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Lumma Design is quick to work on the new Cayenne

May 17, 2010 at 4:01 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Porsche

The second-generation Porsche Cayenne is not even on sale yet, but German tuner Lumma Design has already started working on it. The styling package, named CLR 550 GT, includes a new front spoiler that has a deep drawn cup spoiler sword with added carbon applications. Kevlar and carbon are some of the materials used to fashion the sporty bonnet, which has gill-like air inlets. Even little details like the windscreen wiper cover has been elevated to reduce drag.

Aerodynamics are further improved by wing extensions while side skirts usher airflow through a specially designed channel to the rear brakes, which helps to maintain optimal operational temperature. Openings in the door fixtures further improve the cooling mechanism. Visual substance can also be found at the back thanks to things like pronounced spoilers with integrated carbon diffuser and a unique triple stainless steel pipe exhaust setup. Placed in the middle, the centre pipe is flanked by two smaller items. More carbon lies in the roof edge spoiler and the tear-off edge on the tailgate. The pimped up look is finished off with 23-inch wheels.

Lumma did not hand out any renderings of the interior, but we’re expecting a carbon fest! More images after the jump.
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Hertz to add Nissan Leaf electric car to its rental fleet

May 17, 2010 at 2:45 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Nissan

Want to drive and experience the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle? It may not be as impossible as you think, as you will be able to do so on your next holiday to Europe or America. Rental car company Hertz is adding the Leaf to its rental fleets in the US and Europe beginning early 2011, shortly after the car’s debut later this year. The volume and rental price hasn’t been set though, according to company spokeswoman Paula Rivera.

Hertz has 2,100 outlets in the US, and California should be getting the early Leafs. “Realistically, we look at high-demand location – where the consumer base is asking for them. When we introduced the Toyota Prius, California was one of the hot locations, and we’re anticipating something similar with the Leaf,” Rivera added. The Golden State is also subsidising the Leaf with a $5,000 cash rebate. Demand is expected from those who want to sample the car before purchase.

The Leaf will also be available at some Connect by Hertz car-sharing locations. Hertz introduced the Connect program in 2008, and it now has operations in London, Paris, Madrid and Berlin.

Billed as the world’s first affordable, mass produced zero emission car, the Leaf is powered by an 80kW electric motor. It has a real world range of 160 km and charges to 80% capacity in under 30 minutes. Top speed is “more than 140 km/h”, so this is not a strictly city bound car. Click here for more images and videos of the Leaf.

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Switzer GT2 R911S is a 911 with 911 horsepower!

May 17, 2010 at 11:48 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Porsche

Anything Porsche can do, we can do better. This must be the mindset of Ohio-based Porsche tuner Switzer. While many are still talking about the just released Porsche 911 GT2 RS, Switzer Performance has unveiled a 911 with 911 horsepower. Called the Switzer GT2 R911S, this mad car will drop the GT2 RS, which is the most powerful street legal Porsche of all time.

The R911S is a modification of the company’s P800 GT2 package and has various track centered revisions. Using race fuel, the car delivers over 800 horses at the rear wheels. With such power on tap, driving dynamics is an issue. Thus Switzer has fitted a titanium inverted front-strut and remote-reservoir suspension engineered by the track experts at JRZ, the exact same hardware JRZ uses in the Patron GT3 Cup and Grand-Am Rolex GT series.

Fully customisable damping rates and individually selected springs will further help to fine tune each customers road and track experience, the tuner says. Switzer also offers the R911S Carbon package, a suite of lightweight carbon fibre body panels that sheds weight and lowers the car’s center of gravity “for maximum performance in advanced-level trackday and time-attack sessions.”

Do you really need so much power to have fun? Perhaps this is for wealthy rodeo riders who want to fight their car, not drive it. More images after the jump.
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Toyota to suspend production in Thai factory

May 16, 2010 at 2:12 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Toyota

Toyota will suspend production at one of its four vehicle plants in Thailand as part of restructuring efforts to boost efficiency and profitability. Vehicle production will stop by the end of this month at Thai Auto Works, located in Samrong on the outskirts of Bangkok. The plant opened in 1988 and is responsible for churning out the Vigo (Hilux to us) and Fortuner to the tune of around 60,000 units per year.

