Archive for International News

The new Honda Jazz will be introduced in the UK market this Autumn and will differ in terms of equipment to the one that Japan and ASEAN gets. Like our version of the Jazz, the i-DSI engine has been phased out but in are two engines - a 90 PS 1.2 liter i-VTEC and a 100 PS 1.4 liter i-VTEC (likely actually the same as the 1.3 liter that we know).

For the 1.4 liter automatic model it uses neither a 5-speed auto or a CVT gearbox that the Japanese Fit and ASEAN Jazz get, but a next generation 6-speed HONDA i-SHIFT automated manual transmission. The first generation i-SHIFT made its debut on the Honda Civic hatchback. This new version promises reduced shift times, smoother shifts and a more intelligent automatic mode.

The 1.2 liter manual model promises 55.4mpg on the combined cycle with emissions of 120g/km. The 1.4 liter model does pretty well too - 54.3mpg and 123g/km. The models with manual transmissions get Shift Indicator Lights to provide a visual prompt of when is the best time to shift gears.

More images after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of 2008 Honda Jazz UK-spec to get 6-speed i-SHIFT

Porsche has added the Targa variant to its new line-up of facelifted Type 997 cars. Like the rest of the facelifted 997 cars, the new Porsche 911 Targa will get the new Direct Fuel Injection engines and have its Tiptronic S automatic replaced by the Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe 7-speed double clutch gearbox.

The Targa top is a large 1.54 square meter glass sliding roof made out of two components: the glass sliding roof itself and the top-hinted tailgate. The roof will slide beneath the tailgate within 7 seconds to give the passenger compartment an open roof. The glass roof and tailgate’s glass are made of specially-treated glass designed to effectively deflect the sun’s glate and repel UV radiation and excessive heat.

The Targa models are only available in all-wheel drive. The 911 Targa 4 features a 3.6 liter 6 cylinder boxer engine producing 345 horsepower. The manual transmission model takes it from 0 to 100km/h in 5.2 seconds, but when equipped with the 7-speed twin clutch PDK gearbox, this time is cut down to 5.0 seconds. The 911 Targa 4S is powered by a 3.8 liter unit producing 385 horsepower and with a manual transmission its 0 to 100km/h sprint time is 4.9 seconds, with the PDK gearbox bringing it down to 4.7 seconds. The fuel injection system injects fuel into the combustion chamber at a 120 bar pressure.

The Porsche 911 Targa4 is priced from £72,980 while the Targa 4S goes for a minimum of £80,270. PDK is part of the various options available and is priced at an additional £2,338 over the base prices.

More hi-res photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Facelifted 2009 Porsche 911 Targa 4 and Targa 4S

The horror shown above at first glance looks like one of those Honda Citys going around Malaysia with a large spoiler on the rear, thanks to the W204’s similiaries with the City in the rear lamp design. It’s hard to imagine why anyone would do this to their brand new C-Class, but I guess there must be a market. Look after the jump for a hi-res photo gallery showing every angle of the car in detail.

Click here to read the rest of Wald Black Bisson Bodykit for W204 C-Class

Iranian automotive company SAIPA and Proton has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enter a strategic partnership that would result in the two companies collaborating in areas of R&D, marketing, sales, JV investments, and supply networks.

The first project will be an inexpensive small sedan that will replace the SAIPA Pride (SAIPA Saba, SAIBA Nasim), a rebadged version of the ancient 1987 Kia Pride which was in turn a rebadged version of the Ford Festiva, or Mazda 121. That generation of the Kia Pride has since been replaced by the Kia Rio.

The new SAIPA compact will likely be based on an existing Proton model or platform similiar to how Chinese automaker Youngman is using the Proton GEN2 for its Europestar RCR. Like China, Iran is a left hand drive market.

It’s interesting to note that one of SAIPA’s subsidiaries (51% owned) Pars Khodro began manufacturing the Dacia Logan in Iran in 2006.

Despite also working on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, Nissan will go for electric first. Nissan is planning to sell electric vehicles (EVs) around the world by the year 2012 (with production version fleet tests beginning 2010), and the Nissan Denki Cube Concept displayed at the 2008 British International Motor Show is an example of such an EV.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said that to remain cost effective (Nissan wants an immediate profit upon EV introduction), electric cars will have to be modular and be configured differently according to each country’s needs. He gave an example: an EV in the US would need a range of at least 160km to be practical but an European market EV would do fine with an 80km range. Different communities also have different tolerances for how long they have to wait to recharge their car.

