Beijing 2014: Volkswagen NMC concept revealed

New mid-sized, style based sedan will be based on Jetta-based model, will be positioned beneath the Passat CC model in VW line up.

The Volkswagen NMC – New Midsize Coupé – concept unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show, previews a new Jetta-based model and will be positioned beneath the CC model in the Volkswagen line-up.
Volkswagen’s New Midsize Coupé makes official the German carmaker’s plans for a style-led sedan to challenge the likes of the very popular Mercedes-Benz CLA.
Volkswagen design boss Klaus Bischoff describes the NMC as “avant-garde protagonist for a new compact sedan class”. The new NMC continues the Volkswagen design lineage, with crisp feature lines, heavily horizontal detailing and taut surfacing – all aimed at providing it with a technical-inspired appearance.
A simple grille and LED headlamps span the width of the front end, giving the new car clear family ties to other recent new Volkswagen models. In a bid to provide it with added sportiness, VW designers have taken inspiration from the CC in providing the NMC with a heavily curved roofline, frameless doors and notchback style rear.
At 4597mm in length, 1838mm in width and 1422mm in height, the NMC is 48mm shorter, 58mm wider and 58mm lower than the existing Jetta, with which the production version is expected to share the 2650m wheelbase. By comparison, the CLA measures 4630mm in length, 1777mm in width and 1432mm in height, while riding on a 2699mm wheelbase.



The Volkswagen design team has provided the Volkswagen NMC with towering 20-inch wheels shod with 245/40 profile rubber for the show in Beijing. The concept at Beijing motor show is powered by the same 217bhp turbocharged 2.0-litre direct-injection four-cylinder petrol engine as the seventh-generation Golf GTI, in an indication that the production version of the NMC will offer more than adequate performance. Underpinning the Mercedes-Benz CLA-rivaling sedan will be Volkswagen’s versatile MQB platform.
Volkswagen claims that the NMC boasts of similar levels of interior accommodation to the Jetta, with room for five adults. Its claimed 500 litres of boot space is just 10 litres less than that offered by its more conventional four door sibling.
The transversely mounted unit places its power to the road via a seven-speed dual clutch auto gearbox, providing the front-wheel-drive sedan with a theoretical 0-100kph time of 6.5sec and 245kph top speed.
The production version of the NMC is set to roll out of both, the Volkswagen plant in Puebla, Mexico and a joint venture factory in China.

Courtesy: AutoCarIndia dot com

Mahindra's new electric scooter to launch in US

Mahindra GenZe will be powered by a 1.4KW electric motor; similar project reportedly being worked upon in Pune.

Mahindra electric scooter.

Mahindra's first electric two-wheeler is slated for launch in the US towards the middle of the year. A team at Palo Alto, California, is readying the vehicle that has been christened GenZe. California is known for its tough vehicle emission legislations. The Mahindra GenZe can be seen as a good example of legislation-led innovation. The GenZe promises to be ‘the new fun, fast way to get around’. Reports suggest that the electric scooter will debut with a price tag of USD 3,000 (Rs 180,000). It was first unveiled in the US in September last year. It has been conceived at Silicon Valley and ‘is part of a single global initiative from Mahindra to address the growing problem of transportation in crowded cities across the world’. 

Sources indicate that Mahindra’s two-wheeler R&D centre in Pune also has a similar project buzzing with development activities and a prototype may also be in place. 

The GenZe is a simple-looking scooter which scores high on utility. It is designed to carry the rider as well as groceries, laundry, or anything else that fits in the generous amount of space in the bucket behind the rider. Below the seat there’s space to carry a phone or a tablet and charge it too through a USB. Apart from the charger, other extras include luggage-carrying accessories and a wind-cheating windshield. There’s no speedometer but a seven-inch touchscreen in its place.  The weather-proof touchscreen is much more than an instrument panel. It’s Bluetooth-enabled and monitors the battery charge status, range, diagnostics and route. The user can also use the GPS app or listen to music through it. 

The GenZe is expected to have a range of around 50km and a top speed of 50kph. It will be driven by a 1.4KW (1.8bhp) motor. The vehicle will have a replaceable lithium ion integrated power module, which includes the battery pack, controller and the charger in one compact unit, giving it a high operational flexibility. 

