Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2019 i Car India

In the bigger picture, Bentley also celebrate their centenary this year and have commemorated this epic milestone by launching this ultimate collector’s edition of the Continental GT. The Number 9 Edition by Mulliner pays homage to Sir Henry Ralph Stanley “Tim” Birkin, one of the original “Bentley Boys” of the 1920s and ‘30s. Birkin was a Bentley customer, investor, and a racing driver, full of entrepreneurial spirit and ambition, and his determination led to the 4½ litre “Blower”. No 9 was the supercharged Bentley “Blower” that Sir Tim raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1930. The Number 9 Edition also features a wood insert from the seat of Birkin’s iconic Le Mans race car, removed during a sympathetic renovation. Only 100 examples will be hand-built by Mulliner…

THE LATEST ADDITION TO THE PORSCHE CAYENNE FAMILY IS THE CAYENNE COUPÉ ― A sleeker, leaner, and much sportier derivative of the now popular performance SUV. The Cayenne is now in its third generation and the addition of a four-door, sloping-roof Coupé model adds to the excitement with its sleek lines and enticing design. While it is clearly aimed at the likes of the BMW X6 and Mercedes-AMG GLE Coupé, the Cayenne Coupé looks fuller and more focused, more in the vein of the Range Rover Sport. It is also the first SUV to pack smart active aerodynamics with the adaptive rear spoiler. For now, it is available with two engine options: the standard 340-PS twin-turbo V6 petrol, with the Cayenne Turbo Coupé getting the blistering 550-PS twin-turbo V8. The…

THE ASTON MARTIN DBX, THE FIRST SUV FROM THE BRITISH LUXURY marque, continues with its intensive development programme at Pirelli’s official test facility in Sweden, near the Arctic Circle. The Flurheden Proving Ground, where Pirelli’s R&D Sottozero Centre is located, provides a range of extreme environments, from snowy roads to ice handling courses. That allowed Aston Martin’s vehicle dynamics specialists, led by Aston Martin Chief Engineer Matt Becker to put the DBX prototype to the ultimate cold test. The DBX will go into prototype build at St Athan, Wales, in mid-2019. Full production commences in 2020.…

BRITISH CAR ICON, MG (MORRIS GARAGES), who will soon begin operations in India, have announced that they have roped in actor Benedict Cumberbatch to be the face of the brand. In a short video release, Cumberbatch reveals that he is a fan of the MG brand and goes on to say that he grew up with the brand and that he always dreamed of possessing one of their cars, an MG Midget or an MGB. Today, Cumberbatch is a popular figure among the people, notably for his stellar performances as Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Strange. MG will kick off their India line-up with the Hector crossover SUV. Watch this space.…

GROUPE PSA AND CK BIRLA GROUP ARE PREPARING TO LAUNCH THE French car brand, Citroën, in India in 2021. This comes right after the company’s announcement about the inauguration of a new plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, in November last year. The facility in Hosur, completed at an outlay of Rs 600 crore, will manufacture and supply technologically advanced and eco-friendly powertrains that will comply with future norms. The plant is a new, state-of-the-art facility completed in record time. It will manufacture 3,00,000 transmissions in its first phase and an additional 2,00,000 BS-VI engines by phase two. It will make gearboxes for Indian as well as other Groupe PSA markets as per their needs. Citroën, the French car brand, started producing cars in the early 20th century and is a…

MPV FOR THE TRAVELLING BUSINESSMAN I am a businessman based in Pune. I run an estate agency and this requires me to travel from Pune to Mumbai, Lonavala, Panvel and even Satara and Kolhapur on occasion. I need a car that will allow me to carry a decent speed and is spacious and comfortable because we are often six or seven people travelling together to inspect a new property or plot of land. I want an MPV and I want something with a bit of punch. If that means sacrificing on fuel efficiency, so be it. I also want something that is luxurious and has a bit of class. I have set aside Rs 30 lakh for this purchase, but I want to save a couple of lakhs, if at…

