Viknesh Vijayenthiran, Editor
Articles
-
F1's governing body has cleared McLaren of using illegal team orders in the controversial Monaco grand prix. The FIA conducted an investigation into the team's conduct, after the British press... -
SSC Ultimate Aero closes in on Veyron’s top speedTo this day, the official top speed record for a production car is 242mph as set by the Koenigsegg CCR. Of course, everyone knows that the Bugatti Veyron can reach 253mph but there’s yet to be an official recording so the Koenigsegg remains as top-dog. To achieve the record and conform to the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Binz E-Class Limo At Millbrook Proving GroundsGermany's Binz has taken its latest stretched Mercedes-Benz E-Class limousine to the Millbrook Proving Grounds for an annual test day with some of the U.K.’s motoring journalists. However, on days like this, you’re more likely to see the journos pimping it up in the back seat rather...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW confirms M3's DSG-style gearbox?The new BMW M3 will arrive with either a conventional six-speed manual gearbox or a newly designed seven-speed double-clutch system with paddle shifters. Called ‘M DCT’ in BMW speak, the new gearbox will be available from March next year in the M3 and will eventually filter down across...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
9ff's new kit for the Porsche 911 Turbo CabrioletPorsche specialist 9ff has announced the release of a high-performance tuning pack for the convertible version of the new 911 Turbo. It didn’t take long for the power-hungry guys over at 9ff to transfer their performance know-how from the coupe to the cabrio. The car was only officially...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
40 years of the Mazda rotary engineThe 30th of May marks the 40th anniversary of the sale of the first Mazda powered by a rotary engine. The Cosmo Sport, which debuted in the Japanese market in 1967, was the world’s first dual-rotar, rotary powered vehicle and one of the first mass produced cars of its type. The motor put out...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
MG Rover has officially started production at its Longbridge plant in the UK today under the guidance of its new owner, China’s Nanjing Auto. Despite this major breakthrough in reviving the old... -
Nissan considers drop-top AltimaNissan may add a new model to lineup, a convertible version of its recently launched Altima coupe, pending on whether or not the project is given the green light. When the Altima’s development team originally looked at expanding the model range, they first turned to the idea of a wagon-based...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
More details on BMW’s upcoming super-sports carBMW prides itself on having some of the most dynamic and involving vehicles on the market today, but its fleet still lacks a genuine sports car or a true successor for the original M1. Some may argue that BMW already offers the 507hp V10-powered M6 Coupe, but to the purists the M6 is an overweight...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Sale of Volvo still on the cardsEarlier this month, we reported that BMW execs had considered a takeover of Volvo and had gone so far as to order in a set of the Swedish carmaker’s latest financial reports. The latest buzz is that BMW is just one of several potential suitors and is currently in the process of conducting...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Production To Begin Soon For Noble's 500-HP M15 SupercarThe current Noble M15, which was first displayed last year, featured the most powerful engine ever fitted to a road going Noble and took over seven years to develop. The mid-mounted twin-turbocharged V6 developed up to 455hp at 6,800rpm and an identical 455lb-ft of torque at 4,850rpm, which was...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Diesels to outsell hybrids in US by 2012The latest findings from research conducted by UBS and Ricardo points to combined annual diesel and hybrid gasoline vehicle sales in the US of 2.7 million by 2012, 15% of the overall car market. The study goes further and purports that sales of diesels will outstrip gasoline hybrids by 1.5 million...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Volkswagen is replacing the existing Golf Sport and GT models with a single all-new model – the Golf GT Sport. The latest addition gets several unique features and is equipped with extra... -
Record number of debuts for Goodwood Festival of SpeedA record number of new cars will being making either their world, European or UK public debut at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, which will be held in West Sussex in the UK from 22-24 June. The list of cars include some of the most exotic metal from around the world, as well as...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
SEAT launching two new models from 2009Spanish carmaker Seat has officially announced its plans to produce two new models at its plant in Martorell starting from 2009. The announcement was made by Seat chairman Erich Schmitt during a media event at the firm’s headquarters today. Designed as C/D-segment models, the two new vehicles...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Is Toyota planning a V6 Auris/Corolla?Could the new Corolla really get a V6 powerplant? According to one of its developers, the engine bay can fit anything from a 1.4L four-banger to a 3.5L V6. Toyota technician Soichiro Okudaira, who spoke with AutoTelegraaf.nl, revealed that execs are seriously considering launching a V6 powered...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
F1 future bright in Malaysia, dark in OzThe prospects for future grands prix in Australia continue to wane, but organisers of the F1 event in Malaysia insist that they are not also baulking at the thought of night racing. Like the race at Albert Park, Malaysia's current GP contract expires in 2010. But Sepang organisers have already...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Karmann loses Audi A4 Cabriolet contract but gets A3Germany’s largest independent carmaker and supplier, Karmann, has lost its contract to supply Audi with A4 Cabriolets. However, it will soon start building the smaller A3 drop-top. According to German publication Automobil Industrie, an Audi exec has revealed that Magna Steyr will supply...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Tesla Motors, the company behind the electric-powered Tesla Roadster, has formed the separate Tesla Energy Group to design and sell what it calls Energy Storage Systems (ESS). The ESS is basically a... -
Toyota engineers reflect ahead of Prius’ 10th birthdayIt’s hard to imagine that Toyota’s Prius was first released almost ten years ago. Still today, most carmakers around the world lack dedicated petrol-electric models. This makes it difficult to believe that Toyota engineers were tooling around with development of the Prius as far back as...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Drivers get acquainted with the Cayenne S TranssyberiaPorsche has produced a small production run of 26 Cayenne S Transsyberias at its Leipzig plant, two months ahead of the long-distance rally in which they'll compete. Scheduled to start the journey on August the 2nd, the drivers were given the chance to get acquainted with the 385hp SUVs during a...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Updated: Chery denies Chrysler deal is in troubleUpdated:China's Chery Auto has denied claims that its deal with DaimlerChrysler to supply a Chinese built minicar to the US and Europe was put on hold. A spokesman for Chery today told Reuters that the deal was progressing, although he failed to elaborate on its current status or whether Chery...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
JE Design boosts the Seat Leon CupraThe Seat Leon Cupra is already a top contender for the car with the most bang for your buck, but to tuning house JE Design, the standard car’s 240hp (177kw) just didn’t cut it. Following from its previous Leon FR hatch, the developers turned to the Cupra to get that extra power fix...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Chrysler must revive glory days of the '90s to surviveIt’s hard to imagine that less than ten years ago Chrysler commanded a 16.1% share of the US market and was turning over billion dollar profits. In 1999 it reported a profit of $5 billion, which also happened to be the first year of its alliance with Daimler. Compare that with the $1.98...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran