Victor Ivanov – Page 224 – Automobiles Review

Seat IBL Concept

Seat exhibits IBL Concept at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. The Concept car features unique design with dynamic and confident look. The SEAT IBL combines a clean, minimalist exterior with an innovative, premium interior that clearly conveys its quality and precision.

“The IBL shows that sports saloons within the SEAT brand portfolio will play an important role in future. However, this concept car does not pre-empt a specific model, but rather shows the design philosophy we are applying to bring the unmistakable SEAT identity to a saloon car, too.”, commented James Muir, President of SEAT, S.A.

“The IBL is the perfect representation of SEAT brand values – with its distinctive look, its precision and its premium feel. Over the next few years, SEAT will embark upon a product offensive that will see the spirit of the IBL reflected in several series-production models.”, he added.

“In SEAT’s Technical Centre (CTS) we have combined the latest technology that the Volkswagen Group offers with our design language to achieve products as exciting as the IBL.”, said Dr Matthias Rabe, Vice-President of Research and Development at SEAT.

Source: Seat

September 12, 2011

Skoda MissionL Concept Car

Skoda has introduced MissionL Concept Car at the 2011 Frankfurt International Motor Show. The model will be launched in Europe, Russia and China in 2012 and the first deliveries to customers in India will commence late 2011.

“This premiere kicks off ŠKODA’s model offensive for the coming years,” commented SKODA Board Chairman Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland.

“This new compact model, along with other new products to follow, will enable us to accomplish our goal of increasing global annual sales to 1.5 million vehicles by 2018. We are going to present a new car approximately every six months over the next few years.”, he added.

SKODA’s presentation is situated in Hall No. 3, Stand A05. The brand’s press conference is scheduled for Tuesday, 13 September, 2011, from 12:15 till 12:30 PM.

Source: Skoda

September 12, 2011

2011 Ford Mondeo 1.6 TDCi – 65.6mpg and 114g CO2/km

Ford Mondeo 1.6 TDCi is named greenest family car at this year’s What Car? Green Awards.

“Ford has done great things to the Mondeo. The award-winning 1.6 TDCi is the best green family car, being both a brilliant all-rounder and remarkably eco-friendly with its low CO₂ rating of 114g/km.”, commented What Car? editor in chief Chas Hallett.

“The judging team praised its supple and controlled ride, lively chassis and perfectly weighted steering.”, he added.

The 1.6 liter TDCi develops 115BHP (85 kW) and 270Nm (199 lb-ft) of torque. 0 to 100 km/h in 11.2 seconds and a top speed of 190 km/h (118 mph). The engine retunrs 65.6 mpg on combined cycle and only 114g CO₂/km.

The Ford Mondeo 1.6 TDCi has a price tag of £19 895 with Bluetooth, cruise control and Easy Fuel.

Source: Ford

September 8, 2011

2011 Renault Scenic 1.6 dCi – 64.2mpg and 115g/km of CO2

Renault Grand Scenic 1.6 dCi Stop & Start is one of the best MPVs currently available on the market. The vehicle offers seven seats, superb comfort, extremely efficient diesel engine and a lot of goodies to satisfy even the most demanding customers.

The state-of-the-art 1.6 liter common-rail diesel produces 130BHP (96 kW) and 300Nm (220 lb-ft) of torque. 0 to 100 km/h in 9.2 seconds and top speed of 195 km/h (121 mph) and all that performance at low price. The vehicle achieves 64.2mpg on combined cycle with emission as low as 115 g/km CO2.

This is enough reason for wining first place in its category in the What Car? Green Awards.

There are five trim levels:

Extreme: ABS & ESP for safety, Air conditioning, 4 x 15W RDS radio CD MP3 with fingertip remote control, Tunepoint to connect your MP3 player

Expression: ‘Child minder’ mirror, Automatic parking brake, Front fog lamps, TFT dashboard screen (Thin Film Technology), Rear electric windows

I-Music Special Edition: 17″ ‘Sari’ alloy wheels, Parking proximity sensors – rear, Multi-functional Tunepoint, Arkamys 4 x 30W RDS radio CD with Bluetooth, Brushed aluminium effect door mirrors

Dynamic TOMTOM: Carminat TomTom integrated satellite navigation with joystick, Leather steering wheel, Hands Free Renault card, Automatic headlights and windscreen wipers, Multifunctional tunepoint and Bluetooth

Privilege TOMTOM: Part leather upholstery with a choice of two colours, Electrochrome rear view mirror, Rear parking sensors, Carminat TomTom integrated satellite navigation with joystick, Sliding centre storage unit.

