Automan 184

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FeBruary 2017 // Issue no 184

THIS MONTH CoverDrive – Porsche Panamera

New wheels 6-9 We are invited to drive the neW 2017 nissan Gt-r on the track at the dubai autodrome

First Post 10-11 artisans from bentley Go out

to meet dhoW builders in dubai to teach their craft

omaN aNd regioNal News 12-15 neW maserati Quattroporte

launches in oman, neW firststop opens in oman, neW JaGuar land rover shoWroom in salalah

BraNdwatch 16-21 trump’s ‘make in usa’ drive

FirstDrive – MINI Countryman

includes automakers too, bmW Wins trademark case in china, no smooth sailinG for General motors india, automotive fuel economy penalties pushed back, polaris pulls the pluG on victory motorcycles, vW to pay $1b in settlement With us Government, mitsubishi to expand suv/cuv line-up, electric cars that failed to impress iihs

gloBal News 22-23 infiniti announces enGineerinG

academy 2017, mercedes-benz to make German plants ev competence centres, mustanG Gets tWo stars in euro ncap 2017

tech Feature 24-25 automotive brands at the ces cover story 26-33 the porsche panamera

impresses us at the reGional launch

First drive 34-41 We drive the brand neW second Generation mini countryman

road tests 42-47 We drive the ranGe rover sport

Automan Car of the Year 2016

svr in oman 48-51 We drive 2017 toyota corolla 52-55 We drive 2016 subaru forester

sPecial Feature 56-63 automan car of the year 2016

announced

Previews 64-65 2018 mustanG convertible 66-69 audi r8 v10 spyder 70-71 2018 toyota camry 72-75 2018 subaru Wrx and Wrx sti motorsPorts 76-77 formula one and motoGp 78-79 dakar rally chicaNe 80 searchinG for an alternative

editor-in-chief Mohammad Al taie

AL roYA PreSS & PUBLiShinG PO Box: 343, Postal Code 118 Al Harthy Complex, Sultanate of Oman

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PUBLiSher hatim Al taie

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www.carbrandz.com MAnAGinG editor raj Warrior raj@automan.me contriBUtinG editorS chandan Basu Mallik chandan@automan.me Anne Kurian deSiGn conSULtAnt Antony Karlo PhotoGrAPhY elvis John ferrao for Advertising & Marketing enquiries: advertising@automan.me diStriBUtion United ArAB eMirAteS dar Al hikma LLc alhikma@emirates.net.ae Tel: +971-4-2665394 | Fax: +971-4-2669827 Printer Al Anan Printing Press LLc Tel: +968 24446163 | Fax: +968 24446287 alananprinting.com | alananprinting@gmail.com © 2017 All editorial content of Automan in the magazine and its website is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the management of Automan.

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the year has begun on a good note for the economies of the region, especially those of the Gcc. the coordinated effort with opec and russia to dial back on production of petroleum has seen a moderate rise in prices, currently around the us$ 55 level. this is a good sign and if the discipline can be consistent then a floor at around this level can be maintained through the year. in fact, we have had many conversations over the past year on the topic of our outlook for 2017 and broadly we have always fallen back on this argument. that oman and the Gcc needs the comfort of a floor on prices at the US$ 50 level. This will increase the sums available to the government, while building on the newfound austerity that economies in the region are practising. one certainly hopes that the better realisation combined with moves on diversifying the economy through tanfeedh in oman will see the economy begin to pull itself out of the slower growth trajectory that we had last year. on the automotive front, dealers across oman have had a challenging 2016 and seem geared up to address an equally challenging 2017. all the segments have been affected, with the luxury segment displaying that it can be caught by lack of demand in a slow economy. but will salivating offers, larger cash back elements and some generous discounting bring back the fence sitters as they wait for need to catch up with desire? in the meantime, this month we have a great crop of new cars to highlight, with the year beginning with the introduction to the new porsche panamera and local opportunities to drive some new introductions. the panamera is in its second generation as comes across as the rendition that porsche needed. it addresses all the shortcomings that the previous one had, including the ugly rear end. We also drive the range rover sport svr locally – one of the better examples of how a dedicated performance tuning can add to the appeal of a car and keep it in the us$ 150,000 territory. this issue is also the one where we declare our annual car of the year – this time the automan car of the year for 2016 announces its winners. We are glad to say that this time, every single category is covered, with most having tough competition. remember, this is on the back of the simple rule that we have to have driven the competing cars in 2016! congratulations to the winners.

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NewMetal Improving the Race quotient Author: Raj Warrior | Photography: Charles Verghese and supplied

Nissan Middle East launched the restyled and upgraded Nissan GT-R in Dubai and we enjoyed a session on track to get a feel of the car

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hen you have an iconic sportscar like the GT-R in your stable, you could be forgiven for considering it the cat’s whiskers. Over the past generation, the GT-R has always been the benchmark in its segment, bringing about intense competition from the likes of Porsche. But that isn’t to say that sometimes Nissan has read too much into the car, offering luxury editions with gold elements and the like. Thankfully, that direction has been left at the roadside, while the engineers bring about some really worthwhile versions like the Nismo GT-R. The 2017 edition debuted almost a year ago in the United States and although it is almost a decade since the R35 platform became operational, there have only been moderate upgrades this time, rather than a reinvention of the car. Not that the GT-R needs to undergo major surgery. You cannot really fault the package. A very reliable structure and some of the best chassis engineering already underpin the GT-R. Samir Cherfan, Managing Director of Nissan Middle East, said: “The Nissan GT-R is one of the world’s most iconic supercars, and the Middle East is a key market for it. Motorists in this region love high-performance vehicles and the GT-R embodies every aspect of the word. Its multi-performance character allows the driver to be completely immersed in the GT-R’s capabilities, whether navigating corners on a twisting mountain road or simply running weekend errands in the neighborhood. We are very excited to be introducing the new 2017 model to its fans and customers in the region.”

The 2017 version was unveiled at last year’s New York Motorshow and brought about a new iteration of the Nissan V grille and a move towards a more muscular fender treatment. The hood gets a more pronounced profile and small changes in the overall shape have helped to improve the GT-R’s already impressive Cd figures at 0.26.

The front bumper and lower airdam elements have been reworked to improve the downforce available.

Similar changes at the rear incorporate new light elements (although still with the trademark round lights), while making the car look slightly wider due to changes in the character lines and bracketing elements.

The car has also benefitted from a completely redone interior.

The cabin has been redesigned to look modern and to integrate trending technologies. This includes a larger central display, a redesigned dashboard and shift from a switch intensive centre console to one that has halved the number of hard keys. Now an increased number of functions have been migrated to the touch screen display to save on dashboard real estate.

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The Nissan GT-R was unveiled to the region’s journalists on track at the Dubai autodrome.

Above, our editor with Yolande Pineda, Director of communications for Nissan Middle East 8

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The driver’s environment has also changed in that the paddle shift levers have been moved to rotate with the steering wheel allowing the driver to keep his hands on the rim to tap up or down while turning. In addition the body structure has been re-engineered to drop weight while offering greater rigidity, while the entire underbody has been reworked to increase the car’s natural ability to handle hard steering inputs and give a more planted feel.

The engine hasn’t changed, nor has the gearbox, although these too seem reworked to provide for a smoother delivery. The engine is the twin-turbo 3.8-litre V6 with 565HP of out at a blistering 6,800rpm and a more than generous torque offering of 634Nm. Technicians handcraft each of these engines and the tuning is optimised to boost performance. The engine is mated with a 6-speed dual-clutch gearbox that has been revisited to offer smoother shifts and more aggressive response.

Now the Dubai Autodrome club circuit offers some really fast driving mixed in with highly technical corners and change of elevation. The improvements in the new GT-R are quite tangible in the confidence with which the car handles sharply tightening curves, fast-in, fast-out apexes and even the rising swoop of the approach to the corporate offices bit.

We took the car out both in automatic and manual mode and the move to integrate the paddle shift on the steering wheel also improved our ability to keep the car committed to a turn while change gears to ready for the gas pedal. You can hear the engine throbbing away in the background with an almost free-flow nature to the exhaust rumbling.

We don’t have the finer details of what the engineers have done to the suspension, but the feel is of a more comfortable ride on the straights,

tightening very quickly indeed as the car hits the bends. You get almost no yaw at all, while the tyres seem like Velcro stuck them to the tarmac.

Verdict The Nissan GT-R buyer is a very specific creature. The Japanese performance sportscar used to have this slightly Spartan feel as the interior design aged and the buyer was ready to buy the car despite its lack of finesse. That has been taken car of substantially. The new interiors are comfortable and inviting without relaxing a bit on the sportscar theme. In some ways the feel is intensified, with the digital readouts and driver feedback.

The GT-R is in every sense a racecar with a very comfortable road manner. That is the premium element that folks are paying for and the GT-R will continue to appeal to these buyers.

Driving Impressions We were fortunate to be among the select few outstation journalists invited to drive the GT-R and rather enjoyed the limited time we had with the car on track.

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FirstPost Bentley artisans meet dhow builders Bentley craftsmen visit UAE-based dhow builders to learn local crafts, while they demonstrate traditional skills employed in marque’s luxury finishes

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raftsmen from two very different worlds recently met at one of the Middle East’s oldest dhow-building yards to demonstrate that some traditional skills are still flourishing. In the region to demonstrate first hand, Bentley’s unique and reknowned handcraft skills in wood and leather, experts from luxury motoring brand Bentley received a personal demonstration from some of the region’s most accomplished wooden boat builders.

More at home finishing the interiors of the world’s most luxurious cars, David Maddocks, an expert wood craftsman of the veneers Bentley is famed for, and Noel Thompson, a coach trimmer who joined the manufacturer as an apprentice when the founder W.O. Bentley was still alive, also demonstrated their wares to local craftsmen at the Obaid Bin Juma Bin Suloom boatyard, located on the edge of Dubai Creek.

Fine craftsmanship is at the heart of every Bentley with the term “hand-built” being no idle claim – it represents a world of expertise and experience in the creation of its exquisite cars by master craftsmen at the Bentley factory in the UK. Similarly, the UAEbased boatyard prides itself on continuing to employ the traditional hand-building methods perfected over the generations. It is this respect for the “old ways” of doing things and the passion for craft shared by artisans around the world that compelled the two Bentley veterans to pay a visit.

While the Bentley boys showed the local Dubai craftsmen how they ply their trade 10

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back at Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe, displaying the fine handiwork of the stitching and trimming customised steering wheels and wood marquetry, they were treated to a quick tutorial in dhow-building.

In an interactive demonstration, they were shown the carpentry techniques used in creating the hulls and cabins of the allwood vessels – all of which reinforced their appreciation of traditions local to the GCC region.

Commenting after the visit, Thompson said: “At Bentley, we pass on our skills from generation to generation. Whether it is the wood craftsmanship that lets us mirrormatch beautiful wood veneers, or the handstitching of supple leather around a steering wheel, there is a rare attention to detail that is only made possible by using traditional skills in wood, paint and leather. So it was a real honour to to be able witness traditional Arabian craftsmanship, a skill that needs to be experienced first-hand to fully appreciate it.”

Obaid Bin Juma Bin Suloom Launch Repairing Establishment is run by brothers Ahmed and Majid Al Falasi but they are not new to the business of dhow construction.

Within their family they represent the third generation of boat-builders and are keen to pass on the business to a fourth. This dedication to an intergenerational transfer of skills was recognised by both the British craftsmen in the approach used in their own workshops in the UK.

Bentley craftsmen visit dhow builders to learn local crafts

Bentley craftsmen demonstrate traditional skills employed in marque’s luxury finishes

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Maserati Oman launch the restyled and boosted Quattroporte Maserati Oman launched the 2017 Maserati Quattroporte at their Azaiba showroom. The Quattroporte has undergone minor styling changes along with a revamp of the interiors paired with boosted output on its V6 engine.

“The Quattroporte was born when Maserati decided to lower the engine of a race car into a four-door - “quattro porte” - salon car in 1963.

Nobody had done anything like that before and until today our Quattroporte drives with a Ferrari produced engine.

A legacy that now continues with the new model,” said Alfardan Motors’ Assistant General Manager, Mohamed El Zawawy.

The restyled Quattroporte’s exterior can be recognised by the new bumper design with matte black profile at the front and the matte black extractor at the rear. Even the new front 12

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grille, a centre piece of the Maserati identity, evolves into a new shape inspired by the Alfieri. It is more pointed and imposing, and introduces new vertical chrome elements in contrast to the deepness of the shark nose effect. Other distinguishing details of the new Quattroporte are the matte black side skirts and the exterior mirrors, slightly restyled as well to incorporate some new technical features.

On the interior, the redesigned central dashboard now accommodates a high resolution 8.4” screen with multi touch function. The central, lower console has also been redesigned and now features a rotary knob for volume and functions control.

The new infotainment system is compatible with both the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring functions. The new Air Quality

Sensor substantially improves the comfort for the occupants through an intelligent sensor and a signal analysis system that calculates the external pollution levels and prevents polluted air and toxic gases from entering the cabin.