IT IS SNOWING IN ARIZONA AND THAT surprises. I’ve always associated America’s sixth largest state (40 per cent bigger than Britain) with sunshine, deserts, John Wayne mesas, cacti, deep canyons, and rich red rockfaces. But we’re here in the Tonto National Forest, a few hours’ drive north-east of Phoenix, and it looks and feels like a northern European forest in deep mid-winter. We’re in a new McLaren 720S Spider, one of the world’s fastest supercars — plus we have the roof down — and we’re snug and comfortable. In some ways it’s as civilized and easy to drive as a big, lazy luxury saloon. That surprises, too. Snow blankets the ground and the pine trees stretch far off towards the horizon. There are black bears, cougars, coyotes, and bobcats lurking…

MAHINDRA HAVE LAUNCHED A NEW VEHICLE HERE in India and, surprise, surprise, it is an SUV. A sub-four-metre compact SUV, one that would go up against some stiff competition. The Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza is one of the segment leaders, along with the likes of the Honda WR-V and the Ford EcoSport. Even the Hyundai Creta, though it isn’t less than four metres in length. Heck, even Mahindra themselves already have entrants in this space in the NuvoSport and the TUV300. The baby XUV isn’t some half-hearted attempt at tossing elements from these cars and its bigger sibling and pretending the result is, in that most famous of manufacturer hyperbole, “all new”. No, this new compact SUV from the Indian brand is the latest to walk in the new path…

‘IT’S A £200K (RS 1. 8 CRORE), 200-MPH (322-KM/H) FERRARI 488 AND LAMBORGHINI HURACÁN RIVAL, PUSHING UP TOWARDS AVENTADOR’– ANDY PALMER THERE’S NO LOGIC TO cars like this — they’re entirely selfish propositions,’ smiles Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer. At the same time, he prods one corner of a chart that neatly positions the range of cars he’s working tirelessly to put in place; territory occupied by some famous and formidable foes. ‘Ferrari, Lamborghini, and McLaren, essentially,’ continues Palmer. ‘Until now, we haven’t had a mid-engined car. Or, more accurately, we haven’t had a rear/mid-engined car; all our current cars are mid-engined, albeit with the engine at the front. You can talk about polar moments of inertia — a car with the engine tucked behind the driver turns in more…

ASTON MARTIN ARE KEEN THAT YOU DON’T LUMP the Valkyrie hypercar (you remember: single-minded Adrian Newey package and aero, astonishing naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 with hybrid boost making 1,160 PS; £2.5 million, that is, Rs 22.5 crore) in with the likes of the McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari and AMG One. It is, Aston say, something beyond even those ethereal machines and a unique automotive moment. Here, then, is the car we are allowed to compare to the aforementioned Ferrari, McLaren, and AMG: AM-RB 003, a name that makes little sense until you recall Valkyrie’s codename was AM-RB 001 and the track-only Valkyrie AMR Pro’s AM-RB 002. ‘This is the bridging project between Valkyrie and Vanquish; the latter is the “cooking product” for want of a better term in our mid-engined…

MAHINDRA BAJA SAE INDIA 2019 was back in its 12th edition and we were at hand to witness the second leg of the competition at IIT-Ropar. This year, the theme for this highly competitive event was “Adventure Reloaded”. Baja SAE India is limited to engineering college students and is being held since 2007. Engineering colleges across the country form teams to represent their institutions. These students have to brainstorm and build a race-ready, all-terrain four-wheeler completely from scratch. Let us take a close look at what happens behind the scenes before the main event. It begins with Static Evaluation which comprises design evaluation, cost evaluation, and marketing presentation. Next comes Dynamic Evaluation wherein the vehicle is tested for parameters such as acceleration, sledge pull, manoeuvrability, and suspension and traction. Furthermore,…

