GALLERY: More pics of the Lexus LF-LC Concept surface

JANUARY 5, 2012 AT 5:31 PM BY DANNY TAN FILED UNDER CARS, INTERNATIONAL NEWS, LEXUS

More images of Lexus’ LF-LC Concept have emerged, showing off a sports coupe looking sexy in red. With a recent leak by a US mag, there’s nothing left to hide now, so Lexus has contributed a pic or two to the collection.

The LF-LC is a 2+2 sports coupe that takes the company’s design direction a step further. Conceived as a design exercise to explore the future of Lexus design, the LF-LC was created at the company’s Calty design studio in Newport Beach, California. for They worked on it for a year and a half. Apparently, Akio Toyoda himself wanted the LF-LC to “have the ‘wow’ factor”.

“Crafted from a clean sheet of paper at the request of Lexus headquarters in Japan, the LF-LC blends both high technology and organic shapes to connect the driver to the machine,” said Mark Templin, Lexus group vice president and general manager. “The clean lines of the vehicle emphasise motion, creating a distinctive look for this futuristic sport coupe.”

The LF-LC will showcase Advanced Lexus Hybrid Drive. Nice interior, too.

VIDEO: New Porsche 911 Cabriolet to make Detroit debut

JANUARY 5, 2012 AT 2:39 AM BY DANNY TAN FILED UNDER CARS, INTERNATIONAL NEWS,PORSCHE, VIDEOS

The new Porsche 911 Cabriolet, announced in November 2011, will make its world debut at the upcoming NAIAS in Detroit. The first motor show of the year was chosen because America is the biggest market for the drop top, by far. In fact, Porsche is thriving in the US despite the less than rosy economy – in 2011, Porsche sold 29,023 cars, 15% up from 2010. They plan to shift over 30k units this year.

Back to the 911 Cab. The big news here is the all new roof design. Throwing out the multi-layered fabric item from the 997, this lid uses a fabric skinned composite panel, which provides a nicer shape and a better fit. Porsche also says that this new roof, which takes just 11 seconds to raise or stow, is more resistant to high speed buffeting. There’s also an automatic wind deflector.

The roof is laid on a magnesium frame, and the glass rear window is glued directly to the outer fabric skin. The lowering and closing process can be done at speeds of up to 60 km/h. You can see this being done in the videos.

Powertrains are identical to the 991 Coupe. The Cabrio’s backside houses a 3.4-litre flat six with 350 hp/380 Nm driving the rear wheels via the world’s first seven-speed manual gearbox. The Carrera S Cabriolet comes with a 3.8-litre flat six with 400 hp and 440 Nm. Porsche’s twin-clutch PDK will be a popular option, delivering better fuel consumption and acceleration than the stick shift.

Click here for full details and a gallery of the 911 Cabrio.

BMW 5 Series now with four-cylinder turbo engines in Malaysia – 520i and 528i M Sport wear the new mills

JANUARY 5, 2012 AT 11:49 AM BY ANTHONY LIM FILED UNDER BMW, CARS, LOCAL NEWS

BMW Malaysia has announced the arrival of new petrol variants for the 5 Series, featuring the new 2.0 litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine in two different outputs. The new engine, which features twin-scroll turbocharging, Valvetronic variable valve control and Double-VANOS variable camshaft control, finds its way into the new 520i and 528i M Sport models.

The 520i’s motor turns out 184 hp and 270Nm of torque, and performance figures for the car include a 0-100 km/h time of 8.0 seconds and a 226 km/h top speed, as well as a claimed 6.4 litres per 100 km fuel economy.

Meanwhile, the TwinPower Turbo technology powerplant on the 528i M Sport offers 245 hp and 350Nm, and the extra horses translate to a 0-100 km/h time of 6.3 seconds and a 250 km/h top speed, with little sacrifice to claimed average fuel consumption – the car supposedly does 6.8 litres per 100 km.

As before, there’s the usual dollop of features and kit, with Brake Energy Regeneration, electromechanical steering and an 8-speed automatic transmission as standard, and the Auto Start/ Stop function now features across the model range.

Additionally, all the new variant entries also reflect upgraded equipment in its Driving Experience Control, which is the button located on the centre console that enables the driver to adjust mode settings for the vehicle’s accelerator, engine, steering, transmission, suspension system and traction control.

The modes available include COMFORT+, COMFORT, SPORT, SPORT+ and, for the first time, ECO PRO mode as standard. ECO PRO mode, which can help the driver to achieve fuel savings of up to 20%, depending on their individual style of driving, automatically optimises the vehicle’s drivetrain, heating and air conditioning strategy, as well as other electric comfort functions. It ensures fuel efficient throttle operation by dampening your throttle input so heavy footed people can drive fuel efficiently.

These new drive modes replace the old COMFORT, NORMAL, SPORT and SPORT+ modes. Essentially COMFORT has been renamed to COMFORT+, and NORMAL has been renamed to COMFORT.

The two new petrol new variants are joined by the improved 520d sedan, which offers 184 hp, 380Nm and 8.1 seconds for the century sprint and a 225 km/h top speed for numbers.

Price-wise, the 520i rolls in at RM358,800, while the 528i M Sport goes for RM409,800 and the 520d is priced at RM333,800, all on-the-road, without insurance, with BMW Service Inclusive + Repair (BS+RI). The new cars will be in all BMW showrooms from this weekend onwards.