This is video is just about everywhere on the internet. This Turkish driver exhibits stunning car control as he drifts the VTEC Honda S2000 in traffic. There are a couple of heart in the mouth moments as he manages to avoid contact with other vehicles with millimetres to spare.
One has to question the sanity of the driver though. Is the bucketload of fun worth the risk of endangering lives of others on the road?
If reports are to be believed it may seem BMW and the Chinese firm Brilliance may be planning a new sub brand called Zhi Nuo, which literally means ‘The Promise’. The older 3 Series and X1 are expected to lay the foundation for the newer models planned under the the BMW-Brilliance brand. BMW has a plant in Shenyang, China and under Chinese regulations, have to develop a new brand in collaboration with their local partner. China also lays down the condition that a major part of the range of cars under the new brand should be hybrid or fully electric. This helps Chinese automakers build cars good enough to spearhead China’s expansion into global markets.
Clever move, China.
AutoNews also reports that Nissan and Dongfeng have launched a brand called Venucia and Honda and Dongfeng have launched Ciimo, both brands that made their debut at the Beijing auto show last year. The Ciimo sedan is based on the last generation Civic while the Venucia D50 is based on Nissan’s Tiida.
Source: AutoNews, China Car Times via Autoblog
Audi India launched the R8 V10 Plus at a price of Rs. 2,05,95,000 ( that’s 2 Crores and a couple of lakhs ) ex showroom price Mumbai. The Plus in its name stands for the additional power and the kilograms lost by using carbon fibre in abundance. The R8 V10 Plus Coupe makes 404 kW (550hp) over the 386kW made by the R8 Coupe. The R8 Plus Coupe is faster to the ton by 0.1s at 3.5s and can hit a top speed of 317 kph.
The sideblades, front splitter, rear diffuser are all carbon fiber. Ceramic brakes available as standard shave off another 12 kilograms. The Audi R8 PLus also gets full LED headlamps.
The R8 V10 Plus Coupe also gets a new 7 Speed S-Tronic auto transmission that enables it to hit the 0-100 kph mark in 3.5 seconds.
Karun Chandhok, who was at the launch managed to set the fastest lap at the BIC on a production car.
This is as close as you’ll get to the fire breathing dragon that powers the R8 V10 Plus Coupe.
Watch the R8 V10 Plus take on a Ducati Diavel in this test by Autocar.
The Kawasaki Ninja 300 has been spotted by Powerdrift. Expect the green monster to reach our Probiking showrooms soon.
Motoroids has previously reported that price is expected to be close to 4 lakhs, with booking amount approximately 40,000 Rupees.
xBhp members arunrk85 and DeVille have posted images of the Kawasaki Ninja 300 in green at xBhp.
arunrk85 also points out that the ground clearance is worryingly low.
Source: Powerdrift on Facebook, xBhp
These videos define ‘unbelievable’, at least until the first twenty times we played these videos over and over. One video led to another until we picked up a trail of videos that highlight the culture of ‘tractor enthusiasts’ in the country.
YouTube featured this video in its recommended section yesterday and since then, we can shamelessly admit, we haven’t taken our eyes off the screen!
This is the video that set it all off, with a Swaraj 855 that makes 55-60 HP popping a wheelie using methods we bet haven’t been employed anywhere else.
Here’s the Swaraj 855 in a tug of war against a New Holland 3630. Both have almost equal specificiations and it shows.
Here the Swaraj 855 pounds a TAFE 5900 DI without mercy!
Now we delve into the world of tractor drag races. Brazen, ballsy, phenomenally risky, dismally unsafe for the spectators and .. entertaining.
The tractor racing scene isn’t entirely underground. Tractor races are also part of the Indian Rural Olympics held at Kila Raipur in Ludhiana.
While we have of course spotted random videos with people doing random things with whatever form of motorized transport they can lay their hands on, this happens to the first time we are witnessing a sporadic occurrence evolving into a culture. The Swaraj 855 FE, a much loved product of the erstwhile Punjab Tractors Limited (before it was acquired by Mahindra to become Mahindra Swaraj) seems to be the hero in most videos with staggering performance.
There are a lot more tractor stunt videos on YouTube, do drop a link in the comments if you find any that are as interesting.
The X4 Concept will have its world premiere at the Shanghai Motor Show. Not unlike how the X6 is the coupe cousin of the X5, the X4 is, as you guessed, the coupe variant of the X3.
The large kidney grille is flanked by a high-gloss frame that is open to the sides and at its lower extreme giving the appearance of a floating grille. BMW has gone over the edge with its detailing this time around. The vertical bars on the grille exhibit ultra-stylish detailing. The bars are hollowed out, have a high-gloss black finish and notice the milled lower third with a matt finishing, which gives the kidney structure extra visual depth.
The X4 Concept makes use of BMW’s full-LED headlights. The light units again exhibit immense levels of detail. The usual BMW twin circular headlamps have been tweaked to a more hexagonal shape. The horizontal continuation of the inner light elements creates a visual connection with the grille, which accentuates the width of the front end says BMW.
The powertrains are expected to be identical to that on the X3. The X6 isn’t particularly a roomy vehicle, especially for the rear occupants. We wonder how the X4 is going to fare, especially in the land where every German automobile is sold as a long wheelbase ‘L’ variant.
Being the top guy at a motorcycle manufacturer has its perks for an enthusiast. Siddhartha Lal took the luscious, lust worthy, to-die-for Royal Enfield Continental GT cafe racer on a trip from Goa to Mangalore.
NDTV has all the details.
Skoda has unveiled the Superb facelift. The Superb sedan as well as the Combi version are set for a world premiere on the eve of the Shanghai Motor Show. The new Superb is set or a European launch in 2013, expect it to come to Indian shores after a while.
The Skoda Superb’s bixenon headlamps with Adaptive Frontlight System tech, now have integrated daytime running lamps.In line with the new Skoda family design, the grille, car logo, head and fog lights, bumpers, front fenders and bonnet have been refreshed. Two new metallicshares are available : metal grey and moon white. New 16-18 inch alloy wheels are also on offer.
Inside, for the time first time ever, the front passenger seat can be moved electrically from behind. The three- and four-spoke steering wheels are now available in a total of nine variations. Nine new fabrics and patterns for the seat covers round up the changes. The top end ŠKODA Superb L&K, gets an exclusive new two tone brown-ivory finish.
We do not expect any changes to the powertrain of the Superb if and when it comes to India.
Toyota has launched a new variant – J(S) which will replace the existing J variants of the petrol and diesel engines. The J(S) spec on both the petrol and the diesel engine variants will have the current features of the diesel J spec and the new features added to the list, two airbags, touch screen music system with USB compatibility.
The Altis J (S) petrol comes with a price tag of Rs 11.74 lakh, while the J (S) diesel will cost you Rs 13.16 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
The Royal Enfield Continental GT has been spotted testing around Bangalore by an Autocar India reader. The biggest change we noticed is that this preproduction model has swapped the single seater for a flatter more comfortable seat with enough space for a pillion. We aren’t sure how that’s going to go down with the rabid enthusiast who wants a single seat and nothing more on his/her cafe racer!
We’ve previously done a post detailing the changes on the Continental GT production version displayed at EICMA from the concept displayed at AutoExpo 2012. You can read it here.
Source: Autocar India