Paul Tan's Automotive News» Cars at Paul Tan’s Automotive News

Porsche 911 GT3 R replaces the GT3 Cup S

Paul Tan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:58:59 +0000

The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S has been replaced by this new model – the Porsche 911 GT3 R, adding yet another variant to the neverending list of different 911 GT3 models. No matter what kind of 911-beating laptimes Nissan posts with its GT-R, the choice of plenty of small racing teams most of the time is the 911 GT3.

The GT3 R’s 6 cylinder boxer engine has a displacement of 4.0 liters, up from the 3.8 liters you get with the road cars or the Cup model. This same engine size is also found in the 2009 GT3 RSR. The 0.2 liters of extra displacement has been achieved by increasing the cylinder stroke to 80.4mm instead of 76.4mm.

The engine is mated to a 6-speed sequential dog-teeth gearbox. Dog-boxes use gears that are straight-cut instead of the helical-cut gears that we have in our normal road car manual transmissions. Because of the different way the gears engage, a dog-teeth gearbox is much more noisy (that whirring sound that we get when we travel in reverse gear – they have it all the time!), and they also don’t have synchro rings so you basically just slam it with greater force into engagement instead of having to clutch at changes. A dog box has less transmission losses compared to a helical gearbox and is more durable.

Porsche’s focus with this new model is better drivability and easier handling. The GT3 and its race-going variants have always been hardcore cars but this car has ABS, traction control and a throttle blip function built into its e-gas throttle body. These features make it more suitable for an ambitious amateur racer (with deep pockets – the car is 279,000 Euros) to drive the car.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

Honda “P-NUT” to make LA 2009 debut

Paul Tan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:54:06 +0000

When I first read Honda’s most recent press release for the 2009 Los Angeles Autoshow, I thought they were pulling off a very belated April Fool’s joke, judging from the car’s funny name. They’re going to show a car called the Honda P-NUT.

P-NUT stands for Personal-Neo Urban Transport and it is supposed to be a design concept for a futuristic ultra-compact and aggressive-looking coupe. That is what they describe it as, but we’ll have to see what the car actually looks like to see what the boys at LA-based Honda R&D Americas Advanced Design Studio have cooked up.

Last year’s LA show concept was the Honda FC Sport design study, which also so happened to be a two-door coupe of sorts, and as hinted by its name was powered by a fuel cell stack.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

Kia cars to get GDI engines from 2010 onwards

Paul Tan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:15:58 +0000

The new Hyundai-Kia Motor Group Theta II GDI engine you saw earlier this week will be making its way into Kias as early as the first half of 2010 in South Korea. It will then make its way into UK models in 2011 and probably then the rest of the world.

We don’t get many normally aspirated gasoline direct injection engines here in Malaysia. So far only a handful of cars have featured non-turbo FSI engines here in Malaysia, such as the 2.2 liter JTS engines in the Alfa Romeo range here including the 159, and the Volkswagen Jetta 2.0 FSI.

BMW has stayed away from bringing in the new direct injection N53 engines and have stuck to the sweeter-sounding port injection N52 engines. Even for the 4-pots, it is the reason why our 320i still puts out only 156hp instead of the 170hp+ available overseas. Even the Lexus GS uses a conventional port injection engine instead of the D4 engine available overseas, however the LS has direct injection.

Most companies quote the issue of fuel quality when asked on why normally aspirated direct injection engines are not available here. The NAP Review says there will be a timeline formulated for the introduction of better petrol (and diesel) here in Malaysia so hopefully by that time it will be just right for GDI Hyundais and Kias to be introduced here in Malaysia.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

Perodua D46T MPV test drive units on trailer en route to Perodua showrooms?

Paul Tan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:45:57 +0000

Click for enlarged image

Trailerloads of the Perodua D46T MPV are on their way somewhere, and from the looks of the livery on the side of one of the exposed vehicles, it looks like they are promotional units, probably to be used as display units or test drive units. These shots are thanks to long-time reader KK Chen.

Click for enlarged image

The Perodua D46T MPV is based on the Toyota Passo Sette so if you absolutely need to know more about this new model to hit our local roads you can refer to my story on the Passo Sette, but for a more accurate picture of what we’ll get in our Perodua version you’ll have to wait for the full story after the launch next week on the 23rd of November 2009 at 5pm.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

UK offers £30 million grant to encourage EVs

Paul Tan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:05:08 +0000

The UK government will be spending 30 million pounds (RM170 million) in a program called Plugged-In Places to add thousands of new electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid vehicle charging points around the country. On the overall, UK is spending 400 million pounds to encourage development and manufacturing of ultra-low carbon cars.

Local authorities, businesses, electricity distributors, suppliers and other organisations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be able to apply for the 30 million pounds in two phases. The applicants will need to show how their plans fit into objectives like improving air quality and encouraging the uptake of electric vehicles.