With the restyling of the flagship, the Quattroporte, Maserati launches a new trim strategy in order to offer its

highly demanding clientele the additional choice of two unique trim lines that emphasize the two key pillars of the brand’s DNA: GranLusso and GranSport. Each trim level was conceived to meet the needs of clients that seek a differentiated and unique product in the luxury sedan segment.

Oman & Region News

FIRSTSTOP GETS NEW BRANCH FirstStop, Bridgestone’s flagship retail brand, today opened its third show room in the country and first Franchisee owned store in Muladha, with senior officials from BridgestoneMEA, Towell Auto Centre (Bridgestone’s Sole distributor in the Sultanate of Oman) and its business partner and First Stop franchisee, Ashbal Al Arab National Trade, in attendance.

Bridgestone, the world’s leading tyre producer, is undergoing a significant period of expansion in Oman and this new First Stop facility is an important and strategic step in the Sultanate. Founded in 1994, First Stop has been one of the fastest growing Tyre & Auto Care retail brands in Europe and now operates in 25 countries. Through its comprehensive network

of approximately 2,000 dealers, it sells more than 10 million tyres annually.

“The opening of First Stop store in Muladha is an exciting development for us and for our customers,” said Mr. Riyadh Ali Sultan, General Manager at Towell Auto Centre. “We already enjoy excellent customer relations in Oman and this new facility will mean a world class Tyre and Auto care retail facility available to motorists in these areas.

The store is strategically located in Muladha roundabout in Barka - Sohar highway which is the main Road connecting port & Free zone city Sohar to the capital city Muscat.

There are many more stores planned, with each operating to world-class standards and helping to positively impact road safety.”

The new 1.4L Tiguan is now available in Oman Volkswagen Oman, has announced the availability of the 1.4L Tiguan at Volkswagen showrooms across the Sultanate.

Andrew Squires, General Manager of Wattayah Motors said, “The new Tiguan offers technology designed for premium or luxury models but with a volume segment price point. Featuring spacious interior, comfort, and ample performance both on- and off-road, the new 1.4L is the

ideal entry model; especially for discerning buyers searching for a practical everyday family SUV backed by the build quality and reliability guaranteed by any vehicle carrying the Volkswagen badge.”

The 1.4L Tiguan is the entry-level model for the range with prices starting from OMR 9,760. The new model is powered by a 1.4L engine producing 150HP, and mated to a six-speed DSG transmission.

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NEW JAGUAR LAND ROVER FACILITY LAUNCHED IN SALALAH Mohsin Haider Darwish LLC, the importer for Jaguar Land Rover in the Sultanate of Oman has launched an all new Jaguar Land Rover Showroom and Service facility in Salalah, Sultanate of Oman.

The facility was inaugurated

by His Excellency Al Sayyid Mohammed Bin Sultan bin Hamoud Al- Busaidi, Minister of State & Governor of Dhofar in the presence of Mr. Mohsin Haider Darwish, Group Advisor, MHD LLC and Mr. Bruce Robertson, Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover MENA along with other senior officials from the companies.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Mohsin Haider Darwish said: “We are starting 2017 on a very positive note with the inauguration of the new Jaguar Land Rover facility in Salalah. It gives me great pleasure to welcome all our customers to this new facility giving them access to first14

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class products and services.”

Mr. Bruce Robertson, Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover MENAP added: “Over the years we have fostered a very strong and successful relationship with our exclusive Oman retailer Mohsin Haider Darwish. We are very thankful to MHD’s team for their continuous effort and dedication in helping us grow the Jaguar Land Rover business in Oman.

Our customers in Salalah will now have a superb purchasing environment and service facility with unrivalled products and services thanks to the commitment of our trusted MHD partners.”

Addressing the guests at the new showroom, Mr. David Aziz, CEO- Automotive Products, MHD LLC said, “The Dhofar market is very receptive to the luxury products from Jaguar Land Rover and we hope to increase

our market share with the launch of this Sales/ Service & Spares facility which will provide dedicated service to all our customers.”

The facility, which has been upgraded as per the new Jaguar Land Rover ARCH retail corporate identity, not only showcases the great products from both brands but also

creates a brand experience that customers will love for life. Spread over an area of more than 3000 Sq Mtrs the facility provides a premium environment which stands out from the crowd and leads the way in the fiercely competitive premium market segment.

A customer lounge area is also provided for customers.

Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ MENA, have launched a special edition Actros truck in celebration of the model’s 20th anniversary.

Powered by a highly fuel-efficient 6-cylinder engine (Euro 3) boosting 435 horsepower and 2,100 NM of torque, the heavy-duty truck delivers great performance thanks to the power transfer to the two driven rear axles via a twin-plate clutch and the reliable and efficient 16-speed Mercedes PowerShift automated gearbox.

Key highlights of the Actros 20 Years Edition are the various state-of-the art safety features. Besides the standard electronically controlled Telligent® braking system with Anti-lock braking system (ABS) and Acceleration skid control (ASR), the truck is also equipped with the optional Active Brake Assist.

Gulf Oil Middle East launches engine oil for SUVs Gulf Oil Middle East has officially launched its new specially formulated engine oil for SUVs, Gulf Formula ULE 5W40. The new engine oil was unveiled in the presence of Manchester United Ambassador Dwight Yorke and club legend Peter Schmeichel during a regional launch event in Taj Dubai Hotel.

Gulf Formula ULE 5W-40 is an advanced performance, synthetic engine oil meeting mid/low SAPS (Sulphated Ash, Phosphorous & Sulphur) requirements. It has been exclusively developed to protect the engine from wear and sludge. It also provides exceptional cleaning properties and wear protection, and minimises deposits in engine and turbocharger leading to superior overall performance and smooth experience for the SUV Owners.

Chevrolet Introduces 2017 Trax

MG launches door-to-door aftersales service MG, together with its local retail partners in Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, has launched a free door-todoor service geared towards making life easier for the region’s busy professionals.

The hassle-free service adds to the company’s increasing repertoire of aftersales offerings in the Middle East and demonstrates MG’s commitment to providing the highest levels of customer service.

Contemporary design elements, including an allnew front-end appearance, and a new premium interior compose the visual updates, while new available active safety features and a new infotainment system – with

available Apple CarPlay compatibility – expand its range of customer-focused technologies.

The 2017 Trax is now on sale in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. FEB 2017

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Oman & Region News

Mercedes-Benz Trucks launches special edition Actros

Trump’s ‘Make in USA’ drive includes automakers too

Usually, at the beginning of the year, businesses plan the year ahead based on the economic forecast by experts. While global economy is showing slow recovery, 2017, it seems to be adding some extra woes. It’s no secret that last month, global business leaders were closely watching the still-evolving policies of US President Donald Trump.

Trump’s Twitter threat to foreign carmakers with high tariffs on imports of cars made in Mexico in particular is causing concerns to many automakers – especially Japanese and European.

General Motors was on the receiving end of Trump’s ire on the Mexico-built Chevy Cruze and Ford for the small car assembly.

Trump’s protectionist trade stance wasn’t just talk as the president signed an executive order to withdraw the US from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Trump has made it clear that he wants to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Of immediate concern is the fate of NAFTA, a free trade pact among Canada, the United States and Mexico. Taking advantage of the deal, Mexico has become an important production base for makers like Toyota, Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp.

European brands like BMW also has plans 16

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for manufacturing in Mexico.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has said that the group would deal with any changes to NAFTA realistically. Toyota was heavily criticized by Trump for its plan to build a new factory in Mexico. Toyota currently operates one plant there that manufactures the Tacoma pickup truck.

Toyota is set to move Corolla model production from Canada to a new plant in Mexico that will manufacture about 200,000 units of it annually from 2019.

After Trump’s online criticism, Toyota released a statement saying the new plant in Mexico will affect jobs from the US and stressed its contribution to the country.

Of the American brands, both Ford and GM also make small cars in Mexico. Till now, BMW Group has refused to tow the Trump line. BMW says that it will sell the cars it makes in Mexico all over the world, including in the US, regardless of Trump’s plan to impose a tariff on any Mexicanbuilt car that come into the US. The new BMW plant in Mexico is meant to be a boost to the Series 3 production that’s already underway in Germany and China.

Automan’s take Trump’s fierce criticism of the North America Free Trade Agreement

(Nafta) notwithstanding, the Trade Representative’s office points out that since Nafta was passed the value of US goods exported to Mexico has increased by 486 per cent. Nevertheless, given the respective size of their economies, the US is clearly even more important to Mexico, than Mexico is to the US. The US is Mexico’s biggest export market by far. And since Nafta was passed the value of its goods sold north of the border has risen by 638per cent.

While US President Trump is calling on manufacturers to create production bases in the US, analysts said that’s an unlikely scenario for Japanese automakers as it is economically unviable due to high employment costs and where labour unions are quite powerful when it comes to tough negotiations. Trump has vowed to energize the economy with a US$1 trillion investment in infrastructure and a cut in corporate taxes to 15per cent from the current 35per cent. As the Trump administration intentions are getting clearer, automakers will be left with no choice but to modify their business and investment priorities. There’s no doubt that a major breakdown in trade relations would inflict serious damage on Mexico and the US.

BrandWatch Some of BMW’s genuine lifestyle products

BMW wins trademark case in China Some of China’s businesses have been notorious in copying and selling high end Western products at cheap prices. Stern action against counterfeiters was not so common, but when a high profile brand like BMW files a case related to trademark infringement or copyright issues, ripples are bound to be made.

In the past lawsuits against Chinese companies that have obviously copied a Western design were frequently hrown out.

The owners of Chinese fashion brand BMN, whose logo is strikingly similar to the German premium automaker have realised it the hard way. BMN has been ordered to pay out after a court in Shanghai has ruled in favour of BMW in a case

against two Chinese companies that registered trademarks very similar to its own. The Shanghai Intellectual Property Court said a certain Zhou Legin had registered the company Deguo Baoma Group (Int’l) Holdings Limited in China back in 2008. That name translates as German BMW Group (Int’l) Holdings Limited.

Through the company, Zhou then bought and registered the trademark “BMN”, and a logo similar to BMW’s iconic black and white “propeller” badge.

The defendants have been ordered to pay compensation of US$431,738) to BMW. Recently, Jaguar Land Rover launched a lawsuit against Chinese automaker Jiangling Motor whose Land Wind X7 SUV was a blatant rip-

off of the Range Rover Evoque.

Automan’s take Just a few years ago, the impression of China to the outside world was something like this: in China they don’t just counterfeit devices, they counterfeit entire shops - a knock-off Apple store was closed down in 2015.

Many countries viewed China as the world’s shameless imitator. China has long had no more than a passing relationship with international copyright law. However, that is beginning to change as at the 2017 CES, the US’s biggest trade show, Chinese companies could be found competing not only on price, but on fantastic ideas and design.

No smooth sailing for General Motors India It seems that General Motors India is facing the heat as the carmaker has been lagging behind its competitors when it comes to attracting Indian car buyers. The Indian operations of Detroit, USbased brand have reported losses of over US$160mn during FY 2015-16. General

Motors is one of the early foreign brands to operate in India back way in 1995 after the country went through its first wave of economic reforms. GM India sells models under its Chevrolet brand.

As a result of this performance, GM said last year that it was putting

on hold its proposed US$1billion investment plan in India. This means, India’s loss could be China’s gain as GM is comfortable in that country. What’s more, it also seems that GM has started the process of slowly winding up some of its production units in the country.

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Automotive fuel economy penalties pushed back US-based National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA] which is also responsible with writing and enforcing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards as well as regulations for motor vehicle theft resistance and fuel economy, the latter under the rubric of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) system has decided to postpone increased fines for fuel economy violations for a few years. The original ruling, which was made in July 2016 would have gone into effect this year and applied to 2015 model year vehicles.

Now the fine increase won’t be enforced until the 2019 model year.

The increase in fines the automakers were likely to face was substantial. The way the fine works currently is that for every tenth of a mile per gallon the automaker is over the limit, it is charged US$5.50. That cost is then multiplied by every car the company sold in that model year. The increase would have brought the US$5.50/car fine to US$14.00, with NHTSA’s reasoning being that the fine hadn’t changed since the 1998 model year.

Even with the current US$5.50 figure, though, fines can reach into the millions, 18

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based on past NHTSA fines. The increase would make those fines even more massive. For example, Jaguar Land Rover was fined US$14,110,470 in 2013 using the current method. Substituting the US$14.00 figure into the equation, and the fine would become US $35,917,560.

According to The Detroit News, the fine increase was delayed in part due to lobbying by the Alliance of Automotive Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers. The lobbyists argued that the retroactive application, plus the fact that car companies had finalized plans for models up to 2018 before this new rule was made, made it so that automakers were unable to adjust to and address the rule.

Automan’s take Currently, the EPA is trying to finalize the proposed 2025 CAFE target of 54.5 mpg.

Meanwhile, automaker lobbyist groups are pushing to bring that number down.

The next few months should be pretty interesting.

Polaris pulls the plug on Victory Motorcycles In late 90s, Harley-Davidson’s only acknowledged rival to its metric cruisers was the arrival of American-made Victory Motorcycles. However, success for Victory wasn’t so easy and somewhere in-between its business that ran for 18 years, the product focus wasn’t so clear and sales started dwindling. Even a last-minute emphasis on performance didn’t change consumer perception.

