Latest
News
23 Aug,
2008
|
Chevrolet Cruze
|
GM is going to unveil its new Chevrolet Cruze in October's Paris Motor
Show. The Cruze is a C-segment car that will compete with Golf, Focus,
Astra etc. It is the first fruit of GM's new Delta 2 platform, which
will also provide basis for Opel Astra and Saab 9-2. Despite of its
Chevrolet badge, its engineering was primarily responsible by GM Daewoo
in Korea. The Cruze to be sold in Europe will come from Daewoo's plant
in Korea. It will replace Nubira and Lacetti. American version of the
car will be built locally in Ohio state where production of its
predecessor Chevrolet Cobalt takes place.
Details of the Cruze is scarce. We believe it has a long wheelbase but
conventional strut and torsion-beam suspensions. What GM has revealed
is the engine range which consists of a 112hp 1.6 petrol, 140hp 1.8
petrol (with twin-VVT) and a 150hp 2.0 turbo diesel. A new
fuel-efficient 1.4 direct-injection turbo will come later. Transmission
will be a 5-speed manual or a classy 6-speed automatic.
The car will go on sale next year in Korea and Europe, mid-2010 in
North America.
|
23 Aug,
2008
|
Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport
|
Bugatti promised its customers that no more than 300 Veyron would be
built in its life cycle. Now it is breaking its promise. Another 150
open-top version of the car, called Veyron Grand Sport, will be built
in the next 3 years together with the coupe, bring the total to 450
cars. Hopefully this could take the whole Veyron project into black.
Veyron Grand Sport has the same 253 mph top speed as the coupe when its
transparent polycarbonate roof panel is in place. If not, top speed
will be limited to 224 mph (360 km/h). Unfortunately, the roof panel
cannot be stored in the car. If the driver decide to go out roofless,
the only weather protection he will get is a fabric umbrella, which is
cleverly designed to fit into the roof. However, in this form the car
could only run up to 81 mph (131 km/h) to avoid tearing off the fabric.
The Grand Sport weighs 80 kg more than the coupe, which represents only
4 percent increase to the kerb weight. Therefore acceleration
performance is believed to be near identical to the original car. Its
carbon fiber monocoque chassis has been reinforced in the transmission
tunnel, sills and around pillars. An extra carbon-fiber tube is added
behind the seats to protect against roll over. Bugatti claims it is the
stiffest roadster in the world. Despite that, it needs a softer
suspension setting to compensate for the loss of chassis rigidity.
In Europe the Grand Sport asks for €1.4 million (excluding tax), once
again the most expensive car in the world.
|
16 Aug,
2008
|
Volkswagen Golf Mk6, or Mk5.5 ?
|
Volkswagen will unveil the 6th generation Golf in this October's Paris
motor show. From these pictures, we have good reasons to believe that
it is actually a mid-life facelift of Golf V. Not only all the critical
dimensions are retained, the new Golf will share platform with the
current car, which means the same MacPerson strut front and 4-link rear
suspensions. The modifications major on a new front end design (which
has family resemblance with Scirocco), new rear lights, better NVH
suppression and a new interior with more soft-touch surfaces. Cabin
space is unchanged from the current car.
Gasoline engines will include 80hp 1.4 and 105hp 1.6 naturally
aspirated units, 122hp 1.4TSI, 160hp 1.8TSI and 1.4 twin-charger in
140hp and 170hp form. Diesel range consists of 90hp 1.6TDI and 110hp /
140hp / 170hp 2.0TDI. Golf GTI will employ the new 211hp EA888 2.0TFSI
engine with Audi's Valvelift technology. Audi's 204hp twin-turbo 2.0TDI
performance diesel engine may also join GTI for the first time. Like
the current car, choices of transmission include 6-speed manual,
6-speed DSG and 7-speed DSG.
Scirocco's adaptive dampers and sports mode button (which alters
damping, throttle response and steering) will be shared with Golf.
|
16 Aug,
2008
|
Acura TL
|
Honda has renewed its 5-year-old Acura TL. As before, the TL is a
premium interpretation of the American Honda Accord, but this time it
has injected some ingredients from the flagship Acura RL (Honda
Legend). The top model is now equipped with the RL’s 3.7-liter SOHC
VTEC V6 (with horsepower pumped further to 305 hp) as well as its
sophisticated SH-AWD four-wheel-drive system, which can control the
torque split between rear wheels to correct understeer and oversteer.
Lesser model is front-wheel drive only and is powered by a 3.5-liter
SOHC VTEC V6 good for 280 hp. It won’t be much slower than the top
version, thanks to a sizable weight advantage (see spec. below).
Talking about weight, both versions of the new TL can’t be described as
lightweight. Despite the use of many high-strength steel parts and
aluminum components – the latter consist of bonnet, front subframe and
rear suspension knuckles – the car still sits at the heavy side of its
segment. One should notice that it is considerably larger than the
previous generation – 150 mm longer, 45 mm wider, 13 mm taller and runs
a 36 mm longer wheelbase. However, this should not be a surprise to us,
because the current Honda Accord is already that jumbo. The new TL (as
well as Accord) actually matches the flagship RL in size. In addition
to the use of the same engine and SH-AWD system, it virtually makes the
RL redundant. As we have heard, Honda will upgrade the next generation
RL to be a rear-drive V8 model.
