet to launch their 2010 contenders.

Today was also Lotus Racing’s first official test session and the team’s third and reserve driver Fairuz Fauzy was behind the wheel. He completed a total of 76 laps and managed to set a personal best lap time of 1:31.848. That lap time put him in 11th place but he was more than 2 seconds quicker than Virgin Racing’s Timo Glock who set a lap time of 1:34.453.

The fastest driver was Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull who set 1:22.593. The German was quicker than Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa from McLaren and Ferrari respectively while Michael Schumacher from Mercedes GP Petronas completed 111 laps and managed to set 1:23.803 which put him in sixth.

However its very hard to use these lap times as an accurate performance indicator. During such tests sessions, different cars may run on different fuel levels, tires and other settings such as aerodynamics. Teams are still developing their cars hence a more accurate indicator will be the performance during the season-opening race in Bahrain which will happen next month.

At the same time Virgin Racing has been spending a lot of time at the bottom end of the time sheets for the past five test sessions. This may be a sign that Lotus Racing’s ‘rival’ is struggling with its car. Nevertheless lets catch the first race on March 14th and find out!

Bufori has announced that it will present an all new vehicle at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. Called the MkVI saloon for now, it will be powered by a 6.1 liter engine. Unfortunately we do not have information regarding its power figures at the moment. It took Bufori two years to develop the MkVI which is the brand’s first 4-door vehicle.

Pictured above is an initial sketch released by the company and it points to Bufori’s typical design language: modern day motoring under a vintage-styled skin. It will be made to order and production is scheduled to start in June 2010. Bufori will also reveal the saloon’s official name during the launch.

Bentley has unwrapped the all new Continental Supersports Convertible which joins the coupe variant that was launched last year. The convertible which will make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show is powered by the same 630hp twin-turbo W12 mouth-watering engine (with 800Nm of torque) found in the coupe version making it the most powerful four-seater convertible in the world.

This engine is able to run on petrol, E85 bioethanol or a combination of both. 0 – 100 km/h takes 4.2 seconds while top speed is figured at 325 km/h. It also features reworked suspension, steering and ESP settings, carbon-ceramic brakes as well as sticky Pirelli Ultra High Performance tires, among others. An image gallery can be found after the jump.

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Lotus has decided to give the Elise a facelift and this is the final product. Lets go over the key changes in regards to the design. The most significant change is the new headlight design which is part of a revised front fascia. The headlights are now combined with LED daytime running lights and LED direction indicators.

Over at the rear, the vents which were placed at the side of the outer taillights in the previous version have been removed. The rear bumper has been restyled and there is also a new engine cover.

The Elise’s aerodynamics efficiency has been improved as well, by 4%. There are also new alloy wheels. The company also revealed that it has increased the Elise’s warranty period from 2 years to 3 years and 36,000 miles.

All three engines offered with the Elise now output lesser emissions. The 136 PS 1.6 liter outputs 155 grams of CO2 emissions per kilometer followed by the 192 PS 1.8 liter with 196 grams and lastly the 220 PS supercharged 1.8 liter with 199 grams. The above mentioned 1.6 liter powerplant is a new entry-level unit and it features Valvematic and Dual VVT-I technologies.

Other upgrades include a new 6-speed close ratio gearbox and the availability of cruise control which is part of the Touring Pack. Potential buyers will also be able to open the rear boot from the interior instead of making do with a separate key.

You can check out more images after the jump together with a detailed press release with more technical details on the new Elise.

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This is an interesting piece of news. When a driver wins a Formula 1 race, the national anthem of the country his team represents will be played during the podium ceremony along with the national anthem of the driver’s home country. So which anthem will be played if Lotus Racing wins a race in 2010? As the title suggests its Negaraku, according to our source that is.

You see Lotus is based in the UK so one might assume that it will represent the country hence God Save The Queen will be played. But Lotus is first of all owned by Malaysian auto maker Proton and the Formula 1 team is also backed by Malaysian companies so it only makes sense for the team to represent Malaysia and the Negaraku to be played.

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A new Nissan compact car will be unveiled at the Geneva show at the end of this month, and Nissan has given us a preview of what they will be launching in the form of a video that shows interviews of members of the project team.

Some juicy details revealed include the fact that the car will be powered by a new 1.2 liter 3-cylinder engine, although both 3-cylinders and 4-cylinders were considered at first. According to Nissan, it was “obvious” that the 3-potter delivered the best balance of performance, cost effectiveness and environmental friendliness. This new engine will also be mated to a new CVT transmission that uses a sub-planetary gear. All these new components will sit on a new platform called the “V-platform”.

This new compact car will be none other than the new Nissan March/Micra and we’ve actually already seen spyshots of this car (shown above) – and they seem to match the previously released sketches (shown at the top).

Check out the video below. You’ll have to put up with the team members going on and on about what a breakthrough the car is though. Nissan says sales of the production car will begin in Thailand in March, with European sales starting in the autumn. Wonder if a Thai introduction means ETCM are able to bring it in Malaysia anytime this year?

