Automan 175

AutomanMag | Visit our website: www.automan.me now, the region’s Best Automotive resource April 2016 Issue no 175

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wards sexiness

Rolls-Royce Dawn d

ig leap to b ’s d n ra b e th ts h g rive highli

Super 3 Previews: Model 3, E-class, Centenario Also inside: New York Motorshow Tests 2016 Audi A4 2016 Toyota Fortuner Audi R8 and RS Cars Interview with Porsche WEC driver Timo Bernhard

New wheels

6-9 Audi R8 ANd Audi spoRt Rs cARs iN AbudhAbi 10-18 New cARs lAuNched iN omAN – mAseRAti levANte, Audi A4, hAvAl suvs,KiA spoRtAge, toyotA FoRtuNeR, liNcolN mKX, FeRRARi 488 spideR, Rolls-Royce dAwN

omAN ANd RegioNAl News

20-23 mitsubishi opeNs New quicK seRvice ceNtRe, JAguAR F-pAce lAuNches eARly booKiNgs, coulthARd to dRive the Red bull cAR iN omAN, lANd RoveR lAuNches oFF-RoAdiNg App ANd NissAN spoNsoRs dRiFt chAmpioNship. chevRolet hold deseRt eveNt FoR Z71 tAhoe ANd silveRAdo

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iNteRNAtioNAl News

24-25 Sportage and optime win red dot award, Jaguar to make XkSS, Bentayga delivered to firSt cuStomerS, world car of the year awardS announced

bRANdwAtch

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26-27 toyota celeBrateS 50 yearS of corolla, Bmw announceS new viSion for 100th year, geely emgrand announceS new Strategy, vw produceS laSt phaeton

coveR stoRy

28-35 rollS-royce dawn launched to international media in cape town

RoAd tests

36-41 2016 lincoln mkX 42-47 2016 audi a4 48-53 2016 toyota fortuner

spotlight

54-57 new york auto Show report conceptS and new carS

FAce to FAce

58-61 porSche wec driver timo Bernhard

spotlight

62-65 Shell Super mileage challenge

pReviews

66-71 teSla model 3, mercedeS-Benz e-claSS, lamBorghini centenario

coNceptuAl

72-75 lincoln navigator concept

motoRspoRts

76-79 formula one at Bahrain, melBourne and motogp at argentina

chicANe

80 you are more than what you eat

editor-in-chief Mohammad Al taie

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the pace of global automotive activity is at a new high, especially if you look at the outcome of the recent geneva motorshow. we have had a good number of all-new models being shown there, along with significant technologies showing up in commercialised form. The list is huge, with the maserati levante, audi Q2, aston martin dB11, Bugatti chiron and the lamborghini centenario stealing the show.

But then, that’s the nature of the geneva motorshow. for a country that has almost no car industry at all, Switzerland’s home show serves as the european point of excellence, in some ways far ahead of what you would expect from either frankfurt or paris that are a magnitude of scale larger, yet not quite as action-packed. the appeal of debuting the year’s forthcoming attractions at geneva sets the tone for many european manufacturers – in fact some of them may even miss a presence at detroit or paris but never at geneva. this month’s issue carries our report on the cars we best liked at geneva, along with the capsule review on the New York motorshow, admittedly the most international flavoured of the american shows, although slightly overshadowed by the very uS-focussed detroit show. additionally, our team attends the global media drive of the new rolls-royce dawn. it’s a model that seems set to change the perception of the brand from being too insular and exclusive. there is a freshness of perspective, a new design idiom and a sense of openness that the open-top dawn brings with it – somehow making it seem so much distanced from its wraith and ghost siblings. the toyota fortuner that we feature this month appeals to buyers at the other end of the spectrum – not quite entry level, but definitely a segment that finds the likes of the Prado and land cruiser beyond their reach or an indulgence. the very third-world origins of the platform speaks of a sense of utility and value-for-money, yet the fortuner has risen above that in this new generation to perhaps gain more of a following among the middle classes. the audi a4 holds no such aims – it just brings the platform up to date with the technological umwelt it exists in – with connected driving, intelligent controls and the migration of advanced lighting technologies to a larger slice of buyers. finally, we also have the lincoln mkX. the brand is gaining an ability to spring a surprise or two, although it still has many miles to go before it becomes a global name in the luxury segment. from its electronic gearshift console to its new design language and on to its increasing adoption of turbocharged engines, lincoln is moving ahead. and it’s not only the high grade revel audio systems on board that warrant a second look.

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Automan is now in its 16th year of publication. Expect a great deal from us through the year in terms of all your favourite automotive content

NEWWHEELS 2016 Audi R8 and RS cars

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Audi marks launch of new R8 with track event and drive of RS cars Audi Sport marks its launch in the region with the launch of the new R8 and a showcase of the RS models. Automan attends the adrenaline-packed event

T

he Audi R8 has something of a giant-killer reputation. Ever since its launch, the car has been known for its ferocious V10 engine, sporty feel and good track manners. What it doesn’t have is the sort of refinement that the upper echelon of sports cars tried to make standard. You knew you had a great car under you, but it never really made that jump to be compared with the best from Italy. That is something that Audi is keen to change. The new Audi R10 manages to make that huge jump. But let’s begin with something else.

The event we were invited to was a track day event at the Yas Marina circuit, where we were promised lots of driving. As we were to discover later, the morning session covered multiple laps around a

shortened loop that took in the hotel and marina and some rather interesting driving around an autocross loop laid out on the handling tarmac. The post lunch session was taken up by a longish drive to a waterfront jetty driving various RS cars, including the available RS6 and RS7 in both power variants, the RS3 and the S8 plus. With a couple of driver change points thrown in, we did manage to get some driving time behind the wheels of some of these cars, but the main idea was to give us a feel of the range.

From the jetty, we were ferried across to the exclusive Zaya Nurai island resort to meet up with three very unique gentlemen connected with Audi Sport in some way.

These included Romolo Liebchen, Head of Audi Sport Customer Racing, Emanuele

Pirro, multiple Le Mans winner and one of the newer breed of DTM drivers, Edoardo Mortara.

Over an interactive session the three Audi faces took us through some of the history of Aud Quattro and the development of the Audi Sport brand along with the on-going relevance for Audi’s racing programme.

And of course, in all of this the positioning of the new R8 was very evident. This generation of the R8 builds on the combined expertise of the sports car vertical of the Volkswagen group. You can see the connection in the way both the R8 and the Lamborghini Huracan now share a similar body structure, with the use of aluminium and significant quantities of carbon fibre composite around the APR 2016

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rear end of the passenger cabin and rear firewall, with almost half the floorpan also being integrated into the moulding.

It doesn’t come as too much of a surprise, especially when you consider the choice of powertrain as well. The R8 launches with the two top end versions of its V10 powerplant, with outputs of 540bhp and 610bhp, with the more powerful variant getting the Plus tag. The engine is naturally aspirated and evolved from the older powerhouse, yet now features modern day necessities like the ability to shut down a row of cylinders on low demand as well as a programmed coast mode where under certain conditions you can softly lift your foot off the accelerator and the car coasts along at the same low demand mode.

But that’s not to say that the V10 unit is all about efficiency – with the ability to deliver 540 or 560Nm in the two grades, the huge rev range and the easy move up and down the rev range all translate into a very versatile and powerful unit.

The gearbox on offer is the seven-speed S tronic gearbox with its double clutch arrangement that has reduced shift times down to a charm. In the many sessions we had on the track, one of the learnings was the gearbox’s ability to get the best out of 8

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the paddleshifts – if you hold the shifters instead of tap them then the gearbox will shift to the lowest or highest gear possible for that engine rev point, removing the need to shift rapidly down or up.

The car’s performance is definitely in top sports car territory – the regular V10 offers a 0-100 km/h figure of 3.5 or 3.2 seconds and hits top speeds of either 320 or 330km/h.

The engine itself is the familiar 5.2-litre V10 with a very small offset angle, but this time around it combines both FSI as well as MPI. The engine is located in the sweet spot just fore of the rear axle, with the gearbox sitting aft of it and this is mated with a new generation of the Quattro AWD system designed for the sports car’s needs. In it, the drive does tend to get relegated mainly to the rear wheels but can be shifted as needed to the front wheels by the active differential on the front of the shaft. The weight distribution is 42:58 on the axles and you can feel the rear if you are in really tight bends.

The whole session on the skid pad and handling tarmac was designed to introduce us to the drive modes that the Quattro system features on the V10 Plus or as an option on the V10. It offers a dry, wet and snow mode and we toggled between

dry and snow modes on the mixed surface laid out. In the dry mode, practically all the available power is channelled towards the rear axle with the focus being on giving the best track performance in dry conditions, this can lead the driver to end up in rather twitchy conditions on wet tarmac. When we took the other extreme and used the snow setting, the bias was better balanced and gave a lot more confidence as we took the wet turns.

But what the car gives, it can take away, especially if you make the mistake of braking as you take the curve – the weight shift can throw the torque delivery just so and get you nose out.

However, at the end of the day, there is no doubt that the R8 has definitely made the great leap ahead. The interiors are among the more comfortable cabins of the genre, with ingress and egress above par for the course. Steering wheel size and feel is good and the move to include all the operation buttons including drive mode toggles on the boss makes it feel like a racecar’s controller. This feel is only aggravated by the virtual cockpit arrangement that allows the driver to change the layout of critical readouts as well as to get a different look and feel depending on the drive mode. Chassis

response is brilliant even on the standard V10, but you can get options like Dynamic steering that changes its nominal steering ratio depending on the driving conditions as well as magnetic ride control that can change response from individual wheels depending on the drive mode and how hard you are manoeuvring.

The other standout technology that debuts with the R8 is a laser headlight system that adds in a beam that is said to reach ahead on the road to almost 600 metres, with a very targeted spread. It offers much better visibility, turns along with the road and automatically dips and dims depending on oncoming traffic. Combined with HUD and the features of the virtual cockpit, you really don’t lack for anything.

But of course, the one unsaid is how does the V10 plus compare with Lamborghini Huracan? They are visually very different – the C-pillar blade

is now designed as a top and bottom element and can be offered in Carbon fibre in the V10 plus or in body colour panel in the regular car. The extra carbon fibre also serves to visually differentiate the two cars, even between the two brands. The rear active spoiler is more of a similarity. But the main differences are largely in price and some degree of difference in how the Quattro comes in, the drive modes and the response range of the engine. The gearbox oddly enough feels very familiar from our Huracan test.

As for the RS cars, while we enjoyed our time out in them, at no time was there enough activity to justify a drive review. You really don’t want to know about how well the cars negotiate convoy driving on Abu Dhabi’s speed limited secondary roads. Suffice to say that the standout points of the RS cars were the sound of the RS3, the kickdown acceleration of the RS6 Plus and the visual signature of the RS7.

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NEWWHEELS 2016 Maserati Levante

Maserati launches pathbreaking Levante SUV in Oman The much awaited SUV from Maserati was launched in Oman with the slogan of being the Maserati of SUVs. At the ceremony in the ballroom of the Al Bandar hotel at ShangriLa Resort, The new Levante SUV was unveiled to media by the local importers and Maerati regional officials. “This is the first ever SUV by Maserati, so it is a complete game-changer, particularly in this region. Maserati is renowned for exotic sports cars, so our mission was not just to build an SUV, but to build a Maserati. Exciting times are ahead and we are glad to be able to offer Maserati aficionados a completely new experience,� said Mohamed Al Zawawy, Assistant General Manager at Alfardan Motors.

The Levante is built on the platform of the Ghibli and like the Ghibli is offered with 10

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a choice of two 3.0-litre V6 engines. These turbocharged engines come in two outputs a 350hp and a 430hp S version.

Both of these engine specs are mated to the 8-speed automatic transmission and a new generation of Maserati’s four-wheel drive system that is tailored for SUV applications.

The Levante also debuts with adjustable ride height allowing the car to settle into into one of 7 different ride heights and the AWD system can be toggled through a selection of road or off-road conditions.

Additionally it is possible to tune drive modes that offer different types of steering and engine responses to the selection.

Initial pricing is kept at very competitive levels with the regular Levante debuting at RO 33,600 and the S coming in at RO 38,400.

This pricing and the engine and drive modes make the Levante a keen competitor in the E-segment especially among premium crossover based vehicles and will no doubt affect the market dynamic, considering the appeal of the Maserati marque.

The Levante is built at the refurbished Mirafiori factory in Italy and is claimed to have

best in class handling in sports mode and on snow and ice.

The car has an ideal 50:50 weight distribution front-rear and incorporates features 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control with automatic braking and has a Cd of 0.31.

The engines are manufactured

by Ferrari at their Maranello plant along with the V8 engines for the 488.

NEWWHEELS 2016 Audi A4

New Audi A4 launched in Oman with virtual cockpit and Matrix LED lights Wattayah Motors, the importers for Audi in Oman launched the new Audi A4 at a ceremony held in their showroom.

“With improved levels of standard technology, the Audi A4 is not only positioned to appeal to existing customers in the region, but will also attract a new range of buyers looking for a premium and stylish sedan,” commented David Ryan, general manager, Audi Oman.

“Today we have vehicles that cater to almost every customer segment. We are confident that with the emergence of the A4, there will be a consolidated shift towards this segment in the future.”