|
Acura TL 3.5
|
Acura TL 3.7 SH-AWD
|
Layout
|
Front-engined, FWD
|
Front-engined, 4WD
|
Size (L / W / H / WB) mm
|
4960 / 1880 / 1453 / 2776
|
4960 / 1880 / 1453 / 2776 |
Engine
|
V6, sohc,
4v/cyl, VVT+L. |
V6,
sohc,
4v/cyl, VVT+L,
var
intake,
var exhaust. |
| capacity |
3471 cc
|
3664 cc
|
| Power |
280 hp
|
305 hp
|
| Torque |
254 lbft
|
275 lbft
|
| Gearbox |
5A
|
5A
|
| Suspension (F/R) |
double-wishbone
/ multi-link |
double-wishbone
/ multi-link |
Tyres
|
245/50R17 |
245/45R18 |
Weight
|
1680 kg
|
1805 kg
|
Comparison: TL vs RL vs Accord
|
TL 3.7 SH-AWD
|
RL 3.7 (Legend)
|
Accord 3.5EX
|
Length
|
4960 mm
|
4973 mm
|
4930 mm
|
Width
|
1880 mm
|
1847 mm
|
1847 mm
|
Height
|
1453 mm |
1455 mm
|
1476 mm
|
| Wheelbase |
2776 mm
|
2800 mm
|
2800 mm
|
| Weight |
1805 kg
|
1850 kg
|
1637 kg
|
| Power |
305 hp
|
300 hp
|
268 hp
|
| Torque |
275 lbft
|
271 lbft
|
248 lbft
|
|
16 Aug,
2008
|
Aston Martin One-77
|
Unusual to its tradition, Aston Martin announced a new car that it has
just started developing. Called “One-77” at the mean time, this will be
a limited production flagship model for Aston. Only 77 units will be
produced and each will ask for an eye-popping £1.2 million ! For
comparison, Bugatti Veyron costs 1 million Euro or £0.79 million
at the current exchange rate. How can it ask for so much money ? The
answer is Aston will tailor make each car for the need of its customer.
It could be made as a 2-seater, 2+2 or convertible. The interior can be
customized, so is the suspension setup and tire choice.
In the technical side, the One-77 will employ a carbon-fiber backbone
chassis like the outgoing Vanquish. Elsewhere of the chassis is
expected to be constructed by aluminum spaceframe. The exterior
bodywork is by hand-beaten aluminum sheets, very much in the tradition
of Aston Martin. This also makes sense to a low volume production, as
press machines are considered to be too costly.
The engine will be a 7.0-liter version of the current V12. Its output
is estimated to be 650 hp, which should enable a top speed of 220 mph.
However, even such performance is still way too modest compare with
Bugatti Veyron and Koenigsegg. The selling point of the Aston is still
its exclusivity, very much like the overpriced Lamborghini Reventon.
|
16 Aug,
2008
|
Porsche Cayman S Sport
|
In a difficult economy environment, Porsche tries to boost sales by
introducing a special edition Cayman S Sport. Changes to this car are
quite modest:
- The 3.4-liter engine is tuned to 303hp instead of 295hp
- Suspension lowered by 10mm
- 19-inch wheels
- GT3-style graphics
Only 700 units will be produced.
|
16 Aug,
2008
|
Ford Ka finally renewed
|
These are the first official pictures of the second generation Ford Ka,
which will be unveiled in October's Paris motor show. As we have
reported before, the new Ka is actually a repackaged Fiat 500 and a
"customer project" by Fiat. When Fiat designed the new 500, it hoped to
share cost with another manufacturer. At the same time, Ford was having
a headache to replace its long-serving Ka. This resulted in a joint
venture between Fiat and Ford. The new Ka's exterior and interior
design was done by Ford itself, but essential mechanicals, such as
engines (1.2 8V, 1.4 16V and 1.3 turbo diesel), transmissions,
suspensions, steering and electronics, come directly from Fiat 500.
Therefore the chassis structure is remarkably similar. Fiat is also
responsible for producing it at the same plant as 500. That said, the
Kinetic design of this car is still very striking, if not as innovative
as the old car's New Edge theme.
The new Ka featured in the next James Bond movie:
|
16 Aug,
2008
|
US Impreza WRX gets stronger
|
In response to the 240hp Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart, Subaru has boosted
the 2.0 turbocharged engine of its American version Impreza WRX from
224hp to 265hp, and torque from 224 lbft to 244 lbft. This comes from a
larger turbocharger whose max boost pressure is 0.92 bar instead of
0.79 bar, a larger bore exhaust and smoother catalytic converters.
Subaru claims 0-60 mph take 5.4 seconds, comfortably quicker than
Lancer Ralliart.
In the chassis, the suspension's spring rate are increased by 40
percent. Larger anti-roll bars and stiffer dampers are used. Sportier
225/45R17 tires replace the skinner 205/50R17. The steering is retuned
to reduce kickback. Externally, the WRX gets STI-spec front grille and
rear spoiler.
|
16 Aug, 2008
|
| Industry News |
Andrea Pininfarina
died
A shocking news: Andrea Pininfarina died last week in a traffic
accident when he was ridding a scooter to his office. He was the CEO of
Pininfarina, son of Sergio and grandson of late Battista Pininfarina.
His position in the company will be taken over by his brother Paolo.
Designers: who and
where
After idling for a few months, ex-Fiat design chief Frank Stephenson
has found a new job at UK. He will become the design boss of McLaren
and responsible for the supercars that McLaren will produce in the
future.
Mazda's star designer Franz
von Holzhausen - responsible for many of its wonderful concept cars in
recent years - has left the company and is joining Tesla Motors as
design chief.
Volkswagen
overtook Ford in sales chart
In the first half this year, Volkswagen group overtook Ford as the
world's 3rd largest car maker. During the period its sales rose 7.2
percent to 3.31 million cars and trucks, while Ford dipped 11 percent
to 3.09 million units. However, Toyota and GM are still comfortably
ahead at 4.82 and 4.54 million units respectively.
|
|