Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2019 i Car India

ASTON MARTIN, IN COLLABORATION WITH EON PRODUCTIONS, HAVE revealed the limited-edition 007 version of the DBS Superleggera. EON Productions is the company that produces the movies along with Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, the James Bond film the car was featured in, is also the name of this special edition DBS Superleggera. The model was created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the sixth Bond flick. The OMHSS Edition DBS Superleggera continues with the 725-PS twin-turbo V12, which should be more than enough for anything it would be required to do. It is based on the 1969 Olive Green Aston Martin that was driven by James Bond in the film. Only 50 will be made, each costing £300,007 (or around Rs 2.65 crore). Deliveries are scheduled…

THE LATEST NAME TO ENTER THE INDIAN CAR MARKET IS MG. Morris Garages, though, is a somewhat recognized name and began their new Indian foray in style, reconnecting with the owners of classic and older MG models. Heralding their entry will be the Hector, a large SUV which brings in several firsts to the Indian market, highlighting its connectivity features and tech-rich equipment list. The Hector will be offered with a choice of three powertrains: a petrol, a diesel, and even a 48-volt mild-hybrid petrol, one that is being offered in the Indian SUV space for the first time. You may read all about the Hector on page 44 of this issue.…

DEPENDING ON WHO YOU SPEAK TO AT ŠKODA, THE SCALA’S Latin-derived name can mean either steps, as in ladder, or scale, as in spectrum. Whichever, it fits, for this car is an extension into new territory for Škoda: a proper C-segment hatchback to battle the Ford Focus and friends in the family-hatch heartland. Almost new territory, at least. Remember the Škoda Rapid? You’d be forgiven if you didn’t. A budget-conscious car with about as much flavour as boiled celery, it made little dent on the image-conscious UK market. This car isn’t a direct replacement for the Rapid — that car continues in selected overseas markets (in three-box form only; the hatch-shaped Rapid Spaceback is no more) and, half a size up, the Octavia still abides. The Scala is a step…

MADE IN INDIA The MG Hector is being manufactured in their state-of-the-art facility at Halol, Gujarat, with a production capacity of 80,000 cars per annum. The company has rolled out its first production Hector from this facility. It has now gone into commercial production after one million kilometres of testing in diverse road and climatic conditions all across India. With extensive localization, the SUV has seen more than 300 India-specific changes to suit customer preferences and road conditions here. DESIGN The Hector, as the pictures suggest, is a fairly large SUV. Equipped with MG’s signature design cues, including the famous star-rider grille, the SUV heralds a new era for the much-revered octagonal badge in India. Its character lines are defined by geometric shapes, horizontal flow, and symmetry. Various sections of…

THE FUTURE IS MURKY. IT IS DARK, MYSTERIOUS, AND SCARY, and we just don’t know what’s coming, do we? Jetsons-like floating cities with flying pods? A revert to old-school tech à la Mad Max: Fury Road? Or, maybe, an intergalactic colony with a smattering of nuclear-powered surface cars like Asimov’s Foundation? Well, the people at Renault reckon they have a bit of a clue as to where things are going in terms of the automotive space in the near future at the very least and at the Viva Technology show in Paris, I had a chance to check their ideas out first-hand. Zoe Cab Prototype Based on Renault’s Zoe electric passenger car (which is coming to India in the near future, according to the goss on the grapevine), this is…

HONDA HAVE MADE THEIR FUTURISTIC DESIGN APPROACH EVIDENT HE HONDA CIVIC IS A LEGEND AND IS NOW HERE IN INDIA IN its latest generation packing a diesel engine with a manual transmission, no less. Odd as it may sound to some, the grunt and potent feel of a turbo-diesel is always welcome with a stick and the fact that petrol engine is still a 1.8-litre i-VTEC unit, albeit paired with only a CVT, doesn’t make me change my mind or alter my excitement level. Besides, this is the same 1.6 i-DTEC turbo-diesel engine from the larger and much heavier CR-V. This should be interesting. The new Civic looks as grand as it looks sharp. There is plenty to make it appear every bit the modern car it is, from those…

