Archive for Automotive Videos

An Agent Provocateur - French for inciting agent - is a member of the police force who goes undercover and provokes a suspect to commit and illegal act so that evidence can be easily obtained. It is also the name of a British lingerie brand, which came up with this concept special edition Mini Clubman, which will be auctioned on Ebay for charity between the 5th of June 2008 to the 15th of June 2008.

Continue reading for more photos of the Mini Clubman Agent Provocateur.

Click here to read the rest of MINI Clubman: Agent Provocateur Special Edition

Mercedes-Benz has launched its new compact SUV, the Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class, which is set to go against the likes of the BMW X3 and the Audi Q5. The GLK-Class has a sharp-edged boxy look to it, perhaps to pay homage to the larger G Wagon, which the GLK shares the G model letter with.

Mercedes-Benz says the design also allows the typical advantages of a proper off-roader to be offered on a compact SUV like large approach and departure angles and good ground clearance. It’s 4MATIX all-wheel drive system splits torque at a 45:55 front to rear split during normal conditions. A multi-disc clutch in the centre differential allows a basic partial locking torque of 50 newton metres between the front and rear axle.

There is a button labelled G that you can press to activate a special off-road driving program for the 7G-TRONIC transmission which softens the accelerator pedal so that you can modulate how much throttle input you want to put in more precisely. This makes it easier to tackle off-road conditions with low-friction surfaces. There is also a Downhill Speed Regulation system which lets you set a maximum speed and just let the GLK roll down a hill, with the DSR system controlling the braking automatically.

At launch, the GLK-Class is available in 4 variants - the GLK 220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY, the GLK 320 CDI, the GLK 280 or the GLK 350, with the first two being turbodiesel engines and the other two being V6 petrol engines. The GLK 220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY’s 2.2 liter inline-4 engine puts out 170 horsepower and 400Nm of torque between 1,400 to 2,800rpm. This engine is from the recently launched OM651 twin-turbocharged turbodiesel family. The GLK 320 CDI’s V6 turbodiesel puts out 224 horses and 540Nm of torque.

The petrol-powered GLK 280 and GLK 350 put out 231 horsepower and 272 horsepower respectively. Both turbodiesel and petrol V6 variants use Mercedes-Benz’s 7G-Tronic transmission which features 7 forward speeds and two reverse speeds.

More photos and 4 videos of the new GLK-Class available after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class: Details and Photos

Volkswagen’s Head of Exterior Design Mark Lichte shares with us the design process in coming up with the new Volkswagen Scirocco coupe (more like a lower and wider 3-door hatch), which was first introduced to us as the Volkswagen iroc Concept.

Lichte described the task as “to design the sportiest Volkswagen ever made”, and that could be true as while cars like the Golf GTI and Golf R32 are scorchers in their own right, they look like normal hatchbacks with an aggressive kit slapped on.

Watch the two-part interview videos after the jump, as well as a few more videos on the Volkswagen Scirocco.

Click here to read the rest of VIDEO: Volkswagen Scirocco Design Interview

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Honda has unveiled the new Honda Accord here in Malaysia, the 8th in its generation, and it is the biggest Honda Accord ever. Like its previous model it is available in 3 variants at launch, with 2 locally assembled 2.0 liter and 2.4 liter variants, and a Thai-imported 3.5 liter V6 model.

Read more about the new Honda Accord after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of 8th Generation 2008 Honda Accord launched!

Motor Image is looking to reignite the Subaru brand in Malaysia with the introduction of the new Forester and Impreza hatchback between June to August. This includes the highest factory spec Impreza possible, the 2.5-litre, 16 valve, turbocharged WRX STI.

Shannon Teoh was in Singapore to get an introductory feel of the two new Imprezas that will appear on our shores this year.

Read more after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Subaru Impreza WRX STI and 2.0 S-GT: A Very Short Test Drive Experience

GSD&M Idea City producer Paul Golubovich talks about the BMW M3 V8 Revolution TV commercial we saw earlier this morning in this “The Making Of…” video. Golubovich and his team explain the technicalities involved in shooting the commercial. Look from the 1 minute 50 seconds mark and you can see flames coming out of the opened engine.

Watch the video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of The Making Of BMW M3 V8 “Revolution” Video

In the previous post we saw ad agency Idea City’s TV spot for BMW showing us the insides of the V8 engine from the new BMW M3. It looked great but it wasn’t really real combustion cycle as there was no piston.

After the jump you will find a video recording of what happens inside a combustion chamber for real! You can actually see the intake valve opening, the combustion process and then the exhaust valve opening, all in slow motion!

Click here to read the rest of VIDEO: Inside a combustion chamber

The amazing TV spot you will see after the jump is the creation of ad agency Idea City. It features what happens inside the new BMW M3’s V8 engine and was created entirely without the use of CGI effects. Instead, a real engine (3 of them actually) was modified to have special cameras, lenses and lighting inserted.

After 2 weeks of preparation and a further 80 hours to film the actual injection and combustion process the result is this TV spot, which was filmed at 10,000 fps. Of course, it isn’t really an accurate representation of the combustion process as you can see there’s no piston in there, so the engine isn’t really running.

Watch the amazing video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of BMW M3 “Revolution” TV Commercial by IdeaCity

Have you ever seen crash test videos of an old car? Well, neither have I (as far as I can remember) until today, so I’m sharing this video with you. It’s a series of crash test footage for the Mercedes-Benz W123. Watch the video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Mercedes-Benz W123 Crash Test Video

The Fiat Bravo GT has fresh new more higher powered competition now - Volkswagen Group Malaysia has launched the Volkswagen Polo GTI in Malaysia. While the above picture shows the 3-door version, we get the 5-door.

Powered by a 1.8 liter 20 valve (5 valve per cylinder) turbocharged inline-4 engine mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox, the 0 to 100km/h sprint in the 1,164kg Polo GTI takes 8.2 seconds. The turbocharged engine is a familiar one as a variation of it has been used in many Volkswagen and Audi cars including the Mk4 Golf GTI. It produces 150 horsepower at 5,800rpm and a 220Nm of torque peaking at a low 1,950rpm, staying constant all the way up to 4,500rpm.

Safety features include ESP stability control, TCS traction control to reel in the wheelspin, and Electronic Differential Lock (EDL), which brakes an individual driven wheel when the ABS sensors detect the wheel is slipping so that power is transmitted to the wheel with better traction. EDL functions at speeds up to 40km/h. These three systems work together to ensure you do not get into trouble with the Polo GTI. You’ve got 4 airbags - front and side.

Wheels are 16 inch wrapped with 205/45R16 tyres - this means the CrossPolo’s wheels are even bigger, but I’m sure Volkswagen engineers have packaged this particular wheel and tyre size to work well with the rest of the suspension and chassis parameters.

The Volkswagen Polo GTI goes for RM139,960 without insurance. Watch a video and see more photos of the car after the jump.

Related Posts:
2006 Volkswagen Polo GTI
Volkswagen Polo GTI 1.8 Turbo
Volkswagen Polo GTI Cup Edition

Click here to read the rest of Volkswagen Polo GTI launched in Malaysia