The A4 sedan has the best drag coefficient in its class at 0.23. The new models

also have impressively low CO2 emissions. The most powerful engine for the Middle East will be a fourcylinder unit with 252 hp, S-tronic with quattro wheel drive. Driver assistance systems and infotainment are of luxury quality. A new generation of four-cylinder TFSI engines with newly developed combustion methods sets benchmarks in terms of fuel consumption, emissions and performance for fourcylinder gasoline engines.

Three different TFSI models are now available: the 35 TFSI with 150 hp (1.4 litre engine), 40 TFSI with 190 hp (2.0 litre engine) and the top of the range engine 45 TFSI with 252 hp (also a 2.0 litre engine).

This generation of the A4 has also had a weight

reduction of around 120kgs, while gaining a host of new features including a new generation MMI, the virtual cockpit, matrix LED headlights, a new generation of smartphone interface as well as wireless charging.

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NEWWHEELS 2016 HAVAL SUVs

Haval launches in Oman with four SUV models from Crossover to Hardcore Company officials, Ram Mohan, Suleiman Al Rashdi and Mark Tomlinson at the launch of the Haval brand, posing in front of the H8 and H9 SUVs.

Rumaila Motors, the importer of Great Wall brand and part of the Zubair Automotive group has launched the upmarket Haval brand in Oman. Haval is a specialised, upmarket brand of Great Wall motors and after enjoying customer appreciation and a good deal of success in China, the brand is being sold in international markets with a select group of SUV models.

As importers for Great Wall Motors, Rumaila Motors has a network of sales and service outlets around the country and it has invested further in branded Haval outlets, beginning with an all-new showroom in Muscat.

“Haval has established its brand name in their home country as well as internationally. Their focus on research and development as well as manufacturing the best SUVs has earned them various awards and recognitions worldwide,” said

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Mr. Suleiman Al Rashdi, Brand Manager.“Haval’s extensive range of SUVs offers distinct models that are made to suit customers with varying desires. As the dealers of this prized brand, we complement these excellent SUVs with a dedicated and professional sales and services team from Rumaila Motors and are certain that Haval is destined to be the new leader in the SUV category in the Sultanate.”

Haval launched its first SUV in 2002 and over the years has gained various accolades including top-selling SUV brand for the past 13 years.

Additionally it has won engineering and innovation awards. The brand has sold more than 2 million units and has a brand new, state-of-theart technical centre in Baoding and new manufacturing plants at Tianjin and Xushui.

Combined, the new plants are capable of producing 1.8 million SUVs each year. With

their new focus on global sales, Haval caters to various overseas markets including Russia, Australia, North America and the Middle East.

The four models that debuted at the launch include the H2, H6, H8 and H9, which go up in size through the model order.

The compact H2 is powered by a 2-litre 4-cylinder 110kW engine and offers an interior that will appeal to young families and first time users. A Mitsubishi Motors engineered 2.4-litre 4-cylinder engine powers the larger H6. The H8 is the brand’s take on a luxury SUV, with the look and feel of an upmarket German SUV, powered by the turbocharged 2.0-litre direct injection 4-cylinder engine that has 160 kW output and a torque of 324Nm. Lastly, the H9 is a Prado sized body on frame SUV with the same engine as the H8 but a proper off-road packaged transmission and terrain select with six drive modes.

NEWWHEELS 2016 KIA Sportage

All-New Kia Sportage Launched in Oman The All-New Kia Sportage was formally launched in Oman at a special event at the KIA showroom. The event was graced by the presence of His Excellency Kim Daesik, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, high-ranking Kia officials & special invitees.

In his keynote address, Mr. Homer Kim, Dy. General Manager, Middle East & North Africa - Kia Motors underscored Kia’s rapid rise across the world, “Kia Motors has been one of the world’s fastest growing automakers since 2008, despite fierce global competition and various challenges facing the industry.

In fact, our global sales have more than doubled between 2008 and 2013. Last year, our sales grew to surpass the 3 million unit sales milestone for the first time in Kia’s history.

The brand value of Kia Motors has also grown significantly by 224% since 2010. Our brand value now stands at US$5.7 billion, and we have cemented our position in Interbrand’s 100 Best Global Brands. The most well-known factor behind our recent success has been the complete transformation of the design of our vehicles. Led

by German Chief Design Officer Peter Schreyer, we have been the auto industry’s biggest winner of influential design awards since 2009. It is not just about skin-deep, but it is

the product quality as well. The quality of our entire product line-up is rapidly improving. As per Initial Quality Study by JD Power (USA), Kia has become the best in just around 10 years. In fact, among all the volume brands, we are now in the 1st place in terms of initial quality.”

Pointing to the success of Kia in Oman, he applauded the customer care initiatives undertaken by Reliable International Automotive, “Our distributor Reliable International Automotive continues to make large investments to ensure a world-class experience for Kia customers in Oman.”

He further added, “The unmatched support of sales & service centres and easily accessible parts outlets ensure absolute customer satisfaction.”

Earlier in the evening, a representative of Reliable International Automotive (RIA) greeted the gathering, “I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to the launch of the All New Kia Sportage. An ‘Unmistakably Sporty’ SUV, the All New Kia Sportage is all about offering you more than you have expected ever before. You will see that with its breathtakingly distinct design, innovative technologies & advanced features, the new Sportage

enhances your comfort & your active lifestyle.”

Later in the evening, a RIA official highlighted the features of the All-New Sportage with the audience, “The new Sportage (5 seater AWD) is available in 2 engine sizes – 2.4 L GDI engine producing 182 horse power & 2.0L engine producing 155 horse power.

Both the engines come with 6 speed automatic transmission.

New Sportage will come in 3 trims with 2.4L GTL as top grade.”

Highlighting the striking appearance of the vehicle, he remarked, “The shape of the New Sportage comprises straight and strong lines with voluminous accents that create a unique and powerful

look. The bold hood character lines and sharp headlamps accentuate its strong facial image. LED daytime running lights are integrated into the headlamp assembly for a futuristic look.

“Cutting-edge technology is depicted via Sportage’s exemplary features such as Wireless charging, Smart Tail Gate, JBL Audio system, Blind Spot Detection, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Lane Change Alert. These are but a few of the many amazing features packed into the Sportage, making it truly a pride to own and a joy to drive. The early buyers of the Sportage will be offered a lifestyle package, ‘absolutely free’,” he said.

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NEWWHEELS 2016 Toyota Fortuner

Latest generation Toyota Fortuner launched in Oman The all-new Toyota Fortuner was launched in Oman at an event held in the Toyota showroom in Muscat.

Mr. Takayuki Yoshitsugu, Chief Representative, Middle East & North Africa Representative Office, Mr. Osamu Tomioka, Assistant Chief Engineer and other officials from Toyota Motor Corporation graced the special event. Also present on the occasion were Salim and Saud Mohamed Bahwan.

In the opening presentation, Mr. Takayuki Yoshitsugu remarked, “The All-New Fortuner is a completely redesigned SUV that enhances driving confidence on every level while setting a new standard for SUVs all around the world. It debuts a compelling design with a strong identity, expressing refinement and innovation as well as being functional

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and tough. It also epitomises Toyota’s focus on developing vehicles with impressive quality, durability, reliability and off-road ability. The result of this is a comprehensive revamp, creating a unique SUV that’s every bit as comfortable on the urban roads as it is on the region’s toughest off-road trails.”

Sharing the development philosophy of the vehicle, Mr. Osamu Tomioka, said “To build a true SUV with Style & Confidence. To enhance the customer’s confidence, we developed a new stronger frame with bigger cross section, which enables the vehicle to withstand rougher road conditions. We improved the 4-link suspension system for a more comfortable drive. The new engine with high torque at lower revolution provides higher

fuel efficiency. While the new 6-speed transmission takes full potential of this new engine by providing smooth acceleration at both low and high speeds.

It’s a true SUV with 4×4 goanywhere ability.”

Earlier in the evening, the Saud Bahwan Automotive (SBA) representative welcomed the guests and thanked them for the popularity of the brand in Oman, “Toyota has

enjoyed a strong patronage amongst our customers over generations. Models like Land Cruiser, Corolla and Hilux enjoy iconic status. During the last 4 decades, SBA has invested extensively in Infrastructure, Manpower and Customer satisfaction initiatives thereby ensuring that Toyota continues to be the leading automobile brand in Oman.”

NEWWHEELS 2016 Lincoln MKX

Lincoln Launches Entirely New MKX in Oman to boost luxury lineup

The 2016 Lincoln MKX was launched in Oman at an exclusive function. The Guest of Honour at the function was Mr. Alex Schaeffer, Director, Lincoln Middle East. He was accompanied by Ms. Marianne Papas, National Sales Manager, Ford Middle East. Gracing the occasion were Salim and Saud Mohamed Bahwan. Dignitaries from the public and private sector, attended the event.

In his keynote address, Mr. Alex Schaeffer, spoke about Lincoln’s unparalleled focus on automotive luxury and Lincoln’s impressive journey into the future. He said, “Over the last few years Lincoln has taken several significant steps. In 2013 we introduced our first all-new product the Lincoln MKZ a mid-sized luxury sedan. In 2014 we introduced Lincoln to China, the largest luxury market in the world. In 2015 we unveiled our exclusive audio partnership with Harman International – Revel Audio.

And in 2016 we present our latest entirely new vehicle the Lincoln MKX a luxury medium utility vehicle. The promise to 16

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deliver 4 all-new products in 4 years will be fulfilled later this year when we start production of the all-new Continental. In terms of growth, Lincoln has witnessed Best Annual Sales Results in more than 15 years in North America. Growth Continues in China – More than 35 stores opened in just 2 years. We are now opening a new flagship store in China every 10 days. We will deliver 2 all-new products to the showroom by 2020.”

Speaking about Lincoln’s plans for the Middle East he said, “The Middle East Market remains the 3rd most important market for Lincoln’s long term global growth strategy. Our strategy remains focused on three key factors: First, building products that are truly compelling and excite consumers; Second, working with our partners in creating a client experience that is unmatched in today’s market; Third to communicate our products and automotive experience on a platform distinct from any other offering in the marketplace.

The MKX is the 3rd All-New Lincoln product at the Lincoln showroom here in Oman. It is an able contender in the largest segment in the Middle East Luxury Industry.”

Sharing his views on the Entirely New 2016 MKX, he said, “The MKX is Lincoln’s most favourable nameplate.

MKX continues to grow in popularity with 5 consecutive years of Year-On-Year growth.

The Entirely New Lincoln MKX has over 36 new features and technologies compared to its predecessor. Several of these are industry or segment exclusive. The Entirely New MKX introduces our 10-year exclusive partnership with Revel by Harman into our Portfolio. Revel Audio was founded in 1996 with one vision, making the world’s finest loudspeaker. We have taken that vision with Revel and engineered it into our vehicles to provide a second to none audio experience.”

Highlighting Lincoln’s passion to reward consumers with outstanding features that enhance the feeling of luxury,

Schaeffer said, “At Lincoln the vision for every product feature we create starts with the human experience first.

Park In/Out – We wanted our customers to feel confident in parking, whether in or out; parallel or perpendicular we wanted customers to have confidence in their vehicle – so we brought this to life on our MKX. Another exclusive feature is the 22-Way seat that can adapt to more body types and habits than any other seat in the segment, and provide a massage along the way. We also recognised that on the drive customers have very distinct expectations. That’s why we have created Lincoln Drive Control. This feature takes three key technologies our CCD Suspension, Active Noise Control and Electronic Power Steering and creates a mood for you. Whether you want to feel and hear a sports drive or whether you have had a difficult day and want nothing but quiet comfort, Lincoln Drive Control can deliver on your terms.”

NEWWHEELS 2016 Ferrari 488 Spider

Ferrari 488 Spider launched in Oman Al Fardan Motors, importers for Ferrari in Oman, launched the Ferrari 488 Spider at a function at the Al Bustan Hotel in Muscat.

The Ferrari 488 Spider is the latest in Maranello’s ongoing history of opentop V8 sports cars and is claimed to be Ferrari’s most powerful ever mid-rearengined V8 car to feature the patented retractable hard top, along with the technological standout features and innovative design.

The Ferrari 488 Spider is the first RHT

(Retractable Hard Top) introduced from Maranello on a car of this particular architecture. This configuration is used to lower weight (-25 kg) and offer better cockpit comfort compared to the classic fabric soft-top. Just like all previous spider versions of Ferrari’s models, this is a car that is aimed squarely at clients seeking open-air motoring pleasure in a high-performance sports car with an unmistakable Ferrari engine sound.

The engine is the 3902cc turbocharged

engine that debuted in the 488GTB last year and its 670 PS and 760Nm of torque allow the car to hit 100 km/h in 3 seconds and the standing 200 km/h in 8.7 seconds.

Speaking at the event Giulio Zauner, Ferrari’s regional general manager pointed out the importance of the 488 model line in the success of Ferrari in the region and his expectations of the success of the Spider.

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NEWWHEELS 2016 Rolls-Royce Dawn

Rolls-Royce Dawn launched in the precinct of Royal Opera House The Rolls-Royce Dawn was launched to a gathering of select invitees and media in the forecourt of the Royal Opera House in Muscat.

