Automan 152

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April 2014 Issue no 152

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this issue driven in um VSport c XTS Platin la il d a C 14 20 amaro zl1 2014 chevy c l 2014 Kia Sou es-benz with Merced 14 20 er v o c is D suvs in uae

2014 Geneva Auto Salon : Behind the scenes and our analysis

views Bonus pre ieri Maserati Alf ada tr In i a d Hyun T ROC Volkswagen McLaren 650S citroen C1

Cover material shows here

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COVERstory |

Maserati Ghibli

With this new model, the Italian brand has Germans sedans in sight

firstdrive | 2014 Kia Soul

Second generation CUV has been refined with quality lifestyle trappings inside out

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in this issue cover story 18-24 2014 maserato ghilbi 44-49 2014 kia soul NEXT ISSUE 2014 mercedesbenz c-class

CONTENT METER

Oman and regional news 6-13 2014 Shell Super Mileage Challenge held in Oman,

New multimillion riyal Ferrari and Maserati service centre opens in Muscat, , Maserati Ghibli arrives in Oman in style, Regional launch of Ferrari California T in Dubai, Third generation MINI hatchback launched in region, impressive reveal of Porsche Macan SUV in Oman, Mercedes SUVs put to the test as part of brand event, Land Rover and Extreme Sailing Series Act II thrill Oman residents , Volkswagen introduces ‘R’ variant in the Golf family, New compacts from Mitsubishi introduced in Oman, Muscat municipality takes delivery of Yamaha bikes, New appointments at Nissan, Harley-Davidson introduces MY14.5 models, Hyundai announces top Middle East footballer as brand ambassador for 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil

brandwatch 14-17 Nissan chief supports unusual approach with

IDx development, Porsche to replace defective 911 GT3 engines and delay GT3 RS launch, Porsche confirms downsizing strategy, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in talks with Suzuki? Bentley releases glimpse of its first SUV, Peugeot to focus on sportier hatchback variants, Poor response to SRT Viper, MINI to grow as ‘brand family’, New battery chemistry to double driving range of electric cars like R8, New Camaro to be built on new lighter platform, Jeep planning a sub-Renegade model?

Alfa Romeo designer defect to China, Tokuo Fukuichi admitted to Toyota Board of directors, Iker Casillas & Ricardo Kaká are Hyundai’s FIFA brand ambassabors, Top regional executive appointments at Bentley, Gerry Dorizas joins GM from VW India

International news 26-35 2014 Geneva motor show REPORT

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also driven 36-39 2014 cadillac XTS Platinum VSport 40-43 2014 chevrolet camaro zl1 50-53 2014 Volkswagen tiguan exclusive First drive 54-56 2014 datsun GO previews 58-59 Maserati Alfieri concept 60-62 citroen c1 concept 64-65 Hyundai Intrado concept 66-69 Jeep Renegade concept 70-73mclaren 650s 74-75 volkswagen T ROC ConcepT

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editor-in-chief

2014

Mohammad Al Taie

AL ROYA PRESS & PUBLISHING PO Box: 343, Postal Code 118 Al Harthy Complex Sultanate of Oman Email: automan@alroya.net Website: www.automan.me Editorial office: Tel: +968 24479888 Extn 300, Fax: +968 24479889 Distribution: Tel: +968 24490386, Fax: +968 24121045 Subscription: Tel: +968 24493701, Fax: +968 24121045 publisher Hatim Al Taie

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EDITOR & GM Raj Warrior

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executive EDITOR Chandan B Mallik chandan@alroya.net contributing EDITOR Anne Kurian annekurian@alroya.net HEAD OF Design Sawsan Al Muharbi sawsan@alroya.info photography Elvis John Ferrao marketing Sayantani Ghosh sayantani@alroya.net circulation books@alroya.net FINANCE & ADMIN Sumy Mol

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Website & IT Mohammed F Draz mohammed.draz@alroya.net Printer Ruwi Modern Printers LLC, Muscat Tel: +968 2479 4167, 2479 8157 Fax: +968 2470 0545 © 2014 All editorial content of Automan in the magazine and its website is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the management of AL ROYA PRESS & PUBLISHING Automan accepts unsolicited exclusive editorial material, but reserves the right to publish any such material. Once published, the copyright for any such material will vest with AL ROYA PRESS & PUBLISHING

There is no argument to the premise that automobiles are as much about the product that you buy, as they are linked to the brand, country of manufacture and the subliminal message that they convey. It is almost automatically assumed that if a car drives past you with two-doors, two seats and an open roof, it has to be an expensive sports car, its owner has to be rich and the lady sitting shotgun is the lucky wife. Unless of course if the lady is to drive, then we would be challenged for assumptions. No, we aren’t trying to be sexist - quite to the contrary!

As carmakers look further afield for customers, it is time to push the barrier of generalisations. Just because a car is big, it doesn’t become a man’s car and for heaven’s sake would manufacturers stop putting colours that seem to have come out of a salad recipe on a car, just so that it appeals to a lady (or one’s feminine side). What is at stake here is our society’s insistence on putting people into convenient slots - from our cradles where boys get blue and girls pink.

Oddly enough we had a conversation with Ferrari’s product development team reecntly, where we put the premise that the rapid styling change to the Ferrari California T was largely in response to a demand that it look more masculine. The discussion rolled on, but the message that came through was that the brand primarily catered to males, with the occasional female buying any of their cars - not just the California. Is it fair to say that our hormonal mix would influence our choice of cars? Or is it just that women are more rational in their purchasing?

Again as brands look for newer buyers to increase volumes, long held views on gender, country and race are changing. Some of the most affluent and emphatic buyers are from countries that were long associated with economy.

That’s not true anymore - and even a brand like Maserati has moved into a segment better suited to tapping this huge market that is looking for an entry into the Italian brand’s cachet. It is on the back of this that the brand is targeting a volume of 50,000 units a year in 2015. That is a challenging target and needs so many traditional German brand buyers to shift allegiance.

In addition to the Ghibli, that is meant to drive this trend, we are choc-a-bloc with stories, news and reviews that make us the best automotive read in the region – that’s one perception we can endorse.

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Oman & region news

Third generation all-new MINI hatchback launched in region

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porting classic MINI proportions and an instantly familiar design that’s packed with character, the incoming model is completely new from the ground up and MINI claims that every component has been back to the drawing board in an effort to optimise its function, performance and style. However, the car is dimensionally different -- it is 3,821mm long (MINI Cooper S is 3,850mm), 1,727mm wide and 1,414mm tall. These measurements make it 98mm longer, 44mm wider and 7mm taller than its predecessor. The wheelbase has been extended by 28mm, while the track width has been enlarged at the front by 42mm and at the rear by 34mm.

Besides the dimensional changes, the new car sports traditional design cues such as the hexagonal contour of the radiator grille, circular headlights, ‘side scuttle’ indicator surrounds, upright rear light clusters and black lower body edging have all been subtly reinterpreted. The interiors have been extensively revisited.

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Contrary to popular thinking about the new MINIs using co-developed engines like in the past [BMW and PSA worked together to create the “Prince” line of 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre naturally-aspirated and turbocharged four-cylinder engines], the engines in the new MINI’s have been developed by BMW independently as part its own scalable engine architecture for three, four and six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines. And for the first time, the MINI Cooper and Cooper S variants will be available with a choice of two turbocharged engines – a 136hp 1.5-litre three-cylinder and 192hp 2.0-litre four-cylinder in conjunction with six-speed automatic gearbox.

The car’s suspension set-up has also been designed with flexibility in mind through the new Dynamic Damper Control (DDC) set-up option which actually lets the driver control the stiffness of the suspension. The regional launch took place in Dubai. Prices in UAE begin at AED140,000 and tops out at AED 170,000.

Porsche Macan SUV arrives in Oman in style

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orsche’s fifth model line, the Macan sports SUV, was launched in style under the theme “Life, intensified” to a packed audience at the Al Bustan Hotel last month.

Christer Ekberg, managing director of Porsche Middle East and Africa FZE attended the car’s launch. “With first deliveries of the all-new Macan starting on April 12, Porsche will launch a world first and enter a new segment. I have no doubt that this car will be another sauccess for Porsche, with the long-term commitment and intensive efforts of our local Porsche Centre here in Oman,” said Ekberg. Poised to set new standards in driving dynamics and enjoyment, both on and off the road, many elements in the Macan SUV’s design and performance have been inspired by the brand’s sports cars, including the 911 and the 918 Spyder. Three derivatives are available at Porsche Centre Oman for order: Macan S, Macan S Diesel and Macan Turbo. The Macan S is equipped with a 3.0-litre V6 biturbo engine, delivering 340 hp and also features an active all-wheel drive with an electronically controlled, mapcontrolled multi-plate clutch. This all-wheel drive is fitted on all Macan models. From the outset the Macan boasts the recently

developed Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK), which transfers power as required and almost free of interruption in tractive force.

This enables the vehicle to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.2secs, when equipped with the optional Sport Chrono package, and reaches a top speed of 254km/h.

The Macan S Diesel is the economical long-distance runner of the three Macan models. Its 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel engine achieves NEDC fuel consumption figures of between just 6.3 and 6.1 litres/100 km. The diesel variant accelerates from 0 to 100 km in just 6.1 seconds, when fitted with the Sport Chrono package, thanks to its 245hp engine. It achieves a top speed of 230 km/h. The Macan Turbo takes the top spot in the model series and is set to be the most powerful petrol-powered vehicle in the compact SUV segment. The car is powered by a 3.6-litre V6 biturbo engine offering an unrivalled 400hp and catapults the vehicle from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.6 seconds (with Sport Chrono package), reaching a top speed of 266km/h. The basic retail prices of the Macan S, S Diesel and Turbo in Oman are OMR26,500, OMR26,100 and OMR36,600 respectively.

Mercedes SUVs put to the test as part of brand event

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ercedes-Benz is super confident with its SUV line-up in the Middle East for 2014 as the brand witnessed record sales in 2013. As part of its season’s opener, Mercedes-Benz Middle East and Levant offices once again organized a regional SUV event in Dubai under the ‘Discover 2014’ tag. In different themed situations, the well-attended event permitted participants to discover the versatility, capability and luxury elements of the SUVs including AMG variants ranging from the entry level GLK right up to the Gelanderwagen ‘G’ Class. The action part of the event took participants both on- and off-road and exercise culminating with

drag races at Dubai Autodrome.

Commenting at the event, Dirk Fetzer, director, sales and marketing, Mercedes-Benz Cars, Middle East & Levant said: “Our range of unrivalled luxury off-roaders offer a stable of powerful, attractive, capable, versatile and intelligent SUVs that appeal to the lifestyles of a new generation of regional customers: Customers who question convention and seek only the very best. With so much to experience and enjoy in the Middle East, Mercedes-Benz resolutely delivers on its promise to live the life.”

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Land Rover and Extreme Sailing Series Act II thrill Oman residents

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ast month, Land Rover Oman was very much at the heart of world-class sailing action in the waters off Muscat. The premium British car brand hosted the award-winning Extreme Sailing Series™ as global series main partner.

In the three-day event, eleven of the world’s very best professional sailing teams were racing ‘Stadium Style’ in high-performance Extreme 40 catamarans. “It has been an absolute honour for Land Rover Oman to be hosting the Extreme Sailing Series™ at the second Act of out of a total of eight on the global tour this year,” said Rob Preston, regional customer services director for Land Rover MENAP Region. “To see these world class teams racing with the stunning backdrop of Muscat is a sight to behold. We very much look forward to welcoming the Series back next year and wish all the elite teams the very best of luck for the next Act in Qingdao, China at the beginning of May.” David Aziz, CEO- Automotive, MHD LLC said: “It was an amazing experience for us as well as our

customers and members of the media who spared their time to go sailing on the Land Rover Extreme 40. We hope to make it a bigger event next year with additional Land Rover Experiential activities added on”. On the final day, just four points separated the top four boats, with The Wave, Muscat, SAP Extreme Sailing Team, Alinghi and Emirates Team New Zealand all within grasp of the top spot on the podium. But it was the local Omani team, The Wave, Muscat, who snatched the victory, dominating the final race and pushing Emirates Team New Zealand into second place and the Swiss team, Alinghi into third. Now in its seventh season, the Extreme Sailing Series™ is an award-winning and adrenaline-fueled global Stadium Racing series competed on Extreme 40 catamarans. The circuit is one of only five global sailing events that are endorsed by the International Sailing Federation, including the America’s Cup, the Volvo Ocean Race, the World Match Racing Tour and the PWA World Tour.

New compacts from Mitsubishi introduced in Oman

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eneral Automotive Company, the official dealer for Mitsubishi in Oman introduced the all new Mirage hatchback and its sedan variant the Attrage. These two all new models will see the tri-diamond brand rejoining the booming subcompact market after a 19 year hiatus. The all-new Mirage is a global car developed on the concepts of high fuel efficiency, affordability and compactness. Powering the cars is an extremely efficient 1.2-litre three-cylinder DOHC engine that features the latest version of Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing Electronic Control (MIVEC) variable valve-timing system that maximizes fuel efficiency and power output while greatly minimizing exhaust emissions. This engine produces 77hp and 74 lb.-ft. of torque.

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Consumers have a choice between a smooth-operating 5-speed manual and an advanced continuously-variable transmission (CVT) with Idle Neutral Logic. Toshiaki Nomura-san, President of Mitsubishi Motors - Middle East and Africa said during the launch: “With the Mirage our aim was to minimize the environmental impact while maximizing driving exhilaration.

The mirage easily succeeds on both counts. Compact, light and easy to drive, it delivers spirited performance at an affordable cost and class-leading fuel efficiency. Better still, it does so without compromising on power, comfort or passenger protection.”

Volkswagen introduces ‘R’ variant in the Golf family

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olkswagen is continuing its Golf product offensive with the flagship of the model series - the new Volkswagen Golf R. The hot hatch is powered by a newly designed 300PS TSI engine, which is 30 PS stronger but also 18 per cent more fuel efficient than that in the previous model. Maximum torque has also increased by 30Nm to 380Nm and like all three previous Golf R models power is transferred to the road via a permanent all-wheel drive system which according to VW is the latest version of the 4MOTION system with fifth-generation Haldex coupling. Delivering pure dynamic performance are a newly configured sport suspension system [compared to the base Golf, its ride height was lowered by 20mm, which makes the Golf R 5mm lower than the GTI], the new progressive steering system and “ESC Sport” - which can now be fully deactivated for driving on a race track. The cars heading in this region are equipped with 6-speed dualclutch gearbox (DSG,) a Stop-Start system and battery regeneration. In addition, the Golf R will also be available with XDS+ at the front and rear axles. This active system brakes the wheels on the inside of a bend during fast driving through bends, optimising steering behaviour. In the latest version, known as XDS+, this functionality is applied to a larger range of dynamic performance. Prices in UAE begin at AED149,000 and top out at AED169,500.

