Yearly Archives: 2012

Porsche has begun testing the 918 Spyder on the road. This takes Porsche’s super sports car of the future a step further with completion of the initial prototypes. The 918 Spyder will go into production at the end of September 2013 as planned, with the first customers receiving their vehicles before the end of 2013.

The prototypes are clothed in camouflage that reflects the historical Porsche 917 racing cars. The focus is on the interplay between the highly sophisticated individual drive components. The combination of combustion engine and two independent electric motors – one on the front axle and one in the drive line, acting on the rear wheels – poses completely new demands on the development of the operating strategies.

“What we are doing with the 918 Spyder is redefining driving fun, efficiency and performance,” said Wolfgang Hatz, Member of the Executive Board Research and Development of Porsche AG. “They are therefore a critical component in this vehicle into which we have put all of our expertise and capacity for innovation.”

Porsche recently had journalists over to experience the 918 Spyder in the passenger seat. Porsche called it a ‘rolling chassis’ and not a prototype since it was the raw, mechanical 918 Spyder without the clothes of carbon fibre on. If you haven’t heard yet, the 918 Spyder has the ability to smack you against the wall with just the figures. 770 hp, 0-62 mph in less than three seconds, a Nuburgring lap time of 7.22 seconds as tested on Porsche’s simulators and finally, fuel efficiency of 3 litres per 100km or 33.33 kpl. CO₂ emissions are reported to be around the 70g/km.

The 4.6-litre V8 mill revs to 9000rpm and makes 570bhp, while the electric motor work to supplement the powertrain with an additional 270 horses! Yet Porsche has pegged the 918 Spyder at less than 1700 kg using a full carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) monocoque with unit carrier, fully adaptive aerodynamics, adaptive rear-axle steering and the upward-venting “top pipes” exhaust system. The concept 918 Spyder has air intakes in the place of these exhausts originally. We cannot agree on what would sound better just behind your head, air rushing into the engine, or exhaust gases being thrown out violently!

Porshce says the 918 Spyder is offering a glimpse of what Porsche Intelligent Performance may be capable of in future. If this is the future, we say Hello!

Honda’s founder Soichiro Honda realized many dreams with launch of Honda’s 1st mass motorcycle – Dream D in 1949. Since then, Honda has launched series of successful Dream models globally. On the 15th of May, 2012 HMSI the legendary Dream for India. With Dream Yuga launched, Honda has unleashed its first big step towards mass mobility in India. Dream Yuga is a true India specific mass motorcycle which fulfils customer needs.

A refined 110cc Honda engine delivering 8.5 BHP @ 7500 RPM coupled with great mileage of 72 kpl ( test conditions of course) powers the Dream Yuga. The 110cc mill is equipped with several cutting edge technologies like the ‘Honda Intelligent Ignition Control System’ which changes ignition timings to attain ideal combustion, leading to improved power output and efficiency.

Honda has styled the Dream Yuga to find appeal with a broad spectrum of consumers, in various markets. As is the norm, there’s a all black exhaust, black colour grab rail, attractive graphics, realistic meter console and tail light and alloy wheels.

Along with the style and economy, Dream Yuga is specially developed for Indian customers, keeping in mind their practical commuting needs. Making Dream Yuga the best choice of daily commuting are its features like long seat, full gear lever and full chain case says Honda.

Tubeless/tuff up tyres are available as an option, a relief for customers in the market for a motorcycle at this price.

At a starting price of Rs. 44,642 (Ex-Showroom, Delhi) and the Honda badge the Dream Yuga is bound to win favour with the India commuter.

Starting May 2012 Dream Yuga is available for sale in three variants- Kick/Drum/Spoke, Kick/ Drum/Alloy and Self/ Drum/Alloy. The motorcycle comes in 5 exciting colors: Black, Monsoon Grey Metallic, Alpha Red Metallic, Force Silver Metallic & Maple Brown Metallic.

Akshay Kumar will be Honda’s brand ambassador for two wheelers.

With the Audi Q3 and the BMW X1 tapping into the high volume segment, well at least as high as any premium luxury car maker from Germany can expect, Mercedes-Benz seems to want to enter the battle with its contender the Mercedes-Benz  B Class. The new is a typical Mercedes sports tourer, offering plenty of space combined with impressive dynamic performance and was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2011.

The B-Class has a Five star Euro NCAP for Occupant Protection. New engines include the series M270 petrol engines with displacement of 1.6 and 2.0 litres and the downsized new 1.8 L OM651/D18 diesel engine. Transmission is either a new 7G-DCT dual clutch transmission or the new manual transmission codenamed F-SG 310. ECO start/stop function will be standard on all models. None of these details are confirmed for India, do watch this space for updates.

Follow updates to the Indian launch of the Mercedes-Benz in this rSeries.

BHPian Kartik Krishnan spotted this Mercedes-Benz B-Class on test, while on his way to Pune. We have to say, these are probably the most clear images of the B-Class in India.

These images do raise the question, is this Mercedes-Benz a tad too normal? While the creases on the profile do add character, the sport tourer proportions do have a bland effect on the design.

Do you think the humongous boot might be a draw for the consumer?

Source: TeamBhp

Rein in the horses, dear reader from India. This news article mentions the updates to the 3 Series in the international market. At home, we are yet to see in our showrooms the 2012 3 Series codenamed ‘F30’ and we have to wait at least until the new 3 Series is launched here before they get these mid year upgrades.

xDrive

The new BMW 3 Series Sedan will now have xDrive as an option. xDrive is of course, BMWs intelligent four-wheel drive system that comes as standard on the X1,X3,X5,X6 BMW vehicles. The models BMW 320i, BMW 328i and BMW 335i will be sold from July 2012 with xDrive as an option. The system will give the car superb traction thanks to electronic control and millisecond-fast power distribution between the front and rear wheels. xDrive ensures optimum performance in all kinds of weather and road conditions. As a result, the potential of even the most powerful BMW 3 Series four-wheel drive sedan, the BMW 335i xDrive delivering 225 kW/306 hp and a maximum torque of 400 Nm, can be utilised efficiently. The BMW 335i xDrive does 0 – 100 km/h in just 5.0 seconds. Power distribution of BMW xDrive is effected so rapidly that the vehicle is stabilised before the driver even notices the need to react. The model 320d xDrive is also in the queue to get optional xDrive, from autumn this year.