A similar technology is also being worked on by the EV team at TVS Motor Company. The GenZe’s engineering centre has professionals from top-rank automakers, and from some major universities’ engineering programs. As the GenZe is part of a global initiative, the scooter may also reach markets such as China and India later. Currently, China is a promising market, given the government support that EVs in general receive there. The GenZe's introduction in India may well be subject to how the new government takes the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan forward. For now, the USA will be the market where the GenZe will be launched first. 

Courtesy: AutoCarIndia dot com

Beijing 2014: Porsche Macan gets 2.0-litre four cylinder engine

The Porsche Macan will soon come with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine for select markets, possibly India.

Only small visual changes set this entry level Porsche Macan 2.0 apart from its bigger-engined siblings.

Porsche has provided official details on its new entry-level four-cylinder petrol-powered version of the Macan.

The new Macan, seen at the Beijing motor show, runs parent company Volkswagen’s EA888 engine – as used by a wide range of models from Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda worldwide, making it the first Porsche model since the 968 sportscar of the early 1990s to use four-cylinder power. 

The turbocharged 2.0-litre direct-injection, in-line four-cylinder unit develops 234bhp. By comparison, the turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 powered Macan S possesses 335bhp.

For Asian markets, the Macan’s four-cylinder engine is mated to a standard seven-speed PDK dual clutch gearbox boasting steering wheel shift paddles. Porsche claims an official 0-100kph time for the 2.0-litre Macan of 6.9sec. This entry-level Macan is visually distinguished by standard 18-inch wheels and twin trapezoidal-shaped tail pipes.   

The four-cylinder Macan will initially be sold in selected Asian markets initially, and while the car hasn't been launched in India yet, there's a good chance that this entry-level model could be a part of the line-up when it is.

Courtesy: AutoCarIndia dot com

Lamborghini Huracan review, test drive

Lamborghini's Gallardo-successor is here. So, does the Huracan live up to the hairy-chested Lambo name?

Lamborghini Huracan.

The styling of the Huracán has been described as subdued by some, but in the metal, it has a simple kind of elegance to it that is both refreshing and appropriately intimidating. It looks quite small on the road, too, even though it isn’t, and as a replacement for the 11-year-old Gallardo, it borrows more than one or two ideas from both the existing Audi R8 and its forthcoming successor, which will appear next year.

The Huracán’s chassis, for example, will be shared with the next Audi R8 and uses a hybrid combination of RTN carbonfibre and aluminium which, claims Lamborghini, provides almost as much strength and stiffness as a full carbonfibre tub, but with nowhere near the same expense. It’s also far easier and cheaper to repair in the event of an accident.

The engine is a development of the familiar 5.2-litre V10 that we’ve come to know and love in both the R8 and Gallardo, albeit with a raft of modifications to its top end and exhaust system. This time round it produces a thunderous 602bhp and 57.09kgm of torque, which is sufficient to fire the Huracán to 100kph in a mere 3.2sec and to a claimed top speed of 325kph. Stop-start also becomes a standard fitment to help reduce emissions and improve economy by over 10 percent.

The dual clutch seven-speed auto gearbox is also lifted straight from the R8 and replaces, at last, the clumsy e-gear six speeder from before. Which means that a traditional manual gearbox isn’t even available as an option in Lamborghini’s most popular car.

As on the Gallardo, there are double wishbones at each corner with electronic dampers and anti-roll bars at either end. But this time, these are joined by standard-issue carbon-ceramic brake discs and a new ANIMA button (which means soul in Italian), similar to Ferrari’s manettino dial. This sits on the steering wheel and alters the responses of the dampers, engine mapping, steering, gearbox, four-wheel drive and traction control.

The cabin is deeply Lamborghini in both look and feel, featuring a pair of ultra supportive bucket seats and a new 12.3-inch digital TFT screen that can be tailored to whatever kind of mood you might be in. The gearbox paddles are larger than before, the visibility out better in all directions, and there's a sophistication inside the car that the Gallardo never quite nailed.

The Huracan feels great, albeit in a new wave, old school kind of way. When you thumb the starter button and the V10 engine catches, for example, there is still the same sense of theatre in evidence as there was with the Gallardo.