Maserati Ghibli arrives in Oman

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ven a low weather front in Oman couldn’t dampen the spirits of Alfardan Motors Maserati Ghibli launch programme. The latest addition to the Maserati family received a warm welcome in the Sultanate. For the uninitiated, the all-new Ghibli marks a turning point in Maserati’s history. It was first unveiled at the 2013 Shanghai Motor Show and has arrived barely months after the new Quattroporte. The Ghibli gives Maserati two four-door sedan models for the first time in its history. Smaller,

shorter, lighter, more dynamic, at OMR 29,500 it is less expensive and more economical than the flagship Quattroporte. The car uses a twin turbocharged, 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine offering an output of 410hp enabling performance of 0-100km/h in 5.0secs and top speed of 285km/h.

The Ghibli shares much of its core architecture, including its crash safety, chassis, suspension architecture, engines and LED headlight technology, with the larger Quattroporte, though it is 50kg lighter, 173mm shorter in the wheel base and 291mm shorter overall. Price in Oman will be around OMR29,500.

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no 151 march 2014 Issue

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New multimillion riyal Ferrari and Maserati service centre opens in Muscat Ferrari and Maserati motorcar owners in Oman can now be satisfied with the fact that Alfardan Motors, the exclusive importer of Ferrari and Maserati vehicles in Oman has opened the multimillion Omani Riyal first-of-its-kind authorized service centre in Muscat. The latest state-of-the-art 2,315sq-m facility is located in Ghala and is within three kilometres of Alfardan Sports Motors’ Ferrari and Maserati showrooms in Meydan Al Azaibah.

This full climate controlled facility has been designed in accordance with the specifications and standards of Italian sports car manufacturers Ferrari S.p.A and Maserati in terms of creativity, authenticity, professionalism and luxury.

The workshop has fourteen work bays and will be managed by Ferrari and Maserati factory trained personnel.

The complex also hosts spare parts warehouse. More investments are planned to expand the facility with body shop, paint booths among other capabilities.

During the inauguration ceremony, Omar Hussain Alfardan, President and CEO of Alfardan Group said: “Opening the Ferrari and Maserati Service Centre underlines our commitment to provide the finest service to our customers in Oman especially with the growing number of luxury car enthusiasts in the country. The opening of this new facility complements the company’s success in the luxury car market and provides us with the opportunity to serve our esteemed customers by offering them superlative after-sales service. We have worked very closely with both the iconic brands to ensure that this state-of-theart facility reflects the highest standards expected from Ferrari and Maserati.”

Francois Goupil de Bouillé

Mustansir Lakdawala

Monal Zeidan

key appointments at Nissan and infiniti Iraq and Turkey are the two new markets where Nissan seeks to expand its operations in the region. To service the market, Nissan Middle East has appointed Mustansir Lakdawala as deputy managing director and director of sales and Monal Zeidan, director of marketing, which is a newly created position in the organisation.

Zeidan will work hand-in-hand with sales, after-sales and corporate communications to support business growth.

Meanwhile, Francois Goupil de Bouillé has been appointed Vice President, Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), for Infiniti, effective April 1, 2014. In this role, he will be responsible for managing Infiniti’s entire business and steering its growth plan in this region. He succeeds Fintan Knight who has elected to pursue interests outside of the company.

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Muscat municipality takes delivery of Yamaha bikes Distributed exclusively by the Zubair Automotive Group in Oman since 2001, 20 units of the Yamaha SZR16 motorcycle were delivered to the Muscat Municipality Transport department by the agency. The handover ceremony was held at the Al Wadi Al Kabeer transport depot.

All bikes were painted in-house at the Zubair body shop facility in the Muscat Municipality colour scheme. The SZ-R comes powered with a 153cc air cooled, 4 stroke, SOHC, 2-valve engine that produces 12hp at 7,500 rpm and 12.8Nm of torque at 4,500rpm.

2014 Shell Super Mileage Challenge held in Oman Six two-man teams [four competing, two non-competing] in identical Kia Optima cars took the over 100km/h challenge in Muscat to find out the best driver performance as far a fuel efficiency goes. The mileage championship was won by Mundhir Al Minji and co-driver Mohammed Salim Ali Al Rawawi. The start/end point was the Shell service station at Burj Al Sahwa with the route taking the participants through various city and highway driving situations with mid-point at the Oman Dive Centre. Participants and marshals were briefed

by Shell experts prior to the rally. All six cars were tanked up by Shell and based on the car’s fuel economy, penalty points etc, the winner was selected. Each car was accompanied by a marshal to ensure strict conformity to set rules.

“We’ve always been passionate about fuel, our scientists have dedicated over 70 years to the extensive fuel research and development. It’s this passion that drives us to create new and improved fuels for better transportation. The petrol we sell in Oman has special additives that ensures clean running of the engine,” says Georgie Zachariah, retail marketing manager of Shell Oman. “With real-time events like the 2014 Shell Mileage Challenge, we are able to demonstrate the benefits of safe and efficient driving,” added Zachariah. Automan acted as the adjudicator for the event and also fielded a non-competitive team.

Regional launch of Ferrari California T in Dubai The regional launch of the Ferrari California T took place at the Dubai International Financial Centre, in the United Arab Emirates. The new Maranello’s “T” in the stands for “turbocharged,” which the new mantra for the V8 California. The new 3.9-litre V8 uses a pair of twin-scroll turbochargers and direct fuel injection and produces 553hp at 7,500 rpm and 557 lb-ft of torque at 4,750rpm. These figures represent bumps of 70hp and 185 lb-ft of torque over the old naturally aspirated 4.3-liter V8, with both peaks hitting lower in the rev range.

The new California addition wears almost classically gorgeous sheetmetal shaped

by Ferrari’s hired pens at Pininfarina.

Harley-Davidson introduces MY14.5 models As part of its extensive product drive in its 110th year of business, Harley-Davidson has introduced three new models to the existing range of motorcycles. These additions come within weeks after the new Street 750 was revealed and launched in India and the launch of Project RUSHMORE. The mid-year release includes the retro-cool Dyna-based Low Rider, nimble SuperLow Sportster 1200T [touring] and Street Bob Special Edition. Coinciding with the Middle East introductions, Harley-Davidson Middle East and North Africa organized a two-day tour of these bikes along with stock models in Oman. The event saw riders visiting several picturesque locations in the Sultanate via motorways, country roads and locations visited included Wadi Dayqah dam, tranquil villages of Al Hijayr and Al Alya, Nakhl Fort among others. april 2014

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Porsche to replace defective 911 GT3 engines and delay GT3 RS launch

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Breaking news

even hundred eighty four owners of the 2014 Porsche GT3 including BBC Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond can now be relieved of a possible fire risk agony. Owners worldwide of this US$131,000-191,000 supercar have been living in fear after two 911 GT3s were gutted in Switzerland and Italy after their engines apparently self ignited resulting in the car bursting into flames.

Porsche promptly alerted drivers of all 785 cars not to drive the cars till the cause of the fire risk was ascertained. And the cause has been located to a screw joint on the connecting rod. What happened is that the loosened connecting rod damaged the crankcase, which in both cases led to leakage of oil which then ignited.

As a corrective measure, Porsche will be replacing the engines of all 911 GT3 vehicles of model

year 2014. Now, engines with optimised screw fittings will be used in all Porsche 911 GT3 vehicles of model year 2014 – including in those that have not been delivered yet. The relevant Porsche Centres are in direct communication with customers worldwide to discuss the further course of action.

Porsche points out that no other 911 models or other model series are affected by this action. It is also understood that deliveries of up to a further 1,000 of the two-seater sports cars worldwide are pending while the engines are replaced. Meanwhile, Porsche CEO Matthias Muller has indicated that company may have to reconsider the launch timing of the GT3 RS which was expected to arrive this summer in view of the above.

Porsche confirms downsizing strategy Porsche “will continue with the downsizing strategy” and the sports car and SUV maker will create a new fourcylinder boxer petrol engine for the next generation of the Boxster and Cayman. The engine will be capable of developing up to 395hp for the top variants. This information comes from Porsche chief Matthias Müller himself.

The last time Porsche used a four-cylinder engine was in 1995 when the 968 was discontinued.

New Camaro to be built on new lighter platform

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hevrolet’s sixth-generation Camaro is due for launch next year. Unlike the new Mustang, which is one of the key rivals of the Camaro, which has been given an extensive design makeover and engineered on a new platform, GM’s plan is to focus more on engineering than change its well-accepted retroinspired looks. The second biggest news is that production will return to the US [the current production comes from Canada] and will be built at the Lansing Grand River Assembly. This facility produces cars on Alpha and Sigma platforms. The Alpha platform currently underpins GMs’ compact to mid-size, frontengine, rear-wheel and four-wheel drive vehicles including the Cadillac ATS, CTS and CTS-V coupe, sedan and wagon. A possible preview of the new Camaro concept can be seen in the upcoming Transformers 4 movie.

This arrangement reminds us of the transition between Volkswagen’s Golf VI to Golf VII. The new Golf is built on the MQB platform. Meanwhile, Ford has also taken an evolutionary approach with the styling of its 2015 Mustang which is built on a dramatically new platform, it will interesting to see how it affects the current Camaro’s prospects as the current model has actually outsold the Mustang in the US.

Nissan chief supports unusual approach with IDx development

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t the Tokyo Motor Show in November 2013, Nissan’s executive vice president Andy Palmer said that although Toyota’s 86 sportscar was a potential competitor of its forthcoming IDx, Nissan’s focus was to connect heritage and innovation with the future Gen X customers. The development process therefore involved forward-thinking group of planners, engineers and designers with nextgeneration customers.

Now it seems that slow sales of Toyota’s 86 sports

car, vindicates the contrasting approach Nissan has taken in developing its own affordable rear-drive coupe for the road. Unlike the classically styled 86 and its Subaru BRZ twin, the IDx instead uses retro styling cues used in classics like the Datsun 1600 and Datsun 510 in particular. The IDx concept emphasises on simplicity and affordability and personalisation.

Rather than emphasising outright performance, Nissan instead places more importance on ‘personalisation’, pointing to the fact that it relied

heavily on feedback from so-called ‘digital natives’ born after 1990 in the design of the car. “This approach defines the car,” says Palmer. “Carmakers have a responsibility to bring those people back in and it was vital carmakers move away from the more traditional approach if they wish to re-connect with younger buyers. We set out with a strategy that said we wanted to create something that was not in the form of a classical sportscar.”

Reports of slow sales on the Toyota 86 stem from comments Toyota Europe research and development vice-president Gerald Killmann last month. Killmann stated that development of cabriolet derivatives was paused due to sales levels.

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brandwatch news

Peugeot to focus on sportier hatchback variants

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he current trend suggests most automakers would like to have a few SUVs in their line-up, French carkmaker Peugeot thinks it has enough and hence it plans to devote much of its development resources to creating sporty versions of the new-generation 308 hatch, rather than investing in SUVs despite the promises.

This indication came at Geneva from chief executive officer Maxime Picat. Picat said developing a hot hatch rival for the Volkswagen Golf GTI was a priority, while adding that he felt Peugeot’s current batch of crossovers and SUVs was “enough”, despite the worldwide boom in high-riding models. Picat also clarified that the Golf R-rivaling 308 R concept from 2013 Frankfurt motor show was still not locked in for production as the company was concentrating on other sportier 308 variants first.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in talks with Suzuki?

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lthough, it is too early to predict what sort of deal would be finalized eventually, analyst think that the Italian-American conglomerate may help Suzuki by buying out Volkswagen’s 19.9 per cent share. It’s no secret that Suzuki and Volkswagen aren’t on the best of terms. If this happens, then Fiat Chrysler stands to gain tremendously in markets like India. At the Geneva motor show when asked about co-operation with Suzuki, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne said he had a great relationship with Suzuki president Osamu Suzuki but refused to divulge any further. Marchionne said it was one thing for a car producer to have competition with rivals, and another to make smart investments and collaboration. “I’ll try and do anything that works and that meets that target.”

It could be a win-win situation for both parties as Fiat and Suzuki have co-operated in the past, with Fiat re-badging the Suzuki SX4 as the Sedici, and Suzuki transplanting a Fiat-made diesel engine into its Swift small car for Europe. Suzuki’s influence as a global brand took a hit after its withdrawal from the North American car market in 2012. However, Suzuki is exceptionally strong in India, where Fiat Chrysler has nominal presence with Fiat and is keen to promote Jeep. A shared platform could be sold under Suzuki badges in India, China, Japan and the rest of Asia, as a Chrysler in North America and as a Fiat in Europe, the Middle East and Brazil. The two companies forged the partnership in 2009 when VW bought 19.9 per cent of Suzuki shares, but it fell apart two years later when both companies accused each other of breaches of the arrangement. One of those alleged breaches was Suzuki’s sourcing of the diesel engine for Swift from Fiat. It will be interesting to see whether f Fiat Chrysler moves forward with Suzuki. Marchionne is due to make a major statement on the strategic direction of his company and the future model direction of each of its eight brands – Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Ferrari, Lancia, Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge on May 6 in Detroit.

New battery chemistry to double driving range of electric cars like R8 First previewed by the simplynamed e-tron concept in 2009, the electric R8 went on to set a Nurburgring record for EVs in July 2012. If it went into production, it will coincide with the arrival of Gen II R8 which is due to arrive as a MY2015 model. The production version could arrive by 2016-17.

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ver the past few years, several automakers have showcased some extreme possibilities with electric cars. Despite the availability of technologies, the key element that had dampened the enthusiasm for production green lighting has been the effective driving range. One of the car’s that reached this border

line was Audi’s radical R8 e-tron electric supercar.

From Geneva, we gather that the project which was almost shelved could be revived as Audi engineers have figured out a way to overcome issues with the car’s limited driving range. This breakthrough information comes from Audi AG’s board member for tech-

nical development Ulrich Hackenberg. Hackenberg said that the project has been given new life thanks to a ‘mystery’ breakthrough that doubles the driving range to around 450km on a single charge. Now, the big question is: whether Audi will decide on whether to re-start development on an electric R8?

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Bentley releases glimpse of its first SUV

Jeep planning a sub-Renegade model?

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entley has released a teaser image for the company’s first ever SUV which will be built on a corporate platform which is also used by the next-gen Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q7. It seems that Bentley has factored in the feedback from the concept EXP 9 F which was showcased for the first time at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. The yet unnamed SUV will be powered by a 575hp 12-cylinder engine that will send power to all four wheels via an automatic transmission. Bentley claims to have over 2,000 pre-orders for the car and expects to sell 3,000 units per annum when in full production.

Bentley’s SUV is targeting the iconic Land Rover Range Rover and is expected to offer serious on and off-road capabilities. Meanwhile, Bentley has disclosed plans to increase production of the W12 engine from the end of 2014 onwards. The unnamed SUV will hit the roads in 2016 and will be assembled at Crewe in UK. A V8 version will join the line-up later.

eep’s new Renegade SUV currently qualifies as the brand’s smallest product, but the brand’s product onslaught will not end here. Reports from US are suggesting that the iconic American manufacturer is planning to position a new entrant under the Renegade, which as of now appears to be the fastest growing trendy segment. Should all go ahead, the proposed new baby Jeep is still a few years away from seeing the production line. Meanwhile, Jeep is planning to introduce the Grand Wagoneer, a proper seven-seater, full-sized SUV as its flagship SUV. Creating the Renegade wasn’t a tough job as it uses a modified version of Fiat’s Small Wide architecture platform. Jeep junior could be based on the next generation Fiat 500 as the company is currently under pressure to reduce its CO2/emissions figures.

The incoming Renegade competes will have models like Nissan’s Juke or MINI Countryman as rivals, the Jeep compact SUV will be competing against the Ford EcoSport and the Volkswagen Taigun.

MINI to grow as ‘brand family’

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INI’s expansion into new market niches with models like the Paceman or Countryman have often met with criticism from purists and the top guys at MINI are aware of this. At Geneva, some indication was given as to what would be the future direction. On one hand MINI has indicated it will not go the MAXI way [bigger cars], and at the same time it doesn’t want to limit its business prospects as a maker of one three-door hatchback model.

According to MINI’s custodians, there’s space and place for all seven variants -- hatch, Cabrio, Coupe, Roadster, Countryman, Paceman and Clubman. MINI thinks the brand family will grow successfully with the current line-up and their derivatives as long as they brought something different to the table. This means clearly MINI is not looking at ‘standalone’ models for now.

Mini senior vice president Jochen Goller also denied a possibility of self-capping the models and hinted that an eighth model could be considered in due course, but as of now it was not a priority.

Instead, MINI’s suggested short-term gameplan is to expand existing model lines with new derivatives rather than adding all-new standalone products and first of the mark in that direction will be the five-door version of the new hatchback which is expected to be premiered at the Paris motor show this September.

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The market can now expect future generations of MINIs evolving conceptually similar to the existing models, but with greater levels of differentiation. We hope a smaller new MINI, like the Rocketman concept may have a place in the line-up someday.

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t the beginning of October 2013 we heard a report about Chrysler’s decision to cut SRT Viper production by a third due to slow sales. SRT CEO Ralph Gilles responded late November by saying “the plant is booked solid. We actually have several hundred units outstanding we still have to build.”

Now, production of the model has stopped for at least two months due to very low demand. SRT at the beginning of this month had 756 unsold units, representing a whopping 412-day’s worth of supply.

So, the big question is: why is the demand so sluggish?

Market analysts suggest two factors. One, the car has very high starting price of US$102,485, and secondly, the absence of an automatic transmission. Besides these two, formidable competition comes from the more attractive Corvette Stingray which is more affordable. Chevrolet will soon introduce a hotter version of the Corvette Z06 early next year and that is expected to complicate things more for the SRT Viper. The brand moved just 91 units in January and February in the US.

Gerry Dorizas

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M Holden has announced the appointment of former Volkswagen India boss Gerry Dorizas as its new chairman and managing director. Dorizas will be responsible for both the Australian and New Zealand markets. Dorizas replaces Mike Devereux, who has relocated to Singapore as vice-president of sales, marketing and aftersales for GM’s International Operations division. Among key responsibilities, Dorizas will oversee the factory shutdowns in 2017 and transform the company into a vehicle importer. Devereux announced his departure from Holden late last year, just as the company was in the early stages of negotiations with the then-new coalition federal government.

Peoplewatch

Alfa Romeo designer joins great wall

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reat Wall Motors has appointed Ramon Ginah, former chief interior designer from Alfa Romeo Chinese brand. Ginah’s work includes the design of the cabins of the 4C concept and Giulietta as well as the upcoming Giulia, SUV and new Duetto. News of Ginah’s Great Wall appointment coincides with a number of other new positions at the company.

Olivier Molody – formerly creative director at BMW DesignworksUSA – has joined Great Wall as director for detail design, while fellow former Designworks employee Nils Uellendahl heads east to become senior interior designer.

news

Poor response to SRT Viper

Tokuo Fukuichi joins toyota board

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oyota’s global design chief Tokuo Fukuichi will be the first designer to sit on the company’s board of directors when his appointment comes into effect this month. Fukuichi will retain his position as global head of design for the Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands and will join the board after the general shareholders’ meeting. His influence on Toyota’s design direction over the last few years has been noticeable, particularly with Lexus, as the company strives to make its traditionally very conservative products a little more exciting.

However the execution of production cars is still questionable – the Toyota GT86 a prime example – but with a designer given the power to push design quality through the decision-making process perhaps this latest development will help the cause. Current president Kiyotaka Ise will leave the board and become chief officer of the R&D department, overseeing materials engineering, fuel cell development and sports vehicle management.

Hyundai FIFA brand ambassadors

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egendary football stars Iker Casillas and Ricardo Kaká have been appointed by Hyundai Motor Company, the official partner of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), as global brand ambassadors for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil.

“We are very excited to announce these legendary football stars as our World Cup Ambassadors,” said Tak Uk Im, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Hyundai Motor Company. “Through Casillas and Kaká, we hope to share the passion and excitement of the tournament with every corner of the world, while once again showcasing Hyundai Motor’s commitment to the world’s most popular sport.” The brand ambassadors will play a central role in building relationships between Hyundai and football fans, through a broad range of marketing activities this year. Activities will include television and print advertisements, digital marketing programs and on-site events. Hyundai Motor’s partnership with FIFA began in 1999 and is currently set to run until 2022.

Meanwhile, Oman Trading Establishment (OTE) the official distributor for Hyundai Motor Company in Oman, has announced the signing of one of the Middle East’s most successful football stars, Ali Al Habsi, as an official brand ambassador for the company. Ali Al Habsi is one of the region’s best known and most decorated footballers, and the signing comes after Hyundai recently revealed superstars Iker Casillas and Ricardo Kaka as its global brand ambassadors for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Brazil™.

new regional appointments at Bentley

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ith immediate effect, Stephen Reynolds takes over as regional director for Bentley Motors Middle East and Asia Pacific. Reynolds will head up operations for Bentley Motors across the Middle East and Asia Pacific markets, including sales, marketing and after sales and will be based in Crewe, England. Reynolds replaces Geoff Dowding, who has now taken the position of director for the Mulliner division. Neil Wilford will act as regional manager for the Middle East, India and Africa territories with immediate effective for Bentley. Wilford will be based in Dubai, and takes over the reign from Chris Buxton. april 2014

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COVERstory | 2014 Maserati Ghibli

s d r a w Re Bigmaller packages in s

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ry contender – E-segment luxu its ith w st be d 5-series? s on Germany’s the E-class an on ke ta to Maserati itake gh d it done enou or and Supplie the Ghibli. Has tography: Auth

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arrior |Pho Author: Raj W

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f there is one brand in town that is really in a hurry to hit the big league, it is Maserati. On the dealership level, huge investments have been made in new showroom and service centres. There is an added sense of urgency in communicating the brand to customers. And the global office, that looks after sales in markets outside the traditional Europe and North America is already at high throttle as it brings the brand’s latest offerings to the region.

You cannot blame them – it has been almost 8 years since the previous generation of the

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Quattroporte brought in larger volumes of customers than the brand had been used to in its history. The 2013 MY Quattro thus had to build on the appeal, broaden the base and still make sense in new markets around the world. That the car had the 3.0-litre V6 to put it in the 110,000-dollar plus bracket was itself compelling for a brand that is used to higher altitudes. Now the Ghibli, the first true contender for the E-segment, is in town with a package that places it at the 77,000-dollar bracket and above. So, should you abandon your draems of an E-class for this Italian sedan with Ferrari-made engines?

Unlike the previous iterations of its namesakes, the Ghibli is a four-door sedan. Gone are the days of the sublime GT shape of the 1967 model or the boxy mediocrity of the second generation. The M157 platform now hosts a proper four-door with sufficient legroom and access at the rear to make it a chauffeur driven car if needed, though that’s not going to be its fate in the region.

In terms of size, the Ghibli is smaller than the Quattroporte, though not by much. Like its bigger brother, the platform’s success lies in its intelligent combination of production-line

The larger challenge facing the Ghibli is to beat competition with the cabin interiors and feature pack – not just one of the lightest E-segment structures in the market.

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Use of a dual-cockpit theme is strengthened by the sloping dashboard while all touch surfaces remain classy and modern. The rear legroom too, is befitting of a sometimes chauffeured car.

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Saad Chehab is the Chief Marketing Officer of Maserati, having moved to the position from a leadership role with Chrysler and Lancia in Europe. This auto industry veteran looks back at the century long history of Maserati as a major factor in projecting the brand into the future.

While both the engine variants of the 3.0-litre are manufactured by Ferrari, the characteristic remains solely Maserati including the sound from its variable dampered exhaust

manufacturing that includes high-strength steel and aluminium. An expectedly tight body is complemented by almost neo-classic design by Ramacotti, that reminds you of the new Alfieri concept in some cases and the Quattroporte’s lines in other. The proportions are reminiscent of a classic GT, with short rear overhangs and large wheels in the bays, clad in low-profile rubber.

The car comes with two versions of the 3.0-litre V6 engine. Yes, these are made by Ferrari as a vendor to Maserati, though Ferrari egineers went to great lengths to specify that it isn’t a Ferrari engine. Potato, Potatoh? Not quite. These engines are made to Maserati specifications and are matched with a ZF 8-speed automatic gearbox, just like the larger 3.8-litre is in the Quattroporte.

The interiors have also been significantly differentiated. Forget the choice of materials and colours for an instant, especially sice you can still customise your buy, and look at the placement of controls, the dual-cockpit seating arrangement, new multimedia interface with a significant move away from the CJD parts bin and the use of tactile highlights around the screen and along the centre console.

The smaller of the two engines (both of which are biturbo) generates 330hp and 500Nm of torque, while the larger one is rated for 410hp and 550Nm of torque. So as you can see whether you take the Ghibli or the Ghibli S, you have more than enough power at your disposal. First point of differentiation from the competition. And you get this not just in the rear wheel drive layout of the regular car you can also opt for the AWD arrangement that is more suited to snowy climes abroad.

The aim of the interiors is to give a 5-seater layout that feels so much like a 4-seater. The rear centre is usable with its scooped out squab. But its the four outer seats that you fall in love with. Talk about taking luxury to the next level. Support is firm and unyielding as a sports seat should have, yet you can just relax in its suppleness when stretched out.

And the rears have been hollowed out to add to the legroom.

The Ghibli also becomes the first Maserati to debut a 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel engine for markets that are happier with the oil-burner.

This engine is also no laggard with 275hp and 600Nm of torque, again mated to the 8-speed gearbox with a different tuning and a different selection of gear ratios. The engine is no noisier than the petrol.

Speaking about noise, both the petrol engines are particularly fond of being revved. You push down hard and the engine rewards you with lots of instant oomph, though there is a tiny feel of lag as you spool up in comfort mode.

Of the five selectable modes, the comfort is the most likely choice for city driving as it handles the speed bumps the best. Go sport or above and you feel the tightening of the recoil, though the one feature that seems de-facto standard on German competition, namely. air-suspension, is missing.

Our drive of the cars took us out from the heart of Downtown Dubai to well beyond the Al Ain road, Bab al Shams and the tracts outside Dubailand in the Emirate. Although it was an unusually dusty and windy day, with sand blowing over the roads, the NVH level ensured that almost no wind noise was apparent and even driving at speed with left wheel on sand and right wheel on tarmac couldn’t pull the car off line.

That in itself was surprising, since despite its bulk, the Ghibli has a dry weight of under 1800kgs, largely due to the reduction of unwanted mass in the body structure and even in areas like the suspension where aluminium double wishbones are used. april 2014

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Reduction in weight has brought with it performance benefits – both in the regular and S versions. You hardly feel the almost 3-metre wheelbase as you thread at speed through the corners. The weight distribution is exactly 50-50 on the front and rear axles and the wedge-like stance assures precise road orientation. And it helps that the Ghibli remains almost traditional with its hydraulic steering.

Of course the larger challenge is to beat competition with the cabin interiors and feature pack. From genuine leather, soft-touch interiors, ventilated and cooled seats, a 3-D navigation system with voice interactivity and an option to have a 16-channel, concert hall grade Bowers and Wilkins sound system with 15-speakers and 1,280-watts, the customer is spoiled for choice. And that only adds on to the confusion or lack of it, depending on your bent of mind. On the one side you have Italian flair, timeless design, a good solid structure and all the touches that a Maserati brings with it – subconsciously you begin to smell the Dolce Vita at every turn you take.

On the other, the segment leaders are all German marques that have established their leadership by giving the customer exactly

what he or she wanted, sometimes well before they even knew it. Technology leaders, innovators, lords of reliability and quality, the brands have the wherewithal to fend of this upstart by offering more of the same.

But our bets ride with the Ghibli. It has made its mark in the segment. The packaging is right, as are the choice of engines and standardisation on one type of gearbox and the selection of consumer-facing technologies.

If there is anything that we see missing, it would be the air suspension and perhaps an announcement of a dedicated performance edition with the larger 3.8-litre V6 in it, just so that the segment up to the Quattroporte S is covered.

Beyond that, its the sheer appeal of owning a Maserati, with its 100-year history, its mediterranean heritage and its link with Italian roots that smell of Balsamic Vinegar, Olive oil and Cheese that tell you that you are buying into something that’s timeless. In a Ghibli the chances are that you won’t rush to upgrade, because that really doesn’t mean anything when seen from the brand’s vision of providing technology that makes driving so much more fun.

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International news

Swiss delights The annual 84th edition of the Geneva International Motor Show continued with its unique status of being neutral territory which also encouraged global car makers to present their A-list products and concepts Author: Chandan B Mallik

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he 2014 Geneva Motor Show was certainly a delight for both media and visitors as it featured interesting and some spectacular releases. Several key announcements were made across the board, notable among them were the rear-engined Renault Twingo city car, Porsche’s new endurance racing program and the extreme 1,341bhp Koenigsegg One:1. Besides new cars and futuristic concepts, Geneva also treats automotive aficionados with historical, classical and even racing cars. An early 1920s Chenard & Walcker and last year’s battle scarred Audi R18 e-tron Quattro were among those displays.

The key message emerging from Geneva was that automakers are once again paying attention to realistic needs of motoring/transportation. Small, stylish and yet practical cars shared equal space with hybrids and supercars. As always, the tuners were in big force with their wares. Among the motorsports related announcements, Honda’s decision to return to motorsports was welcomed as a message was clear that the Japanese brand was back in business. Following the recent foray into the World Touring Car Championship, Honda will be back in F1 from 2015 as an engine supplier also.

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bugatti

Well before the show there was a rumour that Bugatti won’t start work on its new Veyron-succeeding hypercar until the current production of its Veyrons sold out. Bugatti talked more about the 2014 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Rembrandt special edition, designed to honour company founder Ettore Bugatti’s brother, Rembrandt.

FORD

The biggest news from Ford at Geneva was the highly refreshed Focus.

cadillac

Among the models that Cadillac brought to Geneva was the ELR Coupe.

BMW

The facelifted BMW X3 was officially unveiled along with the European debut of the M3. BMW also introduced the frontwheel drive 2-Series Active Tourer which it says has been designed to compete with the Mercedes B-Class. The 2-Series Active Tourer follows in the footsteps of the Concept Active Tourer and adopts a slightly generic design. But the key focus is in the interiors and engineering. BMW’s new 4 Series Gran Coupe has also made its world debut at Geneva. The Gran Coupe is a four-door version of the latest 4 Series, and will rival the Audi A5 Sportback.

chevrolet

Chevrolet stand had a bright yellow Z06 [pronounced “zee-oh-six”] as the key attraction. Arguably, it has been developed as the most track-capable Corvette in history, so much so that much of the technology developed for the Z06 road car is actually being used on the C7R Le Mans racer.

Honda

The Japanese brand’s confident return to form was clearly visible in Geneva as the Civic Type R took centre stage and a model of the new NSX’s drivetrain was also shown. Another star from the brand on display was the RA271, Honda’s very first F1 car.

Citroën

The all-new C1 scheduled to reach dealerships later this year in Europe was the key car from the French brand. The C1 shares it foundations with the second generation Peugeot 108 and Toyota Aygo. However, Citroën’s C1 has the most radical styling of the trio.

There’s still a little confusion with the overall design treatment which includes the grille, vertical DRLs, blacked out A-pillars and contrast roof which are features found in the ‘DS’. Citroën C-line design language, introduced by the C4 Cactus, may well take some time to filter through the range.

mitsubishi

Mitsubishi continued its SUV concept drive at Geneva. It is now believed that styling DNA one of the concept cars will eventually inspire the Pajero/Montero replacement in the coming years.

ferrari

McLaren’s closest rival from Italy is Ferrari.

The Italian supercar brand used the Geneva show to introduce the California T and also its return to forced-fed engines. In addition to a substantially restyled exterior, it also features a new turbocharged V8 engine, which is good for over 550bhp. Ferrari is exhibit in Geneva also included an FF fitted with Apple’s brand new CarPlay system.

CarPlay is compatible only with the iPhone 5 series (5, 5C and 5S). A wireless connection will arrive soon and the Italian supercar will continue to utilize the proprietary infotainment system but users will be able to access CarPlay by pressing a virtual button located on the dedicated dashboard.

After the user interface is loaded, all the buttons will look very familiar to those who own an iPhone.

infiniti

New high-perfornfiniti has finally confirmed that the Q50 Eau Rouge will present itself as the brand’s new high performance car. At Geneva engine details were confirmed and with a tuned higher output V6 engine from the Nissan GT-R, there should be little doubt that this Infiniti has BMW’s M3 or Lexus’s RC F in mind.

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& Ssangyong’s dia’s Mahindra SUV concept. In ercise, SSanyong ex ng di an impressive XLV rt of the rebr pa As d. an than its planned br this Korean is a year earlier ch hi w urth 16 20 by go e company’s fo will change its lo 17. This will be th 20 . in Co t ke or ar ot m M V ng-hwan entry in to US SU ea n in 1954 as Ha Do id io pt ov pr ce in to s its m ce ai 30 years and rebranding sin ly ar ne r d te an af es g is comin ur disput The rebranding s a history of labo ha ch hi w d an br the fresh appeal to of owners. ge an ch t en qu fre

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peugeot

skoda

The VisionC Concept signals a global renewal and expansion of the brand’s model range. The aesthetic language of the “five-door coupé” introduces the next design evolution – aimed at being more expressive, dynamic and emotional. The sheet metal treatment engages slightly contoured, concave and convex surfaces, as well as sharp, precise character lines. In profile, there’s a bit of the Audi S7 somewhere in the design treatment. The front end of the cars combines a light signature based on triangular shapes with the typical Škoda grille and very much like the Volkswagen T-ROC Concept, the VisionC is mechanically based on the flexible VW Group’s MQB platform. The powertrain is a dual-fuel CNG/petrol 1.4-litre TSI/81 kW turbo engine and cogged transmission.

hyundai

Hyundai unveiled the Intrado concept, which paves the way for an upcoming compact crossover. The Intrado concept was styled in Rüsselsheim, Germany by the Hyundai Design Centre Europe and represents not only a styling exercise but also Hyundai’s intentions to use more advanced materials and technologies in upcoming models.

jaguar

Jaguar presented the XFR-S Sportbrake which now joins the XFR-S Sedan and XKR-S as the third member of the ballistic R-S family. Like its siblings it uses a 542bhp 5.0-litre supercharged V8 producing 680Nm of torque. With 0-96km/h coming up in 4.6secs, it is just 0.2secs slower than the XFR-S Sedan despite weighing around 90kg more. Among the key announcements from Jaguar was its new BMW 3 Series-rivaling sports sedan that would bear the XE badge.

jeep

Jeep’s all-new global Renegade is small SUV will be built by Fiat in Italy.

It will use architecture and powertrains from the new 500XL, but will receive Jeep specified engineering and features. Several variants are planned and the top versions will be Trailrated.

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kia

Kia showed the Stinger concept agiain and the EV Soul.

lamborghini

On the Lamborghini stand, the all-new Huracan made its public debut. The Huracan is the official replacement of the Gallardo. The new car which has had several private viewings before the Geneva introduction has already attracted a lot of interest.

Lamborghini claims it has received over 1,000 orders for this car.

lexus

Lexus surely impressed us with a fine example of racing pedigree by introducing the RC F GT3 concept at the Geneva. Lexus also showed its new BMW 4 Series-rivaling RC Coupe in Europe for the first time along with the RC F and the hybrid RC 300h with new F Sport equipment level for the first time.

mclaren

British supercar maker McLaren has expanded its line-up with a hardcore version of the MP412C, dubbed the 650S. It was shown in both Coupe and Spyder form. Designed to “provide the ultimate in driver engagement on the road and on the race track,� the 650S is heavily influenced by the 12C and P1 and in the line-up will be positioned in-btween the two existing models. The production of the MP4-12C will now be limited to orders as the carmaker gears up for the 650S volume production.

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touring ra superelthegge sco m e Alfa Ro eo Di

The first tim a made ing Superlegger Volante by Tour of the the 2012 edition its debut was at upe co y rv ow. The cu Geneva motor sh fa Al of n sig by the de clearly inspired eo m Ro fa Al e th 1960s, Romeos of the g in penned by Tour 2000 and 2600 ept r 2014, the conc in particular. Fo r the de Un n. and gree returned in gold the of t ar he e th k lies svelte bodywor ch is hi w Competizione, Alfa Romeo 8C od go V8 p 7-litre 450h powered by a 4. s. ec 2s 4. of /h sprint for a 0 to 96km

a version features g as the ROCKS in which dd ne cla gi dy en bo ol ocharged petr ditional plastic rb ad tu ith re w -lit am 1.0 r Ad linde just an veloped three-cy . It’s more than s uses a newly de n mini-crossover CK ba ur RO . its ns – io S vis CK re RO ering raps off the Adam anual gearbox. ith some engine Opel took the w of and comes w a new 6-speed m ro m as fro nv lp ca he g in ith ld w ic fo wheels full-length electr rque to the front d 122 lb-ft of to an hp 115 s er liv de

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vauxhall/ope

ore design fons have been m tio ta en es pr s io of concepts ed, Volvo’ completes the tr we have attend s te ta ow Es sh t the w ep fe nc st In the la the Coupe and . Volvo’s Co nlath following was no different ge va tIn ne oo as sh Ge a om d Th an an n d th cuse ent desig ing more nior vice presid concept is noth se ille st r gr la de e ive un Th at . d rn te ES te 0 ea al cr ic P180 ar. An annels the class Frankfurt last ye rearXC Coupe and ch Coupe we saw in t ge. Meanwhile, ep an nc ch Co of e rs th to of ca di ive in at y riv ke de e e th ing brak ges were lower body chan in Detroit. insert and some e which we saw up Co XC e th m fro A end borrows DN

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agen ], volksw SA e CrossBlue [U

Following th é [China] and CrossBlue Coup , a] concept cars also Taigun [Indi g vin gi ain ag once Volkswagen is possible future to d ea ah ok lo a Volkswagen un SUV models. t ep nc co V C, a SU veiled the T-RO be to el od m w ne that previews a een the upcom tw be d ne io sit po VW . an the Tigu ing Taigun and the facelifted ed uc od tr also in Polo and revised version of the irocco coupe.

Sc version of the

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15 for Europe. cles on sale by 20 hi ve ll t it in ce el fu hydrogen hich countries ge e of production d Europe. But w ng an ess ra ll cc US fu su t, l ve ke cia ha ar er m ill that comm to Japanese ced that it w es un dg cle le hi no ve an ow ll ta kn ce ac yo el To i, mpany V. g the fu Aygo super min similar to the FC However, the co 2015 we will brin cus was on the likely to be very s had with Prius.

Toyota said: “In is ha n at it ai s or tr ct es er re cc w While the key fo di su po ts e w peat th the ne european projec tion car to carry ta is hoping to re Gerald Killmann, The first produc structure.” Toyo s. fra er in id on ov pr nd e pe ur ruct Europe could de nd on the infrast cles would depe for fuel-cell vehi

toyota

Rolls-Royce cased as VIZIV subareuof development of the VIZIV Concepdetsigwasn chshanowges. Key changes

2.

by The next stag features and t being replaced number of new a es uc od tr in 2 e original concep th d an of VIZIV s n io or ct do se e to the rear rge, single sid 1.6-litre s now extend up noted are the la a or re do he ar w re id e br th ug-in hy ut, while train used is a pl a four-door layo with highards. The power w ne is combined ck gi ba en ng ed di rg sli ha oc rb tu otors. open by n io ar ct and two re m osed direct inje one front motor ith horizontally-opp w n io iss sm le CVT tran torque-compatib

Rolls-Royce seemed to have prepared a minor makeover for the Ghost which it now calls “Series II”. The Ghost gets redesigned LED headlamps with daytime running lights along with different bonnet surface and bumpers to provide a sense of extra width and height.

Gumpert

Germany’s Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur, the maker of the Apollo supercars has managed to secure a new investor and in a way its future.

Gumpert wasted no time in rolling out a brand new model called the Explosion. Explosion isn’t an extreme supercar like the Apollo but it does enable Gumpert to reach a wider audience. Meanwhile, Gumpert’s stunning Tornante, which was first previewed in concept form at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, will make its production debut in 2015. This car will be based on the platform of the Apollo and will be built on order. april 2014

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RoadTests |

2014 Cadillac XTS Platinum VSport

power

with sophistication

or ts to he lp ely pu t in ex tr a eff Ca di ll ac ha s ge nu in st ic rival s e th e lik es of do me el evat e th e XTS ab ov xu ry sl ot in to th e pr em iu m lu an d to so me ex te nt Ja pa ne se. by th e Ge rm an s an d cu rr en tly en jo ye d um Vs po rt in t th e 2014 XTS Pl at in Au to ma n ch ec ks ou tt es t co nt en de r UAE, th e br an d’s ho Author: Chandan B Mallik

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| Photography: Nabeel Fer

zan

I

t’s an ambitious effort by General Motors’ luxury brand that will not go unnoticed. The Cadillac model that replaced the DTS and STS was the XTS which has now been in the market for less than two years. Depending on where it is sold, Cadillac offers the XTS and variants aimed at appealing everyone, so there is the standard, luxury and top-of-the-line Platinum trims. The XTS Vsport is the latest and only variant in Platinum trim collection which comes with interesting hardware more than a few cosmetic add ons.

We mentioned something about hardware.

To be precise, it’s what’s lurking under the bonnet. The Platinum XTS Vsport version gets a new twin turbocharged 3.6-litre V6 motor which produces 410hp and 500Nm of torque.

This engine represents a comprehensive upgrade to the dual overhead cam V6 motor that is standard in the CTS and entry level XTS. This means this engine represents a gain of 105hp and 142Nm of torque when compared to the standard XTS’ naturally aspirated 3.6-litre engine. This generous bump in power and torque has been put to good use by ensuring through software programming that it delivers steady torque in the engine’s operating band from 1,900

to 5,600rpm. Cadillac says that the cylinder heads are also unique as they feature a hightumble intake port design that enhances the motion of the air charge for a more-efficient burn when it is mixed with the direct-injected fuel and ignited in the combustion chamber.

Identifying the XTS Vsport from the exterior is its unique grille and variant specific badges.

From the very beginning, the XTS didn’t come across as an average American car as it was well built and befittingly equipped. We have no complaints with the quality of the materials in the cabin. It’s a sumptuous and quite modern interior with some interesting add-ons like the CUE. GM is promoting CUE heavily and the set-up includes a 12.3in reconfigurable gauge cluster and a unique eight-inch touchscreen interface in the central console that supposedly mimics modern tablets with capacitive-touch controls. While the system is presented as the latest in automotive haptic control industry merchandise, it’s not without its shortcomings. Many users of CUE have reported it difficult to operate. While automakers are keen to outdo each other with features and gadgetry, both Cadillac’s CUE and Ford’s Microsoft Supplied Sync have often come under fire from consumers, particularly in the USA. In fact, poor consumer

ratings of some of the models equipped with these systems have affected overall ratings.

However, if that is kept separately, the features and engineering pack in the XTS is quite impressive even by German or Japanese standards.

