Lotus Cars and its
Malaysian owner Proton have
dismissed speculation that the glamorous, but long-underperforming, UK sports
car brand is about to change hands.
The two carmakers’ bosses
said there were no plans to sell Lotus, and acknowledged that rumours of a sale
were beginning to hit morale at the carmaker, its relationships with suppliers,
and sales.
Fellow Malaysian group DRB-Hicom
bought control of Proton last month from state-owned holding Khazanah Nasional
in a deal due to be completed by the middle of March.
This fuelled speculation
that the new owners might seek to offload Lotus, midway through management’s
ambitious plan to restore the brand’s “Bond car” heyday by launching five new
cars.
But Proton’s boss said that
while he could not speak for its new owners, his company was committed to
Lotus, and was not about to get “cold feet and suddenly stop everything”.
“As management today, our
plan as Proton and Lotus is to continue the business plan based on what we did
before, unless the new shareholder comes in and tells us what to do next,”
Dato’ Sri Syed, Proton’s managing director, told the Financial Times. “So
despite what you hear – rumours based on management disposing this or that – no
decision has been made.”
Last week, Genii Capital,
which owns the Lotus Formula One motor-racing team, said it might be interested
in buying Lotus. “I think if there is a way that we think the company can be
bought and run successfully, then of course we would be interested,” Gerard
Lopez, the group’s chairman, told Reuters.
But Mr Syed said that while
Lotus was in regular contact with Genii about their Formula One co-operation,
the two groups had not discussed a sale. Genii in 2010 teamed up with F1
supremo Bernie Ecclestone in a failed bid to buy
Saab from General Motors.
Dany Bahar, Lotus’s chief
executive, denied a separate report that he
was seeking funding for a management buy-out of the carmaker. “Absolutely not –
this is pure speculation,” he said.
Mr Syed said that the sale
rumours might be coming from potential investors with designs on Lotus. “There
might be some interested party who’s out there, for a long time since before
this takeover,” he said. “But why they’re stirring the pot, I don’t know.”
Still, the notion that
Proton’s new owners might be seeking to exit the investment is not implausible.
Lotus has long been seen as an odd fit for an Asian mass-market producer based
halfway across the world.
The UK manufacturer has a
respected name in racing and enthusiast circles, but sold only about 2,000 cars
last year, and earned more by consulting for other carmakers than it did
selling its own cars.
It has had a series of
chief executives and owners since it was founded in 1948, but has made a profit
for Proton in just one year since the Malaysian group bought it in 1996.
At the 2010 Paris motor
show, Lotus signalled its ambitions to take on Ferrari and Porsche when it
unveiled prototypes of five cars it plans to launch this decade. The cars drew
positive reviews, tempered with some scepticism about how many of them would
ever make it on to the road.
Today, the company’s
expanding site in semirural Hethel, Norfolk, has the feel of a work in
progress.
Construction is proceeding
on an extension of its factory to build engines, which it currently sources
from Toyota, and new models like the Esprit. A new Ferrari-type brand shop
touts jackets and bags bearing the company’s regalia, and the site has its own
test-track and in-house driving school.
Lotus cars are priced at
the lower end of the sports-car segment. However, the brand recently tested the
waters for a more expensive model with the Lotus Évora GTE, which it sold in a
limited edition in Asia, and is due to go on sale in Europe from May priced at
more than £100,000.
The car, Mr Bahar said,
showed that “with the right ingredients, this is absolutely a brand, a company
that can succeed in this tough market”.
Proton’s boss reiterated
his message that the Malaysian company intended to stay the course too.
It’s something that we started
the journey [on], and something we’d like to stick [to],” Mr Syed said. “ We
have owned the business for 13 years ... I think we want to keep it.”
By John Reed in Hethel, Norfolk, www.FT.com
On 9th Feb 2012, Tesla unveiled the Model X, a sleek-looking cross-over between a minivan and SUV doors and a new electric all-wheel drive system with rear doors design being "falcon-winged". People can start placing reservations tomorrow for the Model X, which is expected to be available late 2013 with prices in the $55,000 to $75,000 range before tax incentives and rebates in the U.S. market.
Beyond making an attractive crossover, Tesla has shown how electric vehicles open up new design possibilities. The Model X isn't just an electric version of competing SUVs, it's a luxury vehicle that has useful features its internal combustion or hybrid cousins couldn't have.
The key to Tesla's cool design is the powertrain, built around a flat battery pack that extends from the front to rear wheels under the car. This provides a low center of gravity for good handling, but also allows for substantially more interior space than a vehicle with a transmission running under it.
Model X has three rows of seats and is able to hold seven adults and their luggage, something other SUVs makers could not claim.