Source: Renault

September 8, 2011

2011 Mini Cooper D

MINI Cooper D is one of the best options on the market, when it comes to fuel saving and good comfort at decent price.

The small city car is powered by a 1.6 liter four-cylinder turbocharged diesel with 112PS (82 kW) at 4000RPM and 270Nm (200 lb-ft) at just 1750RPM. It is not astonishingly fast, but it is superbly efficient – 74.3 mpg on combined cycle and just 99g g/km of CO2. That’s why, the Cooper D was named What Car?’s ‘Fun Green Car’ at the publication’s 2011 Green Awards.

“The Cooper D is without question the most fun way to go green and keep a bit more cash in your pocket.”

The engine is mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox, which guarantees perfect gear choice at every conditions.

Fun and cheap is now not a science fiction with Mini Cooper D.

Source: MINI

September 8, 2011

2012 Hyundai i30

2012 Hyundai i30 will be exhibited at the IAA Frankfurt. Hyundai expects the new-generation i30 to build on the remarkable success of the original model – the company’s first car to be launched with the ‘i’ prefix, introducing a new nomenclature and heralding a new era for Hyundai in Europe.

“The new-generation i30 is recognisable thanks to the Hyundai family face with its signature hexagonal-shaped front grille and the jewel-like design of the headlamps, together with distinctive daytime running lights. These lights present an angular shape within a more softly-edged recess, adding a strong personality to the vehicle, as well as a sense of refinement and luxury.”, said Thomas Bürkle, Chief Designer at Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Centre.

It is one of the best-selling C-segment hatchbacks in Europe. It’s main rivalry is against Opel Astra, Ford Focus and of course Volkswagen Golf. However, the i30 passed over 115 000 units sold across the old continent.

The award-winning Five Year Triple Care package provides five years of unlimited-mileage warranty, five years of roadside assistance, and five years of vehicle health checks.

The company’s press conference will take place in Hall 6 at 12:00 (CET) on Tuesday 13th September 2011.

Source: Hyundai

September 8, 2011

Smart ForTwo WeSC

Smart WeSC is completed thanks to the cooperation of the famous street fashion brand. The showcar will be exhibited at the IAA Frankfurt.

The small city car is finished in gold shades, partly matt, partly high-gloss, and all the colours have been created for the Swedish label by the car tuner BRABUS.

It is powered by a small turbocharged petrol engine with 102PS (75 kW). It also comes with full aerodynamics body kit and black alloy wheels.

The interior boasts leather upholstered seats and a sport steering wheel.

Smart took care of the design of the 32-ohm headphones from WeSC, giving a nod to the car’s look, as can be seen in the perforated black ear pads and high-gloss golden highlights. The headphones will be available from spring 2012 as well as the car itself.

Source: Smart

September 7, 2011

BMW 1-Series Performance Upgrades

BMW will exhibit a number of Performance Accesorries for the new 2012 1-Series at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. The newly developed range for the interior includes a variety of products the design of which perfectly adapts to the character of the BMW Lines. These features are exclusive available for 1-Series for the first time.

The Performance Package includes a new front and rear bumpers, modified side skirts and carbon fiber mirrors. The suspension is also improved and lowered for perfect stance and handling.

Last, but not least, M GmbH added nice 19” alloy wheels and big performance brakes behind them.

The interior boasts a sports steering wheel, some carbon fiber and Alcantara and new floor mats. The changes are more likely to catch your attention, instead of helping the car to move faster.

Still, BMW Performance power kit for the BMW 135i will be available. It will boost the 3.0 liter twin-turbo six-cylinder engine with 20PS (15 kW) to 326PS (240 kW). The power unit is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission or 7-speed double-clutch sports automatic transmission.

There is no price list for the products, yet!

Source: BMW

September 7, 2011

Brabus vs G-Power

Brabus was founded back in 1977 and specializes in tuning for prestigious vehicles from Mercedes-Benz, Smart and Maybach. The tuning company is famous with the performance upgrades offered for the most powerful Mercedes’ engines. Furthermore, Brabus offers entire aerodynamics packages for almost every available model as well as a number of interior modifications.

G-Power was founded 6 years later than Brabus. The specialists from G-Power specializes in tuning BMW cars. The tuning company became very famous recently with their several world records like that one for fastest saloon car in production – M5 Hurricane RR.

