Volkswagen Polo Sedan launched – RM99,888

April 19, 2012  By Chris Ng Filed Under Cars, Local News, Volkswagen

It is time to end all speculations you have about the Volkswagen Polo Sedan because it was launched just over an hour ago. The first thing that is on your mind now is the price, which you will find at the end of this post. Go ahead, scroll down, I’ll wait. Back? Good.
The Polo Sedan is billed to be the affordable Volkswagen, and to an extent, the most affordable German car this corner of the world. It is made in India and plans for CKDs will depend on market demand.

On the outside, the Polo Sedan come with chrome finishing on the front grille and on the front air-dam, trunk and fog light surrounds with height adjustable halogen headlights, and green-tinted heat absorbing glass. It wears 15-inch alloy wheels and comes in six colours – Candy White, Flash Red, Terra Beige, Shadow Blue, Reflex Silver and Deep Black.
There are also chrome accents on the inside as the Polo Sedan comes with an interior chrome package (chrome surrounds for light switches, AC vents, steering wheel accent, handbrake level knob and gearshift). As expected, there is a fair bit amount of leather that is found wrapped around the steering wheel, gearshift knob, handbrake lever and gearshift boot.

The seats are wrapped in ‘Metric’ fabric seat upholstery. Completing the salient equipment list are one-touch powered windows for all four windows, multi-function display, music player hooked to four speakers and rear doors with storage pockets.
In terms of safety, the Polo Sedan is outfitted with four airbags (two at the front and two at the sides), electronic Brake Pressure Distribution (EBD) and pinch-guard for all four windows. There is also the Intelligent Crash Response System, or ICRS, that automatically unlocks your doors and turns on the hazard lights in case of accidents.

The heart of the Polo Sedan is a 1.6 litre MPI naturally aspirated engine that generates 105 PS and 153 Nm of torque. It completes the 0-100 km/h sprint in 12.3 seconds and has a top speed of 183 km/h. As for fuel efficiency, the Polo Sedan does 6.5 l/100km. Paired with the engine is a six-speed torque-converter automatic transmission.
The price that Volkswagen is asking for a Polo Sedan is RM99,888, without registration and insurance.
The story does not end here. There will be more details and a first-impression drive of the Polo Sedan will be coming soon.

MINI introduces Hyde Park and Green Park design themes

April 19, 2012 at 11:00 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under BMW, Cars, International News

Something new from MINI, in this case new design models with exclusive colour schemes, equipment and fittings. It’s available worldwide for both the MINI and MINI Clubman body styles, in this case the MINI Cooper, Cooper S, Cooper D and Cooper SD as well as the respective Clubman variants.
The themes are called the MINI Hyde Park and MINI Green Park, the suffixes named after the recreational areas in London. The Hyde Park features a Pepper White body colour, combined with Hot Chocolate contrasting paintwork – available for the first time – on the roof and exterior mirror caps. For the Clubman, the lower sections of the C-pillar are finished in the body colour.

Also to be found, bonnet and side stripes in Hot Chocolate, while another highlight is indicator lenses done in transparent white – along with the direction indicators integrated in the headlights, this lends the side indicators and rear lights a markedly individual look as well.
Meanwhile, the traditional British passion for sporting competition is expressed in the MINI Green Park. The roof and exterior mirror caps display British Racing Green paintwork, as do the bonnet stripes, and the body of this one is also in Pepper White. Again, the lower C-pillars of the GP Clubman are done in body colour.

Inside both the Hyde Park and Green Park models, you’ll find contrast surfaces in Pepper White, reflecting a cabin design that takes its cue from the exterior. Those into these park homages can take their pick from seats in cloth/leather or leather, in black or Polar Beige, with the MINI Yours dashboard lined in leather in a black/Polar Beige combination.