BMW 320i EfficientDynamics Edition under development

The BMW 320d EfficientDynamics Edition has found favour with buyers that BMW has now decided to develop the BMW 320i EfficientDynamics Edition petrol model. Powered by a 170 bhp 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo petrol engine, transmitting power through a manual 6-speed transmission the petrol EfficientDynamics Edition is supposed to be highly fuel efficient. The BMW 320i EfficientDynamics Edition sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.6 seconds, with fuel consumption at 5.2/100 km or 19.23 kpl and CO2 emissions at just 124 grams per kilometre (all figures provisional). The international market launch is planned for the end of 2012.

New entry level model BMW 316i

BMW has also announced a new entry-level model – BMW 316i. Currently under development, the 316i will be powered by a 4-cylinder in-line engine delivering 136 bhp. Power transmission is via a 6-speed manual transmission or an 8-speed automatic transmission. The BMW 316i clocks 0 to 100 km/h in 8.9 seconds and its level of CO2 emissions is at 134 to 137 g/km.

BMW has also mentioned the latest generation BMW 330d will be offered with the straight six-cylinder diesel power unit.

Do read our design story on the 2012 BMW 3 Series which details the new ‘Luxury’, ‘Modern’ and ‘Sport’ Line variants, and various other features of the F30 BMW 3 Series, in detail.

In an area spanning 440,000 square metres, in an industrial park in Vallam Vadagal (on the road connecting Sriperumbudur and Oragadam) on the outskirts of the city of Chennai the new Yamaha factory will be built with a total floor space of approximately 114,000 m². Construction is scheduled to begin in September 2012, with completion and start of operations scheduled for January 2014. The new factory will employ 1,800 people and have an annual two-wheeler production rate of 400,000 units at the start of operations. Production capacity will then be increased in stages to a level of 1.8 million units annually by 2018, at which time employment is expected to reach 6,500 people.

The forecast for the total investment in the new factory and facilities is approx. Rupees 1,500 Crores over the next five years.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Hiroyuki Suzuki, CEO & Managing Director, India Yamaha Motor said, “We are very pleased with this development as this is in line with YMC’s medium-term management plans of enhancing local production levels to meet the demand growth in emerging markets such as India and their export markets. The Indian two-wheeler industry has witnessed much growth in the last few years, attributable to increased disposable income levels among a rapidly expanding middle class. We expect the industry to attain 20 million units level by 2016 when we are targeting to sell 2 million units and achieve 10% market share.”

“We would also like to thank all the concerned Tamil Nadu government departments, especially Guidance Bureau which had extended its complete support to this project by facilitating as a true single window body”, he added.

The new factory will employ a “theoretical-value-based production” concept that operates on a system of completely synchronized manufacturing of parts and assembly of complete two-wheelers. Capitalizing on intensive localization of components, the Chennai Factory will be the first in the Yamaha Motor group to have a “vendor park” in its nearby vicinity that will bring together the production operations of main external parts suppliers. This system will reduce losses in the areas of production management and distribution to extremely low levels in the overall engineering, manufacturing and marketing process, and make the new production base a highly efficient and profitable plant.

Ah, she’s here. Bajaj has unveiled the Discover 125 ST to the media today, and though the chances that you might confuse it with the recently launched four gear Discover 4G is minimal, allow us to clear the air and assure you, this is a brand new Discover, ST denoting the sporty tourer status bestowed upon the motorcycle and as Mr. K. Srinivasan, President – Motorcycle Business, Bajaj Auto Ltd., explained to the media, “The Sports Tourer is an everyday fun ride to work. We believe that the sporty evolution of the commuter category will occur fast, and it is our intention to dominate this segment by introducing such breakthrough products.”

The four valve DTS-i 125cc mill makes 13PS, the highest in this class says Bajaj, and torque of 1.1 kgm/ 10.78Nm @ 7000 rpm. The Sport Tourer Discover has a five speed gear box for optimum power delivery and good fuel efficiency. The Discover 125 ST also gets the new alloys from Bajaj in addition to sporty aluminium not-so-rearsets. The Discover is for the commuter and the riding position should reflect an easy stance. The Discover also gets a Monoshock Nitrox Suspension and what Bajaj claims is a “Anti Vibration” frame. The usual disc’s up front have been swapped for petal discs, a new found love at Bajaj.

The curvaceous Discover tank has been chiseled to make it more appealing and inline with Bajaj’s new design language. The headlamp is also crafted to look more aggressive.

BS Motoring reports the Discover 125 ST could be priced at Rs. 47000 ex showroom.

Commenting on the launch K Srinivas said, “We believe that the average Indian commuter has to compromise a lot for fuel efficiency. With the Discover ST we are making a statement that mileage need not come with boring design and outdated features.”

Elaborating on the company strategy, Sanjay Saraswat, GM Marketing, Bajaj Auto Ltd., said that for too long the average commuter had to be satisfied with boring bikes. The new Discover Sports Tourer (ST) is all set to change this in a dramatic fashion.With the styling and performance of a sports bike, yet with the comfort and economy of a commuter bike, the “Discover ST” aims to redefine commuting from “Chalta Hai “to “Daudta Hai”.