Motorbeam.com is saying so. The C Class with a slightly different face has been launched internationally and it is logical that the same will come to India soon especially since BMW has stolen a march over its arch rival Mercedes in India. Mercedes Benz does not want to be seen as number two in the market so expect the new C Class to hit the showrooms in July.
Yearly Archives: 2011
The news of a face lifted Corolla Altis has been in the news for some months now. There has even been speculation that the car will come with 1.6 litre version with a lower price to take on the likes of the Honda City which is one segment below the Corolla. That news was later negated but one now hears that the existing 1.8 litre engine will be slightly tuned for marginally higher power and better fuel efficiency and will come with a seven speed CVT transmission. There will be no changes to the diesel engine. The front of the Corolla is where there will be some design changes much in the Toyota tradition where it will be difficult to tell the new from the old.
Some websites are reporting that Fiat will introduce the next generation Linea in 2012. This is the year when Fiat with its joint venture partners in China will begin production and it is believed that the first car to be produced there will be the Linea which will be a new generation one. It is therefore being speculated that India too will get this new generation Linea to push up the lukewarm sales of the Linea. We reserve our opinion till an official announcement is made.
Fiat India is likely to give its Punto a face lift and call the car Punto Evo. The Punto was launched in the month of June of 2009 and will be completing two years in the Indian market this June. The car though a very competent performer with good looks to boot has only been selling around thousand units per month. In order to push the sales up Fiat is readying a face lift, which will be confined only to the face of the car with a new bumper and grill treatment.
Renault is extremely bullish about the Indian car market. Yesterday it launched the Fluence and in October it will launch the Koleos SUV with a new hatchback to be unveiled during the Auto Expo in January, 2012. This will be followed by the Duster in the middle of 2012 and another sedan in 2013. By the end of 2013 Renault plans to sell 1 lakh units of its cars and establish itself as a brand.
Renault has launched the Fluence model on 23rd of May with prices starting at Rs.12.99 Lakhs ex Delhi. This means that the car will be a little more dearer in other parts of the country. The car will come with ABS, EBD and air bags in various levels of trims. Deliveries are expected to commence in June/July of this year.
Ratan Tata is someone who works very hard and is used to seeing his own company people working long hours whenever required. On his trip to the UK he found that middle level and lower level managers promptly left their offices by 5 pm. Tata has questioned this work ethic saying that when he had gone there all the way from Mumbai and reached at 6pm he expected people to stay for the meeting. But the fact that they had left has miffed him. This happened at both Jaguar-Land Rover and Corus Steel. Ratan Tata was however happy that the workers did not subscribe to this work culture. Now is this the clue for British industrial units turning sick?
Jaguar-Land Rover have reported that they have made a record profit of 1.1 billion pounds in the financial year 2010-11. This is an all time high and must be a source of great happiness for the Indian group Tata which took over a troubles Jaguar-Land Rover from Ford. When the Tatas took over the company was making a loss of 280 millions pounds. In they year prior to the financial year quoted above the profit was a modest 32 million pounds.
Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull Racing car may have had his pole position run broken yesterday but he kept his tryst with victory in the race today by beating back the challenge of a resurgent Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren. Hamilton’s team mate Jenson Button in the other McLaren overcame a horrendous start that saw him slip to tenth on the first lap, to finish third. Mark Webber in the second Red Bull Racing car who was the pole sitter finished in fourth place. Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari, made a blistering start to get into first position from fourth place on the grid by the first turn, steadily went back to finish fifth while Michael Schumacher who started in 10th position moved up to finish in sixth position ahead of his Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg who finished seventh. Nick Heidfeld who started last in the Lotus Renault finished in 8th place.
Aston Martin is celebrating the 50th anniversary year of the DB4GT Zagato by unveiling this new concept at the Villa D’Este Concours on 21st May 2011. Ahead of the unveiling Aston Martin has released these pictures of the V12 Zagato, and we are at loss for words.
When Director of Design, Marek Reichman says “The V12 Zagato is an elegant yet brutal design which reflects the great balance between race performance and pure Aston Martin style”, we have to agree with him. It is much easier to laugh off claims like that, but in the case of the V12 Zagato, we have to say, we’re speechless.
Dr Ulrich Bez, CEO of Aston Martin added, “Of course, fifty years ago Italian design houses were widely seen as leading the way with new designs but now and supported by our independency, Aston Martin has its own in-house design ability so this new venture with Zagato is more collaborative than it perhaps would have been in the past.”
The V12 Zagato features hand crafted aluminium panels, formed using an ‘English wheel’. Aston Martin says each front wing comprises of seven separate pieces of aluminium combined and hand finished to give the ‘flowing’ form. The double bubble roof is another Zagato trait.
Working alongside the initial design team was a dedicated group of Aston Martin engineers led by Chris Porritt – previously responsible for the engineering of the One-77. With the skills and knowledge gained from such specialised projects this team has worked to bring the unique design of the V12 Zagato to reality in a very short period of time.
The V12 Zagato is based on the V12 Vantage and combines Aston Martin’s most dynamic bonded aluminium platform with the power of the 6.0-litre V12 engine producing 510 bhp (380 kW / 517 PS), and 570 Nm (420 lb ft) of torque.
In addition to the road version of the car, the V12 Zagato will also appear in the form of an endurance race car to compete at the Nürburgring 24 hour race on 25/26 June.
via Autoblog.com
Find the Technical Specifications and more details regarding the debut of the V12 Zagato in the four hour VLN race at Nürburgring on 28th May in the Press Release below.
