Beauties who roar-I

Lamborghini Miura



The car that made Lamborghini what it is today. Designed to look like a bull and go like the clappers, the Miura has an engine note to die for and bags of charisma. It's a crying shame that we don't see more in the real world.


Aston Martin DBS



James Bond's latest steer is something to love.

Developing 510bhp from its gorgeous 6.0-litre V12. Let's just hope that in the next Bond movie it'll have more gadgets than a defibrillator and a fat guy tied up in the boot.

Ferrari Enzo



Revealed in 2002 at the Paris Motor Show, the Enzo remains one of the most sought after Ferraris ever made.

In all 400 were built, two of which went to auction. It's powered by a 651bhp, 485lb ft engine - which was, at the time, an all-new unit.

Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 Super Veloce



The latest and possibly final version of the Lamborghini Murciélago is here and it's got a V12 related (albeit loosely) to the one found in the legendary Miura.

It's 100kgs lighter than a standard Murci and will hit 213mph (with a smaller spoiler).


Aston Martin Vanquish S




Another Bond car on the list, and why not?

And before you think (loudly, in caps) about how rubbish the gearbox is/was we've put the S variant here, with a far better shifter here (not forgetting the fact that the works dept will give you a manual if you ask them with money). Let's not forget its 514bhp monster V12, either.

Bugatti EB110



The EB110 is pretty special, not only because it was built to celebrate the late Ettore Bugatti's 110th birthday, but because it has a quad-turbo, 553bhp engine.

That was enough to get it to 62mph in less than 3.4seconds. And it'd hit 213mph. Not bad for a car produced in the early 90s.

McLaren F1



It remains one of the fastest cars in the world, even with cars like the Veyron SS and Aero SSC around.

It's powered by a 627hp BMW engine and, thanks to its light weight, it has a power to weight ratio of 550hp/ton. Want one? You'll have to fork out in close to £2m.


Aston Martin V12 Vantage



Imagine the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Now make it 50% manlier. Bingo - the V12 Vantage is born.

It's got the DBS' 510bhp V12, carbon fibre flourishes and massive vents on the bonnet to keep it cool. Well, cooler.

Ferrari 599 GTO



It's faster than an Enzo and has 661bhp, hits 62mph in under 3.35seconds and it'll hit over 208mph. If you have to ask how much, you can't afford it.

It's worth noting that Ferrari has only given the GTO moniker to two other cars - the 250GTO and 288GTO.



Jaguar E-Type



One of the most beautiful cars ever made with one of the nice sounding V12 burbles ever created.

We'll take ours in British Racing Green with a red interior and a hard top thanks. With Audrey Hepburn in the passenger seat. Because we can.

Source: MSN Cars
Pic source: Manufacturer's website

Making of Honda Jazz

"How is it made?" The most natural question that springs to everyone's mind after coming across a beautiful piece of engineering. Take Honda's cars, for example. We visit their manufacturing plant in Greater Noida for a dekko at close quarters.





Honda Siel Cars India Limited (HSCI) was incorporated in December 1995 as a joint venture between Honda Motor Company Limited of Japan and Siel Limited with a commitment to provide Honda's latest passenger car models and technologies to Indian customers. The investment made by the company in India to date is Rs 1,620 crore for the Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh) plant and Rs 784 crore for the Tapukara (Rajasthan) plant.



HSCI's first state-of-the-art manufacturing unit was set up in Greater Noida in 1997. This green-field project is spread over 150 acres of land (over 6,00,000 square metres) and has an annual capacity of 1,00,000 units. The Tapukara plant encompasses over 600 acres of land and will have an initial production capacity of 60,000 units per annum at an investment of about Rs 1,000 crore. As reported in CAR India earlier, the first phase of this facility was inaugurated in September 2008.



The company's range of products includes the Honda Jazz, Honda City, Honda Civic and Honda Accord, which are manufactured at the Greater Noida facility with indigenisation levels of 77 per cent, 76 per cent, 74 per cent and 28 per cent respectively. The CR-V, on the other hand, is imported from Japan as a completely built unit (CBU). Honda's models are associated with advanced design and technology, apart from proven qualities such as durability, reliability and fuel-efficiency.



