Paul Tan on the Automotive Industry
BMW MINI has released the John Cooper Works kit for the MINI Cooper S and MINI Clubman S which ups power from 175 to 211 horses, with peak torque boosted up to 260Nm, or 280Nm with overboost. Watch the JCW Cooper S and Clubman S terrorize a track in a video after the jump.
Related Posts:
MINI John Cooper Works Cooper S and Clubman S
[Read more...]
For those not satisfied with looking at the the Volvo XC60 in static photos, you will find a driving shots video of the Volvo XC60 after the jump. Shame there is no audio though, no chance to hear that turbocharged V6, but at least there’s no tacky techno music.
Related Posts:
2009 Volvo XC60 to be unveiled at Geneva 2008
[Read more...]
Click to enlarge
Fiat has released more official details and photos of the new Fiat 500 Abarth, so I’m posting a follow-up to the previously posted 500 Abarth story.
The engine under the hood is confirmed to be the drive by wire Fiat Fire 1.4 litre 16 valve DOHC engine, which uses an IHI variable geometry turbocharger to boost power up to 135 horsepower at 5,500rpm and 180Nm of torque at 2,500rpm. In sports mode, this torque is boosted up to 206Nm at 3,000rpm. This engine is mated to a 5-speed gearbox, with dual cable external gearbox control. It meets Euro 5 emission standards.
The Fiat 500 Abarth uses MacPherson struts at the front and a torsion beam rear axle with anti roll bar. The suspension is naturally lower than the stock 500 for a sportier stance. The power steering system is a Dualdrive EPS with Sport mode, which tightens during sportier driving conditions. The interior features an LED gear change indicator and an analogue boost gauge for the turbocharger.
Brakes are 284 x 22 mm ventilated discs at the front with floating ZPH 4.1.2 calipers, while the rear uses 240 x 11 mm solid discs with floating CII 34 calipers. Standard wheels are 16 inch with 195/45R16 tyres, with an option for 17 inchers with 205/40R17 tyres.
More photos and a video after the jump.
[Read more...]
Ford has released a promotional video of the new 2009 Ford Fiesta, the production version of the Verve Concept. Watch the video after the jump.
[Read more...]
The 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge is a 130 mile desert course – while this might seem mild compared to the Baja 1000 or other similiar off-road courses, what makes the DARPA Grand Challenge special is that the racers have to complete the course entirely without human control. That’s right – robots.
There’s a whole load of videos over at The Great Robot Race‘s website, but there is one participant that stands out from the rest. Out of 12 participants which consisted of all-wheel drive machines, there was only one two-wheeler – the Ghostrider from Blue Team, which is a computer controlled motorcycle.
Using an array of sensors, high speed high resolution 3D-capable cameras and a gyro to help maintain balance, the Ghostrider navigated the DARPA Grand Challenge course using GPS. Watch a video of the Ghostrider after the jump, and the rest of the participants over at The Great Robot Race.
[Read more...]
It seems that most of us like David Arumugam so I suppose Proton made the right call with the production of this Chinese New Year greeting video. It also emphasizes on our multi-cultural rojak society. Enjoy the video! 
VIDEO: Proton David Arumugam CNY Greetings
BMW recently saw the switch from Jung von Matt (which left the BMW account for Mercedes-Benz) to Media Audience Beratung, and MAB’s first ad campaign for BMW carries the tagline: “Don’t trust advertising. Only trust yourself.”
The campaign consists of a series of print ads and TV commercials, of which the print ad is shown above (in German), and the TV commercial is viewable after the jump. The cleverly done ad campaign tells consumers not to trust advertising and instead test drive the 3-Series themselves to find out what a great drive it is.
The TV commercial starts off with beautiful and exaggerated scenes of the BMW 3-Series driving through the countryside, but slowly everything including the background music disappears and you are only left with the car.
View the video after the jump.
[Read more...]
This the final video of a new set of 3 30 second TV commericals which are focused on the new Proton Saga’s features. This video features Dr. Kenny Lee again, using the Proton Saga to brig his patients to the hospital. Watch the video after the jump. You will also find links to the other two 30 second TV commercials, and also the original 1 minute plus length ones.
[Read more...]
This the second of a new set of 3 TV Commericals which are focused on the new Proton Saga’s features and they are about 30 seconds each. This video features David Arumugam of the Alleycats and he demonstrates how you can use the new Proton Saga’s 413 litre boot space, although I wouldn’t really recommend it. Watch the video after the jump.
We’ve previously seen the set of 3 TV commercials promoting the new Proton Saga which were about 1 minute long each featuring local personalities such as Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor our Malaysian Angkawasan, David Arumugam of the popular Alleycats band as well as Dr Kenny who serves the rural areas in East Malaysia. There is another set of 3 videos which are more focused on the car’s features and they are about 30 seconds each. Here is the first of three, featuring our Angkawasan again. Video after jump.
[Read more...]