THE MERCEDES-AMG S 65 FINAL EDITION marks the pinnacle of the 6.0-litre BiTurbo V12 powering the venerable S-Class. Only 130 vehicles will be offered worldwide. A comprehensive list of standard equipment makes for a unique combination of performance and prestige value. The Mercedes-AMG S 65 Final Edition comes exclusively in a high-gloss obsidian black paint finish. A matte-bronze finish on the air-dam, the side-skirt accent, and the 20-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels set this limited edition apart, as does the AMG emblem on the C-pillar. The package is rounded off with tail-pipe trims in high-gloss black; a fitting finale. The M279 engine in the S 65 is both a marvel and a workhorse. Displacing all of 5,980 cc, the 36-valve V12 puts out 630 PS and a peak torque of 1,000…

THE STUTTGART-BASED AUTOMOTIVE suppliers, MAHLE, have opened a new Global Engineering, IT, and Sales Shared Services Centre in Pune. This is also their third global IT centre and their only one in Asia. The 55,000-square-foot complex is currently the base of operations for over 450 engineers and technicians. Furthermore, Mahle India also announced that they intend to double their workforce over the next three to five years. In addition to contributing to the company’s global presence, this team will also support both internal combustion and electric powertrain verticals. Speaking on the occasion of the inauguration, Arnd Franz, Member of the Management Board, Corporate Executive Vice President, OE - Automotive Sales and Application Engineering, said, ‘India is at the epicentre of MAHLE’s dual strategy; as part of the global green initiative…

I am looking for my first-ever car and I need your help. I am confused between the Maruti Suzuki Celerio and the Hyundai Santro. My head tells me that the Celerio would be better because Maruti Suzuki have a reputation for very economical service and parts, but my neighbour and best friend's dad had a Santro and I have really nice memories associated with the car, so my heart says I should go for the Santro. What should I do? Amit Triveidi, Nagpur Dear Amit, The cost of service and maintenance in the case of both Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki is within the same bracket and quite comparable, so you don't have to worry on that count. We suggest that you take both cars out for a test drive and…

TODAY LUXURY SUVS ARE becoming more and more popular and a must-have in the line-up of every premium car manufacturer. Audi were the first manufacturers to offer a full-sized seven-seater, Q7, and Mercedes came out with the GLS. These SUVs are equivalent to their luxury sedans: the A8, S-Class, and the XC90 from Volvo. BMW did not have an SUV equivalent to the luxury sedan, 7 Series, until now. They have addressed this with the launch of the all-new BMW X7. After losing out for nearly 10 years to the competition, BMW have come up with the X7. Sometimes coming last into a segment can work in the manufacturer’s favour, for one knows what is required to trump the competition. During the presentation, the project head for the X7 mentioned…

A DROPTOP WITHOUT THE COMPROMISES The carbon-fibre monocoque chassis — here in its latest Monocage II-S (for Spider) guise — is a superb platform for a convertible. Unlike metal cars, it needs no strengthening or any other weighty buttressing, so the 720S Spider has all the handling prowess and agility of the outstanding Coupé. RAISING THE BAR Little McLaren, sports car newbie, has engineered a superb folding-roof mechanism. It’s quiet and fast to operate, stacks compactly and, when raised, maintains the Coupé’s comely profile and its excellent aerodynamics. There’s a one-piece carbon roof panel and optional electro-chromic glass insert, which can tint or be transparent. QUICK, BUT ITALIANS DO IT BETTER The engine growls and roars and it certainly delivers amazing performance — both high-speed punch and low-speed docility. Plus…

NISSAN’S LATEST MODEL FOR INDIA IS positioned above the Terrano and comes equipped with plenty of segment-first features which make the Kicks more premium than its sibling. It’s one of the fanciest mass-market offerings from the Japanese brand to be brought to our country and the company has high hopes riding on it. The question is: are these enough it shake up the segment leader, Hyundai Creta? Kicks is an international brand-name for a fairly large SUV which, in most countries, is based on the new Micra platform. The Indian-spec model is built on the robust M0 platform of the Terrano and Renault Duster. In fact, with an overall length of 4,384 millimetres, it’s about 53 mm longer than the Terrano as well. So what you get is a good-looking…