Besides, the third party supplied CUE and issues with it, GM has invested cutting edge technology in building the car. Strategic use of high-tensile steel means the XTS has a lighter curb weight than the Audi A6. And the level of standard features is genuinely impressive when you consider high end features like magnetic ride control, HID lighting and Brembo brakes. The factory supplied standard safety features on the XTS include dual front, side, side curtain and knee airbags, brake assist and traction and stability control systems. Additional safety systems which fall under Driver Awareness package include Lane Departure Warning, which uses cameras to alert the driver if the vehicle unintentionally drifts into the adjacent lane, Side Blind Zone Alert, which employs radar technology to alert the driver to other vehicles in XTS’ blind spots when making lane changes, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, which warns the driver of oncoming traffic while backing out of a parking spot, including angled parking.

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A thoroughly entertaining car which has the correct set of genes to set it apart in the class

Driving impressions From the onset, it is clear that the engine has been programmed for a specific purpose and intent. The forced fed engine is just as excellent in the XTS as it is in the CTS, however, it seems less aggressive as even the figures suggest [10hp less versus the smaller, lighter CTS]. The flip side it seems that the driver is treated endless torque for vehicle responsiveness. The car’s super fast reacting

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magnetic ride suspension appears comfortable with the large 20in tyre/rim combo. Despite its weight and, the Cadillac XTS’s acceleration is well accepted even by rival standards and the car is capable of handling winding roads better than you might expect with a planted and supple ride.

While this new engine and extra horses generates smooth and effortless power befitting a large Cadillac, where it lacks a

bit when compared to the Germans is in its aggressiveness. Instead, it feels more on the lines of a spirited luxury executive car set-up.

Noise levels are low and isolation from road imperfections is fine.

Unlike most car companies who in the name of fuel efficiency have moved on to electric power-steering systems and abandoning the hydraulic systems and have spoilt their car’s handling as a result of their vague on-centre

feel, in that context it was a pleasant surprise to experience this car’s reassuring feedback.

All credit for this attribute definitely goes to the XTS’s good old-fashioned hydraulic assist setup, which uses Magnasteer to automatically adjust steering-effort levels based on vehicle speed.

While steering feedback is good, the steeringwheel-mounted paddle shifters, which are supposed to showcase the car’s driverfocused intention is oddly programmed to work only when the gearshift selector is in the

“M” position. It makes on-demand downshifts an annoying two-step process and now a days in many cars the driver can action paddle shifting on demand even in ‘D’ mode. Thanks to the all-wheel drive, this car offers satisfying road manners and thanks to the suspension’s automatic adaptability between ride quality and handling it makes a satisfying job.

verdict

Let’s be absolutely honest. The XTS isn’t a pure driver’s car out and out, even in Vsport

trim, and perhaps that is reserved for a tuned performance version later! However, there’s an air of genuine uniqueness in the XTS Vsport model as it is offered only in the top spec Platinum Collection. Cadillac’s new XTS Vsport intends to be a befitting reply to driver-oriented rivals. Well, it hits most of the boxes right, apart from some niggles. It’s got standalone styling and is elegantly appointed with soft leather surfaces and real metal trim and host of luxury features. In UAE, the car is offered with pricing starting at AED 285,000.

april 2014

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RoadTests | 2014 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

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King Kong

of muscle cars For the latest model year, Chevrolet’s Camaro ZL1 benefits from a subtle nip-and-tuck. Automan checks out the refreshed car in UAE Author: Chandan B Mallik | Photography: Nabeel Ferzan

C

prominent changes visible are its refreshed front and rear ends. Up front, the upper portion of the grille has been vertically compressed, creating a slightly wider appearance, while the lower section has been widened to improve cooling. At the rear, the classic Camaro taillamps have been dumped in favour of horizontal units. Also the boot lid and the diffuser have been updated with aerodynamics in mind.

For GM, the Camaro is not only an important model but also a successful one too. One of the reasons being its ability to outclass and outsold bitter rival, the Ford Mustang for the past three years.

And keeping the ZL1 variant up to date for 2014 are the most

The interior mostly goes unchanged into 2014, save for two new options: Recaro sport seats and a full-colour head-up display. Camaro’s interior is pretty basic and the theme continues with the ZL1. There’s the typical and familiar mix of chromed plastic, hard plastic and soft touch materials. What lifts the interior in the ZL1 is the Recaro

hevrolet has kept the Camaro flame in vogue with several interesting flavours. With each passing year since introduction, General Motors has ensured its newsworthiness remains intact with periodic upgrades in performance and technology upgrades, so much so that it has become the envy of many exotic cars and ultra-luxury coupe/ convertibles.

The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 debuted at the 2011 Chicago Auto Show as the highest-performing Camaro and the most technically advanced car ever developed in its class april 2014

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performance seats and Mylink infotainment system. A new type of sued microfibre covers the dash, reducing distracting reflections and improving the looks also. Camaro’s boot is surprisingly deep and the back seat allows opening up more space. Unlike a Toyota Camry, the ZL 1’s boot opening is narrow.

into super car territory with warp speed performance of 0-100km/h in just 3.9sec.

And thanks to extra cooling made possible by the Camaro’s larger engine bay, the CTS-V sourced engine for the ZL1 now arrives with 580hp. Our tester came with six-speed automatic with TapShift controls.

On paper, as a muscle car, the Camaro ZL1 is defined by its supercharged 6.2-litre LSA V8 engine which produces a staggering 556 lb-ft of torque at 4,200rpm and helps it move

GM’s sophisticated Magnetic Ride Control suspension system is standard, with two settings (“Sport” and “Tour”) to match driving preferences. The five-setting Performance

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Traction Management system is borrowed from the Corvette ZR1. Magnetic Ride Control uses a magnetized fluid inside its shock absorbers. An electric charge gets sent through a coil in the shock, which has the effect of thickening the fluid.

This is the sort of technology that gives the car its dual nature – road or track day focused.

Turning the charge on and off adjusts shock rates very quickly, responding almost instantly to changing road conditions. That means that

ZL1 can deliver a very comfortable, smooth ride in “Tour,” then instantly sharpen up in “Sport” at the touch of a button in the central console. nterestingly, the ZL1’s unique quad-exhaust pipes borrow butterfly valve technology from the Corvette. However, unlike the Corvette’s system, the ZL1’s valves are active on ignition. The reward comes when the key is turned with a characteristic meaty growl. A rear-differential cooler is standard on both manual and automatic cars.

The ZL1 retains the Camaro SS’ 365 mm rear disc brakes with four-piston Brembo calipers, but the car’s front units have been replaced with larger 370mm discs clamped by sixpiston calipers, providing much improved stopping power.

Driving impressions

Driving the Camaro, even in its base form is a delight. The chassis and various powertrains are perfectly mated for their respective assignments, be it the basic V6 or eyepopping supercharged V8.The ZL 1 tested by us offers the kind of acceleration that requires the driver to constantly watch out and warn passengers.

It’s a genuinely a sports car with gentlemanly skills. It allows the flexibility to be driven

normally or hard. In no way, does one feel trapped in a punishing sport coupe every time

Key cosmetic upgrades include single-piece taillamps and a new spoiler. Also new is the MyLink infotainment system for the first time in the Camaro. you drive. We like the balance of ride comfort available for more relaxed driving.

In most driving conditions, the ZL1 is composed, utmost balanced with equally impressive handling, suspension and braking components. ZL1 manages stopping duties with six-piston Brembo brakes in front (fourpiston in the rear), discs all around and fourchannel ABS.

As mentioned earlier, the base Camaro handles pretty well, but ZL1 has its own game plan. It feels more planted and confident, thanks to some extra engineering. Unseen under the bonnet, there’s a brace to enhance chassis stiffness, and special stabilizer bars have been added to the suspension. From the exterior, the ZL 1 gets dressed with some specific aerodynamically profiled kit that help produce downforce at speed, an essential bit of kit when it comes to improving road holding and performance.

The nice thing about this car’s engine is its broad torque curve, and this allows pleasurable driving as we were able to minimize shifting and concentrate more on throttle control and steering inputs. The Recaro seats are supportive in all the right directions and hold occupants tight. The second row is for occasional use only.

The high shoulder/low greenhouse remains unchanged and poor rear view makes lane changes and reversing very nerve-wracking.

The rear vision camera helps in parking situations, but it’s still no substitute for a clear line of sight. Despite the cosmetic niggles, it’s a genuine delight to drive this car which has a bit of Corvette and a bit of SS!

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RoadTests | 2014 Kia Soul

e b o t p i h it’s

l oo C

n B Mallik Author: Chanda

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|Photography:

Elvis John Ferr

ao

Kia Motors introduced the offbeat styled Soul in 2010 and now it enters into its second generation as an evolution of the original design.

Automan checks out the car in the Sultanate shortly after the international launch

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W

hen Kia Motors introduced the first generation Soul in 2010, the boxy tallboy hatchback came at a time when the segment wasn’t clearly defined and competitors were having mixed results with their respective interpretations. Despite its standalone design and reasonable features package, the Soul didn’t win hearts outright globally with the exception of Europe and US. These two matured overseas markets received the Soul wholeheartedly and as a result the model did extremely well with more than 760,000 units sold. In fact, it’s the second best-seller

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in the US after the Cerato. The key reason for this turnaround was the downsizing trends, concern about fuel economy, and the affordable Soul appeared as “the right car at the right time” for US buyers from a functionality perspective and very few people are aware that in 2009, the original Soul was the first car by a Korean brand to receive the distinguished ‘Red Dot design award’.

Encouraged by the Soul’s success story, Kia has re-engineered the second generation model with significant changes inside out.

The new Kia Soul was created by the Kia design team under the supervision of Peter Schreyer, Hyundai and Kia Motors President

and Chief Design Officer.

At first glance, the proportions, the profile, the roofline appear unchanged and five years on the market, the new Soul has very much earned a new platform. The car is based on Kia’s flexible ‘K’ architecture which is also used in some of the new sedans. As a result, this car is technically should be considered as a crossover utility vehicle than an oversized hatchback on stilts. Dimensions have changed marginally. With a wheelbase that’s increased by 0.8in helps free a bit more room in the cabin. Overall dimensions are similar, with length up by 0.8in and width up by 0.6in. Conversely, overall height is down

The versatile Soul shines brightly when it comes to interior in particular. Kia has significantly improved the efficiency and maneuverability of this urban oriented small crossover

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0.4in, largely because ground clearance has been dropped from 6.5in to 5.9, giving the Soul a more planted look. Unlike the weight loss regime practiced these days, the weight of the new Soul is up by 42kg on account of increased levels of content and more substantial build.

Kia designers have not messed with the iconic boxy design of the original, instead producing a version that evolves the styling and sharpens it. With a wrap-around windscreen, muscular wheel arches, stylish front LED rimmed headlamps and a sloped roofline help convey car’s athletic presence supported by a more aggressive front face and stylish rear.

Despite the similarities with the outgoing model like the trapezoidal shape outlining the greenhouse, sheetmetal is all new which is clearer when the two models are parked next to each other. And for the first time, as a stock factory option, the Soul is being offered with bi-colour schematics.

Inside the cabin, there’s a world of change and we have no reason to be unhappy with the new cabin design, higher quality materials and touch points. Kia has packed the generously sized Soul with enough standard gear to ensure it is confident against its diverse competitors and the lengthy standard features list includes cruise control, six-speaker stereo, Bluetooth and audio controls on the artificial leather wrapped 48

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steering wheel. A glossy black finish can be found around the controls in the central console and around the gearbox lever and Kia’s use of a circular theme throughout adds a bit more quirk to the Soul [lesser than the MINI], as do the stylish audio tweeters that are now integrated into the air-vents. Rear view camera was also part of the kit in the test model. On the practical side, this car is as good as a modern SUV. A number of small and large storage compartments are located throughout the cabin, including four cup holders, four bottle holders, a massive glovebox, little storage areas on the side of the front seats and an under-floor storage area in the boot. Meanwhile, cargo space is up to 238litres with the rear seats up and 1,251 up to the roof with the second row folded.

The Soul in Oman will come with a normally aspirated 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine which is good for 130hp and 118 lb-ft. Although it is a carryover engine, Kia has re-tuned it and the torque availability at 1,500rpm has been increased by five per cent. Power is sent to the front wheels via six-speed automatic transmission.

That the Soul would like to remain modest is proved by its conventional suspension set-up comprising of MacPherson strut up front and torsion bar at the rear. The front setup now boasts a new subframe held on by four large

bushings and and a relocated front stabilizer bar and steering box help improve braking and directional stability. Electric power steering is along for the ride, this time with Kia’s nifty FlexSteer system with three driver selectable drive models.

On the safety front the Soul features airbags, ESC, ABS, a tyre-pressure monitoring system, hill-start assist, and vehicle stability management.

Driving impressions It’s not that often in this part of the world that gets to evaluate a boxy city car. Things like the slightly lower hip point in the new model doesn’t go unnoticed which makes for even easier entry and exit. Perched high, driver and passengers get command view, generous headroom and legroom. We are also happy to note that we did not encounter a typical blind spot thanks to the Soul’s excellent visibility.

This car is full of surprises and despite its squarish upright profile, the Soul is a pleasant road car to be in. In typical city traffic, the new Soul is way more comfortable and it’s far quieter inside until you decide to aggressively push the motor to 3,500rpm plus.

Acceleration and power delivery is much better than before, thanks to the recalibrated torque delivery at 1,500rpm. The front-wheel-

drive car feels poised, confident and the feedback from the electric power steering is quite good. Kia’s suspension engineers have spent a lot of time tuning this version of the Soul to offer improved ride and handling, and it shows dramatic improvement. The real surprise comes when you push the new Soul harder into some corners usually reserved for sporty sedans. Here, the tall bodied car’s suspension loads up nicely with no nasty bump stops, no shrieking or soft SUV-like wallowing, thanks to the stiffened by 29 per cent [over the old model] body. What’s more, the rear torsion beam tube is thicker— now 76.0mm vs 70.2mm and the added rear subframe with specially tuned bushings effectively help filter out the “moan noise”— the constant awareness of road coarseness.

As a result, the car has a luxury ride feel The FlexSteer system that’s on offer is now entertaining and adds to some driving character.

It offers different steering settings and in Normal mode, it feels nicely weighted and direct, which is perfect for around town duties. While in Sport mode it is much heavier and better suited to highway driving. Like many other Hyundai and Kia products of recent times, the Soul’s gets a new three-stage Flex-Steer system, which can be operated from a button on the steering-wheel.

While there is a modest difference in effort between the three, the system feels just fine.

Considering road noise is hardly heard inside the cabin, we’re surprised that there’s engine noise whenever the transmission brings it above about 3,500 rpm.