Porsche has finally released the “baseline” model of the Panamera – the Panamera and the Panamera 4. Up until now the Panamera has only been available with normally aspirated or turbocharged versions of its V8 engine.

The new Panamera variant is powered by a 3.6 liter V6 engine with direct fuel injection, producing 300 horsepower and a very impressive 400Nm of torque. That’s about 111Nm per liter of displacement, while a lot of other engines barely touch 100Nm per liter. Normally you only get 400Nm from well-tuned 4.0 liter engines.

The V6 engine will be mated to Porsche’s PDK gearbox and will also include Auto Start/Stop, allowing 30.4mpg for the Panamera and 29.4mpg for the four wheel drive Panamera 4. Both models are EU5 emissions compliant.

The introduction of this new V6-engined Panamera and Panamera 4 in Malaysia should lower the cost bar for entering the realm of Panamera ownership, and the 3.6 liter engine will enjoy significantly lower road tax too.

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This is the 5 by Peugeot concept car that previews the upcoming 508 sedan. The concept will make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show which is just around the corner. Under that pretty good looking thing is an all wheel drive HYbrid 4 powertrain which means it has a 163hp 2.0 liter DHi FAP diesel engine and a 37hp electric motor.

The former is mounted on the front axle while the latter sits at the back. The powertrain is able to output 200hp collectively and its fuel consumption is figured at 74.3 miles to the gallon. The system also releases 99 grams of CO2 emissions per kilometer. More information will be released soon meanwhile continue reading to view an image gallery.

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2010 Toyota RAV4

Toyota has announced that it will launch the 2010 RAV4 compact SUV as well as the production-ready Auris HSD at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.

The front end of the RAV4 is now treated to a more aggressive styling along with revamped headlights and a redesigned grille with more chrome. Toyota also said that the interior has been ‘refined’ as well.

Toyota Auris HSD

The Auris HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive) is a C-Segment full hybrid that will be built at Toyota’s Burnaston factory in the UK. The company said that the hybrid vehicle will go on sale across Europe by summer this year.

Apart from these two cars, Toyota will also showcase the Prius Plug-in Hybrid as well as the FT-EV II electric vehicle concept. AE-86 fans in Europe not to worry, the company will also present FT-86 sports car concept at the motor show.

The Lotus Racing team has just launched its 2010 contender and will make its official test debut on February 17th which is this Wednesday. According to some reports on the internet Fairuz Fauzy will be the first to test the Lotus Cosworth T127 in Jerez, Spain. Fauzy was also behind the wheel when the team had its private test session prior to the launch in London. He will then pass the duty to Heikki Kovalainen and the Finn will then hand the steering wheel over to Jarno Trulli. Fauzy’s last official test was back in 2007 when he was the test driver for the Spyker team.

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According to a report published by Automotive News, Ford will rebadge the all new Focus as a Mercury. Apparently Ford revealed to its dealer network that it plans slap on the Mercury badge on a redesigned Focus and some are saying that the vehicle will be called the Tracer. With its market introduction expected to take place in 2011 the rebadged Focus should help give Mercury a breath of fresh air as we have not heard much about the brand for a while now.

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MINI has just announced UK pricing for its fourth model, the Countryman. This 4-door MINI is the brand’s first ever crossover and it is available in all wheel drive as well as two wheel drive forms. There are a total of five models and two of them are powered by diesel engines. The base model is the MINI Countryman One which goes for £16,000. This version is powered by a 98hp 1.6 liter 4-pot.

Next up is the MINI Countryman Cooper. The normally-aspirated 1.6 liter engine in this model makes 122hp and carries a £17,510 price tag. The range topping petrol model is the MINI Countryman Cooper S that produces 184hp from its force-inducted engine. The price for this model breaks the £20,000 mark with a £20,810 price tag.

The base diesel model is the MINI Countryman One D. This 90hp model carries a £1,000 premium over the most basic petrol with a £17,000 price tag. The other diesel spot is taken up by the 112hp MINI Countryman Cooper D.

This costs slightly more than the MINI Countryman Cooper at £18,810. The all wheel drive option called the ALL4 is available with the Countryman Cooper D (additional £1,065) and Cooper S (additional £1,220) models while an option for the Cooper will be made available in 2012.

Compared to the MINI One hatch, the Countryman One is more expensive by £3,270 and when compared to the basic BMW X1 (only diesel versions are sold in the UK) the Countryman which has a wheelbase of 2,595mm (X1 has 2760mm) is cheaper by £7,325.

Here’s some shots of the Daihatsu version of the new 2nd generation Toyota Passo. If you want to know more about what’s changed with the 2nd generation car, you can head on to the story about the Toyota Passo version. The platform is most likely similiar to the 1st generation but there are new Dual VVT-i engines. Look after the jump for the gallery of the Daihatsu-badged car. Perodua’s version will come soon I suppose!

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