Advertisement

StopTech BMW M3 track car – stronger, nimbler and lighter

June 15, 2010 at 3:56 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under BMW, Cars, International News

APP Europe had a few goals when they decided to modify the current BMW M3, which was to create a track day car with reduced weight, better driving dynamics, added engine performance and stable braking. The result is this, the StopTech M3.

Starting off, they played with the M3’s 4.0-litre V8 engine and increased power output to 450 hp from the standard 420 horses with the help of a tuning kit from Collaction AG. This also adds 40 Nm of torque to make 440 Nm. Next was the brake system by StopTech, which comprises forged aluminium and anodized 6-piston calipers with two-piece 380 x 32 mm discs at the front and 4-piston calipers on 355 x 32 mm discs at the back. This set is claimed to be much lighter and more powerful than the stock items.

To improve driving dynamics, APP added a KW Club Sport suspension, a titanium exhaust system and 19-inch ATS ‘Race Light’ wheels covered with Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tyres. The exhaust system is 23 kg lighter than the standard set, while each new wheel is 1.5 kg lighter than the ones supplied by Munich. Instead of matte black, this car’s skin gets a matte titanium silver foil for a metallic effect and clean finish.

Picture gallery after the jump.
[Read more...]

13 Comments      

2011 Volkswagen CrossPolo – more details released!

June 15, 2010 at 11:19 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Volkswagen

Volkswagen has released more details on the new CrossPolo. As previously previewed, the CrossPolo is essentially a five-door Polo hatch with SUV looks and 15 mm higher ground clearance.

The petrol range of engines include a 69 hp 1.2-litre, 84 hp 1.4-litre and a 104 hp 1.2 TSI, while the diesel front comprises of a 1.6-litre trio of 74 hp, 89 hp and 104 hp TDI motors. 6-speed manuals are standard, while the higher powered units get 7-speed DSG as an option.

Prominent exterior changes include the anthracite coloured front apron with integrated front fog lights, black honeycomb insert with chrome trim and anodized roof rails, which have become a signature for the Cross range. Responsible for the SUV looks are the lower half of the body in black (including wheel arch extensions) and silver “stone guards” at both ends. It will ride on 17-inch alloys with 215/40 tyres. Silver too dull for you? Six body colours are available including CrossPolo exclusive Magma Orange and Terra Beige Metallic.

There’s a two-tone theme going on inside too. The fabric covering the seats and door trims can be had in Hot Orange, Orange, Latte Macchiato and Grey coupled with anthracite, which is the standard colour for the outer areas of the seats. Other neat features include height-adjustable sport seats, an asymmetrically split rear bench and backrest, pockets on the backs of the front seats with sliding drawers under them, leather-trimmed steering wheel, front centre armrest with storage compartment and aluminium look pedals.

Space wise, the CrossPolo’s 280-litre boot space can be expanded to 952 litres by folding the rear seats. Along with that, the incorporation of the dual cargo floor which can create a levelled loading surface and has straps that hold cargo in place, makes moving around with a full boot a breeze.

The new CrossPolo will be a welcome addition to the VW range in Malaysia. Prices for the previous generation fully imported CrossPolo (read our test drive review) started at around RM108,888. It would be interesting to see where VW plans to price this car should they bring it to Malaysia. Let’s be greedy and hope that they’ll also bring here the Polo GTI!

Have a closer look. Gallery after the jump.
[Read more...]

44 Comments      


Subaru Legacy 2.5GT tS by STI – everything but the engine

June 14, 2010 at 6:14 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Subaru

Subaru’s tuning arm STI has released a tuned version of the fifth generation Legacy in Japan. Called the Legacy 2.5GT tS (stands for tuned by STI) and available in both sedan and wagon bodystyles, it will be the performance flagship of the range with only a limited number produced. How many units is not mentioned.

On the outside, STI adds a front lip spoiler on both models. The sedan gets a boot lid spoiler whereas the estate gets a roof spoiler. All very discreet. The bonnet vent is already standard on turbo models. Perhaps the most desirable addition are those 18-inch multispoke STI alloys wrapped with 225/45 R18 tyres.


Inside, there’s a revised instrument panel, sports seats dressed in alcantara and leather with contrasting red seams, decorative carbon trim in a titanium finish, STI leather steering wheel and gearbox lever with red stitch along with STI-branded floor mats. Handling should be improved thanks to the Bilstein suspension along with strut tow bars. There’s also a new sports exhaust system.

However, the engine has remain unchanged from the 2.5GT, which means a flat-four with 261 bhp and 350 Nm of torque, good for 0-100 km/h in 6.2 seconds. Top speed is 245 km/h.

Gallery after the jump.
[Read more...]

33 Comments      

Chevrolet Spark with 1.4 turbo used as WTCC pace car

June 14, 2010 at 2:16 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Chevrolet, International News, Motorsports

You can now catch the spunky new Spark at the World Touring Car Championship. It will actually be the pace car for the event, very much like the 500 horsepower Mercedes SLS is the pace car for Formula 1 races, but with alot less grunt of course.

The Spark will be equipped with a 1.4-litre turbocharged four cylinder Ecotec capable of producing a respectable 140 horsepower and 200 Nm of torque, similiar to the one used in the US market Cruze. This is a big difference from the standard Sparks on offer with their minimalist 1.0 and 1.2-litre engines that produce 67 and 80 horses respectively.

Look out for the new pace car at the WTCC race in Zolder on the 19th and 20th of June. It will temporarily be covered in the red design that you see in the picture. A permanent design will be decided through a contest for young artists held throughout Europe. Thus you might even see a design similar to that of Jeff Kooks BMW M3, if the winning design is zany enough.

Chevrolet fronts a Cruze in the WTCC and is top of the Constructors Championship with its driver Yvan Muller, who is top of the leader board as well. Away from the WTCC, Chevrolet will be entering the 24 hours of Le Mans with the Corvette C6.R GT2 and as the designation of the car implies, it will be taking part in the GT-2 category. The Corvettes will be driven by Magnussen-O’Connell-García and Gavin-Beretta-Collard.

The Cruze was recently launched in Malaysia and will feature the 1.8 litre Ecotec engine. It will be interesting to see if they plan to add the Spark to the Malaysian line up, as well as a 1.4 turbo Cruze as available in the US. What do you think?

11 Comments      

Aznom and Romero Ferrari go to work on the Land Rover Defender

June 14, 2010 at 12:17 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under International News, Land Rover

The Land Rover Defender is known by many for its sturdy design and excellent off road capabilities. Relatively unchanged since the 1980s, it remains a firm favourite for the military and off road enthusiasts. Two Italian tuning firms have joined forces to give this British 4×4 a make over.

Aznom is one of the two companies involved and are known for their touch up of the Mini Clubman S called the Chateau. Covered in Brown paint with wooden teak-like accents the car looked unique. The other is Italian tuning house Romeo Ferraris which in this case played with the Land Rover Defender’s 2.4-litre turbo diesel four cylinder engine that now produces 152 hp.

Put in charge of the aesthetics, Aznom went on to add a matte two-tone white and black paint job while the front and rear bumpers have been replaced with carbon fibre. Red stripes add a splash of vibrant colour to the mix. The 4×4 will sit on anthracite-finished wheels with Kumho Road Venture tyres.

Inside, the theme seems to be focused on sporting design as it’s covered in Alcantara upholstery, carbon fibre on the interior trim as well as the steering wheel, and also features two-tone tanned Sparco bucket seats.

A different approach to Defender design, I don’t see many loyal Land Rover customers getting out their chequebooks, though it might attract a whole new generation of followers.

Look for a picture gallery after the jump.
[Read more...]

7 Comments      

Audi sweeps Le Mans title from Peugeot this year

June 14, 2010 at 10:57 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Audi, International News, Motorsports, Peugeot

There must be shouts of joy coming from the Audi factory as the Audi R15 TDI cruised to take first, second and third place at the 2010 Le Mans 24 hours endurance race. This will be Audi’s ninth win at the 8.4 mile circuit, but they still have some way to go before being able to topple Porsche’s record of 16 wins.

Drivers Timo Bernhard, Mike Rockenfeller and Romain Dumas were greeted by a chequered flag at the end of their grueling intensive race, completing 397 laps. They were followed by the other Audi cars of Benoit Treluyer, Marcel Fassler and Andre Lotterer a lap behind, while the Audi of Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Dindo Capello were 3 laps behind.