BMW M Performance Parts continue to expand the brand

 

By Damon LavrincRSS feed

Posted Mar 14th 2012 12:19AM

 

The relentless expansion of M-engineered and branded wares doesn't just stop at the M diesel quadruplets and the M135i. Here in Geneva, BMW announced the latest line of M performance parts that spans the spectrum from appearance bits to powertrain upgrades.

M Performance exhausts will be available for the new 1 Series (in Europe), along with the 3 Series and 5 Series. Carbon fiber front splitters join black kidney grilles in the catalog, as does a new version of the M Performance steering wheel. BMW also claims to have some suspension components are in the works, and all this kit will be on sale and ready for installation at BMW dealers in the United States this summer

Porsche driver busted for using toothpaste to alter license plate

By Jonathon RamseyRSS feed

Posted Mar 13 2012 12:03PM

A Chinese Porsche Boxster driver is in trouble for using toothpaste to avoid the law. The owner used the cavity-preventing goo to change the 1s on his license plates to 7s. This ended up attracting the attention of Qingdao police, who thought the 7s didn't look right.

The owner will be able to reflect on his mistake over some long walks: he was fined 2,200 yuan ($349 USD) and got six points taken off his licence. Since he only had six points left to give, he won't be driving for a while.

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Nissan backs DeltaWing racecar, headed for Le Mans

Related GalleryNissan DeltaWing

By Jonathon RamseyRSS feed

Posted Mar 13th 2012 11:01AM

 

The DeltaWing project now has two major corporate backers and, more importantly, an engine. Nissan and Michelin have signed on with the innovative project of designer Ben Bowlby, Dan Gurney's All-American Racers and Don Panoz. Now called the Nissan DeltaWing, the Japanese firm will provide a turbocharged, direct-injected 1.6-liter, four-cylinder with an output of around 300 horsepower. Known as DIG-T, the powerplant shares the same roots as the engine in the Nissan Juke.

That's about 200 hp down on the 510 horsepower developed by the diesel V6 in the Audi R18 e-tron Quattro and about half the horsepower developed by other LMP1 racers. However, Nissan says the engine is half the weight of a typical LMP1 motor, and paired with the DeltaWing's minimal aerodynamic drag, the lap times are said to be somewhere between those of the LMP1 and LMP2 classes. Why does this matter? Because Nissan and Co. are taking this needle-nosed baby to Le Mans.

Of call cars and classes, Nissan says this strangest looking effort is one that will "showcase the pioneering technology that will show one potential direction for the future of motorsport and will feed into the research and development of future technologies, that filter down to Nissan's road car product range."

The Nissan DeltaWing will be allowed to run in the 24 Hours of Le Mans following a special dispensation for an experimental car that doesn't follow any technical guidelines offered by ACO, the organizer of Le Mans. It will use Garage 56, it will wear Number 0, and won't be classified in the results. Even so, we'll be watching closely. Follow the jump for a video of the racecar's development and a press release detailing Nissan's involvement.

Show full PR text

Nissan Backs Ground-Breaking Deltawing Project for Le Mans

Nissan DeltaWing experimental racecar to be powered by Nissan 1.6-litre DIG-T engine technology in this generation's most revolutionary and exciting motorsport project

- Nissan leads efficiency charge as founding partner of project
- Innovative new racing car to run at Le Mans with Nissan technology
- Nissan DeltaWing will act as test bed for new road car technologies
- Drive for efficiency will see car use half the fuel of its conventional counterparts, bringing Nissan "PureDrive" principles to the track
- Initial backers include racing legends Dan Gurney and Don Panoz, concept designer Ben Bowlby and Michelin
- Special invitation from ACO to occupy 'Garage 56'
- Car to wear number '0' and run outside race classification


(LONDON, March 13, 2012/PRNewswire-FirstCall) -- Nissan is aiming to change the face of endurance racing forever by becoming a founding partner in the most radical motorsport project of its time - Nissan DeltaWing.

A highly-advanced and hugely-efficient Nissan engine will power the remarkable DeltaWing car as it races in anger for the first time at the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours (16-17 June).

