Click here to read the rest of BMW at the Geneva Motorshow 2008
This is BMW’s opening video for its 2008 Geneva Motorshow showcase. It includes the new hybrid-turbodiesel BMW X5 Concept Vision EfficientDynamics, the BMW X6, the new M3 Convertible, and other cars in the Geneva line-up. Video after jump.
Grand Prize Winner of the F1 Simulator Challenge, Encik Tunku Muhammad Ilyas – Click to enlarge
Here are some snapshots from the Honda F1 Roadshow at the Queensbay Mall in Penang during the weekend. It should give you an idea of what to expect if you drop by the next roadshow held at Sunway Pyramid this Friday to Sunday (7th to 9th).
Just a recap – there will be information on the new RA108 Earthdreams car, and a mock-up of the 2007 season’s RA107 will also be displayed. The F1 car simulator competition and other games could win you prizes worth more than RM10,000, which include grandstand tickets for the upcoming Malaysian leg of the F1 race.
As Soichiro Honda once said, “Without racing, there is no Honda.” For more information on the roadshow schedule, please visit the post in the related links below.
More photos after the jump.
Related Posts: Click here to read the rest of Honda F1 Roadshow at Queensbay Mall Penang
Honda F1 Roadshows arond Peninsular Malaysia
Full details of the new Volkswagen Scirocco has officially been unveiled, and Volkswagen says the Scirocco is positioned as an affordable sports car, perhaps the German version of what the Mazda MX5 is.
Three petrol engines and one diesel engine are available. Petrol engines include a 122 horsepower 1.4 liter TSI with 200Nm of torque, a 160 horsepower 1.4 liter TSI with 240Nm of torque, and the venerable 200 horsepower 2.0 liter TFSI engine with 280Nm of torque. The 1.4 liter engines are available with the new dry clutch 7-speed DSG, while the 2.0 liter TFSI and the 140 horsepower TDI turbodiesel with 320Nm of torque is available with the wet clutch 6-speed DSG, the gearbox that changed the landscape of shift performance. All of the manual transmissions are 6-speeders.
The Volkswagen Scirocco is 4,256mm long, 1,810mm wide and 1,400mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,578mm. For comparison sake, the Golf GTI is 4,216mm long, 1,785mm wide and 1,466mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,578mm. The two cars have an identical wheelbase, which means the rear passengers of the Scirocco will most likely enjoy the Golf’s generous rear knee room, but the Scirocco is longer, wider and shorter than the Golf GTI, lending it a much sleeker profile.
The sleek side profile sports a hidden B-pillar, and the front end shows a new Volkswagen front fascia, which might be a preview of the 6th generation Volkswagen Golf’s front end. The Scirocco is a 4-seater with front and rear bucket seats, and it has a 292 liter boot, extendable into the cabin area for a total of 755 liters via the foldable 50:50 split rear bench.
For more photos of the Scirocco, look at the previous post linked below.
Related Posts:
Volkswagen Scirocco photos leaked ahead of debut
My second contribution to new online newspaper The Malaysian Insider is now up. Read the story titled “The low-down on leasing” at The Malaysian Insider. Do check out the rest of the paper too, I think the quality of the stories is rather good.
Previous TMI Stories:
TMI 1: Our car industry – coming or going?
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We saw the silver Brabus Bullit showcased in September last year, and it featured a monster 6.3 liter twin turbocharged V12 engine. For Geneva, Brabus has prepared the Brabus Bullit Black Arrow, done up in a special matte black paintjob, with carbon fibre bits all over, though they blend into the exterior work more subtlely because of the black base. The aggressive front bumper also does not stand out as much as the silver Bullit because of the black.
The Brabus SV12 engine is built up from the unit in the Mercedes Benz S 600, bored and stroked from 5.5 liters to 6.3 liters and fitted with larger twin turbochargers. It requires a minimum of RON98 fuel. An entirely new stainless steel high performance exhaust system right from the turbo manifold up back to the tailpipes had to be designed because of the C-Class’s engine bay space constraints. It produces a peak torque of 1,320Nm but this is electronically limited to 1,100Nm and put down to the rear wheels through a reinforced single overdrive 5-speed automatic with a Brabus LSD.
