Siddarth Raja, Author
Articles
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The 500 ‘Cinquecento’ has proven to be a runaway success for Fiat, with the entire 2008 production run selling out in just three weeks and order books for next year already starting to... -
Preview: 2011 Audi A1 super-miniIt’s been well documented BMW is developing a new minicar to rival cars like the Mercedes Smart and upcoming Volkswagen Up! (Lupo) family, but Audi too has confirmed it will be joining the fray with the launch of its new A1 compact hatch. The new super-mini is slated to arrive in late 2010...
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California easing zero-emissions mandate for carmakersCalifornia may be well known for its stance against pollution when it comes to legislating on emissions rules, but environmentalists have become incensed about the state’s increasingly lax attitude towards reducing pollution through regulation of new zero-emissions vehicles. In 1990...
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HKS prepped Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution XMost of Japan’s tuners are focused on the arduous task of cracking Nissan’s Fort Knox of an ECU in its GT-R supercar but that doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten about one of the country’s other tuning favorites, Mitsubishi’s new Lancer Evolution X. Turbo performance...
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Premier4509 Lamborghini Murcielago aero kitIt never ceases to amaze us how many people are out there for whom a car as perfect as the Lamborghini Murcielago is simply not enough. That’s where tuners like Japan’s Premier4509 step in, developing a range of aerodynamic performance enhancements, wheel and tire packages and interior...
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Fiat in talks with Detroit 3 over Alfa Romeo productionThe worsening exchange rate differential between the strengthening euro and weakening U.S. dollar means importing European manufactured models to North America is now significantly more expensive than just a few years ago. It’s a problem Alfa Romeo has to juggle with as it attempts to...
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After bowing out of the market in the late 1980s, Ford’s European Capri sports coupe could make a return as a rival to Volkswagen’s rejuvenated Scirocco coupe. Several reports coming out... -
Jaguar and Land Rover money to fund future FordsReports came out this week claiming Tata has raised more than $3 billion to fund its takeover of Jaguar and Land Rover, and two-thirds of this is earmarked to go directly into Ford’s coffers. It would be simple for Ford to use this money to pay off some of its debts but according to CEO Alan...
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Preview: 2010 Alfa Romeo Mi.To cabrioAlfa Romeo’s new Mi.To hatch was only unveiled last week but already attention has turned to a rumored new cabrio variant. Pictured here is an artist’s impression of the droptop that’s tipped to go on sale in the first half of next year, just in time for the northern summer. The...
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Update: Neiman Marcus Hennessey Venom Viper DetailsUpdated with more images. When you think of Neiman Marcus catalog cars, brands like BMW and Lexus usually spring to mind. The latest seller to grace the catalog’s pages, however, wears a humble Dodge badge. Neiman Marcus is in fact selling a Hennessey-tuned Dodge Viper Venom in its spring...
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A.R.T. tuned Mercedes G-wagon with 580HPGerman tuning house A.R.T. has developed a new tuning pack for the Mercedes G55, which after undergoing a series of modifications sees engine output rise by 100hp (74kW) to a final result of 580hp (427kW) – the same power levels as the Audi RS6. The G is Mercedes’ utilitarian equivalent...
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Shell Eco-Marathon winner gets 7,148MPG economyFor the past couple of years Dutch oil-giant Shell has played host to the ‘Eco-Marathon’ challenge, a competition where teams have to build the most fuel efficient cars possible and then race them. The car that won the last two challenges recorded fuel economy levels as high as 7,148mpg...
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Mercedes-Benz and its in-house tuner AMG recently revealed its updated SL fleet but there’s one important model that we still are yet to see. The car is the upcoming SL Black Series from AMG, a... -
Elite Sports Vorbild Mercedes-Benz CLSWe’re used to seeing plenty of modified Mercs from the German tuners, but rarely do we see a Japanese customizer give the Teutonic saloons and coupes the aftermarket treatment. Vorbild, more specifically its Elite Sports subsidiary, is one such tuner that specializes in the modification of...
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Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS headed for productionAston Martin teased us with a V12-powered concept version of its Vantage coupe late last year, which officials claimed was built only as a styling and engineering exercise to promote the opening of a new dedicated design center at the carmaker’s Gaydon headquarters. It appears Aston Martin...
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Avis offering Chevrolet Corvette rentalAvis has joined its main rival Hertz by offering to rent one of the world’s most loved sports cars, the Chevrolet Corvette. However, before you start searching for Avis’ phone number the rental company is only offering the car in Arizona, California, Florida and Las Vegas. Driving the...
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Audi posts record profit, shifts to more efficient modelsWhile the recent currency crisis and rise in raw material prices have seen some carmakers become less profitable, Audi has managed to maintain strong growth and earned itself a record profit of $4.48 billion for the last financial year. In fact, since 1995 Audi has consistently posted consecutive...
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800HP Iconic GTR RoadsterAmerica’s Iconic Motors claims to have built a new roadster weighs just 2,200 pounds and has eight tenths the torsional rigidity of a typical F1 car. The new roadster is the Iconic GTR, which made its official debut at last weekend’s Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance and is now set to...
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Despite being caught out for providing false information about the levels of acceptance for London’s congestion charge of the city’s own residents, Mayor Ken Livingstone is reportedly... -
Keating to unveil pair of supercars next monthBritish sports car manufacturer Keating is planning to launch two new supercars on the 23rd of next month and is already boasting that one of the cars will be able to rival the performance of the Bugatti Veyron. Both cars will be based around the same basic chassis but one will be a...
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Dodge builds 25,000th ViperToday Chrysler announced that its iconic Dodge Viper muscle car hit a production milestone of 25,000 cars, and to celebrate the achievement officials have planned a number of events including the presentation of a brand new 2008 Viper SRT-10 to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kurt Busch. The Viper...
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Breaking news: Super Aguri confirms British deal, 2008 driversSuper Aguri confirmed today that it has entered into a partnership with Magma Group. The deal is expected to be completed over the next few weeks, but team boss Aguri Suzuki would not be drawn on the details other than to confirm that Honda will still be involved in the project going forwards. "We...
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Fiat targets U.S. with new V6 turbodieselAs governments around the world get tougher on emissions levels carmakers are being forced to downsize their engines and implement more fuel saving technologies. Fiat, along with a number of other carmakers, has set itself a target of reducing its emissions by 7% and to do this it’s looking...
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Rolls Royce coupe already sold outThe entire first year production of the new Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe, which equates to more than 200 cars, was already allocated for long before the car made its debut at the recent Geneva Motor Show, boasts CEO Ian Robertson. And a majority of those orders, two-thirds to be in fact, were sold to...
Siddarth Raja