The 960 workers at TAW and production of the two models will be transferred to two other Thai plants that build them. This development has nothing to do with the current political situation in Thailand, as the decision was made in November last year.

Toyota made 435,000 vehicles in Thailand last year, which is a quarter lower than 2008 figures. It’s not the only manufacturer faced with the problem of excess capacity due to lower demand from the global economic crisis.

However, Toyota may have to readjust a bit more than others after its aggressive expansion plan to build more plants and cars when times were good.

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Volkswagen Golf GTI “Excessive” Concept at Wörthersee

May 15, 2010 at 1:56 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Volkswagen

Is there really such a thing as too much modification to a Golf GTI? Volkswagen’s Austrian Wörthersee Show debut is a concept Mk6 called the Volkswagen Golf GTI Excessive, which incorporates a series of small but effective modifications to the vehicle’s running gear to create a sharper, more focused iteration of the iconic GTI.

The list of mods include firmer springs and dampers, a wider track as well as 30mm wheel arch extensions to accommodate the wider track, uprated 370mm brakes at the front and 310mm brakes at the rear, new 19 inch flow-formed BBS alloys with 35mm offset wrapped with 235/35ZR19 track-oriented tyros, a free-flowing exhaust system that’s also lighter in terms of weight, a deep front splitter, revised airdams on the either side of the grille, gloss black sill extensions and a new rear diffuser.

On the inside, you get redesigned bucket seats with integrated headrests finished in black and red, with brushed aluminium and gloss black trim. It’s definitely an interesting set of equipment for one to pimp out his Golf GTI in order to make it stand out a little more. There isn’t a day driving around KL where you won’t see at least one Mk5, and if the new Mk6 becomes as popular as the Mk5 here in KL, it will become a dime a dozen as well. There will always be those who value individuality and will splurge on such mods.

Volkswagen is already seeing the dollar signs and says that if there is an enthusiastic reaction to the concept at Wörthersee, the GTI Excessive may inspire an accessories pack which could be retrofitted to the MkVI Golf GTI to put it somewhere in the middle of the GTI and the Golf R.

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Brabus takes the SL 65 AMG Black Series to the extreme

May 14, 2010 at 3:04 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Mercedes Benz

Even the already extreme Black Series SL65 AMG is not spared by the tuners. The perpetrator this time is Brabus, which managed to coax 800 horses from the SL’s 6.0-litre V12 engine. 0-100 km/h is 3.2 seconds and you’ll only need 9.8 seconds to double that speed (the new 911 GT2 RS achieves the same 0-200 km/h time with half the number of cylinders!).

Best effort is 330 km/h, but most hands will already be shaking at the electronically limited 320km/h. That’s not the only thing that has been limited – after outworking themselves to create 1,420 Nm of torque from as 2,100 rpm, they decided to spare owners’ lives by pegging it back at 1,100 Nm.

Responsible for this insane performance is Brabus’ twin-turbo system that includes two special exhaust manifolds with integrated turbine housings. A specially made Brabus carbon-fiber hood scoop feeds four big intercoolers while a bespoke stainless-steel high-performance exhaust system with free-flow metal catalysts are included. An ECU remap coordinates the altered ignition and injection timings.

Called T65, this car was a one off model done for a Brabus customer, but the famous Mercedes tuner has decided to go public with it. Customers can pick whatever they want from the Brabus catalogue. As you can see from the gallery, this car was finished in matte black while the interior is covered in breathable black leather and Alcantara. This particular owner specified stainless-steel scuff plates with illuminated logos and the car’s name (Vanish) on the 360 km/h speedo and the brakes.

More images after the jump.
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Chevrolet Cruze user and eco friendly cartridge oil filter

May 14, 2010 at 2:53 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Chevrolet, International News

Here’s a good solution for an oil filter – user friendly and easy to recycle. Chevrolet will be using this cartridge style oil filter for the Cruze (not sure if it’s applicable to our market) which makes it easy to replace compared to conventional steel canister style oil filters – drip free and from the top of the engine. While we usually let the service centers handle changing the filter here in Malaysia, a filter that is easily replaceable is something good to have in the US where there is a DIY culture thanks to high labour costs.