Commenting on the launch of the open-top, super-luxury car in Oman, Mr Divyendu Kumar Managing Director of Al Jenaibi Automobiles said: “It is with the greatest pleasure that we welcome the Rolls-Royce Dawn to The Sultanate of Oman. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is a brand that is synonymous with luxury and the Rolls18

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Royce Dawn provides the most social, uncompromised open-top motoring experience in the world. The beautiful new motor car has been very well received by our discerning clientele so far – we are confident that it will continue to drive the success of Al Jenaibi International Automobiles forward into 2016 and beyond.”

While it shares a platform with the Wraith and Ghost, the new Dawn is being projected as a completely new car. To this

end, most of its exterior body panels are different and the car’s styling has undergone significant changes from its siblings. The car is being projected as an owner-driven Rolls-Royce and offers a host of luxuries to the discerning buyer.

The company is keen to distance the car from being a drop-top Wraith. The closed roof provides for a level of acoustic isolation similar to the Wraith, while the entire process of lowering the roof

is done in complete silence in a period of 20 seconds and at speeds up to 50 km/h.

The car is powered by the signature V12 Rolls-Royce engine and is delivered in a choice of colours and finishes.

Needless to say, the wood used on the surrounds and in between the rear seats is weather proof and is meant to communicate the opulence of an exclusive yacht.

The full drive report for the car appears in this issue of Automan.

Mitsubishi opens Quick Service Centre in Azaiba General Automotive Company (GAC), the official distributors of Mitsubishi vehicles in Oman, formally opened a new Express Service Centre in Azaiba recently. The new service centre is meant to benefit Mitsubishi owners in the capital area, offering them a more convenient and time-saving alternative for booking their vehicles in for a minor lube service.

Commenting on the launch of the new Express Service Centre, Yasser Zerik, the National Service Manager said, “As the number of Mitsubishi Vehicles in the capital area grow we wanted to offer a time-saving alternative for those customers that just want to bring their vehicle in for a quick lube service. This way, our customers can be assured the highest standards of service with the minimum possible wait time for a service appointment.”

The new Express Service Centre, located adjacent to the existing primary Mitsubishi Service Centre in Azaiba, is a 4-bay facility, well equipped and operated by highly trained technicians and specialises in quick one-hour lube services. The service centre even boasts a special customer

lounge with Free Wi-Fi services and soon to be installed hot and cold vending machines. The waiting customers are also provided a clear view of their vehicles as the technicians carry out the service check points.. The new Express Service Centre will operate from 8:00am to 5:30pm from Saturday to Thursdays and will offer all quick service facilities by appointment.

“With this new facility, equipped with complementing tools and facilities, we will be able to provide better and faster services to our customers in the capital and help further improve their overall ownership experience. The launch of this Express Service Centre will no doubt see our after-sales service take a qualitative leap in the area and complement the brand’s leading position,” added Yasser.

Nissan to partner Red Bull Drift series

Nissan has announced that it is to partner with Red Bull for the 2016 series of the Red Bull Car Park Drift championship.

The annual event has grown in popularity since its inception in 2008, with 75,000 spectators expected in 2016, compared 20

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to 60,000 last year. Nissan is getting in on the action by both becoming a main sponsor and supplying a 370Z to be the main car driven by the record breaking Lebanese drifter, Abdo Feghali.

Kuwait and Morocco face-off in H-D Custom build

Two Harley-Davidson dealerships in Kuwait and Morocco are competing to become the top custom bike builder across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), in a contest of customisation using the all-new Sportster Iron 883. The move marks the Middle East and Africa’s (MENA) first foray into the international competition.

The All-New Jaguar F-PACE is a performance SUV designed and engineered to offer the agility, responsiveness and refinement that all Jaguars are renowned for, together with unrivalled dynamics and everyday usability.

Following pent up demand, orders for the All-New Jaguar F-PACE are now being accepted by exclusive Jaguar retailers across the Middle East

and North Africa region.

Bruce Robertson, Managing Director of Jaguar Land Rover MENA, said: “Immediately recognisable as a Jaguar, the All-New F-PACE is the ultimate practical sports car for all car aficionados who love driving.

Garnering a huge amount of attention since its launch, the All-New F-PACE has been in high demand all around the world and we are extremely excited to finally give our loyal Jaguar customers in the region the chance to place their orders and be one of the first to get their hands on this outstanding vehicle.”

David Coulthard announced Land Rover Launches Mobile as the driver for Red Bull F1 App for Region’s Off-Roaders Showrun in Oman Land Rover has developed and released a mobile app called ‘Ardhi’ or Myland that seeks to get the region’s off-roaders into a mobile phone based network.

It is available as both an iOS and Android app and allows users to chart, save and share their off-roading sessions.

According to Land Rover, they developed the Ardhi Mobile App off the back of growing research which shows that the region not only has some of the most active and advanced off-roaders in the world, but also some of the heaviest users

of smart phones and devices who see them as an essential tool to support their passions and hobbies. According to recent research , smartphone penetration in the region is now at an all-time high, with Qatar at 209%, followed closely

by Kuwait at 192%, Bahrain at 188%, the UAE at 187%, and KSA at 181%. Furthermore, with the region’s continued population growth showing no signs of slowing down, smartphone penetration is also projected to increase by a significant almost 40% in the few coming years.

David Coulthard has been announced as the driver of the Red Bull F1 Showrun, which is set to take place on the streets of Oman on Friday April 8, 2016 at Muttrah Corniche.

The Scottish driver, who dominated Britain’s junior Formula Ford categories in 1989 and became the first ever recipient of the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award for young drivers, is all set to

perform a full repertoire of donuts, burnouts and speed stretches in front of Omani fans. The excitement around the Red Bull F1 Showrun will kick of a few days before David takes to the wheel as the team’s car will be displayed and fired up around various locations in Oman, including the Omantel headquarters on April 7, 2016.

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Oman & region

Official Jaguar retailers open order books for the All-New Jaguar F-PACE across the Middle East and North Africa region

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The All-New JAguAr F-PACe Now AvAilAble To order

Special Z71 Performance Package on the Chevrolet Tahoe and Chevrolet Silverado stand out during thrilling day long event held on the tough dunes around the Arabian Oryx camp in Al Wasil

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Anil Dua added with a note of satisfaction, “With the choice of terrain, vehicles and drivers we have a winning combination that serves to showcase the extreme capabilities of these two performance vehicles. The feedback from our guests was really overwhelming and we are sure that we will host more events like this in the future. I congratulate the team of Chevrolet Oman for the team effort.”

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operating conditions. The engine is mated to a Hydra-Matic 6L80 six-speed automatic transmission, featuring TapShift control, Tow/Haul mode and Auto Grade Braking.

The Z71 package adds a front skid plate, off-road tyres mounted on 18-inch wheels, a unique grille, running boards and “Z71” identification inside and out.

The new Z71 package complements a chassis and suspension system engineered to deliver a quieter, more-controlled ride.

It all starts on a stronger, fully boxed, perimeter frame, which supports payload and trailering capability, that body-frameintegral crossovers and SUVs can’t match.

Z71 models further feature an updated coil-over-shock independent front suspension design. At the rear is a fivelink coil-spring suspension design, which enables better ride and handling through more precise tuning. Further chassis and suspension features include a wider rear track, shear-style body mounts, new electric variable assist power steering, new brake rotors and an available automatic locking rear differential for greater traction.

The Chevrolet Silverado takes all the positive features of the Chevrolet Tahoe and adds in the utility of a huge payload bay and the ruggedness associated with a truck in the segment. It similarly features the EcoTec3 5.3-litre V8 engine with cylinder deactivation mated to the HydraMatic 6L80 6-speed transmission.

The Chevrolet Silverado also features a smart pickup platform that’s strong and durable and has a two-tier loading design. It is also available with the EZ Liftand-Lower tailgate that makes it easier to access the load bay. Available Max Trailering Package includes a 9.76-inch rear axle, heavy-duty rear springs, revised shock tuning, enhanced cooling and an integrated trailer brake controller.

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hevrolet Oman recently hosted an exciting day-long event based at the Arabian Oryx camp in Al Wasil, where over a hundred Chevrolet owners and enthusiasts participated in the Chevy Way: Desert Drive experience.

The event served to showcase the unique capabilities of the Chevrolet Tahoe and Chevrolet Silverado equipped with the Z71 Performance Package.

The patches of inclement weather over the weekend could not dampen the spirit of the participants who were rewarded with sunshine and a cool wind through the day. Speaking at the event, the Managing Director of Oman Trading Enterprises Anil Dua said, “We have been fortunate to get the perfect day to showcase the capabilities of these two performance vehicles. The dunes around the camp are challenging even in the best of weather and today we can really push the vehicles to the limit. I hope that our valued guests enjoy the sands.”

Invited journalists were ferried to the sands by other transportation from the Chevrolet showroom in Muscat. After an orientation, the journalists were given the opportunity to sit with local Bedouin drivers who were familiar with the terrain as well as the vehicles kitted out with the Z71 package of higher ground clearance, harder coils and tougher frame as well as suitable tyres that were under-inflated.

Chevrolet claims that the Z71 Performance Package serves to extend the already phenomenal off-roading capabilities of both the Chevrolet Tahoe and the Chevrolet Silverado.

The powertrain on the Chevrolet Tahoe is the EcoTec3 5.3-litre V8 with modern technologies including direct injection, cylinder deactivation and continuously variable valve timing for optimum power, torque and efficiency across various

New Kia Sportage and Optima win coveted Red Dot design awards

Kia Motors has once again reinforced its reputation for design standards, picking up two prizes at the 2016 ‘Red Dot Awards’ for Product Design, one of the most prestigious international product design competitions.

The new Kia Sportage compact SUV and Optima sedan – the carmaker’s two latest models – both received coveted ‘Red Dots’. The independent judging panel even honoured the Kia Optima with a ‘Best of the Best’ award, the

competition’s highest distinction, for which only the most ground-breaking designs in a category are eligible. Peter Schreyer, President and Chief Designer of Kia Motors Corporation and Hyundai Motor Group, commented: “Our international design team has every cause to be exceptionally proud of these most recent awards. The first Red Dot Awards for the Kia Sportage and the Kia Optima were already great successes. “

JAGUAR TO BUILD NINE ICONIC ‘MISSING’ XKSS In a unique project Jaguar Land Rover Classic has set out to make what they consider the ‘missing’ nine XKSS cars that didn’t make a shipment to the United States in 1957 because of a factory fire.

Tim Hannig, Director Jaguar Land Rover Classic, said: “The XKSS occupies a unique place in Jaguar’s history and is a car coveted by collectors the world over for its exclusivity and unmistakable design.

“Jaguar Classic’s highly skilled team of engineers and technicians will draw on decades of knowledge to ensure each of the nine cars is completely authentic and crafted to the highest quality.

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Every car will be constructed to the same specifications as those first 16 made in 1957 – every aspect fully certified by Jaguar. The price will be in excess of £1 million.

The story of the XKSS began following Jaguar’s three successive Le Mans victories in 1955, 1956 and 1957 with the all-conquering D-type.

After the hat-trick of wins, Sir Williams Lyons took the decision on 14 January 1957 to convert the remaining 25 D-types into road-going versions with several external modifications.

BENTLEY MARKS FIRST BENTAYGA DELIVERIES Bentley Motors handed over the first Bentayga to customers, at an exclusive event at the company’s global headquarters in Crewe.

The event marks a major milestone in Bentley’s history, as customer cars for the brand’s fourth model line commence delivery around the world.

Taking more than 130 hours to produce each car, guests at the event in Crewe were given privileged access to Bentley’s factory to see the skill and passion involved in Bentayga’s creation, with insight from key people involved in the car’s design, engineering and craftsmanship.

Kevin Rose, Member of the Board for Sales, Marketing and Aftersales commented, “This is an historic day for Bentley and it is a great testament to all the work which has gone in to producing Bentayga, the fastest and most luxurious SUV in the world.”

Start of Production: New twin turbo 3.0-litre V6 for Infiniti

Production of the all-new compact and lightweight 3.0-liter V6 twin-turbo engine has started at Nissan Motor Co.’s stateof-the-art engine manufacturing facility, the Iwaki Plant in Japan. This engine is exclusively offered on Infiniti vehicles.

The new V6 engine is the lightest, most powerful, cleanest and most fuel-efficient V6 engine that Infiniti has ever offered.

The 3.0-litre V6 twin-turbo is available in two performance levels – 300 or 400 HP.

R8 paved our way toward becoming a premium brand and raised the aura of Audi to a new level. The new R8 will continue this success story and further accelerate the growth strategy of Audi Sport,” said Dietmar Voggenreiter, Board Member for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG.

Mazda MX-5 wins two major titles at World Car awards in NY The Mazda MX-5 has come away with the award for the World Car of the Year as well as the World Car Design of the Year at the awards ceremony held at the New York show.

“What a wonderful honor, to have the Mazda MX-5 named World Car Design of the Year,” said Masahiro Moro, president and CEO, Mazda North American Operations, and Managing Executive Officer, Mazda Motor Corporation.

“As our iconic MX-5 roadster approaches one-million units of production, this award is proof that it is as young, vibrant, fun and relevant as ever. Our design team has pushed the boundaries of what people thought possible with our KODO – Soul of Motion language.