“The UK can be a world leader in electric and low carbon cars. Our aim is for electric and low carbon cars to be an everyday feature on UK roads in less than five years. There is still a lot of work to be done, however Plugged-In Places is one very significant step to a low carbon future,” said Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

New Proton Exora Basic from RM57,548!

Paul Tan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:08:13 +0000

The new Proton Exora Basic (also known as the B-Line) is Proton’s cheapest Exora variant, priced at only RM57,548.00 for the manual transmission solid white model for the Peninsular Malaysia. The following is the full price list:

Model	West Msia	East Msia
Exora Basic (Metallic)	RM57,998	RM60,598
Exora Basic (Solid)	RM57,548	RM60,148

It is available at all Edar and EON branches nationwide and the booking fee is RM500. Here’s a list of what has changed compared to the M-Line and H-Line:

Manual transmission only
Driver airbag only
Seatbelt pretensioner for driver only
Passenger airbag replaced with tissue box holder
No front seat back pockets
No grocery hook at the front passenger seat
No aircond outlet for 2nd row, but 3rd row outlets remain
Fabric flat knitting for the seats (M-Line uses fabric flat woven)
Only 2 headrests for the second row
No third row headrests
No door trim inserts
No assist grip for the third row
No inner carpet deck box
No luggage lamp
No rear power socket
Matte black finishing for gear knob, panel shift lever, door inner handle, center panel finishing, side mirror hosing finishing, exterior door handle, rear garnish
No front grille garnish
No front fog lamp
15 inch steel wheel with cover
No reverse sensors
No ABS and EBD

On another note, if you’ve ran out of ideas of a family activity this weekend, you can check out the “Proton 4 You” customer appreciation event held at all Proton Edar and EON outlets throughout Malaysia.

They’ve planned a variety of family-oriented programs at all outlets such as coloring contests, family quizzes and games wih prizes to be won. Proton will also throw in free personal assurance worth RM10,000 for all customers who book a Proton car on that weekend. There will also be Proton iCare teams at almost every outlet to perform free 20-point car inspections.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

UK market Hyundai Santa Fe facelift announced

Paul Tan — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:03:25 +0000

Hmm, it looks like Hyundai’s new ‘angry crab’ look on the Santa Fe does not apply to all markets. This shot of a UK market Santa Fe from the UK press kit shows a much simpler-looking front grille that shares the same look with the Hyundai i series of cars. It’s basically a similiar grille but the three bars have been painted black, and a chrome edge has been added on top. Under the hood is the new ‘R’ diesel engine which is a 2.2 liter all-aluminium block. It makes a very good 194 horsepower with 436Nm of torque when mated to an automatic transmission (slightly less torque with a manual).

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

Honda Civic Type R facelift has arrived!

Paul Tan — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:50:01 +0000

New stocks of the Honda Civic Type R is officially in Malaysia! The car is very much the same track car for the road as before, but there are a few changes here and there. There are no changes to the front end but the rear end now gets the diamond cluster design for the tail lamps. The side mirrors are now power-retractable. Finally, the 2-DIN player in the interior now gets a USB port for you to load your MP3 files from.

There are currently nearly 200 pre-facelift Honda Civic Type R on the road, sold officially by Honda and not counting the grey imports. Malaysia is the only country in the world other than Japan to get the sedan Type R via the official Honda distributor. The rest of the world especially Europe gets the hatchback version. Recently the hatch version was added to the Japanese line-up as well.

The best part is even with the high demand the price has remained at RM199,980, as with the pre-facelift model. We probably can’t say the same about the Civic Hybrid (introduced the same time as the Type R) in a year’s time, when the excise duty exemption ends You can find out more technical details about the Type R by visiting the link below.

Related Posts:
Honda Civic Type R launched in Malaysia

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

Exora “B-Line” to stave off Perodua attack

Paul Tan — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:53:22 +0000

We saw a new variant of the Proton Exora with steel wheels (with wheel cover) back in July 2009. This indicates a cheaper “B-Line” variant and with the Perodua MPV launch creeping up ever so closely, it’s no wonder that Proton salesmen have begun putting up some interesting ads on Mudah advertising the availability of the new B-Line car.

I will be back with some official information for you this week but for the moment you can check out the B-Line ads (most indicate a mid-50K price) that have been posted up on Mudah in the following links:

Mudah Link #1, Mudah Link #2, Mudah Link #3

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

Hyundai’s 2.4L Theta II gets direct injection

Paul Tan — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:30:45 +0000

Of all the GEMA manufacturers, the Hyundai-Kia Group has been setting the best track record in terms of extracting the most power and torque out of their engines. The current generation Sonata and Optima’s 2.0 liter GEMA engine (Hyundai calls them Theta, Mitsubishi calls them 4B11, etc) currently makes around 158 PS to 163 PS, which is probably one of the best in class when you’re talking about a regular engine with only variable valve timing and conventional port injection. The new “Passat CC-ish” Hyundai Sonata’s 2.0 liter Theta II engine makes even more power, now rated at 165 PS at 6,200rpm and 198Nm of torque at 4,600rpm.