Valkyrie | Aston’s shortcut to mid-engined credibility — a road-legal, Red Bull-sculpted, £2.5-million (Rs 22.5 crore) hypercar with a 1,160-PS hybrid V12. Valkyrie AMR Pro | As above but track-only, the Valkyrie AMR Pro is the ultimate Valkyrie — all the hybrid V12 glory but without any road-legal compromises. AM-RB 003 | Less extreme than Valkyrie but still built around a carbon-fibre tub. Crucially, the wailing V12 is swapped for a more powerful version of Vanquish’s hybrid-assisted V6. Just 500 will be built and it’ll be with us before Vanquish; late 2021/2022. Vanquish | The new £200k (Rs 1.8 crore) mid-engined Ferrari 488 (now F8 Tributo) and Huracán rival. Aluminium tub, hybrid V6 powertrain. Due to go on sale in 2022.…

THE 2019 SEASON GOT UNDER way with a slew of changes that had us believe it would be a different spectacle. Charles Leclerc moves into a potential championship-winning car, Kimi Raikkonen moves to Sauber-turned-Alfa Romeo, marking a return of the iconic brand to the sport. Red Bull get Honda power, Daniel Ricciardo goes to Renault. Robert Kubica returns with a revitalized Williams team, and Force India turn into Racing Point. However, Mercedes-AMG hadn’t changed anything and things certainly didn’t seem to have changed. Lewis Hamilton set a dominating pole time on Saturday and, come Race Day, he was looking strong as the pack made their way towards Turn One. Further back, Ricciardo went far into the grass to avoid a collision and ended up paying with his new wide front…

RALLY GUANAJUATO MEXICO opened on an exciting note on Friday with a lot of action. Andreas Mikkelsen (Citroën Total World Rally Team) led the race early on Friday, but had to retire when his car’s suspension broke following an encounter with a rock. That was only one of the many crashes that occurred that day. While a cloud of misfortune hung over the rest of the competitors, Sébastien Ogier (Citroën Total World Rally Team) only picked up a puncture and finished the first day at the head of the pack. The following day was the longest of the race. There were two loops comprising tough gravel stages in the mountains followed by a repeat of the previous day’s tracks. In total, the nine stages covered 138.37 km. Ogier lost his…

THE NEW ERTIGA ZXI HAS ARRIVED IN THE Car India garage. That is good news for most of us because we do our best to avoid being crammed into the back seat of a car; forced to be mindful of not hurting the neighbours with our elbows. So, the long and spacious MUV has instantly become our first choice of transport in case the team needs to embark on a long trip. We look forward to long, comfortable drives and fervently hope the Ertiga will not disappoint in that respect. The car in our long-term fleet has the all-new K15 petrol engine with Progressive Smart Hybrid technology. This engine is mated to an automatic transmission. So far, we have done a few hundred kilometres in the city and we are…

GRAND TOURING IS AN ART. Balancing sporty performance with exemplary luxury is no easy task, yet, with the new Bentley Continental GT, the Crewe marque certainly managed to tick the right boxes. A brand-new design, modern architecture, and commendable performance then are joined by a more frugal, environment-friendly stablemate ― one with a little 4.0-litre V8. Little, because a) it’s a third less displacement and b) it features cylinder deactivation, realized in just 20 milliseconds. Make no mistake, at full chat the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 delivers 550 PS and 770 Nm ― up 43 PS and 110 Nm on the previous one (up 22 PS and 90 Nm on the old S) ― hits 100 km/h from standstill in four seconds and a top speed of 318 km/h. It’s not…

FIAT CHRYSLER AUTOMOBILES (FCA) HAVE CONFIRMED PLANS TO INVEST A TOTAL OF US $4.5 billion (Rs 31,500 crore, approx) in five of their existing Michigan plants and to work with the city of Detroit and state of Michigan on building a new assembly plant within city limits. The move would increase capacity to meet growing demand for both the Jeep and Ram brands, including production of two new Jeep-branded white-space products as well as electrified models. FCA will also invest $1.6 billion (Rs 11,200 crore, approx) to convert the two plants that comprise the Mack Avenue Engine Complex into the future assembly site for the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee as well as an all-new, three-row, full-size Jeep SUV and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models. FCA also confirmed that the investment for…