Previous World Car of the Year winners were the MercedesBenz C-Class (2015), the Audi A3 (2014), the VW Golf (2013).

BMW 7-series chosen as World Luxury Car of the Year The BMW 7-series was selected as the World Luxury Car of the Year at the awards.

A spokesman said, “We are delighted and honoured that the BMW 7 Series has been recognised as the World Luxury Car of the Year. Since it launched last autumn, the response from both the media and our customers has been extremely positive, with people especially

appreciative of the way the 7 Series combines superb modern luxury with the outstanding driving dynamics BMW is famous for.With its many technical innovations, including gesture control and laser lights, there can be no doubt that the new BMW 7 Series is an outstanding flagship for the brand, setting new standards in its class.”

Toyota Mirai wins “World Green Car of the Year” Toyota Mirai was declared the 2016 World Green Car at the New York International Auto Show.

“Just as Prius changed the world nearly 20 years ago, the hydrogen-powered Mirai is ready to make history,” said Bill Fay, group vice president and general manager, Toyota Division. “With a range of over

300 miles per tank, a refueling time of under five minutes, and emissions that consist only of water vapor, Mirai is leading the world forward toward a more sustainable future.”

The Toyota Prius (2010) has previously earned “Top Three in the World” for both Green Car and the overall categories.

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The Audi R8 Coupé has been named “2016 World Performance Car” in the World Car Awards.

“With its distinctive design, its driving dynamics and its closeness to racing, the R8 is one of the strongest calling cards for the four rings.

The first generation of the

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Audi R8 is the “2016 World Performance Car”

Toyota Marks 50 years of Geely focuses on the Corolla alternative energy vehicles

With more than 43 million vehicles sold over the last 50 years, the Toyota Corolla has been a part of more people’s lives than any car ever manufactured.

To celebrate the Corolla’s status as the world’s all-time best-selling car and the important role it has played for millions of drivers, Toyota today launched the Corolla 50th Anniversary campaign – a year-long effort showcasing how the Corolla has powered more memories, milestones and moments than any car in the world.

Always focused on providing quality and style in one economical package, the first

Corolla went on sale in Japan in November 1966, and was exported to the U.S. in 1968. The car proved to be an instant success, helping transform Toyota’s global reach and more than doubling its total annual production from 480,000 to 1.1 million vehicles from 1965 to 1968. Just in time for the Corolla’s 50th anniversary celebration, the United States specific 2017 Toyota Corolla receives a refreshed look and new features, including available Toyota Safety Sense technology and a standard back-up camera on all models.

Lexus and Toyota to make Automated Braking Standard on Nearly Every Model and Trim Level by End 2017 in the US Advanced automatic safety technology that was once available on only the most expensive new vehicles is about to be included as standard equipment on almost every Lexus and Toyota model and trim level in the United States. Announced at the New York Auto Show, Toyota will begin to include the Lexus Safety System+ and Toyota Safety Sense packages, anchored by automatic emergency braking (AEB), on almost every new vehicle in the United States of America by the end of 2017.

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for offering these advanced, active safety packages as standard equipment will be announced at a later date. Models that will not offer the systems standard by the end of 2017 include Lexus GX, Toyota Mirai, 4Runner, and 86 (jointly developed with Subaru), and Scion iA (developed

by Mazda). Mirai and Scion iA currently provide pre-collision including AEB as standard equipment.

Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota Motor North America says, “High-level driver assist technologies can do more than help protect people in the event of a crash; they can help prevent some crashes from ever happening in the first place. “

Chinese automaker, Geely has a breakthrough plan in the field of hybrid vehicles. By 2020, Geely plans to shift 90 per cent of its sales to hybrid and electric vehicles, as part of its initiative to go green. These alternative energy vehicles will embrace Geely Emgrand Cross Plug-in Hybrid Electric Concept Vehicle and Emgrand7 Hybrid Vehicle – that were displayed by Geely at 13th Beijing International Automobile Exhibition. In fact, Geely’s future development will set hybrid electric vehicle models as the main route.

According to a news report, Geely had recently discarded its multi-brand strategy and combined its three sub-brands Gleagle, Englon and Emgrand into one unified Geely brand with a new refreshing logo as part of its rebranding strategy. The new Logo combines the previous Emgrand Logo with blue from the previous Geely Logo, emphasizing continuity with change.

Jaguar Land Rover to road test future technology on the UK’s first connected corridor Jaguar and Land Rover is investing in a 41 mile ‘living laboratory’ project on UK roads to develop new Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) technologies..

The £5.5m ‘UK-CITE’ (UK Connected Intelligent Transport Environment) project will create the first test route capable of testing both vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicleto-infrastructure systems on public roads in the UK. New roadside communications equipment will be installed along the route during the three year project to enable the testing of a fleet of up to 100 connected and highly automated cars, including five Jaguar Land Rover research vehicles.

This fleet will test a range of different communication technologies1 that could share information at very high speeds between cars, and between cars and roadside infrastructure, including traffic lights and overhead gantries.

brandwatch With one eye set firmly on leadership position in the premium automotive market of the future, the BMW group has spelled out a new strategy for transforming individual mobility.

“Throughout its 100-year history, the BMW Group has always reinvented itself. As a pioneer of new technologies, the company has shaped change, within both the industry and the world of mobility,” commented Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, at the Annual Accounts Press Conference in Munich on

Wednesday. “We are setting the standard with our Strategy NUMBER ONE > NEXT, both now and in the future. We will lead the BMW Group into a new era, one in which we will transform and shape both individual mobility and the entire sector in a permanent way.” The focus of the group’s technological thrust is going to be on connected driving and electric propulsion systems.

The BMW Group’s strategy will become driving reality, ushering in the next decade in the form of a revolutionary new BMW i model that will raise premium individual

mobility to previously unknown levels. Under the banner of BMW iNEXT, the BMW Group brings new forms of automated driving and digital connectivity together with a new generation of electric mobility, lightweight construction and trailblazing interior design that will set new standards for the customer’s mobility experience.

“BMW iNEXT heralds the next era of mobility,” stated Krüger.

“This symbol of our technology leadership will demonstrate how we will bring the future of mobility into series

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BMW Group sets out its Strategy Number One > Next

production.” It also underlines BMW i’s role as a driver of innovation and technological trailblazer for the company.

The brand develops trendsetting technologies and services, subsequently transferring them to the BMW model range.

The current plug-in hybrids are in their third generation and are technological market leaders. With the fourth generation, the electric range will be extended. Development of the fifth generation, which will bring further progress in all areas is already underway.

vw’s Transparent factory to become electromobility showcase The Transparent Factory (“Gläserne Manufaktur”) is to be realigned: Volkswagen’s Dresden location will open a new Volkswagen brand showcase for electromobility and digitalization on April 8. Visitors will be able to experience the future of mobility at close quarters in a playful, interactive and informative way. From March 29, the Transparent Factory will be closed for 10 days for modifications.

Production of the Phaeton luxury model ended after 14

years. Employees posed for a photo with the last vehicle manufactured – a black Phaeton.

“Our D-class employees in Zwickau and Dresden have demonstrated outstanding manufacturing expertise with the Phaeton over the past 14 years. This know-how is also well known and highly valued at other facilities of the Volkswagen Brand and the Group,” said Prof. Dr. Siegfried Fiebig, Speaker of the Management Board of Volkswagen Sachsen GmbH.

Work is already in progress on the realignment. The jobs of the permanent workforce are secure. About 100 employees will continue to

work in Dresden. The other 400 employees will mainly be assigned to Zwickau or to other Group locations.

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2016 Rolls-Royce Dawn

The new open top Rolls-Royce seeks to take the brand on a new path – one where the design and engineering of the car leads lifestyle choices rather than the other way around. We drive the car in Cape Town at the global launch Author: Raj Warrior | Photography: Supplied

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hen you see a new car in the showroom, you don’t really think out the process that got the model there. The number of strategy and powerpoint sessions that go into envisioning the model, developing and engineering it and skipping ahead over many important roles, finally rolling it out through concepts, previews, motorshows and finally the launches, both global and in individual markets. It’s a highly refined strategy and it’s designed to make the maximum impact on the target consumer segment.

Even Rolls-Royce is not immune from this strategy path. Gone are the days when they just made the best cars and let the consumer make up his or her mind.

Now the mind games begin well before the hardware surfaces and the Dawn’s launch shows how the process has been refined. Actually, Rolls-Royce is on a very strong wicket here. They have had the years as a BMW group owned entity to take the Phantom platform through two generations and spawn a smaller platform the already powers the Ghost and Wraith.

It’s this platform that underpins the Dawn. In the meantime, their target consumer market size has grown along with the growth in sales. The well-heeled buyer number in markets as diverse and China, the US and here in the region has ballooned. So it really works well for the brand, even one as hallowed as RollsRoyce, to get its launch right.

Last year, we were fortunate to be included in the highly exclusive close doors viewing of the Dawn in Monaco.

Despite the growth of new flocking points

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of the super rich, Monaco still remains at the very top of the pile with more multi-millionaires per square kilometre than anywhere else in the world. The viewing was followed by an opportunity to run with a regional exclusive story on the car that was then launched before the Frankfurt motor show. Now, our involvement with the Dawn has been taken to the next level – we were part of a select group of journalists invited to drive the Rolls-Royce Dawn at a global drive event, one that in the words of Richard Carter, Communications chief of the brand, “is designed to allow you to feel like one of the owners of these cars, with an opportunity to live the lifestyle that they live.”

We flew out to Cape Town and were chauffeured out to Stellenbosch and the vineyard lodges of the Delaire Graff Estate. These are located in the rolling hills around Cape Town and the driving roads around the region roll through nature reserves and high passes with some very interesting scenery on display.

The estate is a working vinery that was taken over by billionaire jeweller Laurence Graff and turned into an exclusive estate adorned with works of art from his private collection. And standing outside the doors of the establishment was a 1952 Silver Dawn open top, one of 28 open tops made during the production run.

This new generation Dawn is not likely to be rare at all. In fact it is being projected as a whole new model line just because of the possibilities that this brings up. And while the brand that sells the cars with the spirit of ecstasy on the hood will never

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The Silver Dawn was from a post-war generation of Rolls-Royce cars that introduced factory built bodies – although this 1952 droptop is only one of 28 cars and is coach built due to its exclusivity.

be a volume seller, the aim is to sell more in the rarefied upper reaches of the car market.

So we have a new car that could have been just a droptop version of its siblings but chooses not to be – at the outset the company claims that around 80% of the exterior panels are different. The major changes in how the car looks have been brought about by a process of tweaking the lines just so that it manages to look sporty with flowing lines marking a departure from the more abrupt lines of the Ghost and Wraith.

However the standout technology in the car will still be the six-layered folding away roof that manages to tuck away without a sound except for the final locking. It can be operated at up to 50 km/h and even manages to throw in a larger than expected rear pane. In these days of folding hard tops, the reason for the soft top is very obvious. The cabin accommodates full size seats for four occupants and in the nature of a RollsRoyce, it allows entry through its wide

opening coach doors to the rear. You can climb straight in without moving the front seats ahead with the roof down and you can do the same without knocking your head with the roof up. Covering this sort of volume with anything but a soft top would have added weight and complexity.

The fabric roof, on the other hand, is very suitable, with six layers of aggregates and whisper smooth mechanicals. Noise and wind insulation is excellent and if you choose to drive with the top down, all you really need to do is keep the window panes up and you create a wellness zone that is aerodynamically isolated from the slipstream and where even the air-conditioning remains noticeable and insulated due to the air curtain effect above your heads.

Of course, no story on a Rolls-Royce would be complete without touching on the detailing of the cabin. The interiors are made to look like a mixture of the Art Deco world of the 50’s and 60’s with a very modern twist. Instrumentation is a mix of analogue dials and a large APR 2016

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Whether parked in front of an upmarket vineyard or cruising down to the exclusive seafront getaway, the Dawn can turn heads

digital monitor that adjusts its brightness depending on the ambient light.

Wood panelling used in the interiors wraps around the cabin and flows over to the rear deck and sides in the form reminiscent of a certain class of speedboats. The feel of the Canadel wood is also kept in character, with a certain roughness associated with deck planking.

The engine is the typical 6.6-litre V12 power unit with an output of 563bhp and torque of 760Nm. This is mated with a ZF 8-speed gearbox that in turn is linked with the satellite navigation system to preemptively engage depending on where the car is and how fast it is going.

And the car can really go fast if need be.

We have a suspicion that the engine and gearbox controller is programmed to read the G force of acceleration and feed in so that a linearity is produced – stomp down on the pedal and the car takes off but never at a level where you would say the sequence was rough or aggressive.

Whatever the means, the result is a very quick car, which is complemented by the silken suspension and large wheels, with 21” alloys being an available option.

The mirrors are large and very present, especially in T-junction turns, where it sometimes sits right in your eyeline, but we would rather take that than smaller mirrors.

And the Bespoke audio system is absolutely spot on – with a fidelity range and clarity that tops the hardware on most

other cars. Kitted out with 16-speakers including two bass units in the boot, the system uses a feedback microphone that helps it generate compensation for background sounds and provides clear music with a noise-cancellation effect.