All four Peugeot cars, who by the way were the firm favourite to win this year and secured the top four spots at qualifying, ran into car problems during the course of the race. This gave the Audis the chance to reclaim victory from the Pugs who won the event in 2009.

The surprise of this year’s event was the crash of 1992 Formula 1 champion Nigel Mansell in the 17th minute of the race. The 56 year old entered the race with his sons Greg and Leo in a Ginetta Zytek. The car spun and hit the guardrail at the entrance of the Mulsanne Straight. Mansell was taken to hospital but escaped without serious injuries.

The quote ‘it’s never about winning it’s how you play the game’ springs to mind when describing the teams within Le Mans, as even completing such an event is a reward in itself. In the end Audi’s patience and reliability put the team ahead of the faster Peugeot.

25 Comments      

Ford Mondeo updated with 203 PS EcoBoost turbo engine!

June 13, 2010 at 7:52 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Ford, International News

The Ford Mondeo has quite a nice chassis but that 2.3 litre 4-potter engine doesn’t do it justice – it doesn’t nearly have enough bite as it should, though that 6-speeded does help a little. Enter the new Ford Mondeo powered by Ford’s EcoBoost, featuring a 2.0 litre turbocharged engine producing 203 PS at 5,500 rpm and 300Nm of torque between 1,750rpm to 4,500rpm. This brings the Mondeo’s 0 to 100km/h acceleration time to 7.9 seconds which should be quite fun, and instead of the 6-speed automatic found in the Mondeo sold here in Malaysia, this new engine is mated to a 6-speed wet dual clutch Powershift transmission!

Ford’s press releases compares the new Mondeo with EcoBoost and Powershift to the Mondeo 2.3 and the word “previous” is used with the 2.3 which leads me to believe that the new 2.0 litre turbo has replaced the 2.3 litre. Will Sime Darby Auto ConneXion replace the Mondeo 2.3 here with a Mondeo 2.0 turbo when the time comes? If that really happens they really have to start thinking about adding ESP to the car’s spec list as not many will be used to 300Nm of course accessible so instantaneously across the rev range. They did the same with the Focus TDCi – it has ESP to help cope with the high torque while the petrol Focus does without it.

Ford has also given the Mondeo an updated version of the 2.0 litre Duratorq TDCi turbodiesel engine and it is available in three different stages of tune – 115 PS, 140 PS and 163 PS. The engine gets new solenoid fuel injectors with 8 smaller holes that work at 2,000 bar for improved fuel atomisation, compared with the former six-hole injectors and lower 1,800 bar pressure. A Mondeo TDCi is not available in Malaysia as of now but with Ford selling a Focus TDCi, why not a Mondeo TDCi as well?

20 Comments      

Morgan teases EvaGT 2+2 coupe due for Pebble Beach

June 13, 2010 at 7:36 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News

Morgan is a British automotive brand that started out in the late 1950’s when rationing was highly prevalent due to the Second World War. The company had to be innovative in the design of their cars. Because steel was such a commodity, they used lightweight aluminium in the design of the bodywork.

Aerodynamics played an important part as well and this was thanks to the engineers who worked on aircrafts during the war effort which was integrated in to the design of their cars. They also adopted the use of a smooth “in-line” straight six cylinder engine as it provided better reliability and comfort for long distance journeys.

Morgan is known for machines such as the Morgan Aero 8 and Morgan Aero SuperSports. The British company have now announced the production of a 2 + 2 coupe that will be given the designation EvaGT. It iis expected to debut at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in Carmel, California.

The car will be based on the Morgan’s Aero SuperSports chassis while the design for the bodywork of the car uses computer technology which is then hand finished. This gives it an excellent aerodynamic feel with minimal shut lines, hidden wipers, flush door handles and sharp creases that deflect air over the surface of the car. No drag coefficient figures are available but from the teased design you can expect it to be relatively low.

Coupled with the sleek body will be the BMW turbocharged 3.0-litre straight six with direct petrol injection that develops 306 bhp and 400Nm of torque. Surprisingly, the EvaGT is only expected to sip 7.06 litre of fuel for every 100 km travelled which is quite an achievement for a sports coupe. This is because of the kerb weight of just 1250 kg which is less than the weight of certain hatchbacks.