BMW has announced the third bodystyle in its 6 Series lineup with the introduction of the 6 Series Gran Coupe. It’s the latest entrant in the fast-growing luxury “four-door coupe” segment, and the first one ever for BMW.
Although no Asian region availability has been announced, three model variants have been named so far.
The 640i uses a 3.0-litre inline-six cyclinder engine with twin-scroll turbocharging technology that produces 320-horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque. The 650i, meanwhile, uses a 4.4-litre V8 with two turbochargers, making 450-horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque.
The third powertrain, found under the hood of the 640d diesel, is a 3.0-litre 6-cylinder engine with two-stage turbocharging, creating 313-horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque between 1,500 – 2,500 rpm.
All engines will be mated to BMW’s 8-speed automatic transmission, and the 650i specifically will be available with the automaker’s xDrive intelligent all-wheel drive system. All models will use BMW EfficientDynamics fuel-saving features such as auto start-stop function and ECO PRO mode.
BMW says the Gran Coupe builds on the styling of the current 6 Series coupe and cabriolet, while adding exterior features such as L-shaped electroplated bars between the air intake and foglamps, twin round headlights with three-dimensional light rings, an “elegant take” on the Hofmeister kink, and “Gran Coupe” lettering on the C-pillar. A full-length third brake light is placed above the rear window, and the aluminum doors use frameless side windows. Adaptive LED headlights will be available as an option.
A long wheelbase (113 mm longer than the coupe) and set-back passenger compartment gives a “fresh interpretation” of the three-box design, according to BMW. Much of the extra length and greater wheelbase is for the rear seat passengers, who will get increased leg room.
The interior features a “4+1″ seating setup, with backrests that can be folded in a 60/40 split for a total of 1,265 litres of storage capacity. With the rear seats in the upright position, BMW says the trunk can hold up to three 46-inch golf bags. A through-load system can also fit longer items, such as skis, without having to fold down the rear seats.
Optional features include a Bang & Olufsen surround sound audio system, soft close automatic function for doors, heated steering wheel, four-zone automatic climate control, and heated rear seats. BMW’s iDrive infotainment system comes standard on all 6 Series Gran Coupe models.
An M Sport package will also be available at launch, and will upgrade the vehicle with sporty add-ons such as an M aerodynamics package with bespoke body components for the front end, side skirts and rear apron, exhaust tailpipe in dark chrome, black-painted brake calipers, LED foglamps, a sports exhaust system for the 650i, and 19 or 20-inch light-alloy wheels in M double-spoke design. The interior gets M Alcantara/leather sports seats with blue contrast stitching, an M leather steering wheel with multifunction buttons and gearshift paddles, door sill finishers sporting the M logo and an M driver’s footrest.
Safety features are numerous and include BMW Parking Assistant, Surround View, Collision Warning with braking function (in conjunction with Active Cruise Control), Lane Change Warning, Lane Departure Warning, Speed Limit Info, the anti-dazzle High-Beam Assistant, BMW Night Vision with pedestrian recognition and the BMW Head-Up Display.
The Gran Coupe will be built at BMW’s Dingolfing plant in Germany alongside the 6 Series coupe and cabriolet, 5 Series, and 7 Series.
Courtesy information from autonet.ca
Three people were killed and 35 injured in a massive pile-up collision on a fog-covered highway in western Germany, police said Saturday.
The crash, which involved 52 vehicles, occurred Friday night near the city of Muenster after fog settled over the stretch of autobahn (highway).
Experts were investigating details of the accident, which drew hundreds of emergency workers to the scene, police said.
A stretch of highway nearly 10 km (6 miles) long was closed into Saturday afternoon.
In a separate accident, five people were killed and two severely injured in a head-on car collision in the western city of Aachen early Saturday, police said, adding that a driver's excessive speed and not fog was the likely cause.
Courtesy information from Reuters
Vauxhall’s latest Astra VXR first images has been officially released. This model certainly is the most powerful production model ever built by Astra. Underneath the hood is 2.0l turbocharged four cylinder DI engine producing 276 bhp output and 400Nm torque.
This hot hatch has been customised with FlexRide system, which features not only a Sport mode, but also with VXR mode by pushing 'VXR' button, offering driver the choice of two, more focused stages of damper, throttle and steering control. The braking system is not bad either with Brembo parts.
LONGYOU (China): The Proton Motorsport camp celebrated wildly on the final day of the China Rally as the Malaysian outfit clinched the manufacturers’ and drivers’ titles of the Asia Pacific Rally Championships (APRC) here yesterday.
Scotsman Alistair McRae and co-driver Bill Hayes of Australia, behind the wheels of the Proton Satria Neo S2000, dominated the final leg of the APRC with a winning time of 3’00:38.
“This is the weekend that we have been waiting for this season,” said the 40-year-old McRae, whose last title time came at the Formula 2 Asia Pacific Rally in 1999.
“We had a good lead since day one of the rally. We backed off a bit in the final three stages to avoid any mishap and just kept our focus to sustain our lead till the end.”
Team-mate and title rival Chris Atkinson finished third in the race to complete a 1-2 for Proton Motorsport in the drivers’ standings.
Atkinson, however, was gracious in defeat.
“I’m disappointed to not win the drivers’ title after winning several rounds of the rally,” said the Australian, who was victorious in Malaysia, New Caledonia and New Zealand.
“Congratulations to Alistair for winning the championship. We have also won the manufacturers’ title so it is great for the team.”
RESULTS
1. Alistair McRae (Proton Satria Neo S2000) 3’00:38
2. Jari Ketomaa (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) 3’01:52
3. Chris Atkinson (Proton Satria Neo S2000) 3’02:17
4. Mark Higgins (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) 3’06:24
5. Wei Hongjie (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) 3’13:12
6. Rifat Sungkar (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) 3’14:24
7. Yuya Sumiyama (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) 3’14:43
8.Li Wei (Subaru Imprexa WRX) 3’16:40
9. Han Han (Subaru Imprexa WRX)3’16:41
10. Pang Jiangdong (Mitsubishi CT9A) 3’20:28.2
This is another leak photos of the hot product from Toyota, a new replacement model for Toyota Supra which also being develop together with Subaru (Scion) FR-S. This is the link to our first review on this collaboration project between Toyota and Subaru plus snapshot photo leaks.
The bodykits look very aggressive but still not overly done. Notice the LED headlights and clear lense rear comb lamp.
Potentially, we are looking at the brochure of actual production version of FT-86 itself!
BMW North America is recalling certain vehicles from the 2008 through 2011 model years to correct a possible problem with overheating circuit boards that could cause fires.
In a document filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the car maker said the recall affects a total of 32,084 vehicles including 5 Series, 5 Series Gran Turismo, 7 Series, and X5 and X6 sport utility vehicles. The models involved have eight- or 12-cylinder turbocharged engines.
In these vehicles, the company said, a circuit board for the electric auxiliary water pump can overheat. This can lead to a fire in the engine compartment.
Under the recall, BMWsaid its dealers will replace the auxiliary water pump free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during november.
Source - The Wall Street Journal (Blog)
Motorsport was today mourning its second death in the space of a week after Italian Marco Simoncelli was killed in a crash at the Malaysian Moto GP.
This is the second accident happened in the same week. Previously, the FIA, motorsport’s world governing body, is to assist IndyCar in a full investigation into the circumstances which led to the death of British driver Dan Wheldon at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday.
As for Sepang MotoGP, the Gresini Honda rider lost control of his bike on the second lap of the circuit in Sepang and appeared to be hit by Colin Edwards and then Valentino Rossi as he slid across the track. The 24-year-old's helmet came off in the collision and he was taken to the medical centre for treatment, but died from his injuries.
The organisers cancelled today's race as soon as the extent of Simoncelli's injuries became apparent.
A statement on the MotoGP official website read:
"On Sunday 23rd October, during the MotoGP race at the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit, San Carlo Honda Gresini's Italian rider Marco Simoncelli suffered a serious accident in which he received critical injuries."
May tighter regulation to be introduced by FIA? Well, that is possible..
Early this week, BMW revealed the new 3-series in Munich. Dubbed as F30 from F-family variant, this is an important model for BMW with high record selling across the globe. The new 2012 3-series family will be available as a saloon at first, with estate, coupe, convertible to follow later. This is the sixth generation 3-series family.
From styling point of view, besides the headlights that extends into the upper grille area, this new 3 Series resembles a downscaled 5 Series in most respects. Body designers have surely struck a good balance that will keep current buyer of 3 series while attracting new buyer who prefer bigger looks for this family sedan.
This new sedan is also up to 45kg lighter than its predecessor, despite having stretched by 93mm in length. Of course, its bigger dimensions also result in more passenger space, with rear legroom having grown by 15mm and headroom by 8mm. The trunk space capacity also increased by 20 litres making it to 480 litres.
February 2012 launching models:-
328i 2.0-litre 4cyl twin-turbo, 242bhp, 149g/km
335i 3.0-litre 6cyl twin-turbo, 302bhp, 186g/km
320d 2.0-litre 4cyl, 181bhp, 120g/km
320d EfficientDynamics 2.0-litre 4cyl, 161bhp, 109g/km
By March 2012:-
BMW planned to offer eight different models with CO2 emissions under 120g/km including 316d, 318d and 320i mustering 114bhp, 141bhp and 181 bhp respectively.