Sadly, for motorcycle enthusiasts, last month Victory’s corporate parent, Polaris Industries, announced it would be closing Victory Motorcycles. While the purchase of the Indian Motorcycles brand was the final nail in the coffin, the decision makers at Polaris say the business priority is to revive Indian.

BrandWatch

VW to pay $1B in settlement with US government Diesel related woes still continue for Volkswagen in the US. The German automaker and the US government have now come to a settlement for the civil claims against the automaker’s 3.0-litre diesel V6s. Over 83,000 offending V6 TDI-powered models are reportedly on US roads.

The settlement allows VW to recall over 75 per cent of the affected V6 diesels and bring them into compliance. The models using the V6 include newer VW Touaregs, Audi A6, A7, A8, Q5, and Q7s, and Porsche Cayennes built between 2013 and 2016.

According to the company, the recall will bring these so-called Generation Two engines up to emissions specs, provided the EPA and CARB okay the modifications.

Should the regulators say no to VW’s tweaks, the company will buy back or terminate leases with affected owners.

As part of its agreement over the emissions-cheating V6s, Volkswagen will contribute US$225 million to the “environmental remediation

trust” it established as part of its settlement over cheating 2.0-liter TDIs. VW is also on the hook for $25 million with CARB, bringing the total for the six-cylinder part of its emissions cheating scandal to around US$1billion.

In a separate incident, six Volkswagen executives have been indicted in emissions-cheating scandal. Five of the six executives are thought to be residing in Germany, according to the Department of Justice. The pursuit of executives by criminal prosecutors is a rare occurrence among big companies, whose top people almost never face jail time. In other recent scandals involving automakers such as GM and Toyota — in which safety defects led to deaths of drivers and passengers — the companies paid big fines but admitted no criminal wrongdoing and no executive actually spent time in prison.

Those indicted were Heinz-Jakob Neusser, 56, Jens Hadler, 50, Richard Dorenkamp, 68, Bernd Gottweis, 69, Oliver Schmidt, 48, and Jürgen

Peter, 59, all of Germany. All of the accused have ties to Volkswagen’s engine development and quality assurance divisions, both in the US and Germany. It is alleged that they directed employees to develop and install technology to evade emissions testing and then falsely marketed the car engines as “clean diesel,” according to the DOJ.

Automan’s take The Volkswagen settlement sends a message to other companies that illegal conduct can come with harsh penalties. Volkswagen is charged with conspiring to defraud the government and violate environmental regulations from May 2006 to November 2015 by installing devices in its diesel engine vehicles that obscure the amount of nitrogen oxide they spew into the air. Those devices and accompanying software allowed Volkswagen to evade regulators for years.

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Mitsubishi to expand SUV/CUV line-up Under new management, Mitsubishi will fire on all cylinders soon. Evidence of what is in store for the brand has been released in the form of news that a new compact SUV will be added to MMC’s crossover SUV line-up. The teaser image suggests a sharp and active looking coupe

SUV with wedge-shape belt line, a forceful character line running through the side, a more steeply raked rear window, and long wheelbase with short rear overhang proportions.

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) will debut its new compact SUV at the

87th Geneva International Motor Show in March. Switzerland. It could be called the Eclipse, say analysts. The new arrival is expected to sit under the ASX and Outlander.

Electric cars that failed to impress IIHS The Tesla Model S and the BMW i3 failed to notch good ratings in recent crash tests. In the small overlap front crash test, the Tesla’s safety belt didn’t prevent the dummy’s head from hitting the steering wheel through the airbag. The IIHS also noted a possible leg injury in that test.

While, the roof strength is no different 20

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from the rest of the Model S line-up, which are rated “good,” but the weight of its big battery puts more stress on the structure while shiny-side-down. Finally, its headlamps also got a “poor” rating from the IIHS. The BMW i3’s biggest shortcoming highlighted was in its head restraints. In a rear-end collision, it only

got an “acceptable” rating, which puts occupants at a greater risk of a neck injury. The IIHS laments that the i3 is the only vehicle in the small car category that doesn’t get a “good” rating in this test.

The i3’s headlamps also missed the mark, as the only option gets an “acceptable” rating.

Snippets

As part of the diversification of its business into nonmotoring areas, US-based Tesla Motors has dropped the “Motors” from its name. Elon Musk’s Tesla recently purchased Solar City, launched Powerwall and the solar roof for homeowners. This makes Tesla as much of an energy company as it is a car maker.

Land Rover Classic

Under Land Rover’s Classic “Reborn” program, which means meticulously factory-restored classic models backed with a warranty. The first candidates were the 60-year-old Land Rover Series 1 models. Now the company is following up with the same treatment for the Range Rover. In a limited run, Land Rover will only refurbish 10 examples of the original Range Rover and the first in this line is a three-door 1978 model of the original luxury SUV. When completed, it will be shown in public at the Rétromobile classic car show in the US.

Bosch to compensate affected VW Group owners

Volkswagen Group of America and automotive parts maker Bosch reached a settlement in which the two companies will pay a combined $1.6 billion because of their roles in the automaker’s diesel-emissions scandal.

VW, Europe’s largest automaker, will pay about $1.2 billion to either repair or buy back vehicles. Bosch said separately

that it will pay more than $300 million to owners of dieselpowered Volkswagens, Audis, and Porsches.

PSA Peugeot confirms Indian market reentry by 2020

Last month France based PSA Group and India’s CK Birla Group signed joint venture agreements to produce and sell vehicles and powertrain in India by 2020. This comes as a part of the PSA Group’s “Push to Pass” strategy. As per the deal inked between the partners, PSA Group will hold a majority stake in the joint venture with Hindustan Motors Financial Corporation Limited [HMFCL] which was acquired by the Birlas for the assembly and distribution of PSA passenger cars in India. The second agreement is a 50/50 joint venture between the PSA Group and AVTEC Ltd, a CK Birla Group company to manufacture and supply powertrains.

An initial investment of €100mn will be made in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu will be made by the PSA Group towards an annual manufacturing capacity of 100,000 vehicles. Additional investment will also be made as the project grows. For the local Indian markets, PSA has confirmed the cost of production will be brought down with less imports and higher localisation content. The PSA Group which has the Peugeot, Citroen and DS brands under its umbrella, is the largest manufacturer in France who produce around 3.14mn vehicles a year globally.

BrandWatch

Tesla Motors renamed

People in the news Karim Habib BMW brand’s head of design of Lebanese origin Karim Habib will soon leave. Habib will the third brand design chief to leave the Group in the last two years, with the MINI and BMW i heads of design leaving last year. Habib has a history at BMW that stretches back to 1998, and his work included designing the first 7 Series to come after Chris Bangle’s controversial version. Upon return, Habib took

charge of the brand’s styling in 2012 and reported to group design chief Adrian van Hooydonk. He joined BMW in 1998 but left for a short stint at Mercedes-Benz from 2008 to 2010. Till now, BMW has declined to confirm Habib’s departure. Interestingly, the slots left by Anders Warming and Benoit Jacob, the former respective design bosses for MINI and BMW i remain vacant.

Travis Kalanick Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was one of the high-profile executives related to the automotive industry in US President Donald Trump’s economic advisory council. Kalanick received a lot of flak from both employees and the public at large after he said that he would continue to work with the president, even after the latter’s

executive order banning refugees and others from several Muslim nations.

Kalanick told his employees: “Joining the group was not meant to be an endorsement of the President or his agenda but unfortunately it has been misinterpreted to be exactly that.” It’s not clear when Kalanick will officially leave the council.

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INFINITI announces Engineering Academy 2017 INFINITI has announced the 2017 edition of the INFINITI Engineering Academy during a presentation at the Autosport International Show, with Tommaso Volpe, director, INFINITI Global Motorsport and Cyril Abiteboul, managing director, Renault Sport Formula One™ Team.

It will be the fourth successive year of this unique recruitment program, which provides a money-can’t-buy, life changing career opportunity for seven worldclass students. Students will learn from leading engineers both at INFINITI Motor Company and the Renault Sport Formula One Team, thanks to the technical partnership and strong collaboration between the two companies.

“Thanks to our close Technical Partnership with the Renault Sport Formula One Team, we can offer seven engineers from all over the world a truly

technically rich, multi-discipline and multi-cultural engineering placement,” said Volpe. “We are really proud to see this project growing year after year and our past Academy Engineers being so successful in their careers. The level of interest we are receiving from students all over the world is absolutely fantastic, so of course we are delighted to launch the fourth edition of this truly unique program today.”

A key pillar of the INFINITI Engineering Academy is exploring crossover opportunities and the sharing of technology between INFINITI road car and Renault Sport Formula One race car projects. With this added depth of knowledge transfer and the enhanced scope for collaboration that the RenaultNissan Alliance brings, the Academy will provide an unmatched range of

8 million Audi cars with quattro drive Audi is celebrating a special milestone with the San José Chiapa plant in Mexico rolling out the 8 millionth Audi with quattro drive. The milestone car is a garnet red Audi Q5 2.0 TFSI quattro.

Quattro technology made its debut in 1980, and today it is available in more than 100 model versions. The quattro all-wheel drive system is standard in the Audi Q7, the Audi A4 allroad quattro, the Audi A6 allroad quattro, the Audi A8, the 22

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Audi R8 and all S models and RS models, and it is available as an option in all other model series. In 2015, 44 percent of all Audi customers worldwide chose models equipped with quattro drive. The Audi Q5 topped the list with about 262,000 units. The quattro models generated particularly strong sales in the United States, Canada, Russia and in the markets of the Middle East.

experiences and opportunities to the seven 2017 winners.

“INFINITI brings two key elements to the Renault Sport Formula One Team: expertise in the Energy Recovery Systems (ERS) through Performance Hybrid technology and an international diversity of young, fresh thinking engineering talent, thanks to the Academy,” said Abiteboul. “These globally sourced students not only bring fresh perspectives to the team but also the latest learnings from road car hybrid technology, of which INFINITI is a pioneer.”

For the 2017 edition, the seven global regions participating will be: Asia & Oceania, Canada, China, Europe (including Russia), Mexico, Middle East and the United States.

Mercedes-Benz Cars is consolidating all activities in connection with electric mobility under the new product brand EQ, and the Concept EQ gives a clear outlook onto a completely new generation of vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz Cars plans to launch more than ten electric vehicles by 2025: in all segments from smart to large SUVs, with the company expecting the mix of EVs to be between 15 and 25%.

The EQ product brand is at the core of the corporate strategy for the mobility of the future, which is summarized under the acronym CASE. The four letters stand for the strategic pillars of connectivity (Connected), autonomous driving (Autonomous), flexible use

(Shared & Services) and electric drive (Electric).

“Mercedes-Benz Cars is setting the strategic course for the production of electric vehicles within the global production network. In this way, we are taking advantage of the opportunities offered by electric mobility and are significantly limiting the required investment. We have invested worldwide at an early stage in flexibility and technical equipment with groundbreaking Industry 4.0 solutions.

With our plants in Bremen, Rastatt and Sindelfingen as well as the smart plant in Hambach, France, we now have four competence centers for the production of electric vehicles,” states Markus Schäfer, Member of the Divisional Board of

GlobalNews

Mercedes-Benz to make German plants EV competence centres

Markus Schäfer, Member of the Divisional Board Mercedes-Benz Cars, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management, Daimler AG Management of MercedesBenz Cars, Production and Supply Chain Management.

All three German Mercedes-Benz car plants Bremen, Rastatt and Sindelfingen will play a key role for electric mobility in the global production

network: They are competitive on a worldwide basis with regard to the production portfolio as well as innovation capability, and will offer the employees good prospects for the future.

Mustang gets two stars in Euro NCAP 2017

GM and Honda to set up Fuel Cell Manufacturing General Motors and Honda announced establishment of the auto industry’s first manufacturing joint venture to mass produce an advanced hydrogen fuel cell system that will be used in future products from each company.

Fuel Cell System Manufacturing, LLC will operate within GM’s existing battery pack manufacturing facility site in Brownstown, Michigan, south of Detroit. Mass

production of fuel cell systems is expected to begin around 2020 and create nearly 100 new jobs.

The companies are making equal investments totaling $85 million in the joint venture.

The companies integrated their development teams and shared hydrogen fuel cell intellectual property to create a more affordable commercial solution for fuel cell and hydrogen storage systems.

Ford’s iconic muscle car, the Mustang, has scored a two-star rating for overall safety, with concerns about its crash protection of adult and child occupants and a worrying lack of safety equipment commonly available on the European market. The results reveal the American “DNA” of the Mustang that is designed to score well in the less wide-ranging US consumer tests. The European variant has seen only those minor updates required to meet European (pedestrian) safety regulation and the Forward Collision Warning

system was removed when it was introduced in Europe.

In the frontal offset test, the airbags of both the driver and passenger inflated insufficiently to properly restrain the occupants. In the full-width frontal test, a lack of rear seatbelt pre-tensioners and load-limiters meant that the rear passenger slid under the seatbelt, implying higher risk at abdominal injuries in real life accidents.