Honda Siel's Greater Noida plant allows the manufacture of various models. However, here we shall concentrate exclusively on the Jazz. Although the installed capacity is for 1,00,000 units, it has the potential to go up to 1,25,000 after taking care of a few bottlenecks. The number this year will be about 70,000 units.



The whole manufacturing process for the Jazz starts from welding. The press is located in Tapukara and backward integration of the parts (such as the powertrain) is also done there.

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The Jazz boasts of localisation to the extent of 80 per cent. This has become possible owing to extensive indigenisation of both in-house and outsourced parts and components, the latter being taken care of by the company's purchase department.



One good thing about the Jazz is that, except for the battery wherein lead has to be used due to some technological issues, all its components are lead-free. Although Indian law does not stipulate that all the components should be free from such hazardous elements, it is in keeping with Honda's philosophy and, as such, all the suppliers also have to sign an undertaking that their components do not contain such hazardous elements.

Source: Car India

10 things you don't need in your car

Twist-to-open key



Only base model cars use traditional keys now. Most use a central locking receiver. More use keyless go, so you can just walk up to the car, get in and go without having to take your house keys from your pocket. While all the keyless stuff is clever it's really difficult to check your car is actually locked when you walk away from it...


Car phones





Legally a car phone is off the cards. You're not allowed to touch/hold a phone while you drive. Those that do are fools and deserve the points heading to them. Very few manufacturers will add them to the options list. In-car Bluetooth (or headsets) and turning your phone off are the only way forward.


Cassette players




The compact disc left the tape pretty much in its wake over a decade ago, yet manufacturers still choose to install tape decks. Now you've got to be pretty hard-pressed to find a tape deck in a new car. With the advent of MP3 and USB, it won't be long till you have to work quite hard to find a CD player.


Cigarette lighter




In a world where even breathing will give you cancer, car manufacturers aren't really going to encourage smokers to spark up on the move. The lighter sockets are being replaced with mere power sockets, meaning no more cigs on the road, but a fully charged iPod instead.


Ashtray




No cigarette lighter, no ashtray. As simple as that. But, for millions of Indians who smoke in their cars, the road is the ashtray. We aren't going to preach about how smoking kills you. You already know it. If you still smoke, well...


Electric aerials




Sadly the days where you could press a button and the aerial would rise from the boot (or somewhere like that) are gone. Now radio antennae are either laced into the rear window of the car or set in a smaller, less aesthetically challenging rubber tube.

Manual gearbox




To the lament of purists (including the author) the manual gearbox is on the way out. Newer auto 'boxes are quicker to shift, better on fuel and can get your car to 100kmph quicker than their manual equivalent. Even Ferrari has gone fully auto.


The map




The initials G, P and S have made the map pretty much obsolete. Most people have a portable sat-nav and if not they probably have access to some form of map service on their phones. If, God forbid, they don't have access to any of these a quick trip to online map services like Bing maps can get you step-by-step directions to where you need to be.

The choke




If you still use the choke to start up your car, you live in the automobile stone age. Most cars, if not all cars, today have use fuel injection. No need to choke the engine with fuel when a computer can measure the required quantities for you, isn't it?

Wind-up windows




When was the last time you got in a car on a hot day and had to manually wind down the window? Or, for that matter, wound them down at all? The almost universal use of air conditioning has rendered them useless. Unless, of course, you have a dog who likes to stick his head out. But, then again, you have electric windows for that.

Source: MSN Cars

Hyundai unveils its first electric car

Seoul: Hyundai Motor, South Korea's No1 carmaker, unveiled its first pure electric car on Thursday, with a goal of commencing mass production of the vehicles in 2012. The "BlueOn," based on its i10 hatchback, will be powered by batteries made by SK Energy with a capacity of 16.4 kilowatts per hour, Hyundai said in a statement, without disclosing prices for the vehicle.

Hyundai unveils its first electric car



The BlueOn can run 140 kilometres on a single charge and features a maximum speed of 130 kilometres per hour, it said. Hyundai will produce and supply a small number of electric vehicles to government agencies this year and next before commencing sales to the general public in 2012, by which it plans to manufacture 2,500 units, Hyundai said.