Hyundai is now taking the bar higher with the 2.4 liter engine option for the new Sonata. The 2.4 liter Theta II with variable valve timing on both the intake and exhaust now gains GDI gasoline direct injection and as a result, can produce 201 PS at 6,300rpm and 250Nm of torque at 4,250rpm. That’s some very good torque figures for a 2.4 liter engine.

Thanks to the lean burn precision that direct injection affords, compression ratio has been increased to 11.3:1. The engine also comes with a three-stake variable induction system. The variable valve timing system has also been improved, with a new drive system designed for silent operation and better durability. The block has also been reinforced, with improvements to the crank and piston design as well. For example, the piston now has a cooling jet under the piston crowd to get more oil onto the piston walls, helping reduce friction and improve economy/power.

Hyundai says conventional port fuel injection is limited in the sense that as the engine spins faster in terms of RPM, valve opening and closing times get shorter and shorter, reducing the time available for the injectors to injet fuel. A DI injector positioned inside the combustion chamber can inject fuel at pressures at up to 150 bar faster. The fuel travel path is also shorter and more direct, thus more control is available over the combustion process.

The Hyundai GDI system does injection in two phases. The first phase is called the pilot injection and ignition, which triggers the piston’s downward stroke. Then during the piston’s descent more fuel is injected and ignited. Hyundai claims this split-injection technique reduces load on the catalytic converter and helps reduce emissions. Optimal operating temperature for the cat is also achieve faster, which means better cold start emissions, a figure which Hyundai claims have improved by 25 percent.

The new 2.4 liter Theta II GDI engine will be available in the new Hyundai Sonata along with the high-powered 2.0 liter engine. No news yet when Sime Darby is bringing the new Sonata into Malaysia, but perhaps it might change people’s perception of Korean D-segment vehicles. Hyundai has also unveiled a 2.0 liter GDI Turbo engine before this.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

Geely targets Volvo annual sales up to 1 million by 2013 – possible?

Paul Tan — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:58:55 +0000

Geely already has some grand plans for Volvo when it finally takes over the Swedish brand known for safety. It’s a twist of irony for many as Chinese car companies are rather infamous for their iffy crash safety, thanks to the widespread publicity of how badly their dirty cheap models perform in crashes.

A new Volvo factory in China built by Geely will churn out about 300,000 cars per year for the Chinese market, while other Volvo factories around the world will help bring up the total annual output to a whopping 1 million cars! Yes, you can produce all you want but will you be able to sell all the cars you produce? Apparently this is their aim, to sell a million cars a year by 2013, up from 458,323 they recorded in 2008. That’s an increase of about double.

Our very own Volvo assembly plant in Malaysia produces the S40, V50 and the 2.5T variant of the S80 for the local market. The Malaysian plant exports the S40 and the V50 for sale in Thailand. Hopefully Volvo is being rewarded in terms of various incentives appropriately by our government, otherwise there’s just no point for manufacturers to come in and do anything here if the case studies all go wrong.

The other thing that’s bugging people is of course the possibility of Volvo just going down the drain after Chinese ownership. That seems to be what happened to Ssangyong, look where it is now post-SAIC ownership? On the verge of bankruptcy, recovery plan rejected by creditors, and there is even a lawsuit going on now involving Ssangyong hybrid technology being leaked and transferred illegally to SAIC.

Despite Ssangyong being owned by SAIC, as the Ssangyong hybrid tech was developed using some Korean state grants, the tech is registered as state-owned in Korea and cannot be shared without government approval.

Will something similiar happen to Volvo? Will it be siphoned dry and then left to rot, or does Geely have an actual plan to bring Volvo to new heights? A Geely spokesperson today assured that Volvo would be keeping the rights to its technologies but did say Geely would get the right to use those technologies.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

Proton Satria Neo Super 2000 off to Scotland!

Paul Tan — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:34:30 +0000

The Proton R3 Malaysia Rally Team’s Satria Neo Super 2000 was making decent progress at the Rally of China last weekend when it had the unfortune of a damaged suspension, forcing the team to retire half-way through the 2nd leg during the 13th stage. They managed to finish 4th overall in the first leg. Interestingly according to Proton over half the field of competitors had to retire due to similiar problems.

With the China Rally over and done with, Alister McRae and the Proton Satria Neo Super 2000 will continue on to the McRae homeland of Scotland, which Alister is really looking forward to. Look after the jump for some shots from the rally.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

BAIC BE701 – a self-developed electric car?