PORSCHE HAVE REVEALED THAT THE NExT-GENERATION MACAN will be all-electric, making it the first-ever all-electric SUV from the Stuttgart major. Porsche plan to focus on developing optimized petrol engines, plug-in hybrid models, and purely electric sports cars over the next 10 years, allocating more than €6 billion (Rs 48,000 crore, approx) towards electric mobility. Porsche expect that half of their new vehicles could shift to an electric platform by 2025, highlighting the viability of Porsche’s all-electric future in the years to come. Porsche are also set to launch their first fully electric car, the Taycan, by the end of this decade and it could well be revealed in production guise at the 2019 Frankfurt Auto Show later this year. The Taycan will be offered in a choice of variants in…

TATA MOTORS HAVE SIGNED A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MoU) with Wise Travel India (WTI) for supplying Tigor EVs in the capital. WTI are a fast-growing “people ground transport company” that will utilize the Tigor EV in their fleet in New Delhi. Tata Motors handed over the first batch of cars to Wise Travel India at Concorde Motors, Lajpat Nagar, continuing their drive towards pushing enhanced sustainable vehicles. With this MoU, Tata Motors extend their role in building a sustainable future for India by working collaboratively with various electric and hybrid vehicle solutions. In other news, Tata AutoComp Systems, an auto-component conglomerate, have also signed an MoU with the Australian company, Tritium PTY. Tritium PTY are a DC charging infrastructure company whose Veefil-RT DC fast chargers cater to a range of…

VOLVO CARS HAVE A VISION THAT NO ONE SHOULD BE KILLED OR even seriously injured in a Volvo come the year 2020. That vision has led them to identify gaps or causes that may prevent their cars from achieving that target. No surprise, it’s human error. First, Volvo confirmed that they would set a maximum speed limit of 180 km/h on all their new cars by 2020. Soon after that, the Swedish major announced that since flouting of road-safety norms is a common occurrence worldwide, they also plan to install in-car cameras to detect and intervene against anyone driving under the influence or even someone distracted or intoxicated in any form. Volvo say examples of such behaviour would include a complete lack of steering input for extended periods of time,…

Bentley Bentayga Diesel Bentley India have opened their order books for the diesel-powered Bentayga super-luxury SUV from Rs 3.81 crore (ex-showroom). The Bentayga is the luxury marque’s first SUV and it delivers on all the essential counts: luxury, refinement, and capability. As with every Bentley, the Bentayga Diesel can be personalized extensively with a myriad choice of materials and colours on offer. The only differentiator is the “V8 Diesel” badging on the lower edge of the front doors. The petrol duo have been around for some time now, but the new turbo-diesel V8 under this one’s bonnet is a different sort of beast. Featuring two normal turbochargers as well as an electrically driven compressor, the V8 engine delivers a lag-free 435 PS and 900 Nm of torque, the latter of…

1 POWER CONTROL UNIT (PCU) The PCU is the brain of the hybrid system, controlling the flow of electricity among the high-voltage battery, the electric motors, and the 12-volt battery that powers ancillaries. That has been key to the Toyota hybrid system’s success since day one: it provides the driver with a seamless and economical supply of power, no questions asked. This PCU is 20 per cent more powerful yet 10 per cent lighter than the last one, made possible by a compact new circuit board. The new set-up has reduced power losses by 20 per cent while improving fuel efficiency. And its compact size means the PCU can now be mounted on top of the front hybrid transaxle, making the whole combination of engine, electric motor, and transmission…

IN THE MARKET FOR ABOUT A DECADE NOW, THE FIGO HATCHBACK has been one of the best-selling cars in the Ford India line-up, having sold nearly three lakh units. The current model has reached its mid-life and, to freshen things up, the car-makers have given the Figo a timely facelift. We get a chance to take the petrol and diesel variants for a quick spin around the scenic locales of Jodhpur. Why this city in Rajasthan, you ask? Because it’s also known as the “Blue City” for the hundreds of bright blue coloured houses that give the city this unique name and, of course, visuals. Which also makes it a perfect setting to introduce the new top-of-the-line variant of the Figo, which is aptly named Titanium Blu! Although the overall…