Aston Martin unveils new V12 Zagato
• In 50th anniversary year of the iconic DB4GT Zagato, Aston Martin introduces a modern interpretation of the famous Aston Martin and Zagato collaboration
• New V12 Zagato concept to be premiered at the Villa D’Este Concours on 21st May to gauge customer interest
• The V12 Zagato will appear in the form of an endurance race car to compete at the Nürburgring 24 hour race on 25/26 June; following tradition of recent new Aston Martins
Gaydon / Lake Como, 20 May 2011. Aston Martin will unveil the stunning new V12 Zagato endurance racer concept on the shores of Lake Como, Italy at the Villa D’Este Concours tomorrow.
Reviving a collaboration which has produced some of the most beautiful and sought-after cars in the world, the partnership takes inspiration from the past, to create a modern descendent of classics such as the DB4GT Zagato, V8 Vantage Zagato and DB7 Zagato based on Aston Martin’s ultimate performance interpretation of the Vantage range: the V12 Vantage.
Dr Ulrich Bez, CEO of Aston Martin said: “The Zagato design language is a perfect complement to our design and engineering expertise. After 50 years of the two companies being associated with each other the partnership has produced some of the world’s most iconic cars.”
“Of course, fifty years ago Italian design houses were widely seen as leading the way with new designs but now and supported by our independency, Aston Martin has its own in-house design ability so this new venture with Zagato is more collaborative than it perhaps would have been in the past.”
“The task for us has been to create a concept that is a natural successor to those iconic cars that have gone before. Matching the technology of the age with the traditional skills vital to deliver such a bespoke and exclusive sports car will lead to a strictly limited run of road going V12 Zagatos.”
Work began in 2010 with initial meetings between Aston Martin and Zagato where sketches incorporating the design DNA of both companies were discussed and a decision was made to proceed with the project.
Director of Design, Marek Reichman added: “The Design team at Gaydon spent time refining the concept using a mixture of the latest computer based modelling techniques along with crafting traditional clay models to give a real world idea of proportion, stance and detail”
“The V12 Zagato is an elegant yet brutal design which reflects the great balance between race performance and pure Aston Martin style. The original DB4GT Zagato was a true icon, powerful and graceful; the new design is a true representation of the spirit of DB4GT Zagato. The muscular organic forms define the thoroughbred nature of the car’s racing credentials.”
Working alongside the initial design team was a dedicated group of Aston Martin engineers led by Chris Porritt – previously responsible for the engineering of the One-77. With the skills and knowledge gained from such specialised projects this team has worked to bring the unique design of the V12 Zagato to reality in a very short period of time.
Featuring a new handcrafted aluminium body, the V12 Zagato delivers a beautiful and muscular design not possible using pre-formed panel techniques. Using the influences and skill of nearly 100 years of heritage in the craft, every aluminium panel was formed using an English wheel and traditionally crafted body bucks. Each front wing alone comprises seven separate pieces of aluminium, combined and then hand finished to give one flowing form. Another iconic Zagato design cue is the double bubble roof created in this case from five separate pieces illustrating further the intensity of craftsmanship involved in the construction of the V12 Zagato.
Designed for the focused driver, the V12 Zagato has been honed with pure driving enjoyment in mind. The V12 Zagato combines Aston Martin’s most dynamic bonded aluminium platform with the power of the 6.0-litre V12 engine producing 510 bhp (380 kW / 517 PS), and 570 Nm (420 lb ft) of torque.
The V12 Vantage which forms the basis of the V12 Zagato has been proven on the race track as early as 2009 with a class win in its debut race at the 24 hour race at Nürburgring whilst being close to production standard with only essential safety modifications, reduced weight and re-tuned suspension but no additional aerodynamic enhancements. In 2011 the car has gone on to form the basis of the new Aston Martin GT3 race car unveiled last month.
The first DB4GT Zagato shown to the public in late 1960 spent much of its life as a racing car after launch. Later perhaps the two most famous DB4GT Zagatos, registered ‘1 VEV’ and ‘2 VEV’ were raced with success by such names as Jim Clark and Roy Salvadori. The fascinating story of these cars and the nature of high performance and low weight which drove the Zagato projects gave the inspiration for the first two V12 Zagatos to be created as endurance race cars.
The racing debut of the V12 Zagato will be at the four hour VLN race at Nürburgring on 28th May with a view to two cars racing at the 24 hour race on 25/26 June. The cars will be driven by a team with great experience of Aston Martin race cars, led for the sixth year by Chief Executive Dr. Ulrich Bez.
Both cars follow Aston Martin’s philosophy of racing in close-to-production form but with full FIA safety compliance. V12 Vantage Zagato specification includes a bonded aluminium platform modified with a bespoke steel roll cage, front and rear double wishbone suspension with fully adjustable Multimatic DSSV Dampers and a 120ltr endurance racing fuel tank.
The Aston Martin V12 Zagato will be shown for the first time at the Villa D’Este Concours on Saturday 21st May 2011
Aston Martin V12 Zagato Endurance Race Car Specification
Body:
Two door, two seat coupe body
Bonded aluminium structure
Bespoke steel roll cage.
Hand crafted Aluminium body
Engine:
All alloy quad overhead cam 48 valve 5935cc V12
Compression ratio 10.9:1
Front mid-mounted engine, rear wheel drive
Transmission:
Rear mid-mounted, six-speed automated manual gearbox with auto shift manual/select shift manual (ASM/SSM) electric hydraulic control system
Magnesium alloy torque tube with carbon fibre propeller shaft
Twin Plate competition clutch.
Limited slip differential.
Suspension:
All round independent double wishbone with fully adjustable Multimatic DSSV dampers.
Brakes:
Front: Ventilated floating grooved discs with 6 piston callipers
Rear: Ventilated floating grooved discs with 4 piston callipers
Fuel System:
120 litre endurance racing fuel tank
[Source: Aston Martin]