In the side impact crash, the head of the 10-year dummy contacted the interior trim bottoming out the curtain airbag.

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TechFocus Consumer Electronics Show increases automotive technology crossover Where it is now generally accepted that connectivity is the future in automobile technology applications, automakers chose the Las Vegas event to highlight technologies and partnerships with specialists

Hyundai’s IDEO Health cockpit project The battle for virtual assistants has begun as more and more automakers are teaming up with specialists in automation technology applications. Hyundai has announced that it has teamed up with Google to allow users of Google Home to lock their cars remotely, among other features. At least four leading automotive brands announced deals with three tech giants to add virtual assistants to new cars.

Microsoft’s Cortana netted two of the deals, the others went to Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s Assistant. Nissan and BMW have opted to work with Microsoft to bring Cortana to selected vehicles in the near future. Ford said it will work with Amazon for the Alexa driving assistant app which will feature in some of its cars. Hyundai and Daimler have said they will make their cars partly voice-operable with Google Assistant.

Apple’s Siri assistant is already available in certain cars as well - via the firm’s CarPlay software. Many brands - including BMW, 24

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Nissan, Hyundai and Ford - have produced models that support it. BMW discussed a handful of ways drivers might use its digital platform, BMW Connected, and Cortana in future cars - including booking restaurant tables.

Car-makers are interested in bringing such functionality to their vehicles as a means of making them easier to interact with - and to connect home appliances to drivers while they are on the road. Toyota also announced a futuristic concept car at CES, the Concept-i. It features its own digital assistant, named Yui. Besides the deals with tech giants, carmakers also had some interesting concepts to talk about. Here, we present a few of the headline making ideas.

Honda NeuV concept: Honda predicts a future where self-driving cars will communicate with each other and infrastructure to mitigate traffic congestion and eliminate traffic fatalities, while increasing the

Hyundai’s IONIQ Scooter

productivity of road users and delivering new types of in-vehicle entertainment experiences. With the NeuV concept, Honda’s theme of its presence is something it calls the Cooperative Mobility Ecosystem, where via artificial intelligence, robotics and big data the various aspects of one’s life are combined in order to foster safer, more productive use of time.

Essentially, the NeuV concept is a selfdriving two-seat commuter car for urban environments. Power comes from an electric drive system and there is also a new type of interface called the Emotion Engine. Honda says this interface uses artificial intelligence to enable new ways for people to interact with cars.

The Emotion Engine learns from the driver by detecting the emotions behind the driver’s judgments and then, based on the driver’s past decisions, makes new choices and recommendations.

The system can check on the driver’s emotional well-being, make music recommendations based on mood, and support the owner’s daily driving routine.

Riding Assist concept: Honda’s robotics technology and features a self-balancing system for motorcycles designed to reduce the possibility of falling over while the motorcycle is at rest or traveling at

low speeds. Honda’s Riding Assist concept uses technology originally developed for the company’s ASIMO robot, where balance is achieved from shifting weight.

Rather than relying on gyroscopes, which can be heavy and alter the riding experience, the motorcycle’s front fork also automatically adjusts from a standard geometry position to one more aggressively angled, like on a cruiser, to further aid balance.

Hyundai The South Korean automotive giant demonstrated a huge variety of innovations that join mobility services with connected homes and even healthcare. Hyundai’s vision of the future isn’t necessarily to turn its vehicles into self-driving living rooms but to integrate its cars with actual living rooms. Its Smart House concept uses connected car technologies to bridge living and working spaces.

So in theory it will be possible for an owner to communicate via voice with Google Home and tell the Hyundai Blue Link service to start the vehicle in the garage and send a destination address to its navigation system. Also, Hyundai showed a concept that literally integrates the home with the car by docking the

vehicle through its driver-door portal— like a space station. Then the car and home share things like air conditioning, seating and sound systems until the owner needs the vehicle to act like a vehicle and drives away in it.

IONIQ Scooter: Hyundai’s IONIQ Scooter is another innovation from Hyundai Motor’s long-term research and development program, Project IONIQ. The concept is a compact electric powered scooter that can be charged while it’s stored inside the front door of the IONIQ Electric, rather than the trunk.

Mobility Cockpit Concept: Hyundai also set a demonstration of its vision for autonomous vehicles. The cockpit concept will “cultivate the well-being of drivers when commuting or traveling” through use of biometric sensors that can detect driver posture, respiratory rate, breathing depth, heart-rate variability and use eye tracking and facial feature recognition to gauge how alert a driver is—as well as his or her emotional state, according to the company.

In fact, the cockpit will offer “mood bursts” to attempt to raise alertness or induce calmness by adjusting the seat or activating its massage function—or even putting a whiff of a pleasing scent into the air.

Honda’s NueV Concept

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CoverDrive

The sting is in the tail Author: Raj Warrior | Photography: Jorge Ferrari and Charles Verghese

The new generation of the Porsche Panamera brings with it much more than a restyle – the package is now a modern interpretation of the luxury sports sedan.

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W

hen the first generation of the Porsche Panamera made its debut in 2009, it served to bring the brand into territory that was largely nascent at the time. The four door sedans that came close were either from the higher echelons of the motoring world – the Bentleys and Rolls-Royces with their single minded focus on luxury or the upstart higher spec and often close to custom versions of the regular E-segment premium car. But the recognition that a large enough customer base existed for a luxury performance car was growing.

You only have to look at the space now to see how deep that segment has grown.

Along with the Porsche Panamera, we have the Maserati Quattroporte (which was its only competitor then), the Aston Martin Rapide and yes, the BMW 6-series as well as its competition from Stuttgart.

But when Porsche unveiled the first Panamera, purists were up in arms, almost as much as they were when the Cayenne first saw the light of day. How do you take a sports car marque and stretch it to cover mundane subjects like four-door sedans and SUVs? Porsche’s success over the past generation has been in their ability to do this very thing – they still call themselves a sportscar maker and have ensured that these two product lines along with the Macan have model variants that offer neck snapping acceleration and great handling along with their original remit of bringing the Porsche brand of luxury to the new segments.

Again, it isn’t as if the purists were too far off their mark – the first generation of the Porsche Panamera looked too much of an effort to don the 911’s attire. The focus on a sweeping rear and pronounced stance resulted in an inordinate prominence to the car’s rear quarters, negating the plus points of what was a rather good interpretation of the 989 concept. However that in itself almost feels like the criticism of a new thriller movie. The Panamera went on to become a hot-seller despite the critics and over 28

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the years of the first generation, served to bring the Porsche brand into garages where a sportscar on its own may have been out of place.

The second generation of the Panamera thus has a huge task ahead of it. The car has to build on the success of the tailheavy first gen, while staying true to the concept of a four-door 911.

At the launch of the car to media in Dubai, Porsche’s regional managing director Deesch Papke pointed out that the new car shared nothing but badging with the previous one. An all-new platform supports various new technologies that have become an expectation on the new cars. Some of these include rear wheel steering, better aerodynamics, quicker responding active suspension and the entire electronics backbone of the car. Now your Panamera carries more computing power than a reasonably kitted workstation and has to deliver this digital manna at high speeds.

However the car has not really deviated too much in terms of shape. The general idea of a stretched 911 is still very integral to the exterior. In fact this time they have done a far better job of marrying the two concepts. The rear still has the fastback slope of the 911, but the treatment around the hatch, the taillights and the bumpers is so much more evocative of today’s sportscar. The front too enjoys a similar sense of serendipity. The four LED points that surround the headlights aren’t the only connect. From the raised central crest of the hood, the push to a more muscular fender, the large mirrors out on stalks and the aggressive ratios that place the driver at a desired midpoint between the wheels – the Panamera has got it right again. The roof falls away a lot faster now, yet the little bit extra on the wheelbase and some clever interior design allow for generous headroom at the rear. The taillights are also subjected to the fourpoint LED surrounds, which mesh in nicely with the very horizontal visual of the tail, again inspired by the 911.

Porsche has managed to endow the second generation Panamera with the sleekness and beauty that it missed on the first outing. The car has also taken its performance reputation seriously, with figures that inspire envy

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The other huge change that has happened is in the interior. The concept of digitisation has been truly pushed to the maximum on the revised car.

Now, almost two-thirds of the dashboard looks like it has become one giant screen.

Admittedly the instrument panel isn’t quite a flat surface. The Tachometer gains pride of place in the centre of the instrument panel, with the flanking panels using twin roundels to communicate a whole lot of extra information. The speedometer and associated drive information is to the left and car related info like temperature and fuel to the right. The outer two roundels can carry info that the driver chooses.

The central 12.3” high-resolution display sits atop the centre console that with its gleaming ebony surface looks so much like an extension of the display itself. The sheer acreage available on the display now allows for split screen as well as programmable configurations. You can drag and drop the info that will appear on the home screen as well as enjoy extra info that pops out from the side as an overlay. Porsche’s focus on building its own graphic interface, while allowing seamless integration with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto can be seen here. Move over to the centre console and you notice the next biggest visual change, the whole gamut of the car’s piano switches and knobs has disappeared to be replaced by backlit touch surfaces. A couple of knobs and switches still remain and we believe that these are the critical ones that you want to use without taking your eyes off the road. However, that said, Porsche insist that its move to using haptic feedback will allow the transition from hard keys.

The three-spoke steering wheel has also undergone the generational change, with the new addition being the driving mode knob that sticks out in a south-east orientation. The modes available on the knob vary depending on whether you take a 4S or a Turbo but the underlying character is that a long press allows you a brief performance boost to allow overtaking and sprints, while the switchable drive modes change the car’s engine response, gearshift patterns and suspension response.

The two variants we were introduced to over the weekend were the 4S and the Turbo, although the Turbo was only the single unit and that meant our interaction with the car was limited to a handling track set out for us.

The 4S is equipped with a biturbo 2.9-litre V6 engine, with the turbochargers built into the area in between the right angle of the V to make for a very compact layout. The space contains the two turbos, the oil cooler and filter as well as the exhaust manifold. Output on the V6 engine is 440hp and a torque of 550Nm over a large bandwidth. Both versions of the Panamera get the new eight-speed 30

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AT A GLANCE

Porsche Panamera ON SALE First Quarter of 2017 ENGINES 4S 2.9L Biturbo V6, 90-deg with turbos in bank Power 440 hp @ 5650rpm Torque 550Nm @ 1750 to 5500rpm Turbo 4.0L Biturbo V8, 90-deg with turbos in bank with cylinder deactivation Power 550 hp @ 5750rpm Torque 770 Nm @ 1960 40 4500 rpm TRANSMISSION Eight-speed double-clutch PDK automatic LAYOUT 4-door, 4-passenger, fPorsche Traction Management (PTM) active all-wheel drive SUSPENSION Front: Aluminum double wishbone suspension Rear: Aluminum multi-link suspension DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 2,950mm Length: 5,049mm Width: 1,937mm Height: 1,427mm

The 4S brings in a new level of performance with the 2.9-litre biturbo V6. While it may not have the Turbo’s rear wheel steer, the combination of bucketloads of torque, a great chassis and the genes of a sportscar make the 4S almost as adept FEB 2017

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The V8 biturbo engine offers a range defining output, while the new generation interface brings in trendy customisation and integration with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The centre console has also lost most of the physical switches and knobs in the move to a touch-centric interface.

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dual-clutch PDK gearbox (in which only the seventh and eighth gears are designed as overdrive). This gearbox can handle torque of up to 1000Nm. On the other hand if you buy the Turbo, you get the big daddy of engines on offer in the biturbo V8. The 4-litre engine delivers 550hp and a massive torque of 770Nm from just below 2,000 rpm to the mid-4000 region. The major talking points of the engine are its 90-degree bank, siting of the two twin-scroll turbos inside the V, cylinder deactivation (cylinders 2,3,5 and 8 are switchable) and a provision of cast iron liners inside the cylinders (of the cast aluminium block).

Other changes in the car include a completely rethought suspension. The components are now largely forged aluminium, the steering remains electromechanical and uses the isolation of aluminium subframe and the front and rear suspension use hydraulic rubber mounts. Where offered, the air suspension is also improved with a three-chamber layout that allows for greater lift as well as more precise tuning.

Significantly, the Turbo variant gets Porsche’s active rear-wheel steering that serves to further deliver on performance and handling. At slower speeds it turns to tighten the turn circle, while at higher speeds the wheels move in tandem with the front, although to a far lower degree, the maximum being 2.8 degrees. Even this is tangible while on the handling track.

The greatest new addition to the suspension is the 4D chassis control system that serves as a arbiter of the best handling manoeuvres, electronically setting the chassis response, damper control and the air suspension to optimise the car’s response. This is also tied in with engine and gearbox and the car’s active suspension management.

Driving Impressions The Porsche Panamera is still a reasonably large car and as such uses most of the power on offer to propel its mass of around 1900kgs. A lot of weight has been shaved off the new car, with greater use of lightweight structural components as well as optimised engine design. But some of that weight is regained in other parts including the cabin. You don’t feel the weight on the acceleration of course, since power output and gearbox response is so much better defined. The 4S has 440hp on offer and the car is eager to use every bit of the power. Our driving was largely confined to a loose convoy, so we weren’t ever able to push the car hard, except on a couple of patches, but the overwhelming feel is of a very competent performer that has managed to integrate its systems so well that you are never really challenged.