He stressed on the fact that Nissan’s new cars would be pure electric vehicles. “I don’t want a range extender. I don’t want another hybrid. It’s not going to be zero emissions in certain conditions. It’s going to be zero emissions.” The Nissan electric drivetrain will also be shared with Renault. Renault and Nissan aim to jointly sell 1 million electric cars a year, though they did not mention by when they hope this goal can be met.

In the US, Nissan would begin its EV trials in the state of Tennessee in the year 2011. Nissan is now working with the Tennessee Valley Authority electricity company to study and develop the infrastructure needed to support electric vehicles. This infrastructure included the possibility of charging stations being set up around the state so you could charge your car (and pay for charging it) anywhere other than home. Similiar deals have also been signed with Portugal, Israel and Denmark. Talks are being held with other parties in North America, Europe and Asia.

Nissan’s BIMS 2008 concept car (shown above and after the jump) takes a standard Nissan Cube and replaces its 1.3 liter internal combustion engine with an electric motor hooked up to lithium ion batteries located under the floor and seats. The batteries are from Automotive Energy Supply Corp, a JV company between Nissan and NEC.

Edaran Tan Chong Motor executive director Dr Ang Bon Beng said that ETCM is in talks with Nissan to offer a range of Nissan electric cars here in 2015, three years after the EV range’s planned 2012 global launch. Hopefully our automotive market will be more “liberalised” by then so these can be enjoyed by the public at affordable prices. JPJ also needs to figure out road tax for electric motors.

Click here to read the rest of ETCM plans to bring in Nissan electric cars in 2015

We’ve ogled at the Camaro concept in the form of Bumble Bee in the Transformers movie but now it’s time to look at the final production version and ogle at production photos of the exterior, interior as well as the technical specifications! The new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro built on GM’s new global rear wheel drive platform was revealed today and sales of the three variants (LS, LT and SS) will begin in 2009.

The new Chevrolet Camaro LS and LT are offered with a 3.6 liter direct injection V6 engine that features variable valve timing. Power is rated at 300 horsepower at 6,400rpm, and torque is an impressive 370Nm at 5,200rpm - a torque to displacement ratio of more than 100Nm per liter. This engine is available with either a 6-speed manual or a Hydra-Matic 6L50 6-speed automatic transmission. This engine is redlined at 7,000rpm.

The more powerful Chevrolet Camaro SS is V8-powered, but the manual and automatic models receive different engines. The manual model gets the Chevrolet LS3 6.2 liter V8 producing 422 horsepower at 5,000rpm and 553Nm of torque at 4,500rpm. This is paired with a 6-speed TR6060 manual transmission. The automatic model uses the L99 engine, which is based on the LS3. The L99 6.2 liter V8 produces 400 horsepower at 5,000rpm and 535Nm of torque at 4,500rpm.

A key difference between the L99 and the LS3 engine is the Active Fuel Management feature which is essentially a cylinder deactivation system which can shut off one bank of the V8, allowing it to run on four-cylinder mode during light engine load. The L99 also has a lower redline at 6,000rpm compared to the LS3’s 6,600rpm redline.

Unlike that other modern interpretation of a classic car which features a live axle at the rear, the new Chevrolet Camaro features a fully independent suspension on both front and rear. This one one American muscle car that will actually go well around the corner. It recently clocked 8:22 on the Nurburgring, beating the likes of the E46 BMW M3 and the Porsche Cayman S which clocked 8:22 and 8:25 respectively. The LS and LT models get the FE2 sport suspension while the SS model is equipped with the FE3 performance suspension which also lowers the car’s ride height. All models feature disc brakes all-round, but unlike the LS and LT which use single piston calipers the SS model uses 4-pot Brembo calipers on all four discs.

The interior features a center-console gauge cluster that pays homage to the optional gauge cluster on the 1969 Camaro. It displays oil temperature, oil pressure, battery condition and transmission fluid temperature using LED backlighting.

Continue reading for a high-resolution photo gallery of the new Camaro.

Click here to read the rest of 2010 Chevrolet Camaro Details and Hi-Res Photos

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Lotus has unveiled its highly secretive Project Eagle car, now officially christened the Lotus Evora at the 2008 British International Motor Show.