The main monitor is a 10.2” high-resolution panel that can hide behind a wooden cover or take input from the controller – input that includes handwritten instructions, using the touchpad like controller surface. Alternately one call also use voice commands for most functions, while also offering smartphone pairing and mirroring.

But all of this is academic until you live the RR life, driving out over a few hundred kilometres of some great terrain, including a sea-face promenade and road that gave us a view of first the South Atlantic and then the Indian Ocean as we followed the contours of Cape Town’s coastline.

Everywhere we stopped became a photo opportunity not just for us, but for the locals as well who loved the shape and appeal of the new Dawn. There’s really no other way to describe the feeling than to wish that the bank account was larger by at least a thousand fold and that we could afford to do more than spend a day driving around feeling rich. For that’s what the Dawn brings with it – the wish that you could own this beauty and drive it around in the places where your kind should normally congregate – including the tonier areas of Cape Town.

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2016 lincoln MKX

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The all-new Lincoln MKX takes its bourgeois origins with the Edge’s uderpinnings and produces a stellar crossover that combines utility and luxury elements Author: Raj Warrior | Photography: Elvis John Ferrao

L

incoln has had a good year. In many ways, it’s the sort of year you would refer to as a vintage year. Why, you may ask? Well, in our opinion, the newest grand plan to resurrect the luxury lineage of the Ford Motor Company and take it ahead is spawning results.

We were given an early inkling of where the brand was going with its new interior design treatment that hit the floors of an infotech show in the region a couple of years ago. The biggest takeaway from that encounter was the eagerness to create a new standard for the interior, with its move of putting the electronically activated gearshift console on the dashboard and the first moves to a better interface on the console.

In the meantime, the brand has also brought about changes in the overall design of the cars. The models have all become more edgy and highly

individualised and there’s been the addition of the entry size crossover in the MKC that takes the best of exterior design, the new interior idiom and Ecoboost drivetrain improvements.

Now, the next generation of the midsize compact SUV has dawned and the new MKX has brought a lot to the table.

The MKX is still built using the CD3 platform of the Ford Edge and the last generation (that’s the post 2010 model) looked very much like an Edge with a new front end tagged on to the front. That has changed dramatically. Finally the entire outer panelling has been re-skinned so that the MKX actually looks nothing like the Edge.

The main changes are around the front fascia – the headlights are designed from the outset to incorporate the LED light piping that mirrors the piping at the outer points of the lower airdam.

And the assemblies incorporate either the Bi-Xenon projector lamps or the LED headlights that the higher grades offer.

The car we got for our test drive was the top of the line variant that came specced out with the 2.7-litre Ecoboost engine and some other interesting kit. Part of that kit is the 360-degree camera setup that has lenses in the pop-out logo on the fascia, under the mirrors and in the tailgate release. Another feature is the inclusion of a very large panoramic sunroof. Both of these do their bit to define the exterior impression with the roof rails offsetting the glass roof.

The tail of the car is as interesting as the front – the design now offers a small lip on top of a horizontal arrangement of the taillights across the width of the tailgate and onto the D-pillar area, where they open out like wings. The rear pane is quite large for the wedge like style lines.

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The large door panels hog the profile of the car and the rear hatch seems to slope away much more aggressively than before although that effect is largely an effect of the styling around the C and D-pillars. The door panels look busier because of the ridge at the waistline of the car.

The interiors are very much modern day Lincoln. The steering wheel is larger than you would expect but it gets a four spoke arrangement that incorporates a large central boss with a whole slew of control buttons both on the two horizontal spokes as well as hanging on to the places in between the spokes. Most of these buttons are familiar from the past iterations of the vehicle. But now the level

of interaction with the system is higher so you tend to use the selector buttons a lot.

The interiors are clad with a leather feel plastic and soft-feel surfaces that match with the wood and brushed aluminium elements of the panel inserts and centre console. The cabin has a distinct cockpit feel with the centre console taking pride of place.

Buttons that run down the sides of the console include the gearshift buttons on the driver’s side and buttons for automated parking, the 360-degree camera and the parking sensors along with the emergency switch.

Among all the other buttons on the console, you will also find the release for

the glove compartment. By making it electronic, the valet functions are better integrated into the key fob.

The MKX is available with either the 3.7-litre Ti-VCT V6 engine for the lower two models or the 2.7-litre V6 Ecoboost engine. The difference in power output is quite significant – with 303hp for the naturally aspirated engine and 335hp for the boosted one. What’s even better is that the torque on the boosted unit rises to 380 lb-ft (515 Nm).

The transmission is a six-speed Selectshift automatic transmission and the car is provided with paddle-shift controls.

The car’s all-wheel drive arrangement is still very much in tune with the crossover

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While the Lincoln MKX shows a whole new level of styling, the new engine option is supposed to be an equal differentiator with the top end car featuring a 2.7-litre V6 ecoboost unit.

The interiors of the car have also been spruced up in accordance with the new Lincoln theme, digital elements draw the eye, a large touchscreen dominates the dashboard and the plastic, wood and metal trims have all improved in quality.

The car also gets a huge panoramic roof with two stage opening and features like park assist and automated cruise control with full braking.

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nature of the SUV. There’s no elaborate locking controller or drive mode selector other than choosing the S mode over D. The Reserve edition, the one that we were driving, comes kitted out with full-leather feel seats and the whole roof panoramic layout. The seats are very much an evolution of the American norm, with lots of padding and soft centres. Legroom and headroom is good and the cabin feels very roomy with the sliding roof covers open.

Driving Impressions The engine is a new element to the MKX equation – we haven’t had turbocharged engines in the class before and the use of the 2.7-litre Ecoboost is being encouraged both for more power and torque and better efficiency. But this Ecoboost engine still has the typical turbocharger’s characteristics. When you get moving, the better NVH levels of the cabin filter out most sounds including road and wind noise. Even engine noise is deadened but there is a particular harmonic around the turbocharger that feeds back into the cabin. So as you speed up, the engine noise is almost a faint whistling sound against the backdrop of the class leading sound from the Revel audio system.

Gearshifting is smooth and well co ordinated with the torque band on the turbocharged unit. There’s a hint of lag at lower speeds but once you get rolling, the relatively light weight of the platform gives a seamless and linear pickup. You need to hold the gears down a notch to give the engine a real sense of urgency and if you get aggressive on the gears you can hear the engine really get communicative.

Highway driving is the forte of the MKX. Smooth, effortless acceleration, quick response to the electronic power steering and linear braking are all on offer. The handling through curves has improved too – in this case the undercarriage has improved its responses and offers continuously controlled damping too. The front suspension offers MacPherson struts with L-shaped control arms (aluminium to reduce weight) and an integral-link rear suspension that uses a sub-frame to isolate vibrations. This too uses aluminium control arms.

We took the car on to a tight handling course that it seemed very eager to conquer. Highly accurate steering feel helps, as does the fact that the body doesn’t roll significantly, nor does the tail

pull out. Torque shift is smooth and you do feel the vectoring come in on hard turns.

Off road handling is fine, but don’t try to take the MKX into sand that deeper than a couple of loose inches. The torque shift is instant and imperceptible but once the non-tractive wheel gets slipping, you will dig it in.

Verdict The MKX scores high on the feeling of aspirational opulence. But it may just not have the additional off-roading tricks that allow it to compete with other premium contenders.

The question you need to ask yourself is whether you are buying a Lincoln or are trying to figure out where the MKX stands against other premium mid-segment Crossovers. For the Lincoln aficionado the equation is much clearer – you get a whole lot of crossover for the money you pay, although the price has gone up for the Reserve. It’s hard to put a price tag on the absolutely outstanding Revel audio system and the clarity from its host of speakers, but trust us when we say that if you are an audiophile you may buy the car just for that system. But then you must have a really good music library at hand.

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2016 Audi A4

With a new lighter platform, the Audi A4 brings the advantages of doing a lot more with less. And it takes the opportunity to beef up its tech package Author: Raj Warrior | Photography: Elvis John Ferrao

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he entry-level premium sedan market couldn’t be more interesting.

The established players have a wider than ever offering – now the range starts with the 1-series, A-class and A3.

So the C and C-D segment is now more of an upmarket offering, with their smaller siblings doing the job of getting the right price points.

The A4 has thus got a little bit bigger than before. With this generation, the Audi A4 platform is now called the B9 – and the B9 platform brings with an increased use of tailored blanks, ultra high strength steel and aluminium in parts like the door and 42

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hood panels. The platform has also been refined in terms of aerodynamic efficiency – with a figure of 0.23 the coefficient is the lowest on any major sedan.

The sedan is 4,726mm long and stands on a wheelbase of 2,820mm. This makes it just a little bit bigger than before but brings with it the advantage of offering a larger cabin. The styling of the sedan has also become a lot edgier than before. The signature theme is now closer to that of the sportier TT but still stays very much in tune with the A3 below it and the A6 above. A lot of this edginess is connected with the new sharper headlight assemblies

that carry the theme of an individualised LED light signature ahead. These bracket the slightly more aggressive grille layout – in some versions the grille sits ahead of an automatically adjusting louver that controls the air flow over the engine, increasing the Cd of the car. Much of the design underbody has also focussed on making the slipstream the slipperiest ever, with the engine bay shielded and aerodynamic elements added to the suspension components in addition to the tailored airflow paths under the cabin.

The sedan’s profile has also become a little more emotive – it’s almost as if the

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A-pillar has been shifted aft a bit, while the front axle seems to have been shifted ahead. It’s largely visual, but the few extra millimetres available on the longer wheelbase has helped in a major way. With a rising waistline and a sharper fastback like profile, the car gets a dose of energy.

In comparison the tail treatment is almost secondary – with a slightly wider taillamp with LED light signature. Of course the latest technology makes its presence felt even in the lights as various grades offer different types of lighting, from Bi-Xenon focus beams to LED Headlight elements.

Since we aren’t even looking at a potential RS4 at the moment we won’t expect Laser lights to be on offer.

The cabin is a good evolution over the older one. The general treatment of the dashboard is to emphasise the width of the cabin, it is split into stacked zones of dashboard soft feel plastic, airconditioning grilles, a touch of wood and metal inserts and then the lower zone hard plastics. A large tablet sits in pride of place over the centre console and in the 2.0-litre Ultra variant that we were driving, the driver gets the advantages of the virtual cockpit. With this arrangement, the driver is able to switch between display modes that prioritise the IP element that 44

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he needs – so whether it’s large tach and speed dials or a larger navigation map, you choose. What this also does is to offer the display for integrated driver assist in the centre of the IP. Driver assist is linked to various inputs including the sensors for adaptive cruise control, driver pedals and navigation maps to send information to the driver asking him to ease off the accelerator as he is approaching a junction or to warn that the car ahead is too close.

The wheel and dashboard switches have all been changed, as have the shape and form of the stalks behind the wheel. In particular, the piano switches used for airconditioner control have a capacitive input which means the display reacts to a touch on the surface and operates appropriately with a proper force on the switch.

The roof lights also have this level of thoughtfulness engineered in – you can switch on the light for a quick read by touching the surface or keep it switched on by actually using the switch. In addition to that the new generation of MMI seems to have matured very nicely. You get the dial and switch arrangement along with the ability to jump to home or go back a step. But what’s more important is that the finger writing input is using a more elaborate algorithm that recognises

scrawled input. It is much easier now to input a destination while driving, as you don’t really need to look down at the controller anymore. Of course the same has happened with the voice controller.

You can partner your smartphone with the car’s system and you get mirrored operations. The connection is so seamless that the message from the MMI telling you that it can’t get online reminds you to leave the phone’s data connection switched off. If you do operate the car in a connected mode, the maps can be updated as well as other connected data delivered to you The nicely thought out ambient lighting also boosts the quality feel of the cabin, LED pipe lights sits in recessed parts of the door and foot well as well in the cup holders. Even the steering wheel mounted controls have the same level of backlighting and elegance.

The seats are slightly better sculpted – offering a good, firm support around the hips and lower back, the extendable thigh support allows you to get your leg placed just right. You can move the lower back bolster up or down. Rear legroom is similarly slightly improved, but you do still grab onto the headrests ahead of you as you lever your way out of the door.

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And moving over to the boot – it follows the advantages offered by the broader VW group platform with a large storage volume.

The A4 is offered in the region with three petrol engine option – beginning with the 1.4-litre TFSI unit that offers 150hp and two 2.0-litre TFSI versions, one rated at 190hp and the other at 252hp. The version we had was the 2.0-litre Ultra rated at 190hp. While the basic difference between the two grades is the level of boost offered. But the less powerful engine is also a showcase of engine technology, offering variable compression ratios linked to demand and a combination of throttle body and direct injection. The compression ratio is linked to the ability of the input valves to closer later or earlier.

In practice, you will never figure out where the valves are anyway – the power delivery is always on tap and combined with a nicely programmed 7-speed S tronic transmission you juts have to floor the accelerator and you are away. The engine offers a peak torque of 320Nm and 46

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The technological leap ahead in the Audi A4 is very evident, from the new generation MMI to the new 2.0-litre TFSI engines, with this car’s 190hp engine offering variable compression and fuel consumption depending on demand.

And we just love the S tronic’s controller, with its perfect ergonomics.

that’s way more than enough on this light platform, especially factoring in the wide torque band offered by the turbocharger.