The more you push, the quicker the car responds. Of course you could sing paeans about the car’s ability to communicate a bit of its electronic overlord character – the car’s InnoDrive includes adaptive cruise

control, lane keep, lane change and is able to read road signs. The car also offers LED matrix headlights (the sort that can pick out hazards) and if that isn’t enough it also offers a night vision assistant.

The short stint we had with the Turbo is as revealing. The car’s performance on the handling course is so much better than the 4S. The sprint to the corner is quicker, the steer through the corner is flatter and more assured and the braking on the end straight with the quick flick avoidance manoeuvre is so much more aggressive.

Verdict There can be now two ways about it.

The Panamera has really stood the test of its over-critical first generation and is now back with a new look and a really impressive arsenal to take on the upstarts.

The clearly identifiable changes like the increased touch surfaces and large displays are almost signature in scope. The designers have used the offered canvas of a sportscar like twin tub to bring out the very best in interior layout. And the engineers have delivered on the two great engines as well as the new gearbox. But that isn’t all that defines the Panamera – it’s that feel that the Panamera 2.0 is now actually the car the original should have been all along. It looks great, it looks sportscar, it looks like it is a complete package. And for anyone who has upwards of RO 60,000 to spend, it does offer that distinction.

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FirstDrive

The BIG one!

Author: Chandan Basu Mallik | Photography: Richard Newton, author and supplied

How does one reinvent the largest MINI? To get an idea in real-time, Automan travelled all the way to England to test drive the Gen II all-new 2017 MINI Countryman

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B

ritish motoring brand MINI under the tutelage of BMW Group has been successfully metamorphosed into a niche lifestyle brand since acquisition in 2000. Progress has been steady, sometimes ambitious with model line successes and even a couple drop outs. Commercial success began with the relaunch of the 3-door hatchback, however,

the brand did have a crossover in mind and in 2008 some possible ideas were shown as concepts at motor shows in Europe and USA. Unveiled at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, the MINI Crossover Concept was more than a hatch on stilts with four doors [2 right swing open, 1 left swing open, 1 left lift/sliding] and four single seats. Following the unveil, two years later, at the 2010

North American International Auto Show a further iteration called the Beachcomber Concept was presented based on the 2008 Crossover Concept with no doors and no conventional roof. The same year also saw the launch of the Gen I production front wheel drive 2010 MINI Countryman, the largest model from the brand till date.

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This image gives you an idea of how MINIs have grown to meet current trends. drive systems] and larger off-road capable wheels. The message was beginning to get clear where MINI was heading.

As the first SUV for the brand it was more of an extension to the line-up and was designated to be one of the core model pillars for the brand. However, it wasn’t entirely flawless as the delicate line differentiating a MINI hatchback on stilts and a genuine SUV/CUV type of vehicle was not so clearly defined in terms of design, dimensions or performance.

Here’s why. From a SUV/CUV perspective vis-a-vis competition where size defines the segment, the largest MINI [Countryman] was over 16in longer than the Cooper hardtop but 3.6in shorter than a Volkswagen Golf hatchback. As a result, even as a compact crossover by market standards, it was OK by MINI standards, but fell short of market expectations where competition is quite stiff.

Accommodation was cramped for rear occupants, the instrument panel appeared to be an adaptation from the hatchback and engineers somewhat overlooked the way the ride was supposed to be tuned for a crossover instead of a go-kart like hot hatch. As a result, its on-road performance was acceptable to some, but not so refined for majority of buyers. Despite the shortcomings, the Gen I Countryman sold over 550,000 units in its career worldwide and now roughly represents a third of total MINI production.

For the second innings for the incoming Countryman, as expected the task has been to touch upon the weak spots and fix them. This has been possible, thanks in part to the BMW Group UKL2 platform which also underpins some BMW models 36

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like the 2 Series Active Tourer and the MINI Clubman. The flexible platform has allowed for the dimensional changes. The other changes when compared to the outgoing model are quite interesting. The line-up consist of four variants with both front wheel and permanent all-wheel drive model options.

Part of the design strategy seems to have stemmed from the fact that while the Gen I Countryman sold quite well in the US, UK and Europe, the successor was also needed to meet specific feature demand from Far East markets, China in particular.

The China market demands a long wheel base variant of most cars sold out there and hence it was decided to move forward with this decision.

However, adding length to the MINI Countryman only would have definitely made the car look odd and disproportionate and hence it was also widened. The incoming Countryman is 7.4in longer, 1.3in wider, thanks to the wheelbase which has been stretched by 2.9in. In profile the car is similar to the outgoing model in its stance. However, when viewed closely, there has been considerable attention in the detailing, be it sheet metal or detailing. Most body surfaces now get angular treatment and new curves have been introduced on the lower section of the rear door panels.

Bonnet also gets a softer version of a power bulge. Front grille is split into two and the traditional mesh design is carried over. Lower valance gets scoops aiding cooling for brakes and radiators. Both headlamps and rear tail lamps get chrome surrounds to ensure a bigger and bulkier look to the car. Headlamp also gets DRL

Part of the design strategy seems to have stemmed from the fact that while the Gen I Countryman sold quite well in the US, UK and Europe, the successor was also needed to meet specific feature demand from Far East markets, China in particular

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AT A GLANCE

MINI Countryman ENGINES Cooper Countryman 3-cylinder petrol engine, capacity: 1 499 cc, output: 100 kW/136 hp, max. torque: 220 Nm Cooper S Countryman 4-cylinder petrol engine, capacity: 1 998 cc, output: 141 kW/192 hp, max. torque: 280 Nm TRANSMISSION 8-speed Steptronic transmission LAYOUT 5-door, 5-passenger, monocoque with front-biased MINI ALL4 AWD SUSPENSION Front: Single-joint McPherson spring strut axle with aluminium swivel bearing and anti-dive control Rear: Multilink axle with weight-optimised trailing arms DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 2,670mm Length: 4,299mm Width: 1,822mm Height: 1,557mm DRIVING STABILITY SYSTEMS Cornering Brake Control (CBC), Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) with brake assistant, hill start assistant, brake dry function, Fading Brake Support, Dynamic Traction Control (DTC), Electronic Differential Lock Control (EDLC) and Performance Control 38

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Designers were given extra space to work with and also a brief to do whatever seemed appropriate to make the car feel like an SUV

LED rings and LED projector type of lamp set ups. And depending on variants, there are various garnishes and badges. To some extent, it now looks much more evolved as a CUV/SUV. Designers were given extra space to work with and also a brief to do whatever seemed appropriate to make the car feel like an SUV without losing its typical MINI design and functional ethos. Two things are immediately noted once inside the cabin. There’s a spacious feeling with lots of head and leg room for both front and rear occupants besides a commanding seating position from front passengers.

The rear will now accommodate three adults comfortably. The second thing that strikes is the dashboard design and layout of the instrument panel. The large round vents of the old car are gone in favour of vertically placed rectangular ones and the side walls of the central console are much thicker. The solo pod arrangement of the speedometer continues, but it gets a bar-type fuel gauge as attachment. The centrally placed TFT screen is now touch enabled and the MINI-typical toggle switches have been retained. The car’s three spoke steering wheel is extremely busy with various multifunctional controls

on it. Hip point is quite good and getting in and out is effortless. Seats are body hugging and quite comfortable with generous lumber support. The car now comfortably accommodates five adults and in terms of fit, finish, trims and materials, there’s definitely noticeable improvement in quality throughout the cabin with soft touch materials. MINI designers and trim experts have employed new application technologies to ensure consistent panel gaps and uniformity of trims used in the cabin.

Convenience features include connectivity options, electrically operated tailgate which can be opened from outside through gesture and for outdoor lifestyle enthusiasts smart fold out picnic seat. For the tech savvy, MINI has also introduced a host of apps like Find Mate etc.

Four variants – base Countryman, Cooper S Countryman, Cooper S E ALL4 and JCW Countryman – all receive strong levels of standard equipment. Top models get panorama sunroof, keyless entry, infotainment system with a 6.5in highresolution display, rear parking sensors, Bluetooth, automatic headlights, rain sensing wipers, and fore-aft sliding rear seats with reclining backrests. Cooper-

badged cars come standard with 17in alloy wheels while Cooper S models get bigger 18in set-ups. The car can also be personalized with a wide range of paint colours, contrasting white or black roof, cloth or leather seats, and up to seven different styles of wheel.

While the Countryman range will be offered with a range of three and fourcylinder engines [petrol/diesel, our first drive was based on the 189hp/280Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol Cooper S with permanent all-wheel drive mated to eight-speed automatic transmission. Most powertrains in the model range have been carried over with some moderate tweaks.

Aiding in the overall ride effort is the improvised all-wheel drive system which now employs an electrically operated front drive power unit in the front differential and a hang-on clutch. The system is connected with stability control software and enables optimised power distribution to the wheels depending on traction.

The car engages independent suspension kit where single-joint McPherson spring strut axle with aluminium swivel bearing and anti-dive control is used up front, while multi links with weight-optimised trailing arms are used at the rear. Brakes FEB 2017

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The new version of the all-wheel drive system consists of a power takeoff unit integrated in the front axle differential, a propeller shaft leading to the rear axle and a hang-on clutch that ensures precisely measured transmission of the drive torque to the rear wheels. The system’s electronic control is interconnected with the Dynamic Stability Control DSC. With the MINI Yours Interior Styles option available in three variants, the striking interior surface design in the cockpit is highlighted by means of backlit decorative strips.

An atmospheric mood is also created by the optional lighting package comprising LED interior lighting and LED ambient lighting.

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are disc set-ups all around.

On the safety front, the car is equipped with six air-bags, anti-lock brakes [ABS], electronic brake force distribution [EBD] and Cornering Brake Control [CBC], Dynamic Stability Control [DSC] with brake assistant, hill start assistant, brake dry function, Fading Brake Support, Dynamic Traction Control [DTC] and Electronic Differential Lock Control [EDLC]. The new Countryman is produced in Holland. Main rival for this car is expected to be from Germany – Audi’s Q2. MINI will also offer hybrid versions later on.

Driving impressions Considering that most MINIs have traditionally been known for their gokart like handling, actually to some of us it was not surprising that this character would filter into the outgoing crossover.

Crossover drivers are different lot than traditional hatch drivers and expect more comfort in the ride quality without losing the point and shoot character in the car they drive. The outgoing model, especially the JCW variants were at the receiving end due to this and our focus was to ascertain whether engineering had done anything to improve ride quality in the incoming Countryman.

The test cars for this launch report in

the UK were the Cooper S E ALL4 variants with automatic transmission. We spent nearly two days on and off-road with the car in a location half an hour’s drive north of London into the picturesque countryside. The launch event took place in the spread out compound of Hedsor House, a Georgian style mansion in Hedsor, Buckinghamshire. Hedsor House was the royal residence of Princess Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales in 18th century.

The weather was typical British for this time of the year, cold, chilly and wet at times with some fog patches affecting overall visibility. In all, perfect conditions for us to check out traction, handling and overall performance of the car in both narrow B-country roads and extremely busy M40 motorway stretches. The offroad section was more of mud rut drive through a forest trail/camping site kind of terrain typical of what campers would encounter.

After settling in the car, firing the engine and engaging the transmission within the first few kilometres of the drive it becomes evident what improvements have taken place. First to be noted is the ride quality where the harshness associated with the outgoing model has been totally eliminated even on the 18in wheels and 225/50 tyres combination. The

longer wheelbase has also contributed in better road compliance and despite riding high, stability is quite impressive.

Meanwhile, the suspension absorbs surface irregularities quite well and on good asphalt, the car virtually glides over.

With a sprint time of 0-100km/h in 7.2sec, arguably it’ll never feel as quick and nimble as its hatchback sibling, but the responsive handling and precise steering still makes it fun to drive. We also noted that the engine has been tuned to offer most of the available torque from 1,250 rpm and at motorway speeds of 110-120km/h the engine was ticking below 2,000rpm. The gearshifts are exceptionally smooth and hold well depending on the drive mode chosen. ALL4 all-wheel drive system delivered solid grip in icy corners, and the steering permitted the car to be accurately placed in the narrow British country roads. Overall, the new Countryman is an engaging and rewarding car to drive.

Verdict The Gen II Countryman is bigger and better mannered than the model it replaces. The biggest, most versatile Mini in history, the 2017 Countryman not only feels more comfortable in its own skin, but can stand along competitors without feeling inferior in any way.

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RoadTest

Crank up the thrills Author: Raj Warrior | Photography: Elvis John Ferrao

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es we titled this story “crank up the thrills” but for all you really need to know, we could have said “there’s gold in them hills” complete with a yankee drawl. For that’s the mantra that powers most of the world’s top end manufacturers when they spawn specialist home tuning shops. After all the appeal is inherent in the class. You are already offering cars that stand out from the mainstream by way of their styling, power, handling and performance. That’s what draws the moneyed class to spend in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for cars that the rest of us salivate over and sometimes aspire towards. However, there is a further subset that isn’t just happy with the stock offerings and their umpteen standard customisations. They are looking for something that they can still buy with the complete assurance of being manufacturer backed, while not 42

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having to mess around with aftermarket customisation.