Verdict The new Kia Soul is a lot more mature in appearance, and the bold, distinctive personality of this model is highlighted even more and with more quality features, this car is now much better than before in most departments and is also very attractively priced. Price in Oman is OMR6,975 irrespective of colour combination package.

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RoadTests | M2014 Volkwagen Tiguan

Small SUV, big ambitions

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out car Automan checks largely unchanged. er ov ies rr ca V ao SU smallest hy: Elvis John Ferr uan, Volkswagen’s B Mallik |Photograp For 2014, the Tig Author: Chandan

in the Sultanate

specially tuned ad use and one -ro on r fo the e on s: valance are distinctive – ng. Both models lkswagen’s Tiguan ch ivi Vo dr oa , pr 07 d ap oa 20 f-r of in of h r degree angle larly in fo ince its launc not riant has an 18 reer rise, particu va it’s ca ” d ad ble An ro via s. nen ee “O gr an 28 de has had leader status. ff-road” one has greater enjoys a market ge while the “O lings now show lar sib a Europe where it th en Bo be . y ne all alo ion dit ics ce and tra et s an sm ha rm co st bal just namic perfo The Middle Ea in line with glo in character, dy e h nc the offuc , m de ion t en rs bu ep ve t ind ad ke SUV mar like the on-ro up demand , nt ion pe dit a ad be ent In to . s uip es styling cu th a top eq m ere now seem s. We now see also available wi market trends, th w UV /C no the is Vs as SU ion n g rs in ow ve kn les, includ of road specialist is for smaller vehic in the Sultanate ar, se, the off-road re s ca e ad is th ro th At In on e. ”). les lin vehic “Sport & Style : ad ro more of these n25 (o of yle departure Track & St have an angle of s Oman. ion rs ve an gu s all Ti in the region ha that is offered an e degrees. gu Th Ti . nt sh rre fre The cu t lkswagen’s re Vo m fro ly us e this simple ye do [also used in ndits would lov pu rm benefited tremen g tfo ink tin pla th ke 35 we ar , m PQ While e Tiguan on the ting a slot for th and during the car which is built e refresh in 2012 ctive way of crea fe ild ef ole package mor m a wh d d a an ha t as ] en d VI m re uip ide eq ns d the Golf co ar on be nd t, ld segmen it shou d the level of sta because, in this a slightly- that exercise VW uppe hing else. This is ed the Tiguan to yt ot an n of cars to om tio an pr th lec of se rt e g. so in position ers have a fin in the process um us ns rio co xu -lu refreshed ne te alo ui rd ut-not-q ing RAV4, Fo ’s rs the size more-premium-b wagen now offe – Toyota’s charm m lks mpetent Vo fro co n, se en ca oo ev it ch ive Mazda CX-5 or ugh a smart , ro -V th Being as innovat CR es a’s iti nt nd Ho ide cape, distinctive ferent front Es Tiguan with two ve crafted two dif ha rs ne sig De e. design mov

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The Tiguan distinguishes itself from other small crossover SUVs with an upscale interior and sophisticated driving dynamics. And since it is based on the Golf VI platform, it’s handling closely mimics the hot hatch entries from South Korea. However, the Tiguan has more to offer on the plate Volkwagen is aware that most crossover shoppers want an interior that’s straightforward and versatile as well as comfortable. The Tiguan delivers on those expectations and there’s a bit of Golf’s sporty influence its front seats which are body hugging and comfortable. Lumbar support is very good in the front seats. Considering the car’s dimensions [length 174.5in/width 71.2in/height 65.in /wheel base 103in], the interior is really spacious, and the quality of the materials in the cabin is first class, as is fit and finish. The controls are intuitively laid out and the driver enjoys an excellent commanding driving position. On the practical side, the second-row seats slide and tilt, leaving ample space for adults. With the 60:40-split seatbacks folded there’s 56 cubic feet of cargo space available. And scouting around the SUV’s interior one also discovers small ‘hidden’ storage bins under the floor plus a twin-compartment glovebox and various other places for keeping knick-knacks in the vehicle. What we liked about the interior, besides it impeccable build quality, touch points and materials, nothing seems to have been forgotten or is out of place.

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gearbox. The car also came with all-wheel drive which VW labels it under its BlueMotion technology package. This engine offers 160PS at 5,800rpm and also develops a maximum torque of 240Nm between 1,500 and 4,500rpm.

The flexible PQ35 platform has allowed VW to give the Tiguan independent rear suspension set-up and coil set-up up front. In terms of safety, Volkswagen continues to offer a few more safety features than you’d typically expect to see in a small crossover. In addition to the usual front and side airbags, rear side thorax airbags—not often available in this class. The car scored 5-stars in Euro NCAP testing.

Driving impressions Usually, crossovers feel a bit unwieldy on the road due to their soft suspension setup and raised ride height, but the Tiguan feels relatively comfortable and at home. One of the key differences immediately noted [when compared to the older Tiguan] is that there’s virtually no turbo lag from the four cylinder engine. While the Tiguan doesn’t charge ahead as fast as some V6-powered compacts in its class, it makes up for its horsepower deficit with plenty of useful low-end torque and hence acceleration is exceptional and

so is torque availability across the engine’s bandwidth. That’s not all, the 4MOTION system has been tuned with fuel efficiency in mind and that means most of the time the car acts as a front wheel drive as it gets 90 percent of the power goes to the front wheels.

And depending on driving situations, the rear axle brought into play, step by step. This is done by an electrohydraulic all-wheel drive clutch. An important difference compared to the previous generation 4MOTION: no speed differences are needed between the front and rear axles to activate the all-wheel drive clutch, since pressure is built up via an in-built electric pump arrangement.

The interior is well insulated from engine, road and wind noise and the high driving position and comfortable seat makes the Tiguan a really relaxing car to drive. And as much as we like hardcore 4x4s in our region with hi and low range selectors, the Tiguan despite being AWD, actually offers the convenience of never having to shift a lever or push a fourwheel-drive button. Once we got to some dry, roads near Amerat, we let the Tiguan show off its talent on some off-road trails stretches.

We do have to agree now that engine cubic capacity doesn’t matter anymore if it is engineered correctly. The Tiguan was very responsive as we went through the mountain roads, and we also appreciate the car’s sporty suspension set-up. As expected, it does lean

There are many SUVs similar in size to the Tiguan, but the Tiguan offers one unique advantage of having a smaller displacement high performance powertrain

a little bit in corners but VW has managed to keep this to a minimum. The steering weight is very good and is responsive to driver inputs. On secondary roads, the suspension although slightly on the stiffer side, is well settled and muted all the uneven elements we went over and once we hit the highway, the ride stayed smooth and composed.

Verdict The Tiguan is priced between more upmarket premium rivals like the Audi Q3 and mainstream segment rivals models like the Kia Sportage. It enjoys a mid-range niche position along with promising new models like the Mazda CX-5. SUVs like The Sportage and Hyundai ix35/Tucson offer similar levels of space and a whole lot more equipment for less money, but no small displacement engines.

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exclusive First drive 2014 Datsun GO

Back in business!

After 32 years of absence in global markets, Nissan’s Datsun brand is being revived with a new job description and India is the first port of call. In this Middle East exclusive, Automan checks out the first offering, the GO hatchback.

Author: Aariz Rizvi | Photography: Faisal Khan

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D

atsun as an automotive brand was born in Japan in 1914, when a local Masujiro Hashimoto San founded the Kwaishinsha Motor Car Works in 1911 and produced the company’s first car: the DAT. DAT was an acronym of the company’s investors’ family names. Over the years, the company name saw several iterations and eventually renamed as Datsun in 1931. Despite great products and the original ‘Z’ car in its fold, Nissan phased out the brand globally in 1986 as part of its unified brand strategy.

The iconic ‘Datsun’ name has now been revived with a renewed intent and purpose as the parent company finds a better use for it. The 21st century Datsun will represent the multi brand parent as modern, affable and affordable manufacturer of motorized transportation in price conscious, high tariff structured emerging markets like India which are looking at affordable solutions.

The Indian volume market operates quite differently than the Middle East or other matured markets. Due to high duties and fuel pricing, it is a volume market where entry

level models rule the roost. Currently, this segment is dominated by a variety of models from Maruti Suzuki followed by Hyundai.

Nissan aims for a sizable chunk of the pie with Datsun, and the compact GO hatchback is its first domestic model built in and for India. Nissan has kept development costs low as mechanically the GO is based on proven engineering. Mechanically, the Go uses a platform which also forms the base of the Micra along with its powertrain. The five-door hatchback has been moulded in the familiar Micra profile but it does get its own set of clothes and design character. The length of the car is 3,785mm and its width is 1,635mm, placing it firmly in the small car category.

Its height is 1,485mm and its wheelbase is 2,450mm. Pleasantly proportioned, nothing appears quirky in its design language and it looks well balanced from every angle. The diamond shaped signature grille is prominent and so are the bonnet lines. Big headlamps and heavily sculpted bumper are complemented with a single wiper and depending on spec chosen Datsun offers headlamps with the Follow-Me-Home activation system.

Rest of the car’s sheetmetal is clean and a character line runs across the shoulder and merges with a power bulge at the rear door that continues to the tail and gives the GO a good presence. The blacked out B-pillars reflect a good contrast with the body but the big wheel arches and small 13in wheel tyre combo looks tiny. The rear of the car is tastefully done as well, having an angular rear windshield with squarish tail lamp cluster and chunky bumper.

Since it’s a price value dictated car, the cabin is where the GO loses some of its premium exterior appeal. Costing cutting is evident with dull-looking hard plastic, and basic mechanical handbrake, and of course the front connected bench seat. The wow factor inside the cabin is really the space with the ample headroom and extra legroom thanks to a generous wheelbase. The dashboard arrangement does remind one of the first generation Honda CR-V where the gear shifter sits at the base of the dashboard. The dashboard befits the car in the segment and has been kept simple.

The basis instrument cluster is simple and easy to read and there’s a small LCD digital screen below the speedometer that displays

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The first new motor car to be launched after the brand’s revival is the GO hatchback. Yes, the name sounds offbeat but it’s derived from the first Datsun, Dat GO, launched in Japan in 1914. The Datsun GO hatchback intends to be the modern interpretation of affordable and practical transportation

information like engine revs, fuel level, fuel consumption, average fuel efficiency, trip computer and distance to empty. A mobile docking station is there for smart phone users along with USB and AUX ports.

The seats are comfortable enough but the cushioning could be firmer especially in the rear seat area. The boot is also equally impressive for an entry-level car in the segment. In terms of kit, Datsun is offering a whole host of accessories to make the cabin more appealing like a stereo system or the centre-seat in front being replaced by an armrest. The GO is offered with mod cons like air-conditioning. Power windows are provided only at the front and the driver doesn’t have the additional switch to control the passenger side window. The overall quality feels good and sturdy and as expected from Nissan.

The GO is powered by a 1.2-litre 3-cylinder engine lifted from the Nissan Micra. For the Go is has been slightly de-tuned and produces 68PS of power at 5,000rpm with 104Nm of torque coming at 4,000rpm. This engine is mated to 5-speed manual transmission. The GO is light, weighing around 769kg and will sacrifice performance in order to further improve fuel consumption, a priority in Indian market. Meanwhile, the car rides on 155/80

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Strada branded tyres on 13in rims. Larger rims are also available in higher spec variants.

On the safety front, airbags and ABS are not available on any of the three variants that the company will launch, but Datsun says it is studying the possibility of offering it as optional feature later.

size of the car. At 100 km/h in fifth gear, the tachometer hovers around a calm 2,500rpm, indicating its stress free character. Another strong character of the GO is its high speed stability despite running on small wheels. The NVH management, however, is on the weaker side, as the engine and wind noise is quite apparent at high speeds. There is no ABS so the braking performance isn’t confidence inspiring and the tyres tend to lock early and screech. However, brake bite is good and it sheds speed relatively quick, doing 80 km/hr to 0 in 33 metres.

Driving impressions

Verdict

The car’s suspension set-up is similar to that of the Micra but has been modified to suit Indian driving conditions. The suspension travel is higher and spring settings softer.

Since the GO is based on the Nissan Micra’s V-platform, it offers good handling and ride.

Considering the fact that most Indian roads are not as smooth as we are familiar with in the Middle East, the long travel of the suspension and linear damper makes the ride flat in most conditions but on really bad roads, imperfections do filter in the cabin. The steering wheel is light and easy at city speeds and weighs up nicely at high speeds. Small wheels don’t help in mitigating body roll, which is noticeable due to the soft suspension set-up. The manual transmission feels little notchy but slots into the gates easily. Transmission ratios seem to be well spaced out and acceleration is good for the

The Datsun GO is being targeted at first time car buyers in India and the checklist tallies all the right boxes. For this market, Nissan/ Datsun’s new entry-level hatchback is big in size and has smart styling. The GO offers some smart features while keeping the costs in check. Cost cutting is evident and it lacks the necessary safety features but at the end of the day, it’s offering huge bang for your buck and is a tough nut to crack in this segment.

What more can you expect from a proper car which has a starting price of OMR 1,812 and tops out at OMR2,500? We agree that Datsun really couldn’t have found a better product than the GO to announce its revival on the world stage.

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PREVIEW |

Maserati Alfieri concept

The Alfieri is an exciting, realistic and 100 per cent functional prototype that says much about the design DNA of future Maseratis. It could well be a door to the future of the Trident marque

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M

aserati’s stand at Geneva this year had a striking new concept bearing the name of Alfieri, the most prominent of the Maserati brothers and the engineering genius who founded “Officine Alfieri Maserati” in Bologna a century ago.

Cal it accident of timing, the Alfieri concept is being unveiled at a time when Maserati is looking to re-establish the brand’s orientation in terms of design and production.

The Alfieri concept was created at the Maserati Centro Stile in Turin by a group of talented young designers, under the direction of Marco Tencone overseen

by Lorenzo Ramaciotti, Head of Fiat Chrysler Global Design.

If the new Quattroporte and Ghibli gives the impression that Maserati was becoming oriented towards sporty, premium four door sedans, then the Alfieri concept is a reminder that the brand has a remarkable racing heritage and a unique tradition in exotic GT cars.

As a result of this image consciousness, the Alfieri concept has been conceived

with the idea to represent the true essence of the Maserati brand. It is a sleek, Italian style 2+2 on the lines of the 1957 3500 GT, the 1959 5000 GT and the 1969 Indy.

The Alfieri boasts proportions that might well be archetypal for a future Gran Sport and are certainly a hint at the brand’s stylistic intentions for the near future and at the show looked undeniably elegant with curvaceous styling and a wide grille surrounded by slim LED headlamps. The concept also has muscular rear mudguards, attractive alloy wheels and flush mounted door handles. A ventilated rear bumper and a dual exhaust system is also part of the package.