You also have the ability to select a drive mode that toggles between various modes from Normal, comfort, eco and dynamic or you could also set an individual setting. The difference is tangible – in engine note, response times, gearshift patterns and even in the steering feel. A huge level of computing power goes into tailoring the car’s responses depending on your choice.

The car drives like a gem – even in the two-wheel drive arrangement of this engine grade. Quattro is available with the 252hp engine. Suspension response is stiff with just enough yield and handling on curves is predictable with just a little understeer as the inherent vectoring compensates. On dynamic settings and with the gear selector in S, you can really push the car hard – you wouldn’t believe that it didn’t have a V6 under the bonnet.

It hits the standing 100 km/h in 7.3 seconds and tops out at 210 km/h. You do get better performance out of the peppier 2.0-litre with the 100 at 5.8 seconds and an electronically limited 250 km/h top speed.

This Audi A4 really brings the momentum back to the D-segment premium car market and makes it so much harder to choose. But it does make for a techpowered winner if you choose this bearer of the four rings.

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2016 Toyota Fortuner

The hardy Fortuner made a mark for itself over the past decade as the workman’s runabout - but now with an allnew look and beefed up entrails, the brand tries to take it upmarket Author: Raj Warrior | Photography: Elvis John Ferrao

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he Fortuner is one of a unique set of SUVs in the Oman market. On the one hand you have full-fledged body on frame SUVs like the Fortuner’s own bigger brothers, the Land Cruiser and Prado and on the other you have a set of crossovers that have evolved from the unitary origins of a sedan’s build – much like the RAV4. It is this segment of vehicles that sit in between the two, overlapping in terms of price and sort of trying to address all sorts of customers that stand out – often for the wrong reasons. The underlying issue is that the bulk of the volume on the body on frame platform

they rise from comes from the pickup market. The SUV, like the Fortuner here, is often an aspirational move away from the pickup body.

Ten years ago, Toyota set about changing that formula when they launched the predecessor to this model. They set about rolling out the IMV platform which spawned the front-engine rear-wheel layout of the Fortuner, Innova and HiLux. The message right there was that there was nothing incremental being done – the platform was designed to serve as the underpinnings of each of these vehicles but the vehicles were holistically designed APR 2016

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to stand apart. And they did. The Fortuner did get quite rave reviews for the job it does and it has set the benchmark in many Asian countries and even the region for an affordable, utilitarian SUV. In fact it could be the success of the Thailand manufactured trio that saw their life extend over a decade.

Now the new Fortuner has been launched and you can see that the brand has revisited the platform with some vigour.

To get the equation right, the engineers seem to have addressed some of the weaknesses of the older SUV and have reinforced many strong points. They began with a whole new look that reflects a very modern Toyota design language.

Two large chrome pillars arranged in a V bracket the new grille and the headlights wouldn’t have looked out of place on the Camry, with Bi-Xenon projectors and new LED light signature. The lower airdam is arranged in a 3D manner that takes your eyes out to the chrome rimmed foglight pods. The same metallic effect is taken on to the rearview mirrors.

The profile gets a lot busier. While the body has changed marginally if at all, the panelwork has dramatically improved as has the way in which the greenhouse has been emphasised. Now the area between the C and D pillars gets a blackened out effect that enlarges the impression of glass. It isn’t quite seamless but the effect is borrowed from the newer Lexus models where it is handled with better refinement.

One of the problems with body on frame vehicles is the height of the body as it sits on the frame. This is especially true when

the end result is intended for off-road use. The proportions are better handled now, with a metallic hued running board managing to lower the sightlines and the beefed up fender compensating for the height. Around the rear of the Fortuner, the emphasis is again on given an impression of width as the framing and taillights are laid out horizontally, with a nice mix of chrome inserts.

In the higher-grade car that we picked up – a 4.0-litre VX – you cannot fault the interior. It’s the sort of cabin that you would see in competition from a segment above at the very least. The leather feel seats, wooden steering wheel and inserts, instrumentation and soft-feel plastics all speak of a class of vehicle that seems a little detached from the utilitarian reality of the Fortuner. It’s going to be the single most important factor in getting new customers into the Fortuner. The IP panel is combined with a large central display and the dashboard itself is designed to maximise the legroom available. It seems a little vertical but that’s nicely compensated by the use of layering, double-stitched seams and surfaces that can be used. You don’t get caught out by any ungainly instrumentation. There are a few dummied up switch positions as you would expect in an SUV allowing you to add in some mods as required without cutting into the dash any further.

We consider ourselves a little bigger than average, but even we need to clamber aboard – the hip point is relatively high but the running board helps as does the grab handle on the A-pillar. Once on board, housekeeping features like pairing your

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iPhone and getting the music blasting over the Bluetooth take no time at all, handled very well by the system. It’s all touch screen interface nowadays anyway.

We didn’t check the mapping out because our test car didn’t have the map SD card on-board but we would expect the high resolution of the display to generate a clear grid.

Cabin comfort is top notch, with a new colour of leather on offer, a better than expected sound system, quick release access to the third row and a power tailgate. The large display also doubles up as a rearview monitor for the camera.

The vehicle comes with two choices of engine, like before. The 2.7-litre four-pot generates 165hp and the V6 4.0-litre has an output of 235hp. And the automatic gearbox on offer is a six-speed unit with rather short gearing in the lower reaches.

The part-time 4WD system uses a selector knob to engage 4WD and low range and there is a proper rear diff lock available.

Added ruggedness comes from the reworked frame, strengthened to handle greater twist and stresses while the suspension has been reworked to include coils on all of the wheel points and a better damping. The Fortuner can take on rocks like a champion, showing a good level of articulation – the benefit of all that height we spoke about.

Driving Impressions On the straight and narrow, you can decide how noisy the Toyota Fortuner gets. Floor the accelerator and you feel the grind of the shorter ratios before the car gets it legs out and away. The Fortuner’s NVH is way better than before and the cabin is well isolated. You barely feel a speed breaker. The only time you remember the origins of the SUV is when you take turns – weight shift is apparent and the roll sets in, but this time the recovery is much quicker and the power steering handles it like a champ. There is a decided lightness to the steering’s feel, which is good in most cases. It’s only on sand that we feel there should be a little more directness of feel through the column. Low gear is well chosen, as you can literally crawl up steep inclines. You can’t really fault the drivetrain and the suspension combination – the engineers have ironed out any shortcomings of past iterations.

Verdict The new generation Fortuner takes the story of the IMV platform ahead – it’s better looking; seems better engineered and it is definitely classier than the vehicle we are used to. The price point remains in the same zone and it looks like the brand is looking at buyers who would normally be buying into crossovers.

A new cabin colour, Chamois, joins along with the layered dashboard treatment and quality feel plastics to enhance the Fortuner’s appeal.

In terms of power, Toyota sticks with the known 2.7-litre and 4.0-litre engines with a new six-speed automatic gearbox.

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New York 2016

New York is gaining a huge reputation for being one of the most significant shows not just for the huge market but also for global models being released to a larger audience

KIA Forte Koup Mud Bogger Concept It’s still a front-wheel drive layout but this is what you get when you take the Cerato Koup and raise it, give it some Jeep and Bilstein kit and have it shod with ATV tyres.

As for the transmission, the engine still remains the 1.6-litre 4-pot but this concept envisions it connected to a manual shifter. It’s been shown at the SEMA show and may seem a little out of place for the more refined crowds of New York.

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The Lincoln Navigator follows the Continental It may be a concept but it’s being announced with the 3.5-litre Ecoboost engine. Of course you can see a few features that may not see the light of day on the 2018 model. Like those huge gull-wing doors. But the rest of the SUV takes the Continental’s design language ahead, with the new grille, headlights and those wheels. While the Revel audio has already landed in the MKX, we’ll be surprised if the wardrobe management system is incorporated. But you can expect the large screens and elaborate lighting.

Volkswagen’s Budd-e concept electrifies It’s been shown at the CES, where it was well received. The concept takes the microbus shape ahead while offering a full electric drivetrain. It’s built on the new Modular Electric Toolkit platform and comes with an 101 kWh battery that should be good for almost 500 kilometres of range. What makes it thoroughly geeky are features like gesture control and large intterface screens. This marks a departure from the regular dashboard and its focussed areas around the wheel – now the whole front of the cabin is one giant display.

Toyota C-HR promises new crossover It’s been doing the rounds of various motorshows in 2015 and the fact that it’s still around in NY 2016 means there’s a good likelihood we are going to see this new platform spawn a compact crossover that may be targeted at more than China and the developing countries. It also has a hybrid drivetrain, so the C-HR isn’t going to be cheap.

Genesis shows hybrid sports sedan concept In the fashion of most new hybrids, the ‘New York Concept’ features a 2.0-litre turbocharged GDI engine mated to a hybrid drive with 245PS on tap. It also hints at a new design direction for Genesis called ‘Athletic Elegance’ like seen on the G90 sedan.

The interior is built around a 21” curved display and that may just be the direction that future Genesis models will take. The concept takes individual seating for four and places these on both sides of a prominent tunnel. And there’s a whole new form of interface available.

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Acura MDX The 2017 Acura MDX is out and it debuts with the Sports Hybrid all-wheel drive arrangement that very effectively meshes a complex drivetrain of a 3.0-litre V6 engine mated with an inline motor assist for the front wheels and two independent electric motors for the two rear wheels. Benefits are electrically delivered torque vectoring and a peak powertrain output of 325 horsepower. The transmission is a 7-speed DCT gearbox.

The car also gets AcuraWatch which combines a host of features similar to Honda’s version. Collision mitigation, Lane departure warning and keep assist, advanced cruise control and collision warning and even low speed follow are part of this suite of features.

In terms of styling, the MDX takes the diamond pentagon grille from the Acura Precision concept and integrates it into a sharply defined fascia, while the side gets a bit of attention with a chrome rocker panel. The 2017 MDX is slated to go on sale at Acura dealerships in the US this summer and will be joined by the MDX Sport Hybrid later in the year.

Hyundai Ioniq Hyundai has launched three versions of this car, targeted at the US market and its consumer. The car comes with a hybrid drivetrain, plug-in hybrid drivetrain and pure electric version.

The Ioniq Hybrid and Ioniq Plug-in Hybrid both feature a new Kappa 1.6 direct-injected Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine with an unsurpassed thermal efficiency of 40 percent, delivering an estimated 104 horsepower and an estimated 109 lb.-ft. of torque.

The Ioniq Hybrid’s electric motor delivers an estimated 32 kW (43 horsepower) with an estimated maximum torque of 125 lb.-ft., powered by a lithium-ion polymer battery with 1.56 kWh capacity. The Ioniq Plug-in Hybrid provides an estimated all-electric range of more than 25 miles, powered by a potent 8.9 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery. The Ioniq Plugin’s estimated 45kW (60 horsepower) electric motor is coupled with the 1.6 direct-injected Atkinson four-cylinder Kappa engine.

The Ioniq Electric offers pure electric mobility with a 28 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery for an estimated driving range of 110 miles. The Electric motor has an estimated maximum output of 88 kW (120 horsepower) and 215 lb.-ft. of torque through a single-speed reduction gear transmission.

Mazda MX-5 RF The latest version of the legendary sports car offers a new dimension of open-top driving fun while at the same time staying true to the purpose of Mazda’s previous retractable hardtop MX-5: Making the roadster experience accessible to a broader range of drivers.

In doing so, Mazda has broken with conventional thinking to create something entirely new. Featuring fastback styling with a smooth roofline that slopes down to the rear, the MX-5 RF’s unique rear roof and retractable back window deliver a distinctive new convertible feeling.

The power roof opens and closes with the press of a button while moving at speeds of up to 10km/h. The roof itself stows away compactly and efficiently: Despite the sleek design, the MX-5 RF offers the same boot space as the soft-top model. Also like the soft-top, the new version will be available in Europe with a choice of two revvy petrol engines – the SKYACTIV-G 1.5 and SKYACTIV-G 2.0 – mated either to a delightfully crisp shifting six-speed SKYACTIV-MT gearbox or – exclusively for the MX-5 RF – a six- speed automatic.

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Jaguar F-type SVR So it’s not enough that the folks at the special vehicles operations have got their hands on the F-type and shown it in New York, they had to brag about it too.

New York City’s Park Avenue Tunnel was closed off to the public as Jaguar showcased the distinctive sound of the new F-TYPE SVR ahead of the show. The tunnel, which passes under seven blocks of the iconic Park Avenue area in Manhattan and is 422 metres long, provided a unique environment to experience the harder edged sound delivered by the F-TYPE SVR. The F-TYPE SVR is the first Jaguar SVR and the fastest F-TYPE ever with a top speed of 200mph. It has been developed by Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations to be lighter, quicker, faster and more powerful.

Spyker C8 Preliator How do you describe a quirky company that makes this gorgeous machine? The Preliator may not be your typical supercar, but it should be even if its just for that exposed manual shifter and linkage and the hand tooled body and interiors.

Also now the company is using an Audi V8 engine to power the car alongwith some unique elements like gold foil on the roof and powered cooling for the engine.

The car follows its Geneva debut with this North American one.