That’s what has made sub brands like AMG, M, Audi Sport so much the rage. You stay within the showroom and are buying something that’s backed by manufacturer muscle, yet you can distance yourself from the regular Joes who buy the stock stuff.

How does it matter that you pay a serious premium for that, if the end product stands out?

As part of its long-term strategy, Jaguar Land Rover debuted the Special Vehicles operations division and brought the Range Rover Sport SVR to market in 2014.

What does the SVR badge bring to the Range Rover Sport and is it just a badge of convenience for the highest specced variant in order to get more money? For that, let’s look at the base Range Rover Sport first.

The Range Rover Sport is now getting

a bit long in the tooth. This generation debuted in 2013 with its refreshing thrust at weight reduction while growing larger than the previous generation. The almost all-aluminium construction is matched by a choice of lightweight engines, with even a hybrid finding its way into the mix. The generation also saw the first use of the new ingenium engines being produced at a brand new manufacturing plant and the introduction of the 8-speed automatic gearbox.

More to the point, the Range Rover Sport’s off-roading capabilities improved with the inclusion of the fifth generation air suspension system that allowed the car to rise by a standard 115mm, with an additional off-roading element of 70mm, part of which can be manually dialled in when needed. The Terrain response also got an upgrade with the version 2 and for the first time a choice of transmissions was

Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations division has been delivering the goods in terms of a customised performance version of the brand’s significant models. We drive the Range Rover Sport SVR in Oman to get a feel of the potential FEB 2017

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AT A GLANCE

Range Rover Sport SVR ON SALE Currently in showrooms ENGINE 5.0-litre supercharged V8 with power of 550PS and torque of 680Nm. Quad cam DIVCT (Dual Independent Variable Cam Timing TRANSMISSION ZF 8HP70 (8 speed Auto) LAYOUT 5-door, 5-passenger, Longitudinal V8 with Permanent 4 wheel drive with std locking centre differential & Terrain ResponseTM 2, optional locking rear axle differential with low range box.

SUSPENSION Front: SLA suspension with twin lower links with air springs/CVD with ARC Rear: Integral link suspension with air springs/ CVD with ARC DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 2,923mm Length: 4,872mm Width: 2,018mm Height: 1,780mm to 1,845mm WHEELS 22” alloys with performance optimised 295/40 R22 Continental Sport Contact 5 tyres 108Y (optional) or 21” alloys with 275/45 R21 110Y all-season Continental Cross Contact tyres (standard) Wheels: 9½” x 21” EH2+ 49, 9½” x 22” CH49 44

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Off-road you can expect a huge amount of travel from the wheels, but on road with the dynamic mode chosen, you can actually feel the intensity of rumble strips

on offer, either with hardcore low range capability or an all-wheel drive mode.

So we have a vehicle that was already better looking, lighter and better handling than its predecessor and at the top of the line offered a 5.0-litre V8 with 510PS of output from its supercharged engine.

What has the SVR badge added?

John Edwards, Managing Director of Land Rover’s Special Operations, said: “The Range Rover Sport SVR is a natural progression beyond the core vehicle’s outstanding on- and off-road capabilities and leading-edge design. Its exhilarating performance will satisfy a particularly demanding customer set.

“A thorough range of revisions specially developed by Land Rover’s

Special Vehicle Operations combine to make this premium derivative even more distinctive both inside and out, as well as taking its dynamic capabilities to the next level without impacting on comfort, refinement or all-terrain versatility. The Range Rover Sport SVR is truly the world’s most capable performance SUV.” At a glance the noticeable changes are definitely linked to performance.

The 5.0-litre V8 supercharged engine is boosted to offer a 550PS output along with a torque of 680Nm, while the car gets the proper off-road capable low range box with the eight-speed transmission.

The vehicle is supposed to have clocked some rather impressive figures with an acceleration of 1-100km/h in 4.7 seconds and an electronically limited top speed

of 260 km/h. The Range Rover Sport SVR has also done the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife in eight minutes and 14 seconds.

To add to the appeal of this boosted power pack, the car also gets a two-stage active exhaust with baffles along with larger 22” wheels on offer alongside its 21” standard ones.

The car’s interiors also get the SVR treatment that sets it apart. The seats are sport bucket seats with integrated headrests and the interiors reflect the brushed metal, piano black wood and white leather of a really upmarket luxury car, while the controls stay true to the Range Rover standard of dual flat panels for both the IP and centre console.

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Power and torque increase by a substantial 40PS and 56Nm to 550PS and 680Nm, giving the SVR a 0-60mph time of just 4.5 seconds (0-100km/h in 4.7 seconds) and an electronically limited top speed of 162mph (260km/h).

The transmission’s shift times have been reduced by up to 50% thanks to extremely rapid and precise fuel cutoffs during upshifts.

High-range provides a direct drive ratio of 1:1, while the low-range ratio is 2.93:1, providing an extremely low crawl speed.

Torque Vectoring by Braking uses the car’s brake system to imitate the effect of a torque-vectoring differential.

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Driving Impressions Let’s admit at the start that we didn’t really want to take the SVR into territory where it would get its undercarriage banged up.

So we kept our driving largely based to regular tarmac and that’s where we see the bulk of the Range Rover Sport SVR’s buyers remaining. Why wouldn’t you? The air suspension allows the car to settle in at a comfortable high-speed ride height that feels akin to the car planting itself for a sprint. Hit the engine start button and the V8 settles into a throaty rumble and as you floor the accelerator the exhaust begins to play its tricks with the baffles, opening out into an aggressive roar.

The temptation to leave the car in its dynamic mode is overwhelming. That’s when the full flow of the special tuning comes into effect. The gearshift pattern is noticeably quicker as is the tendency for the SVR tune of the fuel feed to come into play.

The system uses fuel cut-offs on upshifts and blips the throttle automatically on downshifts, while reading and predicting shift behaviour too. If you just keep the pedal floored, you can feel the quick snap upwards of the gearbox while you hear a series of backfire retorts on the quick shift down. Apparently the only change in the

gearbox is the speed of shift as well as its ability to read a series of manoeuvres ahead, thereby priming the engine and geartrain.

The air suspension is also a blessing. It hardens up quite noticeably in cornering and maximises the grip of the 21” tyres.

Off-road you can expect a huge amount of travel from the wheels, but on road with the dynamic mode chosen, you can actually feel the intensity of rumble strips and lane markers. The steering feel is also very direct and intense and you appreciate the directness as you try to navigate a curve that tightens up mid-bend.

The car gets an electronically controlled multi-plate centre differential to allocate power to either front or rear wheels with up to 100% throughput each, while on-road the diff is used to ensure for best grip and traction conditions. Of course the SVR also has the low range option through a shift on the fly system that is selectable from the Terrain Response. In addition the SVR gets a recalibrated dynamic active locking rear differential that locks earlier and delivers torque on the wheel it is needed.

The torque vectoring system built in as an extension to the vehicle’s dynamic stability control also aids handling on the

curve. What this does is to use the brakes individually to feather the torque delivered on each wheel, braking to correct understeer or oversteer. If it wasn’t for the high seating and the feel of bulk shifting, you would almost call the SVR a sportscar.

It isn’t but then it is a highly driveable and very agile SUV. Verdict It is finally a matter of money. If you have it, the Range Rover Sport SVR makes as much sense as buying any other high-end sports sedan or indeed coupé does. You get the needed visual distinction from everyone else in just being the breed and then you add on visual markers like the unique fascia, SVR badging, unique fender vents and rear spoiler and the lighted sill – it all adds to the separation of someone with taste and a taste for performance over the rest of us looking for value even in a Range Rover Sport. The extra on offer is far more than the sum of its parts and that is the reason why the very top end of the ilk will continue to draw customers.

You will anyway recognise the SVR as is zips past you with the characteristic Brrrt, brrrt sound of its exhaust.

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RoadTest

Staying ever youthful Author: Raj Warrior | Photography: Elvis John Ferrao

Now in its fiftieth year, the Corolla has become synonymous with an affordable and reliable compact car. The 2017 model year builds on this. Automan tests the car.

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The Toyota Corolla builds on a half century of existence by staying the benchmark of the C-segment commuter and family sedan worldwide.

The new generation now adopts the lightweight CVT with its balance of cost to performance

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ery few car models can aspire to the instant name recall of the Toyota Corolla. It sells in most countries in the world and is a strong favourite of a burgeoning middle class wherever it sells.

The underlying strength of the model is built on a backbone of factors that would take a thesis to spell out.

There’s nothing different about the car in Oman. It is the go to car model, when you don’t want to really apply your mind. It is almost as if you could take a checklist of features, virtues and values and go about assigning a tick against every one of the reasons why people who drive from A to B would buy the car.

The 2017 edition just builds on an already solid base. There is no significant change from the platform change that happened in 2013 as part of the Toyota product revival. The current model is built on the E170 Corolla platform and has been

tweaked for this model year with the most significant change coming in the adoption of a new CVT transmission that is called the Multi drive 7S. The car is still dimensionally a C-segment sedan, sitting on a 2,700mm wheelbase and with overall dimensions of 4,620mm x 1,775mm x 1,460mm. It looks a little bit more dynamic because of changes to the bumpers and the headlight assembly, with a matching tweak around the grille. The headlights offered vary through the range, but with the top of the line 2.0-litre GLI Grande that we were testing, the unit had LED DRLs and a very prominent projector element.

The tweaks to the styling are also evident on the tail, with the wraparound taillight stretched across the boot lid, giving an impression of a much wider car than expected.

The interiors have also been improved,

especially on the top grade car. The new Toyota design idiom of an asymmetric dashboard, matched with a layered approach to surfaces and the provision of a flat surface on the passenger’s side is evident here. Also evident are the stitched seams and the effort that has gone into making the interior look almost luxurious.

The Instrument panel is a twin dial unit, with the needles doing the full sweep as you crank up the engine.

Cabin comfort is top of the grade, seat bolstering is adequate and you realise that the light fabric interiors aid to the feeling of roominess. The rear seat gets its uneven split with a fold down centre armrest that just flops out and down. It could do with a stop slightly higher up to fulfil the role of an armrest.

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The E170 platform brings with it an advantage in good interior volume and the ability to mimic the cabin space of a larger segment car.

The new Multi Drive 7S is a breed of CVT that balances the needs of reasonable performance with the ECO mode of driving, using a Sport override button to push into a quicker sprint.

The 2.0-litre engine is the unit to opt for although it is tuned for higher efficiency, not sheer output.

Rear passenger space is generous with easy entry and egress although the centre armrest seems a bit of a let down, quite literally when seen in context of the ambience it is supposed to offer.

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litre unit with 143HP and 187Nm of torque.

Both of these engines are offered with the new Multi Drive 7S CVT unit. It’s called the 7S because the system figuratively splits the ratios into 7 stops and is programmed to treat these stops like regular gears.

While it has taken the brand some time to offer CVT, the format is already becoming a staple of the mid-segment, with other Japanese brands chasing the economies of scale and weight saving compactness offered by the boxes.

In the Corolla, the system is provided with a Sport button that keeps the ratios tighter and holds on to the ratio for longer during upshifts.

Driving impressions It is hard to get excited about driving a mid-segment family car. They are built to a purpose with quiet refinement, affordable comfort, a very dependable and powerful air-conditioner, a steering that almost seems over-assisted and the linear response of a mature engine. The Corolla

is the master of that breed, allowing you to clock in the kilometres with no effort on your part. Even the 2.0-litre falls into that buddy bracket. We put the car in Sport mode every time we got in the car and chose to floor the pedal just to get the CVT to complain. The box can howl if really pushed, but for the greater part it was muted in response and ever ready for the next move.

Interestingly the CVT is programmed to avoid a freewheeling downhill movement.

The ratios drop and the engine adds in some braking effort, while the Sport mode also makes sense here.

On straight roads, you feel just a little bit of road noise creep through. The steering wheel is well isolated so you don’t get much feedback, but it is very direct in response. The suspension is quite predictable. The provision of a torsion bar at the rear presupposes a modicum of load so you notice just a little bounce on zero loads. The MacPherson strut arrangement at the front is forgiving of quick pulls

through the slalom, stiffening up quickly and damped just right.

Verdict If you are looking for a commuter car with pedigree you shouldn’t be looking very far from the Corolla. All the bumps and niggles have been ironed out in the eleventh generation and your shopping around will usually bring you back to the question of what does the other model offer in terms of gadgetry to compensate.

It’s not the most interesting car to drive, but it is finally getting to a point where there is also a bit of emotional connect happening along with the rock solid logic of the certainty.

As for us, we rather enjoyed the weekend we spent with the Corolla. It doesn’t turn too many heads, largely because there are so many already on the roads. So you get to travel around town without being recognised by your usual gaggle of friends.

Perhaps it needs a little touch of TRD treatment to get ‘in your face’.

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RoadTest

The Family Utility Author: Raj Warrior | Photography: Elvis John Ferrao

Subaru continue their conservative approach to the model line with the Forester, blending practicality with a compact footprint.