Paul Tan — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:08:30 +0000

BAIC (Beijing Automotive) has unveiled in China its first self-developed electric car, the BE701. The BE701 was built by BAIC’s Beijing New Energy Automotive subsidiary.

Claimed specifications for the car so far looks pretty decent – a 200km range on a full charge, 0 to 100km/h in 15 seconds, and a top speed of 160km/h, which are quite acceptable figures for a car. Maybe not for a car that looks as grand as the BE701 but anyone could live with those sort of specifications.

The 200km range will of course keep it as a city solely for city use, but it will be more than enough for a day’s use before getting to a charge point for an overnight charge.

Beijing Automotive also announced a new clean energy vehicle development and manufacturing facility which it built for 2.28 billion yuan (RM1.13 billion). The facility will be able to churn out 50,000 EVs and 100,000 hybrid models annually.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

New E-Class Sedan and Coupe at Carcosa

Paul Tan — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:51:11 +0000

A reader sent in these shots of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedan and E-Class Coupe at a private preview at Carcosa Seri Negara sometime earlier this month. Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has already taken up teaser press ads in the newspapers with the tag line “Engineered around you” for the launch.

The base model for the E-Class and undoubtedly probably the most popular one in terms of sales will be the E 200 CGI, which will be powered by Mercedes-Benz’s new turbocharged direct injection engine. We’ve been waiting for this engine a long time, so the the old 1.8 liter Kompressor can be sent into retirement.

Look after the jump for a full photo gallery of the cars.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

Brawn GP to be called Mercedes GP!

Paul Tan — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:01:03 +0000

We should have known this would happen. McLaren and Mercedes-Benz had begun slowly severing their ties, and you can see that from the introduction of the new SLS AMG and the McLaren MP4-12C. And now Mercedes-Benz’s purchase of the Brawn GP team (whom they were supplying engines to this season) will probably mean they could end their partnership with McLaren next season.

The ex-Honda Brawn GP team made history by getting both driver and constructor titles in its maiden race season. The team will now be called Mercedes GP. Mercedes-Benz has taken up a 75.1% stake in the team, while the remaining continues to be held by Ross Brawn and Nick Fry, who will remain as team principal and CEO respectively.

This will be the first time that Mercedes-Benz will have its own team since 1955. They will continue supplying engines to the McLaren team at least until the end of 2015, but I’m not too sure about having their name there. Mercedes currently owns 40% of the McLaren F1 team but McLaren will reacquire it over the next 2 years.

According to the Germans, Mercedes-Benz’s decision to increase their level of F1 involvement was thanks to recent agreements on budget cuts and the higher income share given to teams thanks to a new Concorde Agreement earlier this year.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

Bufori BMS R1: race version of the Bufori CS

Paul Tan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:22:01 +0000

Click for enlarged image

This is the Bufori BMS R1, a FIA GT3 specification car brought together by the people at Axle Motorsport and Bufori’s Bufori Motor Sport (BMS) division in just 9 and a half weeks. Such a short notice is actually quite crazy to be able to do something like this. The big team above actually includes some ex-Formula 1 engineers so it was an excellent opportunity for locals to work together with real pros and hopefully gain some knowledge.

Why the rush, we asked. Axle boss Alex Yoong’s answer was simple – the Macau Grand Prix is probably the best place to showcase the car in action, so it was that or nothing. It’s the last race of the season, and the whole world will be watching this particular race because usually champions will be determined at a final race. It’s the best opportunity for the team and its car to get maximum international exposure and attention.

Apparently despite having our own F1 track, Malaysian motorsports isn’t thriving due to a lack of funds to go around so you really need to have a strong proposition to make before you can secure decent sponsorship for R&D and etc. They had something that needed to be proven and there’s really no better proof than action and results.

Bufori had actually already begun development of the Bufori CS before the decision was made to produce the R1 race car based on the CS road car. Before that, Bufori had also contacted Axle to talk about things. Bufori wanted a race program to get its name out there and to them Axle was probably one of the best people to manage their racing activities for them.

The race program will benefit the development of the CS road car in some ways other than promotion for the car. Some knowledge gained from racing will be able to be transferred to the road car development, especially in terms of making it handle better, etc. The car is left hand drive and is based built on a steel space frame with an aluminium honeycomb safety cell.

As for the engine, I got the answer I wanted at the media preview of the car – the Bufori CS and the R1 will use a turbocharged version of the 2.0 liter GEMA engine. The race car actually uses a GEMA engine supplied from Mitsubishi. It’s basically the 4B11T from the Lancer Evolution X, mounted longitudinally and mated to a 6-speed Quaife transmission driving the rear wheels. The engine is managed by a Motec ECU and Motec engineers were in Malaysia to help calibrate and configure the computers and sensors. We don’t know for sure how much power the engine is making now as the engine has never been dyno tested, but the engineers are estimating over 400 horsepower, which is plenty in a 900kg car.