The 2+2 mid-engined sports car weighs just 1,350 kg and is powered by a Toyota 3.5 liter V6 Dual VVT-i engine with a Lotus T6e ECU putting out 280 PS at 6,400rpm and 342Nm of torque at 4,700rpm. It’s 0 to 100km/h time is measured at under 5 seconds. For those who are environmentally conscious, CO2 emissions are measured at just under 225 g/km and the car achieves more than 30 mpg on a combined cycle. This is mated to a 6-speed manual, but the ratios are tuned for a more relaxing GT-like drive. A close ratio gearbox is still under development.

Braking is via AP Racing 4-pot calipers for both front (350mm disc) and rear (332mm disc), hiding behind large 18 inch wheels at the front and 19 inch wheels at the rear wrapped with Yokohama rubber in 225/40ZR18 and 255/35ZR19 sizes respectively.

Its chassis is based on the Lotus Versatile Vehicle Architecture, which was showcased quite some time ago as the base for the Lotus APX Concept MPV. In this incarnation the VVA platform measures 2,575mm long in wheelbase, and the car itself measures 3242mm long and 1223mm tall with a track of 1565mm at the front and 1557mm at the rear. The body has a drag coefficient of 0.33 cD.

The Evora’s composite roof is used as a stressed structural member to help the vehicle achieve a chassis stiffness of 26,000 Nm per degree. The suspension uses Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs with dual path top mounts.

The Evora will be priced between £45k to a little over £50k. For those that think this is the Europa all over again, one key difference between the Evora and the Europe is probably the fact that the Evora is based on a new platform and is larger. But then again, the car is somewhat marketed at a similiar market, so only time will tell how the Evora will do. The car is actually not complete yet - there is still another 6 months of R&D to go but these photos and spec figures are pretty much what the production version will be.

Continue reading for more photos…

Click here to read the rest of Lotus Evora: official name for the Project Eagle 2+2

The other production car from NICE that will be displayed at the 2008 British Motor Show in London is the NICE MyCar, a two-seater “coupe” with a 65km/h top speed, 65km range and a 6 to 8 hour charge time for its maintenance-free lead acid battery.

The NICE MyCar is priced at £8,995 (roughly RM57,607) and is exempted from London’s congestion charge, road tax, and in certain locations even parking. It is built on a steel tubular spaceframe chassis with independent suspension for both the front and rear axle. It will go on sale in Autumn 2008.

Standard equipment includes electric windows and mirrors, a radio CD MP3 player, 14” alloys, remote central locking, and storage areas under the bonnet, in the boot and in the glove compartment. Optional is a glass roof or a removable fiberglass targa top.

Click here to read the rest of NICE MyCar two-seater electric car

Toyota GB is introducing a new sports-themed version of the third generation Toyota RAV4 called the Toyota RAV4 SR180. The 180 badge seems to indicate 180 PS… well, nearly. Its 2.2 liter D-4D turbodiesel engine produces 175 PS and a massive 400Nm of torque, mated to a 6-speed manual transmission.

The RAV4 SR180 goes from 0 to 100km/h in 9.3 seconds which is reasonably swift though it won’t kick you back into your seats every time you put the pedal to metal, and gets a mileage of 40.4mpg on the combined cycle.

Bits of sporty equipment included in the SR180 package include extended wheel arches, 18 inch alloy wheels, runflattyres, dark-tinted headlamps, Integrated Active Drive (VSC, Traction Control and Hill Start Assist), Bluetooth connectivity, dark tinted rear privacy glass, fog lamps, a six speaker audio system with a 6-CD changer, cruise control, and electric sunroof.

Click here to read the rest of Toyota RAV4 SR180 2.2 D-4D SUV

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Remember these bunch of Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution owners who wanted to set a Guiness World Record? Good news, they managed to do it! A total of 273 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions from all generations was at the paddock of the Castle Combe Racing Circuit in Wiltshire, England on the 12th of July 2008 and got into the track grouped together by colour to begin a 2 mile parade drive on the circuit at a constant speed, as you can see from the photo above.

At 5:27pm Guiness World Records official Laura Farmer confirmed the record and presented a certificate to the event manager Ian Corcoran shortly after the parade. The event managed to raise £7,459.27 for the Richard Burns Foundation.

One more shot of all the different Evos parked in formation after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Parade of 273 Evos set Guiness World Record!