Indian Cars Bikes.in has posted a picture of the Renault Koleos taken in Chennai. The said SUV is running without any disguise. As per the schedule that Renault teased on its website the launch of the Koleos is sometime in September/October which is only a couple of months away.
Picture Courtesy: Indiancarsbikes.in
It rained today during the Formula1 Hungarian GP, only the second time since the inception of the event more than two and half decades ago. The last time it rained was in 2006 and at that time Jenson Button driving a Honda GP car won his first ever F1 GP. Now five years later it rained again and yet again Jenson Button clinched victory in a race that saw fortunes of several people, mainly Lewis Hamilton’s, go topsy turvy. Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull Racing got of to a good start but slid around in the tricky wet conditions to hand the lead to the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton who seemed set for a victory before misfortune hit him in the form of a spin, bad tyre strategy and a drive through penalty. All this dropped him to fourth way behind the leading trio of Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso. Jenson Button in the McLaren Mercedes comfortably held of Sebastian Vettel who in turn did the same to the Ferrari of Alonso. Mark Webber in the second Red Bull car finished in fifth place after being overtaken by Lewis Hamilton who went into the pits six times including a drive through penalty that he incurred. Felipe Massa finished sixth and Force India’s Paul Di Resta finished in a creditable seventh position.
When Roland Gumpert decided to build cars at Alternburg, he decided to build a car that would ‘combine the best technology, the best engineering and car knowledge, and in addition remain gorgeous’, he almost did, with the Gumpert apollo. Almost, since not everyone thought the apollo looked gorgeous. Looks apart, Mr. Gumpert achieved everything else he’d set out to.
The Gumpert Tornante takes its place in the 2012 range of Gumpert products, as a fast tourer. The idea for the Tornante was formed at the Geneva Motor Show last year, when Touring Superleggera and Gumpert realized they’re driven by the same philosophy, which is to disclaim anything that is not essential. Work began on the Tornante in April 2010 in order to bring to the market a car that wasn’t just as technically sound as the apollo but a bit more civilized with more elegance, more passenger and luggage space, improved comfort, access and ventilation, and noise reduction and at the same time ensuring fundamentals of performance and dynamic properties were not compromise. Tornante means ‘hair pin turn’ in Italian, a reference to the German and Italian connection, not unlike the twisty alpine roads. The design sketches were unveiled recently, and we have to agree, the Tornante is much more elegant than its sibling.
TOURING SUPERLEGGERA’s exquisite creations include the BMW 328 Berlinetta, the Ferrari 166 and 340 and the Alfa Romeo 8C2900. TOURING was intrigued by the challenge from the young, vital and ambitious sports car manufacturer, known
for uncompromised orientation to efficiency, high quality engineering and the constant quest for better performance.
The proportions are different from that of the apollo, and a number of changes were made to the rolling chassis to accommodate the requirements of the design changes and inner space. The floor height is increased by 20 mm, the shell seats are fully adjustable, heated, with 4-point belt and the paddle shifters are a standard feature. Much effort has gone into making the Tornante’s cabin comfortable. Sound and heat insulation material is fitted on the floor and between the cabin and the engine compartment, the glasses are double layered and the the ventilation system capacity is improved.
A crash box in the front section, adapted from Formula-1 technology, absorbs the impact energy in case of a crash, improving the passive safety. Featuring composite body panels over the light chrome-molybdenum steel space frame with carbon fibre monocoque, the construction principle mirrors the original method patented by TOURING in 1936 and hence the deserving symmetrical Superleggera badges on the bonnet.
The Tornante is powered by the same V8 Biturbo engine that powers the apollo. Starting from an engine block from Audi, the engine is completely developed in-house. Thus, the manufacturing process contains among others all the moving parts, air and fuel management, turbo chargers, charge air-duct and dry sump lubrication. In the basic version this engine delivers 700 HP. In comparison to the apollo, the configuration will be optimized for Fast Touring. This means more comfort and more suitability for daily use. Alongside the V8 power unit, an alternative powered Tornante is also planned for 2012.
The fully synchronized, automatic six-speed TT40e transmission ensures the gearshifts are extremely short to the tune of 40 milliseconds. Rocker switches on the steering wheel are used to control gearshifts. The arrangement of the gears in a longitudinal direction in the path of travel ensures a very low centre of gravity and optimum weight distribution.