While Nissan DeltaWing will not be classified in the 2012 Le Mans 24 Hours, the Company is looking to showcase the pioneering technology that will show one potential direction for the future of motorsport and will feed into the research and development of future technologies, that filter down to Nissan's road car product range.

A race-prepared 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine, featuring direct petrol injection and a turbocharger, will power Nissan DeltaWing, which is half the weight and has half the aerodynamic drag of a conventional racer.

With innovation at its core, Nissan was a natural partner to be invited into the DeltaWing family by the existing group of core partners - US-domiciled British designer Ben Bowlby, American motorsport entrepreneur Don Panoz, the All-American Racers organization of former US Formula 1 driver Dan Gurney, Duncan Dayton's two-time championship-winning Highcroft Racing team and Michelin Tyres North America.

The engine, badged DIG-T (Direct Injection Gasoline - Turbocharged), is expected to produce around 300hp, sufficient to give Nissan DeltaWing lap times between LMP1 and LMP2 machines at Le Mans, despite having only half the power of those conventional prototypes. It features the same technology found in Nissan road cars, such as the range-topping Nissan Juke DIG-T.

"As motor racing rulebooks have become tighter over time, racing cars look more and more similar and the technology used has had less and less relevance to road car development. Nissan DeltaWing aims to change that and we were an obvious choice to become part of the project," said Andy Palmer, Executive Vice President, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

"But this is just the start of our involvement. Nissan DeltaWing embodies a vast number of highly-innovative ideas that we can learn from. At the same time, our engineering resources and commitment to fuel efficiency leadership via our PureDrive strategy will help develop DeltaWing into a testbed of innovation for Nissan".

"This announcement gives Nissan the opportunity to become part of a ground-breaking motorsport project and one which could shape the future of the sport," he added.

Nissan DeltaWing concept originator and designer, Briton Ben Bowlby, said: "Nissan has provided us with our first choice engine. It's a spectacular piece. We've got the engine of our dreams: it's the right weight, has the right power and it's phenomenally efficient."

Nissan DeltaWing is unlike any other racing car currently on track. The driver sits well back in the car, almost over the rear axle and looks ahead down a long, narrow fuselage to narrow twin front tyres, specially created for the car by tyre partner Michelin. With a rear-mounted engine, the car has a strong rearward weight bias, which makes it highly manoeuvrable, while its light weight and slippery shape make it far more efficient.

Its innovative design and forward-looking technology have encouraged the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), the organisers of the famous Le Mans 24 Hours, to invite the car to run in this year's race from 'Garage 56', the spot in the pitlane reserved for experimental cars. As it doesn't conform to any existing championship regulations, Nissan DeltaWing will not be eligible to challenge for silverware and will carry the race number '0'.

Nissan's expertise has been applied to the development of the engine, in order to make it light and efficient enough to prove the philosophy behind the concept can work in 'real-world' motor racing. The Company, always among the first to embrace such radical ideas and surprising new performance innovations, has promised to apply key learnings from the experience to inform strategies for its PureDrive aerodynamics and efficiency package for road cars, as well as its overall research & development programmes.

Dan Gurney's legendary All American Racers organization has built the DeltaWing. The new car continues the California organisation's incredible legacy as a race car constructor which has included 157 different cars built - earning major victories in Formula 1, sportscars and the Indianapolis 500.

Paul Willcox, Senior Vice President, Nissan in Europe, said: "Nissan is a very innovative, forward-thinking company prepared to take a risk or two. And exactly the same applies to Nissan DeltaWing. Our involvement in the project shows the boldness of Nissan from an engineering and innovation mindset."

The first two Nissan DeltaWing drivers to be confirmed are British Sportscar racer Marino Franchitti and Nissan's reigning FIA GT1 World Champion Michael Krumm. The car will make its first public demo laps at Sebring, Florida, at 12.30pm local time on Thursday, March 15.