“The Spyker C8 Preliator’s design represents the ultimate translation of our aviation heritage to a “road jet”, a plane without wings, reflected among others in the Head-Up Display, fitted as standard to every car. It is the epitome of our unrivaled craftsmanship. By mounting a supercharger to the Audi V8 engine we have improved the performance of the Spyker C8 Preliator significantly as compared to its predecessor and its exclusivity is warranted since we will produce a mere 50 units” says Victor Muller, founder and CEO.

Toyota Highlander Alongwith the Prius Prime, Toyota launched the 2017 Toyota Highlander at the New york show. The SUV now gets a new 3.5-litre direct injection engine mated to a new 8-speed gearbox. This will be joined by the hybrid version that uses the same powertrain but adds in an integrated motor assist with limited all electric range but far better fuel efficiencies. The third- generation model, now entering its fourth year, offers room for up to eight, a choice of three powertrains and six model grades, including a new sporty SE model. The Highlander Hybrid adds two new grades, (LE and XLE) to its existing lineup of Limited and Platinum models for a total of four. All Highlander Hybrid models will continue to be all-wheel drive (AWD).

Additionally the Scion FR-S changes into the Toyota 86 for the North American market. This is a significant change as Scion also debuts some new Mazda partnered hardware.

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face to face news

Timo Bernhard is a professional racing driver from Germany, competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Porsche in the LMP1 category. In 2015, Bernhard alongside his teammates Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley claimed the Drivers’ World Championship title.

A seasoned endurance racer, Bernhard has won the 24 Hours of Nurburgring five times and Le Mans twice – in 2002 in the GT class with Porsche; and in 2010 in LMP1 when seconded from Porsche to Audi.

It looks like next season is going to be tough against Audi and Toyota - does that mean there is more pressure?

quite a big difference in terms of the LMP1 prototypes in your time of endurance racing?

In motorsport there is always pressure and you always have high expectations.

In 20142014 we were the new kids on the block and everyone was watching us under the microscope so there was a lot of pressure. I think we did quite well in our first year, and in 2015 we won.

Because we were a great team last year, I’d say there is certainly pressure because after completing two years you feel more confident and the whole team is working well together. It is a different kind of pressure now because we have such high expectations of ourselves.

I started in prototypes 10 years ago with the Porsche RS Spyder in LMP2. It was a pretty simple car compared to what we have now and after the Audi era with LMP1 there was a lot of power but without the hybrid element. It was a very good team back then with good success. As a driver you always want to drive and you always want to be competitive.

With the transition from prototype back to GT with the 911 RSR you notice the car is a lot more alive, there’s downforce, the car is a bit calmer and you can react. These LMP1 cars are quite stable until a certain point and then you have to wrestle the car back into place. It is a completely different driving style.

For sure I’ve seen a difference over time

You yourself have gone from top shelf LMP1 to GT back to LMP1 in what was quite a short period of time. Do you see

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between LMP2 and LMP1. LMP1 is more complex but going out to a full hybrid car like this is very different. Not only is the driving very challenging but the whole team working together means you have so many possibilities and changes, so many things you can test and things you can tweak so you need to be focussed on the main areas.

Was there any frustration, knowing that you had done LMP1 and then you went back to GT racing with Porsche?

I wanted to be a part of the return of the LMP1 programme with Porsche and therefore joined the GT-programme for a while. I came to Porsche 17 years ago back in 1999 and that was the first time I signed a contract with Porsche as a junior driver.

I had just turned 18 and my boss back then told me that if I do well, I would a factory driver one day and I would go to Le Mans.

That was back in 1999 and nobody told me it would take so long! [laughs out loud].

But I always remembered that. I had this idea in my head that I wanted to fulfil that dream and achieve that goal of going to Le Mans with Porsche.

Was was it like to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice in two different categories?

For me they are the two standout successes of my career. I think the Le Mans victory is special because you never know if you are ever going to win that race. When I started the sport this was one of my big goals, so in 2010 on the 13th June, when winning the LMP1 category, I ticked that box and that was a big achievement for me.

You never know with this race. It can be so cruel. Bob Wollek drove 31 times and he never won it. He probably deserved five victories but didn’t get one. Then you look at Nico Huelkenberg who comes in and wins at his first attempt. I met Bob Wollek when I arrived as a junior. He was the most experienced driver towards the end of his career and he had so many great cars and he never won. So this race can be, in a way, unfair. For me that is why Le Mans is so special but to be honest to be World Champion was unbelievable and especially with Porsche. This whole project will always be special to me.

How frustrating was that seeing a guest team to come in and win Le Mans straight away?

I was a bit divided but I wouldn’t say it was frustrating. I was very proud of the team, that we finished the race with three cars

in first, second and fifth. We didn’t do a lot wrong. On the other side, as a driver I would like to win but still I was proud.

Our second position helped us to secure the drivers’ Championship. If you are on the podium at Le Mans it is very good. We were fighting and it was a very close fight.

We are proud of what we achieved.

Typically at Le Mans how often would you change the car settings and the setup?

Le Mans is special because you stay in the car for three hours and you do four stints. It depends if you are driving at night or what the temperature is, so you may change things every now and again.

Sometimes you may have tracks where you change things every two or so laps, so it really depends.

What happens when you have problems and you need to put the car in the pit and finish your turn, such as last year’s race in Bahrain?

In Bahrain it was clear that I needed to pit. It was important not to think about it too much at that stage because the race was still ongoing but I needed to try and communicate and tell them what was going on in as much detail as possible.

When it happened to Mark [Webber] it was the same, and at these times you still need to give 98% to driving but leave 2% so you can focus on other things.

Does your LMP2 experience with the RSSpyder have any importance in rebuilding the Porsche LMP programme?

I think so yes. They were quite different cars but what me and Romain [Dumas] learnt in the Spyder era, such as driver economics or seat position, we could use in the LMP1. We had some guys from our Spyder time that are still with us now and I think the success we had during that time motivated these people to go to LMP1. We won LMP2 and it gave us good confidence going into LMP1.

We have a regional Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge series here - for young people participating in that, what is your advice to them, how can they succeed?

Always stay hungry and always be willing to learn. It is a good championship, I know some people that are running here to get experience so the level here is very good.

You have amazing racing tracks, you have every ingredient you need to learn and make it as a racing driver.

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Mileage Challenge

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he annual Shell Super Mileage Challenge was held on March 21st with eight contesting teams and five extra cars containing non-contesting participants from Shell Oman, Nissan Oman, UMS Media, a team of two bloggers and our entry from Automan.

The Shell Super Mileage challenge is designed to take participants over a road course of around 100 kilometres and this year the course was set from the Nissan showroom in Qurum to Marina Bandar which served as a way point where the teams rested and had breakfast. Then the route wound out through Sidab, Muscat, Muttrah and then via the Sultan Qaboos highway to the Al Khoud flyover and back in front of Al Mouj complex to last year’s 62

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start and end point at the Shell pump located on November 18th street.

The eight teams had been chosen from more than 850 teams that had sent in their entries. After all with a bumper prize of RO 500 worth of fuel for each of the winning team, the Mileage challenge has become a rather prestigious event. As with the previous years, Automan’s editor Raj Warrior was the adjudicator of the event.

At the briefing a couple of days before the event, Shell Oman Marketing officials educated the participants on the safety aspects - HSSE is a very important part of the company’s culture and the initial part of the briefing covered these aspects.

Further advice was then offered to the teams by the Shell team about how to

maximise the fuel efficiency of their cars, including tips on regular maintenance, correct tyre pressures, minimises laden weight and smooth driving practices – the participants were also informed about the penalties that they would pick up for infringement of various safety norms and rash driving.

On the morning of the drive the teams met on the forecourt of the Nissan showroom in Qurum, where they were introduced to the marshals that would accompany them through the route. In addition to the competing teams, five cars followed with non-competing teams who were nevertheless interested in bettering the winner’s score. The Automan team had the distinction two years ago, in the debut

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event, of getting the best score. Last year saw the winning participant take back that accolade. After the 100-kilometres of the drive route were over, every participating team’s score card was checked against the readout from the car’s digital consumption meter. Since all the car’s were 2015 Nissan Altima sedans with similar age and mileage, the ready method was taken to measure the efficiency.

We are pleased to report that the Automan team managed to get back its laurels of the first year but the winning competing team managed a very good mileage – with a reading of 20.4 km/l on

the 2.5-litre Nissan Altima, we were just as surprised at their efficiency. The winning team of Syed Aftab Ahmad & Anfal Shamsuddeen from team Fuel Conscious were called to the podium and felicitated by officials from both Nissan Oman and Shell Oman. Nissan Oman VP Deepak Jain to the opportunity to point out the impressive efficiencies scored by all the eight teams in the Altima, referring to last year’s stock car for comparison.

As an added bonus, all participants were offered the opportunity to share their thoughts on the event and their roles in it – with many admitting that they had learnt

Top, Shell official Shahad Al Wahaibi briefing participants. Left, our editor Raj Warrior with Shell official Georgie Zacharaiah. Above, participants from Nissan and winning team of Syed Aftab Ahmad & Anfal Shamsuddeen from Fuel Conscious.

On the opposite page, from top, announcing the start, flag off by Shell and Nissan officials, cars parked at the way point at Marina Bandar, the winning team collecting the award and all the participants at the way point.

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both defensive driving techniques as well as a more efficient method of driving.

The winners were handed Shell Super fuel cards for fuel worth RO 500 each, while all participants were given a certificate and a memento.

We, at Automan, find that this is a rather unique event which talks about the strengths of Shell Super without diluting from the underlying message of safer and more fuel efficient driving.

All said and done, the folks at Shell Oman marketing have started a trend at the best time for drivers in Oman as fuel prices vary with market pricing.

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Tesla Model 3

Elon Musk delivers on his promise of an electric car for under S35,000, although you need US government tax credit for that. The Tesla Model 3 may interest the GCC buyer, if petrol prices rise a little bit more

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he Tesla Model 3 brings the virtues that have been expounded by the electric vehicle platform in the Model S and Model X. The platform has been modified to deliver a much more affordable package. And just the promise of being able to get a decent autonomy range along with the virtues of electric drive have brought in record bookings (of a booking amount of $1,000/-).

The range is 215 miles (close to 340kms) and an acceleration figure of 6 seconds for the 0-60mph (96 km/h) sprint.

While still shrouded in secrecy, you should

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expect much of the positive features that are already part of the Tesla S - including a compact and quick drive with dual motors as an option and seating for 5 adults on its flat battery skip of a platform.

Combined with supercharger stations that are sprouting up around North America and Europe, the Model 3 may offer a degree of appeal that many premium sedans cannot.

It is still some time till we will see the Model 3 in the region - what’s more likely is that the Tesla Model X may offer a cachet to the well-heeled buyer.

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M-B E-class

The quintessential flag-bearer of the premium E-segment is back in a new generation, boasting a package of technology and engineering that should keep it ahead

T

he E-class has a rock solid platform that doesn’t need too much of a tweaking. What it offers in the new generation is a technology suite that almost rivals the offering on the S-class.

Beginning with a 9-speed 9G-Tronic automatic gearbox and a new generation of four-cylinder diesel engine (in relevant markets), the electronics include a wide screen dual display, touch controls with finger swipes, new graphics on the infotainment system, integration with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Driver assist functions cover automated

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cruise control with stop and go in traffic, lane keeping, lane change assistant, braking and evasive steering assist, active blindspot monitoring and Pre-Safe.

The new car also offers automated parking function, which brings the feature from the S-class and BMW 7-series to a more affordable package.

The coefficient of drag is now a low 0.23 and that combines with highly efficient engines and stop/start technology to improve fuel consumption. it is claimed to be the quietest vehicle in its segment.

The lighting is a standout feature, with LED headlights and ambient cabin lighting that can be any one of 64 colours. The multibeam LED headlights have 84 independent elements and the taillights have a stardust effect.

Its wheelbase is now 2939mm and overall length is 4923mm.

Another addition is the touch-sensitive controls on the steering wheel.

The E300 will have a 245hp engine with a torque of 370Nm, while the E400 4Matic will have a six-cylinder engine with 333hp and 480Nm.

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Lambo Centenario

A rather unique homage to the centenary of Ferruccio Lamborghini’s birth, the Centenario is a limited run of 40 cars that have all been sold

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The Geneva motorshow saw Lamborghini unveil the Centenario in homage to Ferruccio Lamborghini’s birth centenary.

The project consists of 20 coupes and 20 roadsters that begin at a price of 1.75-million Euros with tax extra. It is a continuation of the company’s strategy

of one-off models based on their architecture. The 770hp engine is a V12 naturally aspirated unit that allows the car to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 2.8 seconds and go from 0-300 km/h in only 23.5 seconds. The top speed is expected to be more than 350 km/h.

The design includes an extending rear wing for better downforce. Large air scoops in the front bonnet, while reminiscent of 1970s sports cars, are there for functionality: air is taken in through the car’s front contributing to downforce on the front axle.

The body of the Centenario is built entirely in carbon fiber, with a monocoque and all other body parts and trims in carbon fiber.

With a dry weight of just 1,520 kg, the Centenario achieves a weight-to- power ratio of 1.97 kg/hp and a torsional stiffness of 35,000 Nm per degree.

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CONCEPTUAL Lincoln Navigator Concept

While it may not launch in this form, Kumar Galhotra’s leadership is bringing out some interesting moves from Lincoln – especially with the new Navigator Lincoln revealed the Navigator Concept at the New York motor show. Following on from the recently launched Lincoln Continental, you can see the elements that bind the two together, although the concept explores a new direction in terms of utility and design.