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he small crossover has become a pretty standard feature of roads around the world. But if you think back – the original crossover was always the station wagon. Admittedly, you can’t just throw on a covered rear and expect to take on the wilds, but then the wilds largely were limited to the picnic in the meadow or a day by the beach. Nothing spoke of utility to the degree that a station wagon did. Over the years, car manufacturers learnt that this wasn’t enough. They raised ride heights, gave their crossovers a decent modicum of ability to wade and cross rough terrain and for good measure they incorporated all-wheel drive.

Subaru is one of those manufacturers that seem happily parked in a bit of a time warp. Their engineering prowess is almost

second to none. They are after all the only car manufacturer that has mainstreamed the boxer engine, more so than even Porsche has done. To add to that they have also stayed true to the concept of a symmetrical all-wheel drive model on their cars. These are identifiably Subaru.

But then so are the models that they offer – hatchbacks and sedans, station wagons and the odd crossover. Other than their brief interlude with the Tribeca in collaboration with GM, they are challenged in their offerings for the modern car buyer.

What this does is make the normal Subaru buyer into something of a loyalist, weaned on a diet of snappy handling, grip and the thrum of the boxer engine.

They are the sort of customers who stay with the brand and they are also the

sort that find the Forester to be the ideal crossover. The Forester is currently in the midst of an upgrade, with the 2017 model version already being sold in the US. The model on offer in the region is still the 2016 model. But then, it’s not a generational change, so other than a bit of styling, you don’t really have much to differentiate the car.

The Forester was one of the original deviants in the monocoque breed that took the strong points of its sedan origins and built on that. While the Outback is seen as a station wagon on steroids, the Forester has always had more headroom on offer as well as a more accommodative cabin space. It’s styling still pays homage to the Legacy although the changes are growing. It sits on the 2,640mm wheelbase FEB 2017

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A nice clean cabin layout keeps the Forester firmly embedded in modern crossover territory although the touch screen display is limited to infotainment functions.

Our test car had a light fabric interior with ebony finished inserts on the touch and feel surfaces, with the front passenger’s version having already been knocked loose.

The 2.5-litre Boxer inline four and the Lineartronic CVT make a good pairing.

You don’t even realise that you have a CVT, till you read the literature. The X-Mode button allows for a modicum of greater hill descent assist and remaps the torque delivery.

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of the sedan, but now offers a height of 1735mm on an overall length of 4610mm.

The car that comes to the region boasts the larger 2.5-litre boxer four-cylinder and our test car had the all-wheel drive and CVT combination that is labelled X-Drive.

In terms of external styling, the car exhibits the conservatism of its designers.

It is meant to appeal to a buyer who isn’t looking for too much of an emotive element in the design. The approach is to make sure that the picture presented is neat and well balanced, with just the right flare and highlight in place. For instance the headlight assembly is almost geometric in its regularity, but the beam element itself is linked to the steering and swivels to match. The bumper design is evocative of the car’s off-road capabilities – with a scuff plate on both front and back.

Ground clearance is also good at 220mm.

The interiors are reasonably well kitted out – the twin screens of the centre console serve to split functions, with the car’s drive related readouts appearing in the top unit, while the lower one consolidates the infotainment bit.

The cabin has grown marginally over the previous generation in that the second row is not as constricted as it used to be.

The plastics on offer look quite modern and score high in the touch and feel department but we were surprised by how easily some of the door inserts were dislodged as we pulled on them while searching for the door release. Build quality has never been a problem with Subaru, so these must have been subject to abuse.

The Forester gets a reasonably powerful 171HP engine in the 2.5-litre boxer. At the top of the grade the car gets an extra mode button that locks the drive into offroad mode, but even otherwise you can use the X-Drive to dictate a reasonable degree of sand capability. The CVT is called a Lineartronic. An honest admission is that we have never really liked CVTs, but the Lineartronic on the Subaru Legacy and even on the Forester impresses.

Driving Impressions For some time, we decided to keep the Forester on road, largely because we don’t really trust the nature of the CVT

on sandy soil. That and the symmetrical all-wheel drive make for an unknown on sand. But once we relaxed and switched off the traction control, the job was a lot easier. It still isn’t the vehicle that you would ever take on soft sand, but a slightly harder packed one is just fine. The car is lightweight and the engine reasonably torque-heavy at 236Nm. The programming on the CVT allows for the Forester to hold ratios and offer good engine braking, so much so that you actually feel the CVT only under heavy flogging. Acceleration is acceptable as is the braking.

Verdict The choice of the Forester is oddly one of an unemotional logic based one. You have to remember that the Forester is in the RO 10,000 bracket and competes against many models that are either roomier or better looking. But then you may not get this unique combination of utility and reliability with the quirkiness of the AWD system.

You have to accept that any modern trendy stuff that you are opting to live without are matched by a very in-depth feel for what the Forester should really offer – like lots of 12V outlets, air-conditioning and heating knobs that can be handled with gloves on, that swivelling headlight, an easy tread off-road and a cabin that allows you to flip and fold seats and adapt it to carry just about anything.

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PreView 2017/18 Ford Mustang GT Convertible

From a bare-bones muscle car of yore, Ford’s Mustang sports car has evolved quite a lot over the years. The latest generation clearly signals that it has European luxury cars in mind Author: Chandan Basu Mallik

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ord Motor Company redesigned the Mustang family extensively for 2015 both over and under the skin. The topless Mustang which will arrive in showrooms in time for the 2018 model year has also received the same updates inside, outside, and under the bonnet as hard top sibling.

For the current iteration which has reached its mid-cycle refresh stage, the cars receive cosmetic enhancement to give them a fresh and modern look. The revised package includes smaller headlamps that encompass heritage-laced strips of LED daytime running lights, a redesigned front bumper, new LED tail lamps, revised rear bumper and lowered bonnet line. Overall, all these make the car look leaner and meaner.

Like the coupe, the Mustang convertible is available with a digital instrument cluster for the first time ever. The optional 12in TFT unit offers three separate fully configurable settings.

It can be set up to display different information for each of three driving modes — normal, sport, and track. User friendly smartphone apps include Ford’s very own FordPass through which owners can call to start, lock, unlock and even locate their car.

Under the chassis, the suspension package has been reworked and features an independent hardware to replace the live axle in the rear end. Performance Package Mustangs will be offered MagneRide, an available magnetorheological adaptive damping system that has been duly borrowed from the track-ready Shelby GT350.

Powertrain options have been streamlined and Ford has dropped the naturally aspirated 3.7-litre V6 entirely from the Mustang line-up. Now, the entry-level engine is the turbocharged, 2.3-litre EcoBoost four-cylinder. The

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5.0-litre V8 has been carried over from the previous model, but it now uses both direct and port fuel-injection systems to deliver more power and better gas mileage. Both engines transmit power to the rear wheels through either a six-speed manual transmission or a brand-new 10-speed automatic unit which uses real-time adaptive shift scheduling for optimising gear shifting and holding pattern.

The list of available electronic safety-related driving aids has been expanded to include precollision assist with pedestrian detection, distance alert, a lane-departure warning system, and lane-keeping assist.

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PreView 2017 Audi R8 V10 Spyder Author: Chandan Basu Mallik

Audi has dropped the top on the second generation R8 V10 Spyder and spiced it up in many ways to ensure it remains on top of its game

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udi introduced Gen I of its top-ofthe-line R8 in 2007 with a unique USP. It was presented as a do-itall supercar. It was a packaged cleverly to be comfortable and agile, sharp and subtle, powerful and tamed. It could be used as a daily car and also do track duties. As a dual purpose car, it could be factory customised to suit individual lifestyle tastes. The recipe has worked

quite well for Audi and now its successor as expected seeks to improve the benchmarked package.

Gen II has been introduced as a 2017 model and there are subtle changes to the car. The incoming R8 Spyder is 14mm shorter than the previous model and overall length is now 4,426mm. It has grown by 36mm in width to 1,940mm.

The car’s height of 1,244mm is unchanged

from the first-generation R8 Spyder, as is the wheelbase of 2,650mm.

The car’s strong backbone is the fact that it shares a foundation with the R8 LMS GT3 racecar which has been developed with close cooperation between racing engineers, racing drivers and developers, lightweight design through an all-new application of the ASF-based lightweight chassis and the

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Each generation of the R8 brings to the road know-how acquired on the racetrack and from the legacy of Audi endurance racing. Like the R8 V10 Coupe, the Spyder shares a foundation with the R8 LMS GT3 racer

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use of a high percentage of carbon fibre composites. The body is more than 50per cent stiffer now and in profile the incoming car remains faithfully connected to its predecessor.

The drop top uses lightweight cloth roof and features an electrohydraulic drive system to raise and lower the roof in only 20secs at speeds of up to 50km/h. The roof weighs only 44kg, helping to keep the weight of the vehicle and center of gravity low. It can easily be opened or closed by operating the soft-top button in the centre console.

As before, the interior takes its inspiration from a racecar cockpit, with driver-oriented, easy-to-operate controls and functions, including the fully digital Audi virtual cockpit.

The R8 Spyder features the same

naturally-aspirated 5.2-litre V10 engine and seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch transmission as the R8 V10 Coupe. In this set-up it offers 540hp and 398 lb-ft of torque. The redline is 8,700 rpm and the Spyder can accelerate from 0-96km/h in only 3.5sec, which also means it is one tenth of a second faster than the previous generation R8 V10 Spyder. The new transmission allows for a launch control program in this car.

The all-wheel drive car now features a completely unique application of the quattro system. By default, the majority of torque is transmitted to the rear wheel, however, given certain driving conditions, the Spyder has the ability to send up to 100 per cent of all available torque to the front axle. This is made possible by new technologies such as the electronically

controlled hydraulic multi-plate clutch on the front axle, torque vectoring, and quattro integration within the Audi drive select system.

Suspension set of the car is set-up for agility and performance and uses a double-wishbone design for both the front and rear suspension systems. The suspension weight is kept low through the use of forged aluminium control arms.

In keeping with the dual nature of the car, drivers can benefit from variable steering ratio that adjusts based on vehicle speed and the Audi drive select setting. At higher driving speeds, a less direct steering ratio helps to facilitate a more stable drive, and at lower driving speeds, a more direct steering ratio is utilized to help increase steering response.

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PreView 2018 Toyota Camry Toyota’s all-new Gen VIII 2018 Camry has been infused with more character, performance, and style than ever before Author: Chandan Basu Mallik

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or Toyota Motor Corporation, it’s no secret that the Camry is an important volume model in the value chain not only in the US, but other markets like Middle East and Australia. Although, Toyota is known to be conservative when it comes to reinventing a successful recipe, but it seems that with the incoming Gen VIII Camry, the Japanese brand has gone beyond the conventional. Toyota has established the fact that the Camry is dependable and safe car and now wants to users to enjoy a more exciting and emotional character in the model series.

To do that, it has used the TNGA [Toyota New Global Architecture] concept which represents a completely new strategy to the way the company designs, engineers,

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and packages its vehicles. In terms of specifics, a new engine, transmission and GA-K platform are core to the incoming Camry.

The new platform has allowed both designers and engineers to meet their respective goals. While exterior designers carved out sportier looks on the new platform that makes use of more ultra high-strength steel and new molding techniques to increase structural rigidity, engineers stretched the wheelbase by 2in and lowered the car’s centre of gravity by redesigning the suspension hardware.

The face of the car is dominated by a two-piece grille comprised of flowing thin and thick treatments - key elements of the Camry’s “Keen Look” design philosophy. The bonnet is now lowered

by 1.6in. The height of the car is lowered by over an inch and strong character lines around and along the body blend with the aggressive front and rear mudguards.

As a result, the overall profile now produces a stance that is undoubtedly more aggressive than that of any Camry predecessor.

For occupants entering or getting out of the car, hip points have also been lowered. The interior has been completely redesigned and combines functionality, futuristic styling, and a high degree of personal space and craftsmanship. The driver is faces a sporty cockpit-type environment having gauges angled toward his or her direction. The dashboard gets new character line that flows down from the instrument cluster

and bisects the central console. The design of the entire front console strikes a smooth connection between the ease of use of all controls/systems. Toyota say, highest grade of soft touch and premium materials have been used and the design approach utilizes a mix of tones and hues throughout a space rather than a strict colour profile. Interestingly both A- and C-pillars have been redesigned to offer better visibility from inside the cabin.

Unlike Camry competitors like the Chevrolet Malibu, Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima who have turned to turbocharged four-cylinders as an engine upgrade options, Toyota will continue using normally-aspirated engines. The base engine is a new 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine mated to an eight-speed automatic

transmission. This new generation engine focuses on higher torque, higher power and lower fuel consumption in total use range.

To achieve ride quality on par with premium luxury vehicles for this car, engineers have used innovative new double wishbone rear suspension system.

Among the many safety features on the 2018 Camry is standard Toyota Safety Sense P [TSS-P]. This multi-feature advanced active safety suite bundles cutting edge active safety technologies including Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection [PCS w/PD], FullSpeed Range Dynamic Radar Cruise Control [DRCC], Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist [LDA w/SA]; and Automatic High Beams [AHB]. Select models will also

come with standard Blind Spot Monitor [BSM] with Rear Cross Traffic Alert [RCTA].