Technically, there is latest version of what BMW calls Drive Performance Control. It is controlled by a switch on the centre console that flicks the options between Comfort, Sport, Sport + and Eco Pro, tweaking throttle mapping, steering assistance and damping (where adaptive) between different modes to set the car up for dynamic handling or eco friendly. This function has been made possible with the tuning of CAN control unit which control all the electronically function parts and ESC control unit which control the timing for ESC 'respond time and severity'.
Not to forget, BMW claimed that Cd (Coefficient of Drag) value has been improved to 0.26, Very Impressive!
Not to forget, BMW claimed that Cd (Coefficient of Drag) value has been improved to 0.26, Very Impressive!
GENERAL MOTORS, maker of the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid, announced on Wednesday, 12th October 2011 that it will begin selling a totally electric subcompact car in 2013. Named as Chevy Spark EV, the subcompact will be sold in select markets in the U.S. and will use nano-phosphate lithium-ion battery pack supply by A123 Systems Inc. based in America.
The EV will be based on the popular gasoline version Chevrolet Spark (referred as Holden Barina Spark in Australia), but featuring a full-electric powertrain.
Visual of Spark EV
Concept of the powertrain and chassis dsitribution
Current gasoline driven Chevy Spark
This model will be the rival of Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi iMiev, Honda Fit EV, Ford Focus EV, and Scion, competing in small and medium passenger car segment.
The diminutive Chevy Spark could undermine the idea that the time is right for EV mass implementation to auto market worldwide.
India version of Spark EV called as Beat showed earlier
Anyway, the California Air Resource Board’s Zero Emission Vehicle mandates require that the auto industry’s top six companies collectively produce approximately 25,000 gas-free cars between 2013 and 2015. Because of the ZEV credit system’s complexity—which allows buying credits as well as producing cars—the exact number of vehicles mandated for each automaker is not precise. Observers believe the number is approximately 1,500 to 3,000. Introducing an EV might be one of GM strategy to meet the requirement.
Even for Chevy Volt, it can only satisfy 50% of the GM’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) credit requirement—and that’s only after the car is certified as an Enhanced Advanced Technology-Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (EAT-PZEV). Since current Volt is classified as a conventional hybrid, GM is required to produce either an all-electric car or a fuel-cell vehicle. The Spark could represent the least expensive option for GM to meet the California Air Resources Board (CARB) mandate. Anyway, GM is not the only company producing electric vehicles only as meeting the minimal compliance pathway to meet ZEV mandates.
It has been revealed by news agency related to Nikkei stocks that Nissan, in conjunction with Japan's Kansai University, says it has created the necessary technology to charge the batteries needed by vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi iMiEV in a record time of ten minutes.
This is a huge leap forward in public acceptance of electric vehicles, hindered to date by sluggish charge times -- a full charge of common EVs today can take up to eight hours.
Batteries charged using the updated system were complete in ten minutes, with no significant effect on storage capacity or voltage, the reports said.
Although it could take a decade to commercialize the technology, such a significant breakthrough could dramatically boost public perception of electric cars.
KUALA LUMPUR, 12 OCTOBER, 2011: Proton Holdings Bhd has denied recent rumours that it may be looking to sell a stake in loss-making subsidiary Group Lotus to Luxembourg-based Genii Capital, saying the claims are untrue and highly speculative.
"Proton's relationship with Group Lotus is as good as it has ever been. Through this positive synergy, our priority now is to ensure that the Lotus Business Turnaround Plan is executed according to schedule and that both parties are committed to its success,"
Proton said in a statement today.
Proton said it and Lotus have reached a juncture whereby the market is eagerly waiting for Lotus' new products
"and all our energy and efforts have to be channeled towards achieving this critical goal."
It added that Lotus' involvement in F1 as title sponsor to the Lotus-Renault GP team is to create dynamic marketing and branding synergies.
Who are they?
Who are they?
Genii Capital is a Private Investment Management and Financial Advisory Firm serving the needs of Investors, International Groups and Governments worldwide. Genii Capital's unique DNA makes it a partner of choice for those seeking a long term view, global perspective and performance in keeping with a commitment to social responsibility and sustainable development.
Genii Capital focuses on the BRIC markets and covers the following key economic sectors:
Real Estate and Hospitality
Technology, Media & Telecommunications
Clean Tech and Green Energy
Energy, Utilities and Natural Resources Automotive and Racing