The road car will use the same GEMA engines but supplied by Hyundai instead. This is a continuation of the engine supply contract Bufori currently has with Hyundai – the La Joya uses Hyundai’s 2.7 liter V6. In Hyundai terminology they are called Theta engines and the unit will probably be derived from the 2.0 liter turbo Theta engine installed in the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, driving the rear wheels as well.

There will of course be some other differences between the road car and the race car. For one, the race car’s aluminium honeycomb safety cell will probably not make it into the road car as it is too expensive. The engine will also be mounted further up front instead of being right in the middle and pretty much almost right next to the driver. But the carbon fiber and kevlar (vacuum packed method for the R1) composite body will be retained, as this is what Bufori uses to build all its cars.

Hopefully the car will do reasonably well at the Macau GP. I’m hoping for some good results but anything could happen given that this is pretty much a very untested car. Bufori and Axle claims the project is entirely self-funded but as you can see there are sponsor logos on the car. However judging by the sizes of the logos the money won’t be able to cover much.

UPDATE: Video added!

Look after the jump for more photos of the Bufori R1 race car.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

New fuel subsidy system in May 2010?

Paul Tan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:12:31 +0000

According to Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung, the new fuel subsidy management system will be implemented from May 2010 onwards, so I suggest everyone be prepared to restructure your household’s monthly budgets for a potential increase in fuel expenditure, especially if you are a middle income earner, a group that like its namesake are constantly squeezed around the world.

The system is currently being finetuned and studies on the subsidy distribution and target groups are currently still underway. The system’s exact mechanism will be announced after the study is completed and a decision has been made.

The PM had previously announce in his Budget 2010 speech that the system would use our MyKad identification card.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

New Bufori CS to enter Macau race this month!

Paul Tan — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:06:02 +0000

Bufori is a company based in Malaysia and so far they’ve been making hand crafted cars inspired by old classic 1930s designs, kinda like what Mitsuoka, except Mitsuoka modifies Nissan cars. They were founded in 1986 and was initially based in Australia but they relocated to Malaysia in the mid 90s.

This is Bufori’s latest project, the Bufori CS, which stands for Compact Sports. It’s very different from the regular 1930s cars that you get. It’s meant to be a sports 2 door coupe, powered by a 2.0 liter turbocharged inline-4 engine at the front. I’m very curious where this engine is sourced from and I believe I will get more answers on the technical details of the car at a test session that I’m going to at 3pm later today.

The Bufori CS is built on a space frame chassis wrapped with a monocoque body made of reinforced Carbon Fiber and Kevlar. The suspension design uses unequal upper and lower arm for the front and rear and fully adjustable coil-over shocks. It will be launched in the first half of 2010 and more details will be unveiled before the end of 2009.

But here’s the most interesting part – a race version of the Bufori CS will be entered in the 56th Macau Grand Prix this month. The race car is called the Bufori BMS R1 and will be entered by the new BMS AXLE RACING team, a JV between Bufori Motorsports and Axle Motorsport. Axle is a familiar name – Alex Yoong is the man behind it. The race car was developed in under 10 weeks and complies with FIA GT3 specs.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG to cost 177,310 Euros

Paul Tan — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:21:41 +0000

Wanna know how much you’ll have to fork out for a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG if you’re in Europe? The car itself is sold at 149,000 Euros but you’ll actually have to pay an additional 19% VAT which brings the price up to 177,310 Euros. That’s about RM 892k, excluding the kind of crazy taxes you’ll have to pay to bring such a vehicle into Malaysia.

I’m not sure if Mercedes-Benz Malaysia will be bringing in and supporting this car but you can pretty much get anything at Naza Auto Mall if you have sufficient bank balance for it.

But here’s the thing, even at that astronomical price and with the SLS AMG being a single model car, you won’t be getting the best and most expensive SLS AMG out there. There is a whole list of expensive options that you can add to the car, including some ridiculously expensive ones like a carbon fiber engine cover going for over 4000 Euros, which makes it over RM20k. That’s nearly the price of a basic Perodua Viva here in Malaysia.