The production model, if greenlighted would likely be based on the same platform that underpins the Quattroporte and Ghibli. Engine options would likely carryover from the latter model and include a twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 with outputs of 330hp and 410hp. The car’s overall character is expected to be sportier than the GranTurismo.

According to Lorenzo Ramaciotti, Head of Fiat Chrysler Global Design, “Maserati turns 100 this year. As is often the case for a company’s centenary we’re going to celebrate with, among other things, a concept.” april 2014

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PREVIEW | 2014 Citroën C1

The new Citroën C1 is a fresh take on a best-seller that has notched up more than 760,000 sales since its launch in 2005.

C

itroen is devoting a lot of its resources in developing future city cars that will respond specifically to urban mobility requirements. The C1 is Citroën’s version of the new city car model that it has co-developed with Peugeot and Toyota. Citroën plans to build this car in Czech Republic. In terms of execution it will be very much like the Peugeot 108 and will be offered in three-door and fivedoor versions as well as an ‘Airscape’ model complete with a roll-back fabric roof.

With a length of 3,460mm and width of 1,620mm, the C1’s dimensions are identical to the Peugeot 108 which suggests more than just platform sharing. The C1 weighs in at just 840kg, thanks to weight savings in some components like the rear axle which is 4.0kg lighter than the outgoing C1. Compared to the outgoing

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model, the new C1 features a much more striking exterior design and comes with LED daytime running lamps and ‘3D-effect’ taillamps.

The car’s interior will combine functionality with some lifestyle gadgetry like a 7in touchscreen that can ‘mirror’ the driver’s smartphone. Other equipment options include climate control, heated seats and a reversing camera.

The C1 will be offered with either the Airdream’1.0-litre three-cylinder engine with 68bhp on tap, or a slightly bigger 1.2-litre three-cylinder with 82bhp on tap. European customers being fuel consumption and environment conscious will be happy to note that the bigger engines along with the semi automatic gearbox [ETG] offers up 60mpg and emissions of just 99g/km CO2. For this car, the engine can accelerate the car from 0-100km/h in 11secs. Both five-speed manual and five-speed ETG (Efficient Tronic Gearbox) transmissions will be available.

The VTi 68 engine is also available with the clutchless ETG (Efficient Tronic Gearbox). This 5-speed gearbox features optimised pedal mapping, adjusting power effectively for smoother start-ups and enhanced driveability. The ETG gearbox is known for its contribution in terms of energy efficiency as it incorporates what Citroen calls ‘creep function’ that actually permits the driver to adjust accelerator power especially at low speeds. Also new gear shift patterns ensure fewer shifts from first to second besides being smooth and comfortable.

Other mod cons will include electric power steering, hands-free entry and drive. This function lets the driver enter and start the car without taking out the electronic key. Suspension set-up will be fairly modern with coil springs, shocks and a larger-diameter anti-roll bar to cope with typical urban rides. In addition, the compact C1 has a turning circle of 4.8m.

Eight exterior colours will be offered, while a pair of two-tone models will also be available initially. Inside, the C1 features bright colours and body-coloured inserts in the door panels.

This new city car is available in 3door and 5-door versions and also in a new open-top body style called Airscape. A car with a strong personality, delivering an upbeat, the new Citroen C1 reflects the renewed spirit of Citroen

PREVIEW | Hyundai Intrado Concept

Officially presented as the first Hyundai designed under the direction of Peter Schreyer, The Intrado Concept is also the first vehicle to utilize the brand’s Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 design language

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H

yundai’s experience building globally popular SUVs models like the Tucson/ix35 and Santa Fe is one matter and the brand considering a ‘Genesis’-sub branded premium SUV in the future is what kept us guessing at Geneva.

As far as the official Hyundai PR goes, the Intrado points to a future compact crossover that would sit under the /Tucson ix35 in the company’s line-up. This means the production Intrado or ix25 [as it might be called in some markets] is not the successor of the ix35/Tucson. This fact was confirmed by Hyundai Motor Europe senior vice president and chief operating officer Allan Rushforth who said: “It’s a smaller vehicle than an ix35, more a B-segment crossover which gives us opportunity to extend SUV competence into smaller vehicles, specifically smaller, lower CO2-emitting vehicles with the European market in mind.”

Even with minimalistic detailing, the design of the Intrado features a low-slung stance and styling cues that hint at a sporty crossover and evolution of the ‘Fludic Sculpture’ language as interpreted by Chief Designer at Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Centre, Thomas Bürkle’s, design team that created the Intrado or HED 9.

The concept takes its name from the underside of an aircraft’s wing - the area that creates lift and hence there’s evidence of this inspiration. The car’s chassis

is constructed using a patent-pending, flexible, soft woven carbon fibre tubing system that can be bent into more flexible shapes than conventional materials.

The rigid structure also permits the elimination of B-pillars if required without compromising on safety. Hyundai claims that the body panels are made of advanced super lightweight steel developed at Hyundai Motor’s steel plant.

The interior of Hyundai Intrado Concept is defined by a focus on usability and adaptability, and draws attention to its advanced materials and radical construction to deliver the kind of functional beauty typically seen on high-end mountain bikes. The seals of opening panels shut directly against the central carbon frame, showcasing the exposed carbon fibre whenever doors, bonnet or boot are opened. Components that are usually concealed are highlighted, including the ‘see-through’ air vents and exposed frame onto which the seats clip directly. The use of bright ‘Beaufort Orange’ contrasts with the exposed carbon fibre, reflecting the car’s active brief and mirroring its restrained exterior detailing. The orange and black-themed cabin features a flat-bottom steering wheel, a small, dashboard-mounted screen and a center console with the gear selector, parking brake and climate controls. A digital instrument cluster also features a compass and a 4×4-style inclinometer.

Hyundai presented the car with its next generation hydrogen fuel-cell drivetrain with a claimed driving range in excess of 600km.

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PREVIEW | Jeep Renegade

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Jeep’s all-new Renegade is the brand’s smallest SUV which will be built by Fiat in Italy but engineered by Jeep when it comes to demonstrating capabilities

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F

iat’s new “wide small 4x4” platform which is also being used in the forthcoming Fiat 500X will form the foundation of the Jeep Renegade, but this is where the similarity ends between the two. Completely avoiding the ‘badge engineered’ fundamentals, Jeep has promised that Renegade will be an authentic Jeep and will come with a trail-rated Trailhawk version too. Jeep claims that the baby Jeep will not only offer best-in-class offroad capability but also class-leading fuel efficiency.

With dimensions of 4,232mm [length] and 1,804mm [width], the new model does qualify as the smallest Jeep in the current range. However, if one factored the original WWII Willys Jeep, it beats the Renegade by being 900mm shorter

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and 229mm narrower.

Jeep is offering several powertrain options depending on the market preferences and has announced four specification levels – Sport, Longitude, Limited and Trailhawk. Powering the car will be both four-cylinder petrol engines with displacements ranging from 1.4-litre to 2.4-litre and a 2.0-litre diesel as well. The world’s first nine-speed automatic transmission will also be found in this SUV. Renegade’s lower spec models will be front wheel driven and the entry-level Sport will come with a Brazilian-made 81kW/152Nm 1.6-litre ‘e. Torq’ petrol engine mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. The flagship Trailhawk version

Jeep has developed 16 different powertrain combinations for the global Renegade

gets the most powerful engine in the line-up which is the normally aspirated 137kW/236Nm 2.4-litre ‘MultiAir 2 Tigershark’ which also powers the Dodge Dart. The mid-range Renegade will get Fiat’s turbo-charged 125kW/250Nm 1.4-litre MultiAir 2, with idle-stop start function. A six-speed dual-clutch transmission will be offered in some markets with this engine set-up.

The front suspension is MacPherson strut, while the rear wheels are mounted on a Chapman independent set-up with high-mounted struts, two lateral links and half-shafts. The rear suspension sits in an isolated cradle to maintain rigidity while minimising road harshness.

Two 4x4 systems will be offered – a standard AWD ‘Jeep Active Drive’ that

automatically switches from 4x2 operation to 4x4 on demand via a clutch, and, on the hardcore Trailhawk flagship, Jeep Active Drive Low which includes a 20:1 crawler gear for tough going.

The Trailhawk version will also get a higher [by 20mm – 220mm ride height] along with skidplates on the front and back. A five-mode driver selectable electronic Selec-Terrain will be offered. This version will also get unique front and rear body treatment, expecially valances for greater departure and approach angles, 17in wheels with all-terrain tyres and mod cons like hilldescent control. The Renegade will also feature a nifty new My Sky removable roof panel system, giving this little cutie sort of a baby Wrangler feel.

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PREVIEW | McLaren 650S

upercar British s

maker

was McL aren

busy

officially revealing the 650S prior to

Geneva motor show

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debut last month

I

t’s no secret that the MP4-12C has served the British supercar brand well as a befitting launch pad. Despite some initial niggles, the 12C has passed through critics reasonably well. However, the inherent weaknesses like an engaging name or a distinctive design were areas McLaren was keen to address.

Now, enters the new 650S from the Woking, UK-based manufacturer with a new promise. Mechanically as expected it is sound as it is based on the 12C. However, the 650S comes with a number of key improvements over its progenitor. The car’s design, especially front end takes a lot of inspiration from the P1, with a better integrated splitter and LED headlamps, while the rear bumper takes its inspiration from the 12C GT3 racer. The side intakes are new, and the rear wing has been optimized to help deliver 24per cent more downforce at speed.

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The McLaren 650S joins the range as an additional model alongside the 12C and top end P1.

The supercar maker tries to marry 50 years of competitive motorsport expertise in the fixedhead coupĂŠ and Spider variants with a promise to redefine high performance

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Two variants of the all-new McLaren 650S virtually double the brand’s offerings. Most competitors do not offer high performance iterations as convertibles due to the compromises that invariably plague open-roof cars. The carbon fibre MonoCell chassis in the 650S requires no additional strengthening or reinforcing in open-top guise, and gives the 650S Spider identical handling and ride, and virtually identical straight-line performance figures. The overall weight of the 650S Spider is 1,370 kg (dry), an increase of only 40 kg over the Coupé.

The two-piece retractable hard top can be automatically raised or lower in less than 17secs, and can be activated while stationary or at any speed up to 30km/h.

Rather than being a stripped out road racer, the 650S Coupé and 650 Spider models are fitted with a high level of luxury equipment as standard. Both variants are trimmed in Alcantara and the car also uses a heated glass rear window, operating independently of the roof. With the roof down, the rear window acts as a wind deflector, reducing cabin buffeting. Roof up, the rear screen can be lowered to allow more engine noise – and driving drama – into the cabin, and for a semi-open top driving experience even when it is raining. With the roof raised, the area beneath the tonneau cover can be used as additional luggage space.

Key to performance is the active suspension system which has been further enhanced for the McLaren 650S. A feature of the system is the ability to adjust the ride and handling modes - Normal / Sport / Track - in isolation from the drivetrain, which gives complete freedom in terms of ride and handling. These settings, for both powertrain and suspension, have been recalibrated to improve driver engagement. The updates are especially noticeable in Sport mode.

Carbon ceramic brakes sit behind unique ‘650’ lightweight alloy wheels shod with Pirelli P Zero™ Corsa tyres. Both variants use the 3.8-litre twin turbo V8 engine, producing 641bhp and 500lb-ft of torque. This means a 0-100 km/h sprint of 3.0secs, identical to the Coupé.

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PREagen VIEW | T-ROC SUV concept Volksw

With the T-ROC SUV concept, Volkswagen previews a new model that could be positioned between the upcoming Taigun and the existing Tiguan

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V

The T-ROC’s name is derived from ‘T’ as a reference to the names of current and future Volkswagen SUVs such as the Taigun, Tiguan and Touareg while ROC refers to all-wheel-drive car

olkswagen’s SUV line-up is expanding and the carmaker is also exploring niche slots within the segment. While some markets like the US and Middle East are in favour of a full-sized seven seater, at Geneva, the carmaker did offer some indication as to what it has in mind in the form of a possible futuristic SUV concept mechanically based on new MQB modular platform. This flexible platform will underpin nearly all its small to mid-size vehicles the German brand plans to launch in the next few years.

For now, the T-Roc is purely a show car than production-ready prototype, and hence it boasts some unusual features.

The concept was presented as a two-door SUV with a removable T-top targa type of roof. Once removed, the two-piece panel stows in its cargo hold. The SUV’s proportions are distinguished by relatively short overhangs (front: 811 mm, rear: 772 mm) and large track relative to its body width of 1,578 mm (front) and 1,564 mm (rear). The wheelbase is 2,595 mm and the wheels are 19in shod with 245/45 tyres. In comparison with the Taigun, the T-ROC is 4,179mm long, 1,831mm wide and stands 1,501mm in height. It is also 200mm shorter and 200mm lower than a Tiguan, and 300mm longer than the Taigun.

The show car was presented with a 182hp 2.0-litre TDI four-cylinder which also offers 280lb-ft of torque, with power routed through a seven-speed dualclutch gearbox. But, that’s not the only one as we are aware that the MQB modular platform is capable of supporting an array of powertrains including petrol, diesel, compressed natural gas, plug-in hybrid and pure electric. All-wheel drive is expected to be offered also and thanks to its lightweight design, the car’s weight is expected to be kept under 1,500kg for optimal performance. If the car gets the production nod, it will likely come in both three- and five-door configurations and will be pitched at the youth market with atypically aggressive and funky styling.

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MOTORSPORTS |

Nico Rosberg wins Australian Grand Prix

N

ico Rosberg dominated the Australian Grand Prix to claim the fourth Formula 1 victory of his career and the first in the new turbo-powered era. The Mercedes driver took control of the race in Melbourne from the off, powering past team-mate Lewis Hamilton who had started from pole and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo on the first lap. Hamilton was forced to retire after just three laps because of a broken cylinder.

Rosberg was never in trouble after passing the leaders even when the safety car came out after Valterri Bottas had touched a wall, losing the right-rear tyre from his Williams FW36. As had been expected, reliability would play a part in the season opener and 2013 champion Sebastian Vettel also suffered an early end to his race when the lack of power he complained about in qualifying returned and he was forced to park

his RB10 after just five laps.

“At the start of the race we had no power, cars kept on passing me, and although I was down we tried to recover,” said Vettel, who had been even been overtaken by Marussia’s Max Chilton before quitting. “At some stage I thought there was an improvement, but then we realised we had lost power from the engine.”