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every Lincoln client what we call quiet luxury – vehicles and experiences that are elegant, effortlessly powerful and serene,” said Kumar Galhotra, president of Lincoln. “This kind of quiet luxury sets Lincoln apart. Now, we’re showing fans of large SUVs how we can exceed their expectations, without being the loudest statement on the road.”

Lincoln’s design team drew inspiration from luxury sailboats and yachts when designing the new concept. This influenced everything from the clean, modern lines and Storm Blue paint on the exterior that mimics the grays and blues of sea and sky, to the teak finishes, custom gear and wardrobe management system found inside.

The Navigator Concept is engineered to provide drivers peace of mind. It features a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 engine delivering more than 400 horsepower and smart new technologies to make this SUV even more sure-footed on different road surfaces and in changing weather conditions.

Drivers can choose several drive modes to improve ride and handling and to find

the drive experience that best suits their mood – including steering, suspension and noise levels. Each mode is accompanied by a matching digital animation in the cluster.

The leather-wrapped interior is rendered in a light blue. Six Lincoln-patented Perfect Position Seats adjust 30 ways to best support occupants’ different body types.

The driver’s seat, for instance, includes

independent deployable thigh supports for maximum comfort.

A custom wardrobe management system holds gear chosen for a day on the water, while Lincoln’s Revel audio system has been specifically tuned to create the highest level sound and visual quality.

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steps. A special lighting sequence welcomes passengers for every journey.

The Navigator Concept features PreCollision Assist with Pedestrian Detection, which uses radar and camera technology to scan the road ahead. If a collision risk with a vehicle or pedestrian is detected, the system provides a warning to the driver. If the driver does not respond in 74

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time, it automatically can apply up to full braking force to help reduce the severity of, or even eliminate, some frontal collisions.

A 360-degree camera and enhanced park assist features take the stress out of parking, exiting a parking spot and manoeuvering. The system seamlessly integrates views from four cameras –

creating an overhead image that allows drivers to see all around the vehicle.

On the road, a lane-keeping system vibrates the steering wheel to alert drivers they are straying from their lane and provides mild steering input to encourage them to steer back toward the center of the lane.In the cabin, head restraint monitors provide passengers Wi-Fi

connectivity, allowing them to wirelessly share music and content from personal devices.For drivers, a large panel screen clearly displays key information. The display can be customized from a digital touch screen housed in the centre stack.

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Formula One

Nico Rosberg claimed his firstever victory in the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix at a brilliantly floodlit Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.

Rosberg put in a dominant drive as he claimed his second successive victory to start the 2016 Formula 1 season.

He charged off the start line cleanly and immediately took over as the leader before enjoying a flawless and untroubled race from then on.

The win was Rosberg’s fifth in a row dating back to the final three races of last season and including Australia a fortnight ago.

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“It’s been an awesome weekend,” said Rosberg. “The key was the start; I had a quick getaway and from then on I was trying to control the pace.

It’s absolutely awesome to get the win.”

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen finished as the runner-up for the second straight year, while Rosberg’s Mercedes teammate and pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton completed the podium placers.

His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister was on hand to present the winning constructor’s trophy to

Mercedes Engineering Director Aldo Costa.

Handing over the trophies to the top three drivers were Gulf Air Acting CEO Maher Al Musallam, Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs Hisham Al Jowder, and Bahrain Motor Federation President/ Commission Internationale de Karting President Shaikh Abdulla bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Rosberg led much of the race by a comfortable margin and at the end of the 57-lap challenge was classified 10.2 seconds in front of Raikkonen. Hamilton was well behind the leading pair, finishing the race 30.148s behind the winner.

“Congrats to Bahrain; such a great race track here,” said Rosberg, who made his Formula 1 debut at BIC back in 2006.

Raikkonen had a poor getaway and did all he could to fight back. Hamilton, on the other hand, was behind Rosberg heading into BIC’s Michael Schumacher Turn (Turn One), but was T-boned by Williams’ Valtteri Bottas. He dropped to ninth but put in a fine effort to make up for his lost places.

“I had a bad start,” Raikkonen explained. “After a few laps, I had gone straight behind Nico and it was pretty hard to recover. It was bad luck.”

Added Hamilton, whose two-year winning streak in Bahrain ended tonight: “A big thank you to the fans. I got some incredible support here; I’ve been so well taken care of.”

Ferrari ace Sebastian Vettel, who had qualified third and who was widely tipped to be the biggest threat to a third straight Mercedes win in Sakhir, was unfortunate not to even make the start. He suffered an engine failure on the formation lap, which was the beginning of an eventful and exciting start to the race.

Daniel Ricciardo (+62.494s) of Red Bull Racing finished in fourth place, while Romain Grosjean (+78.299s) continued the fine start to the season of Formula 1 debutants Haas by claiming fifth place. Young Max

Verstappen (+80.929s) finished sixth for Toro Rosso, while Daniil Kvyat (+1 lap) of Red Bull, Felipe Massa (+1 lap) and Bottas (+1 lap) of Williams, and Stoffel Vandoorne (+1 lap) of McLaren rounded out the top 10. It was an impressive debut for Vandoorne in Formula 1. He took the place of superstar Fernando Alonso, who was not allowed to compete due to health concerns.

The rest of the final classification, from 11th to 17th (all of whom were also +1 lap), respectively, included Renault’s Kevin Magnussen, Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson, Manor’s Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber’s Felipe Nasr, Force India pair Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez, and Manor’s Rio Haryanto.

Melbourne’s race was overshadowed by Fernando’s accident with Esteban Gutierrez at Turn Three on lap 16.

Despite the violence of the crash, Fernando was able to extricate himself from the car unaided, and was then taken to the circuit medical centre for routine checks, before being declared okay by the doctors.

His car fared less well – both the chassis and the power unit were heavily damaged, and the resulting debris was scattered so extensively that it prompted a red-flag stoppage to clear up the mess.

After the restart Jenson adopted a different strategy to the majority of runners, but failed to capitalise on it, finishing 14th.

After the crash, the race was Nico Rosberg’s.

Team mate Lewis Hamilton recovered from a nightmare start to finish second, while Sebastian Vettel – who led into Turn 1 and looked very much in charge prior to the red flags – had to settle for third after 57 78

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laps of Albert Park.

Local hero Daniel Ricciardo took a popular fourth place for Red Bull, well clear of the Williams of Felipe Massa, while Romain Grosjean gave the allnew Haas team points on their debut with sixth.

Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg, Williams’ Valtteri Bottas, and the Toro Rosso duo of Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen completed the top ten, with Renault’s Jolyon Palmer narrowly missing out on a point in his maiden Grand Prix.

McLaren’s Alonso and Haas’s Esteban Gutierrez meanwhile were thankfully able to walk away from a huge crash at Turn 3 which caused the red flags to fly on lap 19.

Up until that moment it was Ferrari who held the cards, Vettel and Raikkonen having burst between the two Silver Arrows to snatch a one-two away from the start.

Hamilton got the worst of it, his slow start compounded by losing further ground and positions - and possibly some

front wing endplate - in the opening turns, with Verstappen and Massa both able to pick him off and push him from pole to seventh.

That dynamic would all change.

Following a 20-minute break to clear the debris from Alonso and Gutierrez’s crash, the race restarted with Ferrari still on an aggressive two-stop strategy of using supersoft tyres. Mercedes though had gone conservative and selected the mediums, meaning Ferrari would need to pit again and Mercedes wouldn’t. Game on.

It was soon clear that Vettel was not going to open up the 24s gap that he needed for a final stop, and when that came - from supersofts to softs - on the 35th lap, Rosberg, Hamilton and a feisty Ricciardo overtook the Ferrari. Hamilton closed in on the Red Bull and overtook for second place on the 42nd lap, but couldn’t make serious inroads into Rosberg’s 10s lead.

The Briton’s attention instead went on protecting his position as Vettel closed in. With seven

laps to run the pair were split by just half a second - but try as he might Vettel could not engineer a move, with his challenge failing two laps from the end when he ran deep and onto the grass at the penultimate turn.

Like Vettel, Ricciardo also bolted on fresh tyres - in his case the supersofts - and flew late on, the Australian setting the fastest lap and rising up to fourth, just missing out on becoming the first Australian to claim a Grand Prix podium on home soil.

Perfection from Marc Marquez at the Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina sees the Spaniard take his first win of 2016.

Long gone were Marc Marquez’s and Honda’s woes from testing, the combination back to their best in Argentina.

Starting from pole position, the Repsol Honda Team rider had a less than ideal start and was pushed down the order in the charge to Turn 1. He would finish lap two in third lap, but had Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) square in his sights. On lap three he overtook his great rival, but was unable to shake off the Yamaha, the pair circulating together until they pitted on lap 11 for the mandatory bike change. Marquez would retain the lead of the race, never

challenged once he returned to track on his second bike.

7.679 seconds would split Marquez from Rossi at the end of the race, Marquez leaving Argentina with an extra 25 points and result in him obtaining the lead of the MotoGP™ World Championship by eight points.

This was Marquez’s second win in Argentina, the track and conditions suiting his style.

The World Championship now heads to Austin for round three at the Circuit of the Americas, a track where Marquez has never been defeated. Few would have expected Marquez and Honda to lead the championship after their tricky off season, Austin could now offer an almost perfect chance for Marquez to extend his lead.

Marc Marquez: “I’m really happy with this win because we’ve worked very, very hard during the pre-season, in Qatar and here. Honda is

working very well and I feel the support; we’re going in the same direction, and that’s the most important thing. It’s a special win, not only because it’s the first one of the year but also because with the team, we managed the situation very well, and after what happened in Australia on a similar occasion [in 2013], it was important for us to do well. I

knew that the first part of the race would be tough because it was still damp in some places, and with the first bike I hadn’t felt as good as with the other one even during practice. I knew that the second part of the race was the key. I pushed 100% in the first five laps after the bike change, I opened a gap and after that I just kept the distance.”

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YOU ARE MORE THAN WHAT YOU EAT Scientists have recently published a report that tells us that if we were all to switch to a vegan or at the very least a vegetarian diet, humanity’s impact on the Earth would be lessened. To me, at first glance, that seems a bit counter-intuitive. If more of our shrubbery and foliage is being eaten by us, how does that help?

Of course, the answer lies in the detailed analysis of human eating habits and how we, as a species, have used industrial levels of animal husbandry and factory grade fishing techniques to wreak havoc on the planet. You’ll value your next free range chicken meal were you to ever visit a large poultry farm. I didn’t even need facebook and its persuasive power to promise myself that I wouldn’t be partaking of foie gras ever again; with the absolutely inhuman way the ducks and geese are treated in order to engorge their livers.

But then what would you make of the food we eat on a regular basis? Our recipes and cuisines have developed over hundreds of years with our table manners only serving as the bookends of a highly evolved gastronomic adventure. People love to travel the world in search of that next meal – usually one that involves some meat, seafood and poultry. That’s pretty standard. And with globalisation in full swing we often get the exotic served right at our doorsteps if we live in one of the urban hotspots of the world. But it’s the sheer scale of the food industry that serves to load our resources, lately joined by countries with large complements of poor people who are getting richer and in the process switching from their frugal plant based diets to meat-intensive.

The best estimates are that we will have a 9 billion population by 2030 and will peak out around 12 billion in 2050. That’s an awful lot of meat, fish and poultry that the world will have to produce to feed this population. So it definitely makes sense to switch over to a plant-based menu wholesale. What this does it remove the industrial levels of animal husbandry and their consequent need for animal feedstock – made of the very items that we need in a vegetarian diet. Are we capable of making that switch? It’s highly unlikely.

Raj Warrior is now managing editor of Automan and has been in the thick of the Automotive journalism field from the past 18 years.

Want to comment or have your say?

Email at raj@automan.me Identify yourself or your message will be trashed and your id blocked

For many of us, what we eat is an outcome of the family and society that we are born into – that includes understanding what’s normal and what would be seen as exotic. In some countries it is normal for the entire family and community that family belongs to, to be vegetarian. In some places the new normal is to switch to a vegan diet, eschewing any form of animal produce, even cheese, milk and eggs. In most other places in the world, some form of animal meat is considered a standard offering in a meal. You had to be really poor to not have meat on your table. But that’s not the point.

We know that any major shift will take generations and we don’t have the time before 2050 to actually do more than two of those. No shift is likely to happen anyway as long as your morning eggs and sausages taste so good. It’s not likely to happen either with the large fast food chains that make billions out of selling the premise of tasty meats in various forms. It’ll not happen while the affluent populations of the world not only enjoy their hot dogs and burgers, but export it en masse to the rest of the world.

For me, from a personal standpoint, I can’t say that I find anything is going to change. It is actually a relief to know that we may all actually eat ourselves into Armageddon before we end up suffocating ourselves through poisoning our atmosphere with exhaust fumes from the millions of tailpipes or even drowning ourselves due to rising sea levels.

So, this discussion has been pointless – I, for one, love my occasional sinful Chicken Biryani or Mutton Rogan Josh just as much as I love a typical English breakfast spread.

That’s the sort of love that makes one forget about the future of the Earth and our very existence till the next meal.

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