AMG ceramic composite high-performance braking system: €9500 net/ €11,305 gross
AMG performance suspension with a stiffer setup for optimum lateral dynamics: €1200 net/€1428 gross
AMG light-alloy wheels in a 5-twin-spoke design, size 9.5 x 19 inches (front) and 11.0 x 20 inches (rear), tyre sizes 265/35 R 19 (front) and 295/30 R 20 (rear): €950 net/€1130.50 gross
AMG forged wheels in a 10-spoke design, size 9.5 x 19 inches (front) and 11.0 x 20 inches (rear), with tyre size 265/35 R 19 (front) and 295/30 R 20 (rear): €2000 net/€2380 gross
AMG performance steering wheel in leather/Alcantara: €400 net/€476 gross
AMG sports bucket seats: €3300 net/€3927 gross
AMG carbon-fibre engine compartment cover: €4000 net/€4760 gross
“AMG alubeam silver” paint finish: €10,000 net/€11,900 gross
“AMG monza grey magno” paint finish: €3250 net/€3867.50 gross
AMG carbon-fibre trim (front stowage tray and rear stowage compartment including lid, AMG DRIVE UNIT surround, surrounds for the centre console, shiftgate and rear, trim strips for centre console and door armrests): €3500 net/€4165 gross
AMG interior carbon package (carbon-fibre trim, trim on seat backrests and sides, door sill panels): €3500 net/€4165 gross
Leather nappa exclusive single-/two-tone: €2500 net/€2975 gross
Memory package with electric seat and steering column adjustment, as well as four-way lumbar support: €1225 net/€1457.75 gross
6-disc DVD changer: €660 net/€785.40 gross
Bang & Olufsen BeoSound AMG surround sound system: €5900 net/ €7021 gross

The SLS AMG is an AMG car – there is no non-AMG ‘basic’ version out there and it’s supposed to be a halo flagship model. I understand if you have to pay a little more for in-car entertainment upgrades like the B&O system or the DVD changer but I’m wondering why things like an “AMG performance steering wheel” has to be a 400 Euro option.

I’m assuming its an upgrade from a standard steering but does that mean what you get as a standard steering is “non-AMG” or “non-performance”?

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

Renault Fluence EV made in Turkey from 2011

Paul Tan — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:43:33 +0000

Renault’s production Zoe Z.E. EV and Kangoo EV will be produced in France (although at two different plants), but the EV version of the Renault Fluence will be produced in Bursa, Turkey in the first half of 2011.

That’s over a whole year to go, but since the Fluence is a relatively affordable Megane sedan, an affordable relatively large C-segment (Civic FD sized) electric sedan is a welcome addition in the product offerings of any country. A Malaysian debut seems quite far off in the distance at this moment though, as the Renault Fluence EV will first be launched in Israel and Denmark, and then continue to make its way to other countries.

Fluence EV buyers will get three battery charge options – your regular charge which will take hours, a rapid charge that requires an external charger, and the Quick Drop battery exchange program. With Quick Drop, you basically cycle between multiple batteries with your EV ownership. Drive it into a Quick Drop garage and the system swaps your EV’s depleted battery with a new fully charged battery in about 3 minutes. It’s a very cool solution but of course Quick Drop will probably only be offered in countries that has Quick Drop centers in place.

There has been no talk of an ASEAN debut so far. Perhaps Tan Chong can try for an electric Fluence to be assembled here in Malaysia for local consumption and export. If they price it at RM150,00.99 or something they qualify for a new manufacturing license, zero local ownership requirement, etc etc various other incentives under the new NAP review. Look after the jump for a gallery of the Fluence EV.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

‘Electric Avenue’ exhibit at Detroit 2010

Paul Tan — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:36:53 +0000

Despite Americans being known to be suckers for things like a large SUV ‘hybrid’ weighing over 2 tonnes, next year’s Detroit Auto Show (set to be held mid-January 2010) will have a special 37,000 square foot section called Electric Avenue devoted entirely to electric cars. Electric Avenue will be sponsored by Dow Chemical Co, a battery supplier who has EV batteries in the works.

So far a mix of both regular nameplates in the industry as well as new EV startups (seems like getting into the electric car business is quite easy given the accessibility to ready-made components like motors and batteries) have signed up and a total of 20 different cars will be displayed. Will we see Detroit Electric there? You can be sure for Renault to be there with some of their EV cars which use the Nissan Leaf’s EV powertrain.

A JV between Dow Chemical and South Korean company Kokam Engineering recently receiveda US$161 million grant to develop these EV batteries and build them at a $665 million 800,000 square foot facility consisting of an R&D center and production plant in Michigan.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

Satria Neo Super 2000 clocks in 6th fastest at Rally of China 2009 shakedown

Paul Tan — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:09:44 +0000

The Proton R3 Rally Team is in China this weekend for the Rally of China 2009 in the Longyou countryside. They had their shakedown yesterday and managed to clock the 6th fastest time of the day with their Proton Satria Neo Super 2000 rally car.

6th is a pretty good result considering out of a total of 82 competitors, 50 consisted of turbocharged Mitsubishis and Subarus which have an advantage due to their higher torque in the Longyou countryside’s mountainous terrain. The Satria Neo Super 2000’s 2.0 liter Renault engine is normally aspirated so it has less torque but it makes its 280 horses through high-revving and an aggressive tune instead.