Like it or not, there's an almighty burst of revs at start-up, and even once the V10 settles to its idle speed of just under 1000rpm there’s still an old fashioned supercar kind of racket to be heard from behind your head. And the Huracán wouldn’t be a Lamborghini were this not so.

On the move, the car instantly feels more refined but also more comfortable than the Gallardo. There's a sense of maturity to the ride, steering response (no kickback whatsoever detectable), throttle weighting and even the exhaust note that elevates it well beyond its predecessor. But beneath the sheen of extra smoothness and civility there is still the raging heart of a conventional V10 supercar, thumping away, itching to let loose.

This time, though, you get the distinct impression that the car's numerous electronic systems are very much there to help out, if and when things go wrong. The car feels so much less edgy and rounded in its resolve, you probably don't need the digital safety net to be anywhere near as great ironically. 

But that's the way Lamborghini knows it needs to play things in 2014. Nowadays, the vast majority customers aren't in the slightest bit interested in scaring themselves every now and again. 

Instead they want a car that looks beautiful (tick), sounds amazing (tick), that is easy enough to drive and that they could use it everyday if necessary (tick) and which won't bite their arms off if they make a mistake in it (tick).

The compromise is that the Huracán probably understeers a touch more than a die-hard purist would want it to, and the engine note does sound more Ingolstadt than Sant Agata on occasions; particularly on overrun in Corsa mode when you get a digitally perfected crackle that sounds neither natural nor spine-tingling.

But in just about all other respects, the Huracán represents a huge leap forwards for Lamborghini. And it looks close to drop-dead gorgeous, too. It's a more modern and capable car than the one it replaces but it's also a proper, hairy-chested Lambo at heart. And in this day and age that's really rather refreshing.

Courtesy: AutoCarIndia dot com

Mercedes ML 63 AMG coming May 15

Mercedes will introduce 517.8bhp ML 63 AMG at first-ever AMG Performance Centre in India.

Mercedes Benz ML 63 AMG.

Mercedes-Benz is definitely serious about strengthening the presence of its performance arm, AMG, in India. After the launch of the GL 63 AMG SUV recently, the carmaker is now slated to launch the ML 63 AMG here. The event will be held at the AMG Performance Centre in Delhi, the first-ever such facility here, and will mark the facility's launch as well. 

Eberhard Kern, managing director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India will be present on the occasion.  

The Mercedes-Benz ML 63 AMG is powered by a 517.8bhp, 5.5-litre V8 motor mated to a AMG Speedshift 7G-Tronic automatic transmission that sends power to all four wheels. The SUV has an electronically limited top speed of 250kph which can be set at 280kph with the optional AMG Driver's Package.

Courtesy: AutoCarIndia dot com

New York 2014: New Subaru outback to be shown

Rugged estate version of the new Legacy features more space and improved handling

New Subaru Outback.

The new Subaru Outback has made its debut at the New York motor show. Following on from the launch of the all-new Legacy saloon in Chicago earlier this year, the Outback is billed as a more rugged estate version of the Legacy.

Subaru quotes a ground clearance of 22cm, which it claims is superior to some crossover SUVs. The Outback’s doorsills have been changed to a low step-in design, aiding entry and exit. Cargo and passenger space is slightly improved, with rear seatback releases added to the cargo area.

Only US-market Outback details were released in New York, with the engine line-up including the choice of a 175bhp 2.5-litre flat-four or a 256bhp 3.6-litre flat-six petrol units. They are both solely hitched to a CVT automatic transmission. As before, all-wheel drive is standard. We expect Subaru’s latest 148bhp 2.0-litre diesel to be the engine of choice in the international markets.

On the chassis side, suspension has been tuned for both improved handling and increased ride comfort. The power steering features a quicker ratio and is now electric. The brakes have been enlarged and the rear discs are now vented.

Subaru’s focus on safety continues on the latest Outback. Blind spot detection, lane change assistant, and rear cross traffic alert are available as part of the Rear Vehicle Detection System.

Also offered is the company’s latest EyeSight driver-assist system, which uses stereo cameras and integrates lane departure warning, pre-collision warning, and adaptive cruise control technology.

Expect the latest Outback to go on sale later this year, with full UK specifications released closer to its launch date.

Courtesy: AutoCarIndia dot com