Autocar India has said that Land Rover maybe considering a redesign of its iconic Defender.  Recently when the Mercedes G Wagen was launched everybody spoke about how the vehicle was unchanged for most its life since inception.  That is also true of the Defender which has been in production for an even longer period of time and has many off roading enthusiasts swearing by it.  Well it now seems that the Defender could get a makeover of sorts.  Here at Riot Engine we wonder if that is necessary.  Didn’t the Americans famously say “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?

The cutesy little Beetle also fondly called the Bug by its afficianados made a comeback to a tumultuous reception from its fans and supporters a few years ago.  Since then the car has been selling well and making enough money for Volkswagen to want to continue making the car and also launching a newer model.  At the Shanghai Auto Show the new for 2012 Beetle has made its debut.  Auto pundits are saying that while the changes are very subtle and classy the new Bug looks closer to the original than does the existing car.  Perhaps there are good times ahead for the new Beetle and its maker Volkswagen.

The much disliked MotoGP Champion, Jorge Lorenzo says that he cannot imagine himself in a team other than Yamaha.  This is his fourth year and the team and with the exit of the much loved Valentino Rossi who made his dislike for Lorenzo very clear, it seems that Lorenzo is finally comfortable in the Yamaha team.  The presence of the mild mannered Ben Spies surely must contribute to this feeling of comfort.  However, to realize his ambition Lorenzo will have to develop the Yamaha into a world beater, otherwise Yamaha may want to look elsewhere.  Also Lorenzo himself could suffer from greed and move on to a team that waves a thicker wad of currency notes.

We have reported in these columns that the new Circuit of the Americas coming up at Austin, Texas has signed a ten year deal with MotoGP promoters Dorna for holding the Moto GP races starting from the year 2013.  Apparently this move has started causing some anxiety to the other two promoters of MotoGP races in America, Laguna Seca and Indianapolis.  Laguna Seca holds only the Motogp race and not the Moto2 and 125cc (to be Moto3 with 250cc four stroke engines) from next year on, the Indianapolis Speedway hosts all three categories.  Austin has signed to host all three categories as well and this is causing concern especially at Indianapolis whose contract to host MotoGP races expires at the end of this year.  Laguna Seca came into prominence due to the efforts of racing legend Wayne Rainey and perhaps it is the least threatened of the two existing circuits.  It is also possible that there will be three races in the USA.  Already Spain has four races.  If new circuits in other parts of the world have to host MotoGP races, some of these existing ones may have to be dropped.

The Jaypee International Circuit which will host the first ever Indian Formula1 GP is supposed to have been named Buddha International Racing circuit and also that prices of tickets will range from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 30,000.  The most expensive tickets will be the grandstands and the least expensive ones are supposed to be farther on the circuit.  If the reports are true then indeed it is going to be very expensive to watch the race at the circuit and while we are on it, what a strange choice of name for a racing circuit.  Buddha?  One would have thought a sage like him would have considered motor racing to be infernal.  But stranger things have happened such as Sri Venkateshwara Chicken or Shiva Wines.

Garware Motors, the local partner of Hyosung motorcycles in India has indicated that the now well known GT 650 and the ST7 Cruiser will be launched officially on the 20th of this month.  Some websites are also reporting that the prices have been decided with the single colour GT 650 sports bike retailing around Rs. 5.05 lakhs and going to near Rs 5.40 lakhs for the double coloured variants and a whopping price of Rs. 5.95 lakhs for the ST7 Cruiser.

Wheelsunplugged.com has put out a very interesting story about India Yamaha Motors.  Saying that the company was unable to sell enough vehicles in the mass segment of 100cc and 125cc the company is looking for a local partner who can provide inexpensive technology and manufacturing processes to take on the might of Hero Honda, Bajaj, TVS and Honda India.  The report even says that India Yamaha Motors is willing to divest a part of its share to the local partner who has this ability.  Apparently this proposal was put in front of some banks which claim to have suggested some names already and that Yamaha will revert back to them in a couple of weeks.  If this report is true, then it is strange, unless of course, Yamaha is sending signals to any of the biggies that it is open for collaboration.  Hero has ended its joint venture with Honda and will get Honda’s support for only three more years.  Could Yamaha be looking at Hero?  Or is it looking at Bajaj which is known for its frugal engineering practices?  Well the last two questions are our imagination running “riot” but could be somehow true, especially since Hero has no R&D of its own but knows the Indian market rather well.

The new Hyundai Verna and its coming to India have become old hat already.  Most of the car magazines and some websites have put up driving impressions of the car after they had driven a left hand drive version in Dubai on invitation from Hyundai Motor India.  The car is scheduled to be launched officially in May (towards the second week) and since enquiries at the dealers have been quite prolific, the company and the dealers are reportedly taking bookings by collecting an amount of Rs. 50,000.  The car is expected to retail in the Rs. 7 to Rs. 9 lakh price range and like the upcoming Fiesta is aimed squarely at the Honda City and the Volkswagen Vento.  It is anticipated that the car will come with four engine options, two diesel and and two petrol.

The Technical Director of Williams F1 Team, Sam Michael has shown character in taking the blame on to himself for the dismal performances of the team in the three races held so far.  Michael has said that all the procedures and methodologies going into the creation of the Williams F1 car will be thoroughly reviewed and the most appropriate action taken to rectify the problems.  He took  responsibility for the bad showing of the team saying that as Technical Director he put people in different roles and if there was problem the buck stops at his doorstep.  Michael even showed a willingness to change his own position in the team or leave the team altogether if that was going to be for the good of the team.  This spirit is worth applauding.  Bravo Sam Michael, we hope that a solution can be found without your having to quit.

Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner has said that the team was trying to find a solution for its mercurial and temperamental KERS problems.  This he said should ideally be done by the next Grand Prix at Istanbul, the Turkish GP in two weeks time.  The extra time he believed could be used for intensively looking at the problem and finding a solution to it.  He also defended the two stop strategy that was used for Sebastian Vettel at the Chinese GP in Shanghai yesterday, saying that for their team it was the most appropriate.  In the post race interviews Vettel had hinted that the two stop strategy may have not been ideal and that he should also have stopped three times like race winner Lewis Hamilton.