“The main thing is to get a good clean run here, maybe not go as quick as it can go and try and get to the end with no problems,” said driver Alister McRae, who will be racing tomorrow with his navigator Bill Hayes. Leg 1 of the Rally of China 2009 will span a total of 40 kms. Look after the jump for some photos from the shakedown today.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

VIDEO: McLaren MP4-12C Development Process

Paul Tan — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:14:36 +0000

The McLaren MP4-12C is not in the showrooms yet but McLaren Automotive is already embarking on getting as many buyers as possible interested in the car. They’ve produced a video called “Inside McLaren: developing the MP4-12C” which tracks the MP4-12C’s development process.

The video introduces to the viewer the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) and the MP4-12C test programme (presented by McLaren Automotive Technical Director Dick Glover), footage of extreme test conditions (presented by Chief Test Driver Chris Goodwin), more footage of the development process by various senior engineers, and footage of the 12C development cars on road and track in England and Germany, and extreme hot weather testing in Bahrain.

Dick Glover managed the development process involving 50 Testing and Development engineers and a total of 8 development cars. The result – a car priced at between £125,000 and £175,000 powered by a 3.8 liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine making over 600 horses and 587Nm of torque. It’s exterior looks may not look that exciting but the specs definitely sounds very appealing!

Watch the video after the jump.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

2nd generation Nissan X-Trail in Thailand soon!

Paul Tan — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:38:09 +0000

Here’s some interesting news – the 2nd generation Nissan X-Trail that has been around since year 2007 is making its debut in Thailand in Q1 2010.

The photo you see above is of the new model although it looks very similiar to the old one. More of a minor evolution of the old one in terms of design. The interior has been completely revamped though, and the center meter panel is now gone, replaced with a conventional one behind the steering wheel. The chassis is a new one shared with the Qashqai, with wheelbase increased by 5mm over the old model to 2630mm.

The X-Trail will be launched with a sole engine option – a 2.0 liter model mated to an XTRONIC CVT transmission with a 6 speed manual shifting mode. The 2.0 liter engine is not the old QR20DE found in the first generation X-Trail 2.0 sold here but the newer MR20DE model that you can also find in the Nissan Sylphy.

With the X-Trail soon in Thailand, there could be a chance that we can finally enjoy the new X-Trail here in Malaysia, as the SUV can be sourced from Indonesia whether in CBU or CKD pack form. Yes, the Thai market X-Trail is built in Indonesia, but the MR20DE engines are built in Thailand. Tan Chong tends to drag on their model lifespan here for as long as possible, resulting in a product lineup that’s an utter yawnfest if not for their ‘mother trucker’. But it could be because of a lack of support from Nissan.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

Lexus LF-A has one really cool meter panel!

Paul Tan — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:00:13 +0000

There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to the Lexus LF-A. The exterior may look a little soft and boring but I’m in love with the cool instrument panel. The rev meter can actually physically move around according to the display’s needs! You’ll see what I mean in the video after the jump. Trust the Japanese to come up with something as techno-funky as this – totally gimmicky but damn cool.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

New photo gallery of BMW ActiveHybrid X6

Paul Tan — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:47:46 +0000

Members of the media all around the world were in Miami a few days ago to drive the new BMW X6 ActiveHybrid, and you should already be seeing the test drive reports pouring in. The X6 ActiveHybrid not only has a 4.4 liter twin-turbocharged V8, but an additional two electric motors to help it blast along, with maximum traction too thanks to all wheels being driven. As per normal practice, BMW has released a batch of new photos of the ActiveHybrid X6 snapped at the media test drive event. Enjoy the photos in high resolution glory after the jump. The old batch of photos are here.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

Second round of Goodyear Duraplus tyre giveaway: one week left for your submissions!

Paul Tan — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:52:54 +0000

You have less than a week left to send in entries and stand a chance to win a set of four Goodyear Duraplus tyres for your car, in whatever size you need as long as they are available Duraplus sizes in Malaysia. Four sets of tyres have already been given out and there are an additional four sets to be given out in this second round.

Goodyear Duraplus tyres are claimed to be able to last up to 100,000km, which would make it suitable for the high mileage budget conscious customer who just wants to buy something, put them on and forget them them for the next year or so. The 100,000km figure was obtained during Goodyear’s tests on company tracks in France and Luxembourg, as well as open roads in Thailand. Here’s how you can join:

Snap photos of your current tyres to show that you need a change of new tyres.
Give your best reason to change to a set of Goodyear Duraplus tyres!

Mail your entries to paul@paultan.org.