All that power is channeled through either a six speed sport automatic gearbox or a 6 speed manual gearbox. Performance figures are guesstimates for the moment as Morgan say that the EvaGT can go from 0 to 100kmh in 4.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 273 km/h though you can be assured that more details will be available closer to the launch.

Only a 100 of these cars are expected to be produced which will begin in 2012 while a deposit of £5000 is expected from prospective customers. A striking departure from a company known for clinging to traditional designs, it would be amazing to see how the two door design will fit four humans. Unless they plan to use the same four adults that were used in the design of the back seat of the Mini.

4 Comments      

It pays to be a Nissan director, four times more to be exact!

June 11, 2010 at 4:50 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under International News, Nissan

While nowhere near as bad as top officials in government owned companies paying themselves big bonuses based on “projected earnings”, the business community was still surprised to hear that Nissan Motor Co will pay its directors almost four times more than their counterparts in Toyota and three times more than Honda directors for the fiscal year that ended in March.

Nissan wants to pay its 12 directors including CEO Carlos Ghosn an average of 141 million yen ($1.5 million). Toyota on the other hand aims to pay an average of 37.5 million yen to its 38 directors, while Honda will pay its 21 directors an average of 48.3 million yen. However, Nissan’s net income in the fiscal year was 42.4 billion yen, compared with 209.5 billion yen at Toyota and 268.4 billion at Honda.

Not included in those figures are stock options that the 38 directors from Toyota will be getting. However, this will only add up to 593 million yen, which is an average of 15.6 million yen per director. Honda bosses are also set to get a 15 million yen average bonus. All three companies will seek approval for the pay plans at their respective shareholder meetings later this month.

Analysts say that Nissan’s high remuneration package could be due to a number of factors, one of them being the Yokohama based carmaker’s rapid recovery from a loss a year earlier. Compared to its rivals, Nissan also has a more international corporate culture thanks to its alliance with Renault, according to Satoru Takada of TIW Inc.

Source

18 Comments      

Honda faces yet another strike at locks supplier

June 11, 2010 at 3:33 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under China, Honda, International News

Honda has been facing a host of strikes at different plants in China recently. The latest is at a lock supplier, located at Southern China’s Pearl River Delta. The workers plan to extend their strike to a third day.

Demands this time are for an increase in annual wages of nothing less than 15%, improved allowances, benefits, the right to organize independent labour unions and a promise from management that anyone joining the industrial action won’t be dismissed. The workers at the plant donned white overalls and pressed up against the factory fences shouting for their demands while being watched by police. “We’re definitely going to strike tomorrow, our wages are too low,” said one of the workers.

Honda Lock have confirmed that shipments to Japan were unaffected for at least a day or two as they have enough existing stock ready for shipment, but went on to add that the negotiations were on going and a prolonged dispute could disrupt the flow of supply to Honda’s car plants. “We’re still gathering information, and we don’t know when the negotiations will end,” Honda Lock’s Hirotoshi Sato said.

Previous strikes at an exhaust pipes maker in Foshan ended late last Wednesday, and as production returns to normal, shipments to Honda’s suspended factories would return to normal on Friday. This seems to be only a temporary agreement though, as key negotiations over pay are still underway it could still turn in either direction.

As we mentioned before, strikes and their accompanying settlements have sparked a whole new revolution in terms of factory workers pay. If automakers are worried about the fact that China’s labour costs might outweigh profitability, they needn’t fret.

One auto analyst from JPMorgan said that wage hikes would have little impact on Honda’s profits as labour cost accounted for just 5 to 6% of its total revenue, even in Japan! “So if we assume wages in China are between one-fifth and one-third those in Japan, the cost of factory floor workers in China comes to around 2% of sales. Assuming factory wages in China were raised a uniform 30%, we estimate the impact on the China operating margin would be (a decline of) just 0.6 percent,” according to report written by analyst Kohei Takahashi.

More company executives agree that higher pay is inevitable for an economy like China which is developing immensely. There have even been some comparisons made between China and Japan in terms of their development.

Source

31 Comments