WHEN ONE COMES FACE TO face with the Qute, it looks like a car with the basics in place, but the design and proportions don’t suggest so. It only gets clearer when the Bajaj executives clarify that this isn’t a car but a quadricycle. To give you a quick backgrounder, the Qute was unveiled during the Auto Expo of 2012 but it didn’t really take off because it was unable to clear all the safety requirements of a car. Obviously, it wasn’t meant to be one, but India did not have a category for this kind of a vehicle before. After a long-fought legal battle, the Indian government agreed to create a new segment. One can now buy a Qute for commercial purposes and Bajaj hope that people will also…

HYPER-ELECTRICS Pininfarina Battista Yes, at the root of it, it is essentially a 1,900-PS Mahindra electric hypercar. Pininfarina Automobili’s first-ever model to bear the legendary name is now a reality. The Mahindra-owned design giant has put pen to paper for long and has now, finally, badged that paper with their own brand, making it the most powerful car ever to be designed and built in Italy  —and that’s really saying something! The production-ready Battista, a hyper-performance grand tourer of which no more than 150 will be made, packs four electric motors, one in each wheel, and a 120-kWh battery pack. It promises zero emissions, a range of up to 450 kilometres, oh, and 1,900 PS and 2,300 Nm which propel it from zero to 100 km/h in less than two…

FOR FERRARI, THE ENEMY ISN’T SO MUCH AT THE GATES AS crashing through them with sheer weight of numbers: fortress Maranello is under siege. From McLaren, an endless stream of exceptional sports cars, with two of the best — the outrageously talented 720S and ferocious 600LT — aimed squarely at Maranello’s mid-engined V8, until now the 488 GTB. From Lamborghini, an uprated Huracán with something of the Ferrari’s wondrous balance — and a naturally aspirated V10. And then there’s Aston Martin’s new Vanquish, an unapologetically aggressive move before you consider that it’s being engineered by a couple of brilliant ex-Ferrari minds. What’s more, Ferrari have quite a bit on. Mercedes will once again require keeping honest in Formula 1 and on the road-car side Ferrari’s new CEO, Louis Camilleri, is…

THIS YEAR WILL SEE VOLKSWAGEN MOTORSPORT INDIA attacking rally courses and racetracks across the country in their 10th racing season. The team invited us to the racetrack to celebrate their extremely successful nine-season run where they also shared their plans for 2019 to give us a better understanding of what they do and to drive several of the race cars they have developed over the last decade. Volkswagen Motorsport was formed in 1966 and, with racing experience across rallying, touring car championships and even open-wheel racing, the Wolfsburg-based team comes with knowledge gleaned from over five decades of racing. Past rally successes included four wins at the Dakar, with the VW Motorsport team capturing all three podium places, and total dominance of the World Rally Championship from 2013 to 2016.…

NEW THIS MONTH BENTLEY BENTAYGA DIESEL A multi-compressor V8 diesel with 900 Nm peaking from 1,000 rpm is not something to be taken lightly. Now available from Rs 3.81 crore (base, ex) NISSAN KICKS The stylish new Kicks compact crossover is now available in petrol and diesel starting from Rs 9.55 lakh and 10.85 lakh (ex-showroom) respectively LEGENDS PRICES Ex-showroom, Pune (subject to change) BO: Available only by order NA: Price not available FEATURES F: Front only D: Driver airbag only O: Optional equipment ASTON MARTIN BENTLEY BMW FERRARI FIAT HONDA HONDA JAGUAR JAGUAR LAND ROVER LEXUS MARUTI SUZUKI MARUTI SUZUKI MERCEDES-BENZ MERCEDES MITSUBISHI MITSUBISHI RENAULT RENAULT TATA TATA VOLKSWAGEN VOLKSWAGEN VOLVO…