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Friday, July 3, 2009

Porsche Panamera: Diesel, hybrid and high performance model in the works Porsche Panamera

Porsche is planning a diesel, a hybrid and a high performance model of the Porsche Panamera.

Porsche has already confirmed that it will offer a hybrid version of the Panamera after the gasoline Panameras make their market debut later this year (no official date on when the hybrid Panamera will arrive in dealerships). According to AutoCar, Porsche is also planning a diesel version of the new Panamera and is looking to use existing Volkswagen diesel engines.

Porsche is also said to be working on an even faster Panamera that will sit above the Turbo model. It will use the same strategy as the Cayenne GTS and will do away with the Panamera Turbo’s standard air suspension and replacing it with steel springs.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Nissan GT-R and V8 Supercars part ways

It’s only been four rounds, but Nissan’s heroic GT-R is no longer the safety and course car for the 2009 V8 Supercar series.

Buried in the bottom of a press release for the Hidden Valley round, the statement was very vague in its reasons. We understand, however, that it was alcohol branding which raised the ire of Nissan.

It refused to place signage on the car, and that was that. The statement read:

“V8 Supercars Australia and Nissan Australia have reached an agreement to end their partnership, in which Nissan provided the official Safety Car for the Championship Series.”

“Nissan fielded the world class Nissan GT-R as the official Safety Car for the first four events of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series with great success and exposure for both brands.

“The decision to discontinue the partnership was amicable and taken in the best interests of both parties. The two companies look forward to exploring other partnerships in the future.”

As yet, a replacement hasn’t been found. But that’s hardly surprising, isn’t it? V8 Supercars has slipped off the radar of many motoring enthusiasts.

Surely, if the sport was as big as head honcho Tony Cochrane makes out, then manufacturers should be falling over themselves to have their car at the head of the field. Surely the exposure is worth every cent spent.

BMW 7 Series sips fuel like small car

German importer BMW reckons its latest entrant into the luxury sedan market can challenge many small cars when it comes to fuel efficiency.

The company says that buyers of BMW’s new 730d luxury sedan, which goes on sale this month, will benefit from fuel consumption that is identical to many small four-cylinder sedans and hatchbacks.

In a pioneering breakthrough, the 730d also becomes the first, and only, car in the upper luxury sedan segment to emit less than 200 grams of CO2 per kilometre, the actual figure is 192g/km.

BMW says this puts it ahead of hybrid and other diesel competitors in the segment, which all use more fuel and emit greater volumes of CO2.

“Buyers of large premium sedans can now make an even greater contribution to lowering CO2 emissions thanks to the arrival of the new 730d,” said BMW’s general manager of marketing, Tom Noble.

BMW says the new 730d consumes no more fuel, on the official combined cycle, than much smaller four-cylinder cars such as the manual, 1.8-litre, Holden Astra CD, the manual, 1.6-litre, Skoda Roomster, or the automatic, 1.8-litre, Honda Civic VTi.

The 730d’s official combined fuel usage, 7.2 litres per 100 kilometres, is also identical to smaller cars such as the 2.0-litre, Mercedes-Benz A200 and 1.8-litre, multitronic, Audi A4 1.8 TFSI.

“It’s not often a luxurious five-seater sedan is compared with smaller four-cylinder cars, but in terms of fuel consumption the 730d demonstrates the remarkable achievement of BMW’s EfficientDynamics programme,” said Mr Noble.

The diesel-powered 7 Series, the first ever offered in Australia, also delivers a credible alternative to less fuel-efficient hybrid-powered vehicles in the upper luxury segment, which BMW says consume almost 30 per cent more fuel than the 730d.

The brand new turbocharged all-alloy straight six-cylinder engine in the 730d produces 180kW of power and 540Nm of torque, accelerating the car from 0-100 km/h in just 7.2 seconds.

In addition it complies with the most stringent Euro5 European emissions legislation.

Standard equipment levels of the new BMW 730d are the same as the recently released 740i, including features such as Head Up Display, rear view camera, metallic paint, 18-inch light-alloy wheels, Dynamic Driving Control and Brake Energy Regeneration.

The 730d will be launched to the Australian motoring media later this week and CarAdvice will, naturally, be there to bring you our first impressions of this new vehicle.

2009 Mugen Honda Civic Type-R

The potent Civic Type-R has received an aggressive overhaul from Honda’s in-house tuning division Mugen, destined for the UK market.

Inspired by the Japan-only Civic Mugen RR sedan, the new hatch boasts a wild aero kit, uprated engine, a few suspension tweaks and some racing goodies for the interior.

From the outside it is obvious that this is no normal Type-R with plenty of vents and flares, huge exhausts and an oversized wing to put a grin on any boy-racers face.

Exact details on changes to the engine are scarce, although it is likely to feature similar modifications to its Mugen RR sedan sibling - meaning around 179kW at 8,000rpm from the 2.0-litre VTEC powerplant.

Inside it should gain a pair of Recaro pews along with the obligatory Mugen branding.

It should also handle a lot better, with a limited slip differential as standard (as featured on all 2009 Civic Type-R models), wider tyres and sports tuned suspension.

The Mugen Civic Type-R will remain a UK-only model so it is unlikely we will see it in local showrooms any time soon.

GTbyCITROËN tours UK before Festival of Speed

Citroën’s spectacular supercar concept, the GTbyCITROËN, has taken to the streets of central London to visit parts of the ’street circuit’ made famous by the video game Gran Turismo, for which the car was designed.

Incorporating some of the capital’s most famous landmarks, the virtual supercar swapped pixels for pavement as it toured Regent Street, rounded Trafalgar Square and cruised down the Mall past Buckingham Palace.

This public showcase is just a short teaser of what is to come, with the concept set to make its UK show debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed where it will climb the famous 1.16-mile Goodwood Hill as part of the Sunday Times Supercar Run.

The concept is a result of a unique partnership between Citroën and Polyphony Digital Inc., creators of the Gran Turismo game series, which for many will be the only way to get behind the wheel of this one-off supercar.

In preparation for the Festival of Speed, the concept has also been busy completing a lap of honour at both the Nürburgring and Le Mans 24 hour endurance races.