VALTTERI BOTTAS STAMPED HIS AUTHORITY ON Baku, claiming a flag-to-flag victory ahead of his teammate, defending world champion Lewis Hamilton. It was the fourth consecutive one-two finish for Mercedes-AMG Petronas in as many races this year. Bottas sped away into the lead and it was only when he pitted on lap 12 that he dropped out of the lead. Charles Leclerc, who’d had a massive crash in qualifying, had started in ninth in his Scuderia Ferrari but his pace on the mediums was significant and he was in command for more than a few laps before Bottas got past under DRS and retook the lead. Hamilton, who pitted on the lap after Bottas, eventually got past the Ferrari of Leclerc and was closing in on Bottas. The battle for the…

THE DRIVERS FOUND THEMSELVES being welcomed by sketchy grip and poor visibility on the first WRC Chile outing. Ott Tänak (Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team) shook off his poor form from the previous round and found himself in the lead at the end of the first day. He had a bit of a scare in the opening speed test when he stalled the car but he won three of the six speed tests to shake off Sébastien Ogier (Citroën Total World Rally Team), who had to settle for second place. Completing the top three for the day was Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team). The following day’s challenges took place south of Concepción, between the Biobió river and the Pacific Ocean. Tänak gave a consistent performance once…

THE INEVITABLE AND SEEMINGLY PERMANENT road works have reached a sort of peak with almost every road in the city dug up for either a new footpath or concretization — and the latter is true of many secondary connecting roads off the main road. With the completely inconsiderate and ruthless digging for distances beyond reason, there is a major shortage of parking for all the housing societies accessed via those aforementioned connecting roads and that means the main road is lined with two- and four-wheelers for over a kilometre. Major inconvenience, yes, but that the main reason for bringing that up are the several cases of unkempt road sections that have six-inch or higher concrete blocks strewn around with abandon. Each day, members of these societies line the edges with…

NEW THIS MONTH BMW X5 The latest iteration of the X5 is now available in a choice of petrol and diesel, from Rs 72.90 lakh (ex-showroom) HYUNDAI VENUE The very modern and seriously exciting new compact SUV from Hyundai is here from Rs 6.50 lakh (ex-showroom) 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 BMW BMW FERRARI FIAT HONDA HONDA JAGUAR JAGUAR LEXUS LEXUS MARUTI SUZUKI MARUTI SUZUKI MERCEDES-BENZ MERCEDES MINI MITSUBISHI RENAULT ROLLS-ROYCE TOYOTA TATA VOLKSWAGEN VOLKSWAGEN VOLVO…

THE NEW MODEL YEAR BRINGS WITH IT A slew of updates across various model lines for Munich giant BMW. With several new offerings being introduced, it’s been a busy time in Bavaria. The M340i xDrive, which we drove in camo at the international media drive experience, has formally joined the ranks as the most powerful 3 for now. With the 3.0-litre straight-six turned up to 374 PS and 500 Nm, it can dismiss 0-100 km/h in 4.4 seconds ― the most you can have before the new M3 arrives. The new 330e plug-in hybrid has also been introduced. Its petrol-electric driveline generates up to 292 PS combined, while consumption can be as low as 1.6 litres/100 km or, in common terms, 62.5 km/l! The new 3 Series will also have…

UNDER THEIR GLOBAL INITIATIVE, “EQUAL VEHICLES FOR ALL” (E.V.A.), Volvo organized an all-women drive with the aim of promoting gender equality. The #StandForSafety drive was conceptualized to bridge the gender gap and features MMA athlete Dr Komal Rao. Volvo have always prioritized safety and, as such, a huge amount of detailed data gathered over four decades from 40,000 investigations into car crashes has now been provided to the world free. The E.V.A. initiative centres around safety for all and not just safety developed by testing the traditional male crash-test dummies. Women have a different anatomy and, hence, are subject to different effects in crashes. Volvo use a mix of crash-test dummies with body-types spanning male, female as well different sized children, with the aim of delivering maximum safety for all.…

I am planning to buy a small car, preferably a petrol auto hatchback for everyday use. My priorities are fuel efficiency, manoeuvrability, comfort, and safety. Since I do not live in a major city, I would like to buy a car from a manufacturer who has a widespread dealer network as well. Currently, I am looking at the new Maruti Suzuki WagonR and the Celerio. If you feel there are other cars that answer my requirements better, please do let me know. My budget is around Rs 6.5 lakh. Sachin Khade, Solapur Hello, Sachin, Based on your specific needs and requirements, we would recommend you look at the Maruti Suzuki Ignis and the Hyundai Santro. Both fit perfectly into your budget and tick all the boxes in terms of the…

IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THERE ARE NOT many of them around: those fast-thinking, hyper successful CEOs who are always ready to set strategy with an all-important pivot, bring new ideas and fresh concepts with the confidence of a visionary to the next big project, all the while keeping competition at bay. Well, our Woman of Substance, Saba, is one of those CEOs. The young and energetic lady owns Nivasa Contemporary, a home brand that deals in modern and customized furniture. What differentiates Saba from other CEOs is the ever present smile on her face and her calm disposition even on a hectic day at work. Saba recently broke down her daily routine for Car India and for this interaction, we were in the company of the fabulous Hyundai Elantra,…

THIS IS A BIG ASK: £40K (RS 36 LAKH) for no additional performance. Same top speed. Same acceleration. A fraction less weight. Great brakes. A lot of carbon-fibre. And a track-biased ride quality that could make you question the wisdom of going for this new range-topper when there are now so many other AMG GT variants to choose from, most of them more versatile than this one. The GT R Pro is a limited-edition, track-focused (new wheels, tweaked suspension and aero, roll-cage, lightweight buckets, four-point harnesses) flagship priced at £188,345 (Rs 1.69 crore), with first deliveries reaching the United Kingdom in July. It sits at the top of a newly refreshed two-door range that now starts at £104,195 (Rs 93.77 lakh) for the regular GT Coupé, progresses via S and…

THE TATA HARRIER STARTED life as the H5X Concept shown by Tata Motors at last year’s Auto Expo, and it is commendable that the company has taken this machine from concept to production-ready in less than a year. Those of us who liked the striking looks of the H5X concept will also be happy that the production-ready Harrier retains most of the design elements that made the concept such a head-turner. At the front we have a pair of narrow LED DRLs mounted high up where you would naturally expect the headlights to be, while the actual headlights sit just below grille level, with fog-lamps just beneath them. Those DRLs also double up as turn indicators, while the headlamps and fog-lamps get a cornering function. This unconventional approach gives the…

First of all, how did it all start? Take us through your path to racing. My interest in cars has always been greater, although only marginally, than bikes. As a child I remember my brother and I would eagerly wait for our turn to sit on our parents’ lap when either of them took us out on drives and we would excitedly hold the wheel under their constant supervision driving up and down the residential lane. As any other regular college-going student does, I too learned to ride my first bike at the age of 15 and still remember my earliest memories of enjoying the very experience of the thrill riding. It was clear that I was always slightly more inclined towards speed than my peers. With my mother’s guidance…

LEWIS HAMILTON MAY NOT HAVE had pole position — that distinction went to his teammate, Valtteri Bottas — but he got an excellent start and kept up his momentum all the way to the chequered flag. Bottas managed pole position the previous day, but his efforts were undone by the reigning world champion as he got a great start in his AMG F1 car. The drag to the first corner saw Hamilton on the inside line as Sebastian Vettel challenged Bottas from the outside, making it three abreast going into Turn One. That eventually left Bottas with nowhere to go as Hamilton took charge at the front. Vettel locked up and ran wide briefly, allowing Bottas to reclaim second. As Vettel rejoined, his teammate, Charles Leclerc, who had started fifth,…

The world has lost Niki Lauda, one of the greatest characters motor sport, and indeed the world, has ever seen. The Austrian racing driver won three world championships and is the only driver to have won a world championship with both Ferrari and McLaren. For those of you unfamiliar with Niki, think back to 2013 when cinema-houses the world over were treated to a new release by nine-time Academy Award winner, Ron Howard: Rush. Considering the celebrated director’s portfolio, it would be no surprise that this would become another brilliant real-life masterpiece. Rush dove into the rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the 1976 Formula 1 world championship. A fierce season saw Lauda suffer a horrific crash at the Nürburgring, where his Ferrari race car burst into flames…

LET’S PICK UP FROM WHERE WE LEFT OFF last time. As I mentioned then, my colleagues had already begun to chart plans for weekend getaways and a camping trip was the first one to be tick-marked in the list. With all the gear packed into the boot, the car still had enough space to comfortably seat the whole squad. It also made surprisingly good progress over poor roads and some trails to reach the camp site without fuss. Impressed by that outing, my senior colleagues also scheduled weekend trips in the Ertiga. After trips to Shirdi and Mahabaleshwar, they agreed that the Ertiga managed to accommodate and transport their families comfortably without a hitch. Furthermore, thoughtful features such as rear a-c vents and cooled cup-holders simply made life a lot…

