After news of Skoda bringing the Volkswagen UP based Citigo to the Auto Expo in Jan, 2012 with a possible launch later in the year exploded all over the internet and in print auto magazines, now comes the denial of any such thing happening. The source of the new rumour is Siddharth Vinayak Patankar of Care and Bike show. He has posted that his contacts in Skoda have confirmed that right now there is no thinking about the Citigo in Skoda India. If this is true, it must also be true that the same Volkswagen UP based Seat Mii will also not be coming to India anytime soon, something that auto journos have been saying will happen sooner than later.
The web is agog with news that in a few weeks time TVS Motor will launch a new facelifted version of its fast selling Apache RTR motorcycles. The RTR comes with 160cc and 180cc engines and is nimble and easy to handle, doing a commendable job on race tracks and on regular roads. This versatility has made the motorcycle a favourite with the boy racers and with the executive commuters. We can’t wait to see how the new Apache RTR would look.
Toyota has begun testing the new Camry or so it seems for the pictures that have been posted on Indianautosblog.com. Indianautosblog.com claims that this version of the Camry is the non-United States version, the one that is sold in Europe and Japan. The car is heavily taped up and according IAB the launch of the car will be in August, 2012. IAB has also scooped pictures of the facelifted Innova which is likely to be launched during the Auto Expo in January, 2012.
All pic courtesy of Indianautosblog.com
The last MotoGP race of this season has been done and dusted. The oldest surviving category the 125cc class has finally come to an end and along with it the era of two stroke racing. From 2012 on, there will only be four stroke categories in GP racing with the apex MotoGP allowing engines up to 1000cc, the next Moto2 allowing engines up to 600cc (but all supplied by Honda to be put into various different chassis chosen by teams) and now the new Moto3 class featuring 250cc engines in bikes built entirely built by manufacturers or as engines and chassis outsourced from various manufacturers. Honda and KTM have committed to the class as full fledged manufacturers and also as suppliers of engines and Indian manufacturer Mahindra has also joined the fray with fully constructed bikes that it will build with the help of Engines Engineering and Oral Engineering. Mahindra will field two motorcycles with their regular riders Marcel Schrotter and Danny Webb. It is also being speculated that it may even offer engines for teams racing with other chassis.
Pic Courtesy: Autocar UK
Autocar India.com has revealed that it has found from its sources that Jaguar is readying a front wheel drive architecture car to take on the A3 from Audi and the new front wheel drive A class car from Mercedes Benz. Autocar India.com also says that Jaguar’s move to front wheel drive architecture in a car measuring about 4.5 metres in length is dictated by the necessity to have a car that can be sold in big numbers in emerging markets like India and China and also to be able to meet the fuel efficiency norms that will kick in in the United States of America from 2012 onward. The picture of the detailing of the car that Autocar India.com is quite interesting. For more on the car do head to Autocar India.com
UPDATE:One of our car design mad correspondents has just pointed out that the render below is that of the Jaguar Bertone B99 Concept presented at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, and not Jaguar’s proposed front wheel drive not-to-be-a-budget model.
What was Autocar India even thinking?
What was Autocar India even thinking?
Please find above the actual render of the baby saloon, and do thank those fine blokes at Autocar UK.
Pic Courtesy: Autocar India.com
Ford India will be launching the new Fiesta with an automatic transmission in January, 2012. The car was unveiled to select media personnel. The car will have a dual clutch automatic gear box where one clutch will work with the odd number gears and the other with the even number gears and will be priced about Rs. 70,000/- more than the car with manual transmission.
Pic courtesy: Autocar India.com
Ducati recently unveiled the 1199 Panigale at a press conference in Teatro Dal Verme in Milan, Italy. Ducati’s all new flagship breaks tradition by adding the name ‘Panigale’ to the engine capacity 1199, a tribute to Ducati’s historic roots in the Borgo Panigale area of Bologna.
In an Italian territory known as “Motor Valley” and where high performance and racing runs through the veins of its passionate people, we now underline our pride in being world ambassadors for the “Made in Italy” title and immortalize our birthplace in the name of the new Superbike.
Ducati says its engineers were allowed to start from the scratch to achieve a bike that is 10kg lighter than its predecessor and produces 25hp more. The 1199 Panigale S and Tricolore are fully equipped with front and rear Ducati Electronic Suspension (DES) system by Öhlins. While the 1199 Panigale illuminates with LED positioning lights and main light bulbs, the 1199 Panigale S and Tricolore boast full LED positioning and lighting solutions, for the first time in the motorcycle world. A TFT screen, provides a full colour display that is programmed to automatically change its layout according to the Riding Mode selected, and Ducati says it even changes background colours in low light conditions.
The 1199cc Superquadro engine, so called because of its massively over-square bore and stroke ratio, has increased power to an what Ducati terms an ‘absolute production twin-cylinder milestone’ of 195hp. Ducati’s unique Desmodromic system has its place on this engine, as always. The valves previously driven by a belt from the crankshaft, has been replaced by combined chain and gear-drive arrangement.
The 1199 Panigale will be available in three versions, the 1199 Panigale, 1199 Panigale S and the 1199 Panigale Tricolore. Watch the ‘Design’ section on Riot Engine, where we’ll bring you in-depth coverage of the new Ducati 1199 Panigale.
When Top Gear goes off the air for a while, the trio take time out to release their own DVDs with Jezza – as Jeremy Clarkson is fondly known to his fans all over the world – shredding tyres off every new model off the shelf that year, and James and Richard taking the less insane path, and restricting themselves to just blowing up stuff, as you will see in the trailer below.
Jezza’s DVD this year features Karun Chandhok, spinning out in a Porsche 911 GT2 RS at the Paul Ricard High Tech Test Track ( that’s what their logo says, ok?) in Southern France. Karun also gets a Stig-esque introduction from Jezza. Cherry on the cake, Jezza vs Karun in a BAC Mono, a 519 bhp per tonne single seater British ‘hypercar’.
Karun, we’ve seen you training in Chennai, riding your bike on the ECR in temperatures one could cook eggs for breakfast. We hope you kicked the fat old man’s ass into oblivion. Did you?
PS: Dear Ed, I know you do not approve of Jeremy Clarkson’s British ‘humour’ but I had to post this video for our readers. I can still keep my job, right?
The Misano Circuit in the San Marino Principality will be named after fallen rider Marco Simoncelli. The circuit is very close to Simoncelli’s home town of Coriano and also to Valentino Rossi’s home town. This announcement was made by the President of the Circuit Luca Colaiacovo. The process will take sometime as it has to pass through many administrative procedures.
Loris Capirossi, multiple World Champion in the 125cc and 250cc categories, will be retiring from racing at the season closer at Valencia this Sunday. Capirossi’s final race has been rendered emotionally very heavy by the death of Marco Simoncelli on the Sepang Race Track in Malaysia two weeks back. The MotoGP paddock is yet to recover from the stunning loss of Simoncelli’s life. Loris Capirossi, a veteran of more than 300 GP starts will race his final race with Marco Simoncelli’s number 58 as homage to the departed young rider. Capirossi has ridden all his life with the number 65. Post the Valencia race, the number 58 is likely to be retired just as 74 was after the death of Daijiro Kato. Valentino Rossi is also likely to do his own version of a tribute to Simoncelli during the Valencia weekend.