It will be seen in the US Cruze’s two engines – 1.4 Ecotec Turbo (138 bhp/200 Nm) and 1.8 Ecotec (136 bhp/167 Nm). Made only from paper and plastic, it’s easy to recycle. Recycling canister style filters requires the metal housing and other elements, like the rubber seal, be cut away or separated.

The housing for the cartridge style filter is part of the engine and never needs replacing. The housing also has a screw-on replaceable cap that eliminates the conventional canister-to-engine mating surface which is a potential source of leaks.

The much delayed Chevrolet Cruze will be the first car launched in Malaysia under the brand’s new handlers, Naza.

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Diesel hybrid Range Rover Sport – less than 100 g/km CO2

May 14, 2010 at 10:10 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Land Rover

Land Rover has confirmed that they will be bringing out hybrid versions of Range Rover models which will be called Range Rover_e. Apparently set for a 2013 launch, the diesel electric hybrid drivetrain will be introduced to the public in a Range Rover Sport body. Land Rover suggested that all their models have the potential of being driven by the hybrid system, and developing a petrol hybrid (mainly for US and Middle East) would be easy after mastering the harder to produce diesel system.

The chosen transmission is the ZF eight-speed automatic and the hybrid system adds about 110kg to the weight of the car. It has been reported that a 3.0-litre V6 diesel motor will partner a 25kW electric motor. the SUV will be able to run solely on electric power for 32 km. CO2 emissions will be less than 100 g/km, which is nothing short of amazing in such a big car. Currently, only eco models of superminis achieve that sort of figure.

Tests will start late this year with a small fleet of five units.

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Volkswagen Golf GTI adidas revealed at Wörthersee 2010

May 14, 2010 at 9:21 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Volkswagen

The Volkswagen Golf GTI has amassed multitudes of fans all around the world since production started in 1976. In just six years, the passion for the car was so strong that a GTI-Meet in Reifnitz at Wörthersee was organised. The stage was set for fans to share their love for the GTI. Fast forward to the present and the same scene can be experienced, apart from the updated models of course.

Wörthersee 2007 saw the introduction of the ultimately insane GTI W12-650 which packed a 650 horsepower W12 engine in a Golf GTI shell. In 2008 there was the Golf Estate RaVe 270, and in 2009 it was the Golf GTI Wörthersee 09. This year VW offers to fans the Golf GTI adidas.

Three German historical brands, adidas, GTI and Volkswagen, combine for this car. The Golf GTI adidas will be customisable and features 18-inch “Serron” alloy wheels, specially developed sport seat design (with three stripes) and bi-xenon headlights and LED rear lights as standard. The car’s interior is customised in the style of adidas and the sports brand’s logo sits on the base of the B-pillar. We like the dimpled golf ball gear knob and also noticed that the instruments are backlit in a cool blue colour, which differs from the white in the standard car.

More pictures after the jump
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Yulon Motor Luxgen MPV’s new 2.2 liter turbo engine

May 13, 2010 at 8:33 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News

Taiwanese automaker Luxgen has released more information on its new 2.2 litre MEFI Turbo engine that will be available in their MPV. The engine seems to be boosted quite lightly by its Garrett turbocharger, producing 175 horsepower at 6,000rpm and 255Nm of torque between 2,500 to 4,000rpm. Interestingly when details on the Luxgen MPV was first released the engine output was rated at 200 horses and 280Nm but I guess the engine has been revised now – perhaps they are playing it a little safe for reliability.

BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroen’s Prince engine can produce similiar horsepower and torque figures (both in terms of peak and spread) from their turbo direct injection 1.6 litre engine, but still it’s a good start and the higher torque is definitely necessary to move an MPV around comfortably. The engine complies to Euro 4 standards and is reverse-mounted, positioning the intake in front and the exhaust together with its turbocharger at the firewall side of the engine bay. This allows for the catalyst to be positioned closer to the exhaust manifold which helps with emissions.

I can’t wait for the year end where hopefully we’re going to be reading blog posts such as this one, except that we’ll be covering Proton’s new Project Phoenix turbocharged engine instead!

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