However, it was a superb debut for his Red Bull team-mate Ricciardo who finished 23 seconds behind Rosberg for second to huge acclaim from his fellow Australians in the Albert Park crowd while another debutant, Kevin Magnussen, stole the show with third place for McLaren.

On his F1 debut, the 21-year-old Dane gave the British team an incredible result after a miserable 2013 season when they failed to claim a podium finish for the first time in 33 years. His team-mate

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Actual benefits may vary according to vehicle, driving conditions and driving style.

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Jenson Button came home fourth, a result that puts McLaren at the top of the constructors’ standings, albeit at a very early stage.

Magnussen had cruised past Hamilton in the early stages as the 2008 champion’s race ground to a halt. Clearly disappointed, he put on a brave pace and looked forward to the rest of the season, saying: “We’ve got pace and we will recover from this. It’s only a hiccup and there’s a long way to go.

At the moment I’m not concerned about anything.”

By the first turn the field was down from 22 to 20 due to Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi braking too deeply, colliding with Williams’ Felipe Massa and sending both into the gravel. Only 14 starters made it to the chequered flag, Max Chilton the last of those coming home, continuing his impressive record of so far completing every one of his F1 races.

Sporting regulations Extra qualifying tyres In order to encourage everybody to go out in Q3 – which was perceived as a problem sometimes –an extra set of option tyres will be provided.

They will be used by the drivers in Q3 and cannot be used before. Q3 drivers – whether they use that set or not – have to hand them back after the Q3 session.

Drivers that didn’t make it into Q3 can use this extra set during the race – it’s a little bonus for those who didn’t make it into the final part of qualifying.

The other key point is that the drivers who qualify for Q3 will start the race on the tyres with which they set their best Q2 time [assuming a dry qualifying/race].

Additionally, Q3 has been lengthened by two minutes [to 12 minutes] and Q1 has been shortened by two minutes [to 18]. The idea of making Q3 a little longer was to ensure any driver who wants to has time to make two runs.

Extra tyres for FP1 There is an extra set of prime tyres for the specific purpose of running during the first 30 minutes of the first practice session. The P130 set – as it is known – cannot be used after the first 30 minutes of the session have elapsed.

Cars have to be back in the pits before that point

is reached. The tyres will then be returned to Pirelli.

Five-second penalty The five-second penalty was introduced to have a penalty that lies between a reprimand and a drive-through. It was felt is could be best served immediately before the wheels are changed in a pit stop. When a driver makes a pit stop, he comes to a halt [in his pit box] and the crew cannot work on the car for the first five seconds.

It is a straight five-second penalty. A driver given a five-second penalty must take it the next time he makes a pit stop. If he doesn’t make a pit stop, then five seconds will be added to his time at the end of the race. In this situation the timekeepers will amend the classification during the slowing-down lap and the timing screens will be refreshed to reflect that.

107 per cent rule [in context of 2014] The 107 per cent rule was introduced to make sure teams would not get into the race if they were not capable of producing a good car of the required performance. The situation at the moment is that we have 11 teams we know are capable – but some may be suffering a temporary performance loss. I’m sure the stewards will look very sympathetically on any team that doesn’t

qualify within 107 per cent of the fastest Q1 time.

There is a mechanism within the rules to allow their inclusion under exceptional circumstances.

It doesn’t always have to go on the criteria of a driver setting a suitable time in a previous session.

We have 11 very professional Formula One teams.

If they have that sort of problem I’m sure there would be a very good reason for it. If they don’t complete any laps at all, I think the stewards might think that’s a little too far – but it’s not for me to say. The idea is that the stewards will do everything they can to make sure that everyone takes part in the race – but obviously they’ve got to use their best judgement also.

Fuel flow/fuel consumption All cars are fitted with an FIA-homologated fuel flow sensor. It will not limit the flow, it will only monitor the flow. 100kg/hr is the maximum allowed fuel flow.

100kg of fuel can be used from the moment the lights go out to the point at which cars cross the line to finish the race. It is a maximum. If the limit is exceeded, there is no tolerance [and drivers will be excluded from the classification] Any potential overuse would be investigated after the race. It will be no different to any other technical check.

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MOTORSPORTS |

2014 Kuwait International Rally Al-Attiyah edges into hard-earned day one lead in Kuwait international rally 2014 Kuwait International Rally – positions after SS7 (@15.30hrs): 1.

Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA) Ford Fiesta RRC

2.

Khalid Al-Qassimi (ARE)/Chris Patterson (GBR) Citroën DS3 RRC

3. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU)/Michael Orr (GBR) Ford Fiesta RRC

1hr 15min 32.6sec

4. Abdullah Al-Qassimi (ARE)/Catherine Derousseaux (FRA) Ford Fiesta RRC 6. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Killian Duffy (IRL) Ford Fiesta RRC 7.

Q

1hr 18min 02.2sec

1hr 20min 00.6sec

1hr 22min 05.2sec

1hr 22min 56.6sec

9. Mohamed Al-Mutawaa (ARE)/Stephen McAuley (GBR) Citroën DS3 R3

10. Dawood Al-Gharabally (KWT)/Abdulla Al-Ghanim (KWT) Subaru Impreza

11. Mohamed Al-Sahlawi (ARE)/Craig Parry (GBR) Citroën DS3 R3

atar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini held a 12.5-second lead after a tense tussle over six desert special stages of the 22nd Kuwait International Rally, round two of the 2014 FIA Middle East Rally Championship, on Friday. Abu Dhabi Racing’s Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi and Chris Patterson had been in impressive form through the first two stages and the Emirati held the advantage before slipping behind Al-Attiyah. The Citroën DS3 RRC driver kept up the pressure throughout the afternoon to set up a fascinating contest over the closing six timed tests on Saturday.

“I have not been feeling 100 per cent after having the ‘flu for a few days when I came here,” said Al-

1hr 17min 14.9sec

Khalifa Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Adel Hussein (QAT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

8. Abdullah Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Nicola Arena (ITA) Ford Fiesta R5

1hr 14min 38.1sec

5. Salah Bin Eidan (KWT)//Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT) Ford Fiesta R5

1hr 14min 25.6sec

1hr 26min 17.7sec 1hr 27min 10.7sec 1hr 27min 49.2sec

12. Ali Saleh (KWT)/Fares Al-Thafiri (KWT) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII

1hr 31min 31.5sec

13. Mansoor Belhelai (ARE)/Khalid Al-Kendi (ARE) Citroën DS3 R3

1hr 32min 13.4sec

14. Saeed Bintowq (ARE)/Allan Harryman (GBR) Citroën DS3 R3

15. Edith Weiss (DEU)/Vicky Psarali (GRC) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

1hr 42min 46.1sec

16. Nada Zeidan (QAT)/Kamal Khoder (QAT) Subaru Impreza

1hr 53min 50.0sec

Attiyah. “Saying that, it has been a good day, no real issues and I have a lead to build on now on Saturday. I will try my best.” Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari fought a close fight for third until the Qatari dropped a lot of time on the final loop of three stages. Al-Rajhi finished the day in a clear third, 67secs behind the leader but 1min 42.3sec in front of fourth-placed Sheikh Abdullah Al-Qassimi, despite a spin on the seventh stage and persistent overheating issues during the day.

Salah bin Eidan was comfortably the top Kuwaiti driver in his Ford Fiesta R5 in fifth position and that costly loop of three stages with boost valve woes pushed Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari down from fourth to sixth at the end of the day. Fellow

1hr 34min 02.0sec

countrymen Khalifa Al-Attiyah and Abdullah AlKuwari were seventh and eighth. Kuwait’s Dawood Al-Gharabally rounded off the top 10 in his Group N-leading Subaru Impreza.

The talented young Emirati Mohamed Al-Mutawee made giant strides towards a second successive victory in the Abu Dhabi Racing-Citroën Middle East Trophy by holding a 1min 31.5sec overnight lead over Mohammed Al-Sahlawi and birthday boy co-driver Craig Parry. He was also classified ninth overall. Juma Al-Falaisi rolled out of fourth position on the first Al-Zour stage. Germany’s Edith Weiss and Qatar’s Nada Zeidan were continuing their battle to be top lady driver at the rear of the field.

ATCUAE extends partnership with Nissan Middle East

T

he Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE and Nissan Middle East have announced a new partnership agreement for the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, underlining a dual commitment to ensure the event continues to stand out on the world stage.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the ATCUAE and founder of the event, and Samir Cherfan,

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Managing Director, Nissan Middle East, signed the agreement and revealed the new branding for the rally’s 24th edition, which takes place from 5-10 April.

The 2014 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge sees the Nissan Patrol SUV serving in its 11th year as the official vehicle of the event. The event forms the third round of this year’s FIA World Cup for Cross

Red Bull appeal to be heard on April 14

R

ed Bull’s appeal against Daniel Ricciardo’s exclusion from the Australian Grand Prix results will be heard next month, the FIA has announced. Ricciardo was disqualified from second place after his car was found to have exceeded the maximum permitted fuel flow rate of 100kg per hour.

The International Court of Appeal sitting will take place in Paris, France, on the morning of April 14, the Monday prior to the 2014 Formula 1 UBS Chinese Grand Prix. The Court’s decision will be published as soon as possible after the hearing.

Red Bull announced their intention to appeal immediately after Sunday’s race in Albert Park,

saying: “Inconsistencies with the FIA fuel flow meter have been prevalent all weekend up and down the pit lane. The Team and Renault are confident the fuel supplied to the engine is in full compliance with the regulations.”

Grid composition when times not set Nothing has changed and it will be based on whether they [drivers] managed to leave the pit lane and do one lap, two laps etc. Where drivers have identical records then they will be assembled in the order of their times in the previous session – so in Q3 it will be based on Q2 times, Q2 on Q1 and Q1 on FP3. Obviously the old numerical system is no longer applicable [as drivers have personalised numbers].

Track limits

Track limits have become a very emotive subject.

Fundamentally, a driver is required to use the track at all times. If any part of the car remains within the boundaries of the white lines, he is deemed to be using the track. If he has all four wheels over the white lines, he’s off the track.

A driver is allowed to leave the track and rejoin without penalty, providing he does so safely and providing he does not gain an advantage. It is up to us to decide whether he has gained an advantage from being off track.

Circuits are designed so that going off track should always be slower – or at least not faster.

Marshalling system

Marshalling system has been improved so that it will give us much better accuracy when looking at car positions and track sectors. The track can now be split into 20 sectors rather than the traditional three. It will marshals to check accurately that a driver has slowed appropriately for yellow flags where looking at the larger sector would not always be representative. It’s another tool that’s been added to the Stewards’ armoury.

Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Infiniti Red Bull Racing drives in for a pitstop during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park on March 16, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia.

Country Rallies. “Nissan has become an invaluable partner in our work to promote and develop the Desert Challenge, and I’m pleased to extend this relationship again as we look to secure the event’s future for many years ahead,” said Sulayem.

Samir Cherfan said: “Nissan has been sponsoring the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge for the past 10 years, and for the 11th year we are taking our partnership to the next level by co-sponsoring the event. “We are delighted to be a major actor of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. since it is one the most prominent desert rallies in the world and gives us the opportunity to reinforce Nissan’s strong heritage in the Middle East.”

Taking place under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is also the first round of the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship for bikes and quads.

More than 100 drivers and riders from around the world will tackle the 24th Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, and with entries still arriving daily the final starting list is certain to include Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al-Rajhi and his German co-driver Timo Gottschalk, who lead the FIA World Cup series after winning the first two rounds in Russia and Italy. april 2014

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ChicaneOpinion |

A rose by any other name is Just wEird

As a practice, I try to steer clear of completely automotive themes in this regular rant, largely because our worthy readers have usually had it up to their inlet manifolds with a month’s stock of auto stuff. But the topic at hand is one that I cannot really do justice to – without referring to certain automotive brands as well.

So, the usual riders and clauses and sundry comments are to be understood – all my comments are made without any malice.

That said, let me ask you how much importance do you attach to a name? No, not your own moniker, for I am sure that you love it death and it will remain with you till death do you two assunder. If you have done enough, it will even live on after you. And if it is one of those handles that you cannot take, by now you either have, or should have changed it to a more pleasing one, all the while cursing your parents for adding this burden on to your frail childhood shoulders along with having to get educated and getting potty-trained.

To the phrase that says, “A rose by another name is just as sweet”, I say pphhhtthaw, complete with tongue sticking out between clenched lips. A name is 90% of the game, I say. One that decides whether you are a happy, contended individual or a morose one. No I won’t take any examples, but have you asked yourself whether you would have been different emotionally, financially and even careerwise? All of us are aware of the amount of betting that went on to decide the name of the tiny next in line to the British throne – and a William he is. So what’s the name you would have picked? For him and yourself if you had the opportunity?

Let’s step aside for a moment and take a look at the way in which we decide on buying stuff – how important is the name? Cars are named after so many things, your head spins every time a marketing official attempts to explain the reasoning. In recent days we have two cars launched – the Macan and the Ghibli, that have to be rationalised, the former being an Indonesian tiger and the latter a Saharan wind. To many in this part of the world and in India, Macan has architectural connotations, while Ghibli sems to be a way to say glibly, well, more glibly. It isn’t as if people won’t buy the cars, but what happens when the word actually means something offensive – like the Pajero does in Spanish-speaking lands and the number 4 sounds like in China.

In such a scenario, it is little wonder that the former has another Spanish sounding name in Montero in those parts of the world. One wonders what the BMW 4 will be sold as in China.

In a global marketplace, it is almost impossible to be correct 100% of the time, largely because cultures, languages and people are so different. This is apparent in things like colours, trims, features and most importantly names. Who would have thought that a number would mean so much? Or a name? I have had sundry comments about how much my name feels like it’s synthetic – one that I have invented, or as some

Raj Warrior is editor of Automan and has been in the thick of the Automotive journalism field from the past 15 years.

seemingly gullible people believe (since I claimed so myself) I bought it on EBay. Almost everything we buy is thus named by experts, behavioural scientists and marketers to better the chance that we will accept it when it hits the shelves, we will pick it up and it will resonate in that part of the brain that controls the purse strings. Habit has made us associate Ferrari with speed, Volvo with safety

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and Hyundai with being affordable. How ready are we to pay big money for a Hyundai? Would we buy a Volvo that was insanely fast? Or a Ferrari that took pages from other manufacturers’ books and focussed on affordability? Also, we seem to be running out of names that make any sense and names that were shelved are being dusted off for their associations – does anyone remember why Datsun was sidelined for the Nissan brand? It’s making a comeback in the value segment.

A name well assigned is half the battle won, gentlemen. So think long and hard before you bestow a name on something that could live on well beyond the years that you are around to bask in the thought that you have left your marker on the world – or the showroom at the very least.

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