Team Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel has qualified in pole position for tomorrow’s Hungarian GP to be held at the Hungaroring. The second and third positions on the grid were taken by Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. Fourth and fifth positions on the starting grid were taken by Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, both of Ferrari while Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber will start the race from sixth on the grid. Nico Rosberg of Mercedes GP will start from seventh while Force India’s Adrian Sutil who yet again made into Q3 will start from eighth position. Michael Schumacher in the second Mercedes will start from ninth on the grid while Sergio Perez will take the start from tenth position. Force India’s Paul Di Resta will start from eleventh position. This time around there is no Indian driver on the starting grid and both Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandok will be spectating the race from the pit garages of Team HRT and Team Lotus. Why is TATA sponsoring a team that will not allow Narain Karthikeyan to race? Does anyone know?
A Yacht on four wheels is what Mercedes-Benz claims the Viano Vision Pearl is. Designed as a functional yet stylish living space, the Viano Vision Pearl will be presented at Frankfurt at this year’s International Motor Show (IAA) in September.
As is to be expected from what could be the S-Class of the van world,a full leather interior in white/grey, wood floor, brushed aluminium trim, chromatically tinting windows and the Bang & Olufsen high-end sound system “BeoSound Viano” will pamper the six occupants, like only a three pointed star badged automobile can. An output of 1320 watts (the S-Class has 1200 watts) and 18 integrated, specially hand-built loudspeakers, ensures the vehicle occupants are treated to an outstanding listening experience. The loudspeakers are located in their own housings, so very little sound volume escapes to the outside.
The name Vision Pearl emphasises both the design concept and the repositioning of the Viano: the Viano of the future is the perfect travelling companion, and in this version it conveys a modern, maritime theme.
Mercedes-Benz, bring this baby to India and price it stratospherically and it will still sell. What’s that cliched expression? Like hot cakes.
After the split with Renault, Mahindra got the rights to the Logan sedan which it has now renamed as the Verito. They have roped in Jimmy Shergill as the brand ambassador and the company has started doing better numbers with the Verito than it did when it was called the Logan. The Verito has started doing rather well in the South where the demand for diesel cars is higher than in the other parts of the country. Mahindra is now working on cosmetic upgrades for the car as also a sub four metre chopped boot sedan to take advantage of lower taxes and sell the car at a lower price. These efforts of Mahindra should take shape in the coming months.
The Magic Iris from Tata is expected to do what the Magic did in terms of rendering three wheelers obsolete. The Tata Magic built on the Ace platform demolished competition from 7 seater autorickshaws and builders of those contraptions such as Force Motors and Mahindra have now resorted to build Magic like vehicles on the Maxximo and Trump platforms. The Magic Iris could be the regular autorickshaw killer and wouldn’t that be a boon. Four wheels and a steering wheel will ensure that lane changing manoeuvres of the autorickshaw will be a thing of the past. Bajaj seems to have realized that the Iris has potential to kill the three wheeled autorickshaw and therefore has decided to work on a four wheeled transporter of people and cargo on the ULC platform. The Bajaj vehicle maybe still far away but the Magic Iris is probably close to launch with many mules found testing.
Picture Courtesy: Indian Cars Bikes.com
If the Yamaha R15 upgrade has baffled everyone in the two wheeled category by undergoing prolonged testing, the Tata Safari Merlin has done the same in the four wheeler category. Mules of the said vehicle have been spotted innumerable times but the vehicle is not making its appearance in Tata Motors showrooms. This has led to speculation something more is actually under the bonnet. However, all will be revealed only when Tata takes the camouflage of the vehicle and puts it in the show room.
Picture Courtesy: Indian Autos Blog.com
Hero Honda has now become Hero MotoCorp officially. This is effective from the 29th of July, 2011 after getting the approval of the Registrar of Companies. Hero is set to unveil its new identity at London on the 9th of August, 2011. In the meanwhile the ever resourceful Autocar India has successfully obtained a photograph of a new Hero motorcycle undergoing testing.
Picture courtesy: Autocar India.com
News has emerged that the Volkswagen Phaeton, the flagship car of the Volkswagen brand is now available with discounts going up to Rs. 25 lakhs. The car which was launched a little less than two years ago in India has failed to take off, probably due to the fact that in India VW is not seen as a premium brand like Mercedes Benz and BMW. One assumes that it is a piled up inventory that has led to this discounting of the Phaeton’s price.