All 2018 Camry’s have 10 standard airbags and Toyota’s Star Safety System, which includes Enhanced Vehicle Stability Control, Traction Control, Electronic Brake-force Distribution, Brake Assist, Anti-lock Braking System, and Smart Stop Technology. All Camry’s also come equipped with a standard backup camera.

Depending on markets the Camry will again be available in several trim levels.

The global Camry is produced in 10 locations around the world. Middle East destined cars will not come from Australia as Toyota has ceased production in that country permanently.

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PreView 2018 Subaru WRX and WRX STI

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Subaru has introduced the refreshed 2018 WRX and WRX STI models with the promise of more rewarding driving experience

Author: Chandan Basu Mallik

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ubaru’s Gen IV sports sedan - the WRX and its performance variant the WRX STI have been doing well for three years and as with mid-cycle upgrades, a refreshed version was very much on the cards. Subaru has decided not to spoil the established portfolio with unnecessary packing but has focused on what buyers would be more interested in, that is performance, comfort, design and safety.

The mild restyle touches the front face in WRX and WRX STI model and key highlights include a more pronounced grille design, along with a larger lower grille opening. The WRX Limited and all STI feature redesigned LED Steering Responsive Headlights that help illuminate curves in night time driving. For greater versatility, all WRX and STI models now feature new roof rack mounting brackets.

All models feature upgraded interior materials, rear seat armrest with cup holders, redesigned interior door grips and faster remote trunk opening.

New measures that reduce unwanted noise include thicker door glass, revised door sealing and improved NVH management. The car’s high-definition multi-function display is now bigger.

The WRX is powered by 268hp, 2.0-litre direct injection turbocharged BOXER engine. The WRX comes standard with a 6-speed manual transmission and offers an optional performance automatic transmission, the Sport Lineartronic® CVT with manual mode. The all-wheel drive car uses symmetrical set-up which works with active torque vectoring.

The STI variant is powered by a 305hp 2.5-litre turbocharged BOXER engine.

WRX STI brings rally-bred performance technology to the road with revised Multi-Mode Driver Controlled Center Differential [DCCD] Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive. Standard handling technologies include Active Torque Vectoring and Multi-Mode Vehicle Dynamics Control. The DCCD system in the STI which previously used a combination of mechanical and electronic centre limited slip differential FEB 2017

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control now uses electronic control for quicker and smoother response.

The WRX features new front and rear suspension tuning for improved steering stability and ride comfort, while retaining the car’s high cornering performance capability. Subaru significantly enhanced shifter feel for the 6-speed manual transmission, with a new synchro design and reduced friction, along with smoother clutch take-up. The WRX electric power steering [EPS] was revised to provide an even smoother, more natural feel, while integrating the steering motor and electronic control unit reduces weight.

On the safety front, Subaru has revised the front structure of the WRX and WRX STI for enhanced frontal collision performance. The WRX Limited, when equipped with EyeSight Driver Assist Technology now features Vehicle Hold [AVH], and a new EyeSight Assist Monitor [EAM]. The EAM uses LED indicators to display EyeSight status and alerts on the windscreen. The AVH feature replaces the Hill Holder and Hill Start Assist functions and offers greater functionality, holding the vehicle on all types of road grades and not just inclines and in day-to-day driving situations like stop/start traffic.

The WRX STI also gets upgraded brakes and first-ever 19in wheels. A new optional Performance Package for the WRX Premium features Recaro 8-way power seats, red-painted brake calipers and upgraded brake pads.

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F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone loses pole position as F1 CEO As part of a major restructure by new owner Liberty Media, on 23 January Liberty Media announced its first major move. After having confirmed takeover of Formula 1’s commercial rights, Liberty said that 86-year-old Bernie Ecclestone was to be replaced

by Chase Carey as chief executive of the Formula One Group. Ecclestone has been appointed as chairman emeritus and will act as an advisor to the board.

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Ross Brawn was also in the anvil in the restructured setup.

It’s no secret that Ecclestone had been the face of F1 unchallenged for over four decades. Carey was made Formula 1 chairman after the initial buy-in to F1 by Liberty Media, which had its deal to take control of the commercial rights green-lighted a few weeks ago.

Ecclestone’s rise in F1 has been meteoric. His early involvement in the sport was

as a competitor and then as a manager of drivers Stuart Lewis-Evans and Jochen Rindt. In 1972, he bought the Brabham team, which he ran for fifteen years. As a team owner he became a member of the Formula One Constructors Association. His control of the sport, which grew from his pioneering the sale of television rights in the late 1970s, was chiefly financial, but under the terms of the Concorde Agreement he and his companies also

managed the administration, setup and logistics of each Formula One Grand Prix, making him one of the richest men in the UK. Ecclestone doesn’t expect to retain his seat on the World Motor Sport Council. It is believed that Donald McKenzie, the chief of erstwhile majority shareholder CVC was keen to keep Ecclestone in a more handson role but was overruled by Liberty.

Formula 1 revises its rules over collision penalties for 2017 season The manner in which punishments for contact were handed out became increasingly controversial last season and hence the FIA has decided to bring in some amendments after consultations with the F1 Commission and World Motor Sport Council last month. As a result, Formula 1 drivers will not receive penalties for collisions in 2017 unless it is absolutely clear who is at fault, the FIA has confirmed.

In revisions to the F1 sporting

regulations for 2017, the stewards have been told that it will be entirely their choice to decide if they wish to investigate incidents reported to them by F1’s race director.

With incidents like Nico Rosberg’s time penalty for a light clash with Kimi Raikkonen as they battled at the Malaysian Grand Prix, there was a growing feeling that such a strict stance was making some drivers less willing to take the risk and go for a pass.

Lorenzo wants to complete MotoGP career as a Ducati legend Jorge Lorenzo has indicated that he wants to become a Ducati “legend” and finish his MotoGP career with the Italian manufacturer. The three-time champion switched from Yamaha at the end of 2016, bringing to an end nine years with the team that brought him into the top class. “I signed with Ducati to finish my career here, although you never know what’s going to happen in life, let alone in racing,” Lorenzo told media. “But my intention is to retire as a Ducatista and, if possible, as a legend. Lorenzo added that he signed off his time alongside Valentino Rossi on good terms with the Italian, shaking hands after the 2016 finale at Valencia. “It’s very

difficult to have a good relationship with your team-mate, because he’s your main rival. If he beats you, there are no excuses. But in the end it’s good [to shake hands] because it helps you understand that he is someone like you, who has feelings like you.” Following Ducati’s 2017 campaign launch last month, Lorenzo will travel to Sepang to ride from Monday to Wednesday in the first test of the year next week.

Two weeks later he will be on the Desmosedici again at Phillip Island, with the final pre-season test taking place in Qatar a few days before the start of the season at the Losail circuit on March 26.

As tough as it gets – Dakar Rally As expected, once again the 38th edition of the 2017 Dakar Rally proved that nothing could be predicted outright. As the ninth successive year that the event was held in South America it kept participants – veterans, winners and first timers on their toes virtually at all stages. This year, the event saw one of its most competitive line-ups in recent years.

Abu Dhabi Racing’s Al Qassimi

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Author: Chandan Basu Mallik

Dakar rally is popular because it tests man and machine to the limits in various terrains under extreme weather conditions and hence the potential for thrills, spills and the unexpected. Here teams representing cars, motorcycles, quads and trucks are looking at supremacy by remaining on top in their respective categories.

Proceedings for this year’s event started at Asunción, Paraguay on January 2, then run through Bolivia and Argentina, before returning to Buenos Aires on January 14 after 12 action-packed stages of the competition. This year, additional challenges came from unpredictable and tough weather conditions like extreme heat to torrential rains and landslides, stage cancellations or last minute modifications.

Prior to the event, Dakar watchers began working on the possible top stories and scenarios in the various categories. Most predictions were however, based on performance of the 2016 event which had seen a lot of action that highlighted strengths and weaknesses of man and machine. Several car brands were expected to be watched closely with Peugeot and Toyota topping the list.

Peugeot came well-prepared with an all-new car for the title defence – essentially, the 2016spec version of the 2008 DKR. In the 2016 edition of Dakar, Peugeot was dominating force in the “WRC-style stages” with 12-times winner Stephane Peterhansel aka Mr Dakar in command.

WRC legend Sebastien Loeb and five-time bikes winner Cyril Despres were keen to make up for their experience deficit. Carlos Sainz who was 2010 champion would bank more on reliability [he suffered gearbox issues in

2016] and hence considered a top rank contender. The current Dakar set-up promises a lot of potential from WRC-experienced drivers particularly for Loeb’s codriver Daniel Elena. Debutant in 2016, Mikko Hirvonen, Loeb’s long-time WRC rival also drew praise for his handling of off-road sections on his way to a very impressive fourth place.

From Middle East, we have two candidates to watch for. First is Qatari Nasser AlAttiyah as he bids for a Dakar hat-trick. After three seasons with X-Raid Mini, Al-Attiyah will drives for Toyota Gazoo in a pick-up. Al-Attiyah’s team switch means that in this event Toyota is pitched against Peugeot as its biggest rival.

Al-Attiyah has dominated several FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies last year, winning six events – among them Rally Morocco, where he emerged victorious in a duel against Carlos Sainz, who was debuting the new Peugeot. The second is Dubaibased British KTM rider Sam Sunderland in the motorcycle category.

The event’s organisers have indicated that they wanted to test navigational skills more this year. As the days progressed in the rally it became cleared that inaccurate detailing in roadbook caused most of the navigation problems that participants encountered which not only was confusing but also cost them their precious times and in some cases, rankings.

End of the day, Stephane Peterhansel proved once again that he is made of steel and Sam Sunderland became the first Brit to win the Dakar rally after putting in a sterling performance from stage 5 onwards.

KTM’s Sam Sunderland

The route of the 2017 Rally Dakar

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IN SEARCH OF THE ALTERNATIVE I had promised myself that I would remain off the topic of Donald Trump but that doesn’t seem to happening. In fact, my initial feel was to stay off the news altogether for the next four years at least – I was so dismayed that the world’s beacon of democracy had elected someone who was so antieverything I espoused. But then, there is really no need to carry that much baggage around for him; after all, he isn’t my leader in any sense.

So, coming back to the gentleman in the White House, why did he get elected? It seems to be a question that can be answered by electorates of countries around the world. We have seen a trend in countries where free and fair elections have been held over the past few years of the public choosing to go with someone who is seen as anti-establishment at best or

one who is completely disruptive in the ideals they communicate. This has led to opportunities for disparate sections of the polity in these countries to be heard – like Europe’s far right and the ultra Republican in the US. In Asia, both India’s Narendra Modi and Philippines’ Duterte are proving to be disruptive in their thinking and policies just like Donald Trump is following his agenda of upending the established world order.

The questions we need to ask are why are people in general so unhappy with life as usual. Has the status quo become so unpalatable that we are ready to experiment? If the overriding message is change at any cost, are we ready to bear that cost?

There is nothing as comforting as predictability to the world economic order.

Every company, country and multi-lateral organisation loves being able to know what comes next. You order something and it lands on your desk in 5 days. At a cost you agreed on. But that comfort zone looks like it is a relic of the past. Already in the couple of weeks he has been power, Donald Trump is seeking to change the economic order. By ignoring treaties, dictating policy over twitter and arm-twisting global corporations to change their manufacturing to an America-centric model, he is serving to disrupt policy and adds an uncertainty factor to the equation.

It’s the sort of uncertainty that governments avoid. In fact those in power go to extraordinary lengths to ensure that economic policy transitions are smooth and do not disrupt.

In the short term the effects will not be large. Consumers around the world will not be impacted as much as domestic American consumers in the prices they pay for imports. But longer term, as manufacturing shifts back to a high labour cost economy like the United States, prices of various goods will rise.

And we haven’t even begun to discuss a China that is not only aggressively building its presence on the world stage, the country shows every sign of being willing to step into the gaps left by the US at it moves towards a protectionist stance.

Will we see other countries stepping up as well or are we going to see the flood of protectionism sweep up the doubters. Essentially Brexit is happening because of an overdose of European-style federalism. But it is also about keeping out the outsiders and believing that the nation’s wealth and its economy is the prerogative of the local – bringing into sharp outline the stated policy of allowing free movement of people and labour.

As the world moves ahead and tries to adjust to new realities, we also have to learn lessons that are connected to our existence as an extremely interconnected species. We are hooked on to social media and are ever ready to adopt someone else’s ideals as our own. We often forget the here and now, the society, the environment and the realities of our corporeal existence. What’s good for Peter isn’t always good for Paul, but we ignore that in our search for a better life. If you can’t work harder, strive for your goals and be the change that Obama called for, it is a lot easier to vote for change in a referendum or a plebiscite. Somewhere along the line, we are getting our priorities mixed up.

Raj Warrior is managing editor of Automan and has been in the thick of the Automotive journalism field from the past 19 years.

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Email at raj@automan.me Identify yourself or your message will be trashed and your id blocked 80

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