You can have a look at the previous round of winners to have an idea of what kind of entries are likely to be picked. Goodyear says the key behind the durability of the DuraPlus is what they call TredLife Technology. It’s a buzzword that stands for a few key design features that enables the tyre to last longer.

Here’s a table of all available sizes as well as their recommended retail price per tyre:

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

Citroen C-Zero: a rebadged i MiEV electric car

Paul Tan — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:52:38 +0000

This is basically a rebadged Mitsubishi i MiEV, due to go on sale in Europe in Q4 2010 under the Citroen brand. It is a expansion of an existing collaboration between Mitsubishi and PSA Peugeot-Citroen, where the French marques badge-engineered the Mitsubishi Outlander as their own SUVs. But with the Outlander they made significant changes to the exterior sheet metal, with the C-Zero the MiEV looks very much unchanged.

Drive is via a permanent magnet synchronous motor making 64 horses between 3,000rpm to 6,000rpm and peak torque of 180Nm from 0 to 2,000rpm. The motor is powered by a 330V lithium-ion battery made of 88 x 50Ah cells. You can recharge the batteries via a regular cord into a 220V socket. Regular charging takes 6 hours, and a 80% can be done in half an hour if you use an external charger which supplies a single-phase current of 125A at 400V.

Citroen will be launching more alternative fuel vehicles such as a full hybrid vehicle called the Citroen DS5 in 2011.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

Bentley accessories include really posh childseat!

Paul Tan — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:33:20 +0000

Bentley has come up with a few accessories for Bentley owners. Being the classy behemoths that they are, its not exactly common and tasteful for someone to slap on giant spinners and cover your Bentley with a psychedelic bright orange paintjob, but these subtle additions are nice for those who are really itchy to do something with their cars.

First up is a car cover for your Bentley available for the Continental Supersports and Series 51 GT and GTC models. And why? Oh, in case there’s no covered parking in your mansion for your car of course.

These wheel badges are self-levelling at speeds of up to 112km/h, which means although your wheels are spinning the Bentley logo will look like it stays static and upright.

This is a very expensive “Jewelled Torch” that can be charged via the car’s cigar lighter. A Bentley ‘B’ logo is lasered onto the torch lense, and Bentley’s unique knurling has been added around the beam adjustment bezel. Comes in a posh looking box as well.

Ah, for the Bentley owner with young ones. The leather can be done to match your car’s interior, including the same piping, fluting and hand-stitching. If you want, your kid’s name can also be embroidered on the seat back beneath the Bentley Wings.

And finally there are vented wings (front fender) for the Continental GT and GTC, styled by Raul Pires. The vents have a black mesh finish but Bentley will also offer a chrome mesh version in early 2010.

I’ve always wondered how different the car ownership experience is for those that are born with a silver spoon in their mouth. They never had the equivalent of some old Satria, Wira or Kelisa and saved up every month to do small little mods to get it to perform a little better or look just a wee bit more exciting.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.

Changes for next year’s Nissan GT-R

Paul Tan — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:19:10 +0000

We already know that the Nissan GT-R has been updated for next year but previously details have been scarce. We only know the suspension had been updated, a diffuser with cooling ducts had been added (previously only on the SpecV) and some reduction in airflow resistance to better engine response at low to mid-range engine speeds.

Nissan Europe’s press release has the changes in better detail:

Front spring and damper rates have been changed to improve ride comfort, and for more accurate control of suspension movement for better responsiveness.
The rear suspension radius rod bushings have been made stiffer to give improved feel and responsiveness during cornering.
Computer logic that controls torque distribution between the front and rear axles have been changed to reduce rear axle binding that occurs when differential fluids are cold.
Transmission logic has been altered to give a later downshift from 6th gear to 5th gear when being driven in automatic mode. A more aggressive downshift has been applied for changing from 4 to 3 and 3 to 2.
NACA cooling ducts added to the rear diffuser which provides better airflow to cool the exhaust and transmission (mounted at rear).
Front transmission mount has been stiffened and this reduces vibration through the driveline under high-load conditions.
EBD logic has been moved to apply more brake power rearwards to improve braking stability under dry conditions.
Rear brake cross spring design has been improved to reduce noise.
An improved air deflector design increases cooling to the rear brakes, which is probably needed now that the EBD has increased rear brake bias.
CO2 emissions have dropped by 3g/km – now at 295g/km.
Better insulation for the rear seats, improving cabin NVH.
Double layer clearcoat for the bumpers.
Gun metallic finish surrounds for the speedometer and RPM meter.
New audio-navi system with 40GB HDD storage (9.3GB for music), 3D navigation with Point of Interest supplied by Michelin (restaurants, etc), A2DP bluetooth audio streaming, voice-controlled menu operation and higher resolution 7 inch screen (4 times better resolution).

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:55:55 +0800.