It is difficult to say, which tuning company is better, but one thing is for sure – both are just brutal. They fit extremely powerful engines to production cars, enormous rims with ultra-performance tires, huge brakes and proper suspensions. The exterior and interior customization is also at decent level.

To make things more interesting, we can check G-Power BMW M5 Hurricane RR and Brabus Rocket Mercedes-Benz CLS.

Firstly, Brabus Rocket is powered by a 6.2 liter twin-turbo V12 with staggering 730PS (540kW) at 5100RPM and 1320Nm (970 lb-ft) at 2100RPM. Because of safety reasons for the gearbox, the torque is limited to “just” 1100Nm (810 lb-ft). The engine was modified from a 5.5L V12 engine block -M275.

The performance is superb – 0 to 100 km/h in 4.0 seconds flat, to 200 km/h in 10.5 seconds and to 300 km/h in 29.5 seconds. The top speed is 365.7 km/h as this is a world record for fastest street-legal saloon.

The price for this pleasure is 348 000 EURO.

The opponent is G-Power BMW M5 Hurricane RR having twin-supercharged 5.0 liter V10 with 800PS (588 kW) at 7500RPM and 800Nm (593 lb-ft) at 5000RPM.

The hurricane is slightly slower to 100 km/h – 4.35 seconds, but a lot faster to 200 and 300 km/h – 9.5 seconds and 25.8 seconds, respectively. The top speed is 372 km/h, which is 6.3 km/h faster than the rocket.

G-POWER Hurricane RR stands on 255/35 ZR 19 at the front and 305/30 ZR 19 at the rear high-performance Michelin Pilot Sport tires.

Hurricane RR is priced at 251 100 EURO.

So, Hurricane RR is the fastest street legal saloon on the planet … for now!

September 2, 2011

2012 Jeep Wrangler Call of Duty MW3 Special Edition

2012 Jeep Wrangler Call of Duty: MW3 Special Edition is dedicated to one of the most interesting 1^st person shooting games. The vehicle will actually take a part in the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which will hit the market in November.

“The Jeep brand’s partnership with Activision allows us to combine our new, more powerful, more exciting and more fuel-efficient Jeep Wrangler with the latest version of one of the most popular gaming experiences in the world,” said Mike Manley, President and CEO – Jeep Brand, Chrysler Group LLC.

“This opportunity enables us to demonstrate Jeep Wrangler’s unique combination of fun, capability and performance to a broad and growing group of consumers.”, he added.

2012 Wrangler Unlimited Call of Duty: MW3 Special Edition is based on the Rubicon model and features the special wheels finished in semi-gloss black. There are also a power-dome hood, a new front bumper, rock rails, taillamp guards, 2-inch lift kit and “Call of Duty: MW3 Special Edition” graphics on the front fenders and spare tire cover.

2012 Jeep Wrangler Call of Duty MW3 Special Edition

Source: Jeep

September 2, 2011

BMW Laser Headlights

Laser light is the successor of the successful LED headlights. BMW is developing a new laser headlights, which will be more efficient and effective.

In the field of exterior vehicle lights, BMW also leads the way for example with full LED headlamps for the BMW 6 Series and with new developments such as the “Anti-dazzle High- Beam Assistant”, as well as with “Dynamic Light Spot”.

A further advantage of laser lighting technology, and one which the BMW engineers intend to use to full effect, is its high inherent efficiency. A single statistic will make this clear: whereas LED lighting generates only around 100 lumens per watt, laser lighting generates approximately 170 lumens.

Safety is a key consideration in the development of laser lighting for use in passenger cars. For BMW, the complete eye safety of this technology for all road users and its complete reliability in day-to-day use have top priority.

Source: BMW

September 2, 2011

Smart Forvision Concept

Smart Forvision concept is an interesting project accomplished with the help of BASF. The joint concept vehicle presented at the 2011 International Motor Show in Frankfurt combines a futuristic design with technologies relating to energy efficiency, lightweight design and temperature management.

The extremely lightweight design features sophisticated plastics used on the wheel of a volume car. The use of such materials enables a weight saving of more than 50% to be achieved compared with steel, or 30% compared with aluminium. Thanks to short hardening times the resin systems from BASF are also suitable for producing larger volumes.

The total of all technologies integrated in the concept vehicle make a perceptible contribution to increasing the range.

This is always at the centre of discussions relating to battery-electric driven vehicles. With maximum energy efficiency, intelligent temperature management and consistent lightweight construction it is possible to increase the range by up to 20 percent. An additional bonus for electric mobility of the future.

Source: Smart

September 1, 2011

Author: Victor Ivanov