0 to 100km/h takes 3.9 seconds, and the car passes the 200km/h mark in 10.49 seconds. At 24.5 seconds, the 300km/h mark is passed, and top speed is achieved at about 360km/h. This is one seriously rapid car, and to achieve those sort of speeds the bodykit must be wind-tunnel proven.
More photos after the jump.
Related Posts: Click here to read the rest of Brabus Bullit Black Arrow based on W204 C-Class
Brabus Bullit W204 C-Class with 1,320Nm of torque
Proton is currently in talks with foreign parties on the development of higher displacement engines such as 1.8 liter and 2.0 liter to complement the existing Campro IAFM and Campro CPS range of 1.3 and 1.6 liter engines. Something will be announced by mid-2008 regarding this, and it will likely involve a tie-up with a foreign car manufacturer.
Proton is also looking into diesel engines for its cars, as diesels are important for new markets that Proton wants to enter such as the Indian market. A foreign partner will also be a part of this as it would be very costly to self-develop a diesel engine all by its own.
In India, the availability of a diesel engine can make or break a model. Lackluster sales of compact cars such as the Chevrolet Aveo notchback sedan are attributed to the lack of a diesel engine by many Indian automotive journalists.
The facelifted Proton GEN2 which was revealed in Thailand earlier has finally arrived on Malaysian shores. The GEN2 is an important mark in Proton history as it was the first Proton car with the new Proton Campro engine, and with this facelift it gets a new series of engines based on the Campro. Read more details after the jump. Click here to read the rest of 2008 Proton GEN2 Facelift with CPS launched!
The Mazda distributorship in Malaysia will be handled by Berjaya Corporation from the second half of 2008, through its company BerMaz Motor Sdn Bhd, formerly known as Berjaya Synthetic Fibre Sdn Bhd. BerMaz will acquire Cycle and Carriage Bintang Berhad’s entire shareholding in Hercules Automotive Engineers Sdn Bhd, which is the current Mazda franchise holder and a Cycle and Carriage company since 1983.
The Hercules shares will go for a total of RM16.8 million. BerMaz Motor’s Distribution Agreement with Mazda will begin officially on the 1st of April 2008 and will end 3 years later on 31st of March 2011.
Berjaya group currently has its foot in the automotive industry selling Skoda cars, ChangAn cars and Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles. The ChangAn CM8 sighted on public roads sometime in the past is most likely brought in by Berjaya for testing.
I’m sure alot of you will remember the Mugen Fit Dynamite, one of the most desirable examples of a tuned up Honda Fit (called the Honda Jazz in our market) out there. The Mugen Fit Dynamite had under its hood a high revving K20A engine similiar to the unit in the Civic Type R and Integra Type R. Sometime later, Mugen released an orange devil called the Mugen Fit Spec D Prototype, which had its 1.5 liter SOHC VTEC L15A engine boosted to 145 horsepower with a supercharger.
Now that the second generation 2008 Honda Fit has been released, Mugen naturally had to reapply the Spec D concept to this new edition of the Fit. The Mugen Fit F154SC Concept was displayed at the 2008 Tokyo Auto Salon. The L15A engine which already made 120 PS in the new Fit had a supercharger slapped on to produce 150 PS at 6,600rpm and 185Nm of torque at 3,800rpm.
An aggressive bodykit complete with 17 inch wheels wrapped with Bridgestone Potenza RE050 tyres in 215/40R17 size completes the the Mugen Fit F154SC Concept.
View more photos after the jump. Click here to read the rest of 2008 Mugen Fit F154SC Concept
The crowd at the previous Nissan roadshow at 1 Utama
For those who are living in Penang, Edaran Tan Chong Motor will be having a Nissan Road Show at the Gurney Plaza Penang this weekend from the 7th of March 2008 to the 9th of March 2008. Models displayed will be the Nissan Grand Livina in both 1.8 auto and 1.6 auto trim, the Nissan Latio 1.8 Ti Auto and the Nissan Latio Sport 1.6 ST-L Auto.
Related Posts:
Nissan Latio Sedan and Latio Sport hatchback Prices
Nissan Grand Livina 1.6 and 1.8 unveiled in Malaysia
Nissan Latio 1.6 and 1.8 Short Test Drive Experience