BMW HAVE DEVELOPED A NEW DRIVING EXPERIENCE FOR THEIR HIGH-performance sports car and the new BMW M8 will be one of the first to get the new kit. There is now a completely new “Setup” button for the upcoming BMW M8 Coupé and M8 Convertible which offers new configuration choices and customized experience for drivers. The main focus of this configuration is at four main points: power, chassis, braking systems, and the new “M” mode which offers focused driving both on the road and the track. Drivers will now be able to completely adjust the settings to suit their personal preferences. The Setup button can be used to adjust the vehicle settings and the M mode allows the displays and driver assistance systems to come into play and can be…

THE ICONIC BRITISH MARQUE’S LINE-UP grows with the new GT, their aim being to reinvent the rules of grand touring. Woking’s new GT is more usable as it has the capability to be competitive where it needs, while also being able to tour long distances. It will be lighter, faster, and more engaging and the first Grand Tourer in the McLaren family alongside the other Series: Sports, Super, and Ultimate. The GT gets a luxurious interior for outstanding ride comfort, with crafted high-quality materials throughout. The 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged petrol engine is the evolved M840TE version of the V8 engine and produces 620 PS at 7,500 rpm with 630 Nm of peak torque available between 5,500 and 6,500 rpm, harnessed by the McLaren Seamless Shift Gearbox (SSG) transmission, a seven-speed dual-clutch…

ROLLS-ROYCE HAVE REVEALED THEIR STUNNING NEW COLLECTION Car, the Wraith Eagle VIII. In June 1919, Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Brown braved uncharted skies to make the first non-stop transatlantic flight. Contemporaries of Sir Henry Royce, Alcock and Brown flew non-stop from St John’s, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Ireland, in a modified World War I Vickers Vimy bomber aircraft, powered by twin 20-litre, 350-PS, Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII engines. Here, then, is where this Collection special edition gets its name, with Rolls-Royce marking the centenary of this feat. Among the details is the inscription of what Sir Winston Churchill said following the perilous journey that brought unfathomable advancement to 20th-century society, ‘I do not know what we should most admire — their audacity, determination, skill, science, their aeroplane, their Rolls-Royce engines…

SGA CARS IN COIMBATORE NOW BOASTS OF THE LARGEST ŠKODA workshop in the country. Škoda Auto India have been on a roll of late, revamping their after-sales in a bid to attract more buyers and aptly reward customer loyalty. The SGA Cars India facility in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, is the largest Škoda workshop in India. This state-of-the-art workshop facility is spread over 49,585 square feet of premium service area. It has been equipped with 50 service bays and has a capacity to service 20,000 Škoda cars a year with more than 40 dedicated personnel. It also houses rainwater harvesting capabilities and, thus, contributes to the Czech major’s “Green Future” vision. Škoda Auto India have also been busy increasing the accessibility of the brand and they hope to further this by…

Hyundai Venue The made-for-India new Hyundai Venue compact SUV has finally been launched from Rs 6.5 lakh (ex-showroom), with a choice of three engines: two petrol and one diesel. India’s first “Connected SUV”, the Venue made its global début at the 2019 New York International Auto Show. It is a sub-four-metre car with Hyundai’s latest design language also seen on the popular Creta with a face familiar to the new Santa Fe. The front gets a hexagonal grille with sleek DRL and indicators above the headlamps. Inside, the all-black cabin comes with a touchscreen display and brush-metal highlights and the top variants offer a sun-roof. It also packs the company’s most advanced connectivity solution, Hyundai Blue Link, a new-age system with an in-built and tamper-proof device powered by a Vodafone-Idea…

AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE SECOND decade of the 21st century, if you tap on the right digital vein, monitoring a third party has become ridiculously easy. Case in point being our latest gadget, the Kent CamEye. This small gadget is the size of a portable hard disk and can be easily mounted using a suction cup right below the rear-view mirror. The 4G-enabled subscriber identification module (SIM) inside the device allows live streaming, cloud storage, real-time alerts, and other options with enough customization to put a Subway sub to shame. No, it is not spying because the camera is installed in plain view. What Is It?: Essentially, a monitoring device that alerts you in case your vehicle is being misused with the added benefit of GPS tracking. There are…

AFEW WEEKS AGO, A BUNCH OF US AUTO journalists and car enthusiasts gathered at Chennai’s MMRT circuit for something quite special. Legendary British marque Mini had invited us over for the Indian launch of the most extreme, and hence most fun, car in their arsenal. The 2019 Mini John Cooper Works (JCW) had finally arrived and we couldn’t wait to be let loose around the track in this extremely capable and stylish hot hatch. The standard Mini Cooper S is quite a fun car in its own right. With 192 PS on tap, compact dimensions, those short overhangs, and extremely well-balanced dynamics, the Cooper S is quick and extremely involving to drive. However, for those gearheads who still desire more, Mini have the sharper JCW variant, with more power, better…

Where the drawing board meets cutting-edge DESIGN AND STYLE ALWAYS GO hand in hand. A clear vision with the perseverance and commitment to see it through is the only true path to success. When you have a goal, it’s not always about tunnel vision. It’s about accepting that there will be a detour the world will throw at you at some point. There isn’t always a plan. Plans change, but a vision is consistent. You only need to know where you want to be. How you get there is decided after you take that all important first step. Kia Motors has gone from strength to strength. It’s dived heart and head into every segment and now has international winners so good, they take on the best in the world and…

IT ISN’T OFTEN THAT I’M COMFORTABLE WITH BEING driven around. Driving cars for a living will do that to you. So, I was a little apprehensive when the folk at Renault told me that I was going to experience their latest autonomous vehicle: the Zoe Cab. I sat there scratching my head, thinking, ‘how the heck do I review a car I can’t drive’? And after a lot of head scratching, I had an epiphany — I can’t, so I’ll just give you a feel for what it’s like to be driven around in a car where the car is doing the actual driving instead. Before I get into it, though, a little background. This experience took place at the University of Paris-Saclay, a campus on the outskirts of Paris…

AS MY FAVOURITE THRASH METAL BAND SO ELOQUENTLY PUTS IT, “BATTERY is here to stay.” As the world moves further and further towards dystopia, the search for environmentally-friendly alternative power sources continues. However, this isn’t a problem you can fix with just a snap your fingers, that is unless you’re a big purple Titan wearing a shiny gem-powered gauntlet (yes, I’m well and truly on the Avengers: Endgame hype train). So these things take time and the most viable solution today is electric power and it seems like the path we, as humanity, will continue to go down in the near future as well. Here in India, with our intermittent power cuts and lack of charging stations, a full EV set-up is just plain impractical. What does work, though, are…

GETTING MORE OUT OF LESS IS a tall order indeed. Yet that doesn’t stop many manufacturers from trying their hand in an attempt to carve out a larger piece of the pie. Only recently we had pitted the Hyundai Santro “SmartAuto” AMT against the credible Tata Tiago AMT, which, with a few loose ends tied up, could result in it truly becoming a force to be reckoned with. Until then, there’s a new challenger aiming to be crowned the new king of the hill. The new WagonR is larger and better equipped and, importantly, built on the new “Heartect” platform that is lighter and makes it more agile, while also promising to be safer. The slew of laws supposed to be in force have brought about updates to several manufacturer…

IT SEEMED LIKE THIERRY Neuville’s (Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team) good fortune had followed him from Corsica because the Hyundai driver finished on top on Friday. A particularly good result considering he was in ninth place earlier in the day. Neuville’s consistent progress and race leader Ott Tänak’s (Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team) misfortune played an equal part in this result. Tänak broke his car’s driveshaft towards the end of the race and spun out of the lead; ultimately finishing in third place. Sébastien Ogier (Citroën Total World Rally Team) also made the most of the day and finished in second place. Saturday’s route was the longest of the rally. The drivers encountered the plains and hills of the Punila Valley, spread over stages with a combined total…

Indian racing driver, Arjun Maini, has signed with the Finnish talent management firm, e-ACE International. The 21-year-old youngster from Bengaluru is backed by JK Tyre and, only earlier this year, confirmed his intentions to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year. He will now be supported by the fast-growing Finnish firm which has a global presence and a proven track-record of helping drivers reach their ultimate professional objectives in motor sport. The firm was founded by physio and driver manager, Tomas Siltanen, and ex-Formula 1 driver and two-time Le Mans winner, JJ Lehto, in 2012. The company has gone on to to sign several talents in various categories of motor sport, ranging from karting to the FIA World Rally Cross Championship.…