Hyundai said it was early to say in which markets the BlueOn would be launched first. "We are taking a baby step. There is no infrastructure such as charging stations in Korea and many other countries," a spokesperson said.



There are a number of electric vehicles in the works by other automakers, but their high cost and the limited range are cited as the biggest hurdles for their widespread adoption.

Japan's Mitsubishi Motors was the first major carmaker to roll out pure electric cars. Its i-MiEV electric car was introduced in Japan in August. Nissan plans to introduce a mass-market electric car in the United States in December. Ford will have an all-electric version of its Focus available in late 2011.

The government said on Thursday that South Korea plans replace 20 per cent of the country's passenger cars with electric vehicles by 2020 with a goal to lead the emerging market.

Source: Agencies

Rise of the new auto superpower — India

India now has become the seventh largest vehicle producing country in the world, a top government official said.



'India was projected to become the seventh largest vehicle producing country in the world by 2016. We have achieved this milestone good six years ahead of the set target,' said B S Meena, Secretary for Ministry of Heavy Industry, while speaking at the a roundtable conference in the capital.






He also said the sector has performed extremely well in the period up to August with cumulative production of vehicles growing at 32.4 percent over the same period last year.

'While globally the automotive sector is still to recover fully from the downturn, we in India have been recording impressive growth figures. In fact, India was the second fastest growing auto market in 2009-10', he said.





According to him, the passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and two-wheeler segments have all recorded growth rates of 32 percent, 49 percent and 31 percent respectively during this period.

Meena also said that it is estimated that the Indian passenger vehicles segment will grow to nine million in 2020 and the two-wheeler segment by 30 million units.

Top 15 cars faster than they look!

BMW X3 xDrive35d



We remember the first time we noticed that BMW had snuck a diesel into the X3 range capable of propelling the boxy off-roader from 0-100kmph in just 6.4 seconds. 'Chair', 'off', and 'fell' - it's a very vivid experience in our minds.


Rover Maestro MG Turbo





Yes, we know it says turbo on the boot. But even that doesn't prepare you for quite how fast these 80s sheds actually were. Engineered by Tickford, they could hit 100kmph in 6.7 seconds. Faster than many contemporary supercars.



Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI





OK, 105hp and 0-100kmph in 9.7 seconds isn't what you'd call conventionally fast. But the beauty of this downsized, turbocharged Polo is the way it delivers what little performance it has. Which counts for more than numbers on a spec sheet.



Rolls-Royce Ghost






Famously discreet about performance stats - merely describing them as 'adequate' back in the day - Rolls-Royces always put luxury before speed. But the new Ghost has both and will hit 0-100kmph in a supercar-chasing 4.9 seconds. Which is, most definitely, adequate.




Volkswagen Passat W8




The most absolutely awesome thing about the previous generation VW Passat W8 isn't the sleeper looks. It's the half-a-Bugatti-Veyron engine under the bonnet (minus the turbochargers). 275hp and limited to 155mph.



Mercedes G55 AMG




Even with an AMG badge, snorting side exhausts and a supercharged V8 under the bonnet the G55 shouldn't be as ludicrously rapid as it is. Yet this 30-year-old relic will hit 0-100kmph in just 5.5 seconds, outpacing many much younger 'performance' SUVs in the process.



Volvo S80 V8




A boring Volvo saloon? With a V8? Oh yes - and it goes 0-100mph in 6 seconds and pumps out 315hp. Seriously solid engineering under the hood, too, since the engine forms the basis of the twin-turbo sledgehammer powering the Noble M600 supercar.



Volkswagen Phaeton V10 TDI





Clearly, the thing to do if you own one of these über-diesel VW Phaetons is to remove the V10 badging and just sticker it up with TDI. Then proceed to smoke everybody with the engine's titanic 552 lb ft of torque. Luxo-barge madness.



Renault Grand Espace 3.5 V6




No, not the crazy Espace built on a Williams F1 chassis. This was one you could buy, complete with a 3.5-litre V6 engine related to that used in the Nissan 350Z and over 240hp. You'd have to be mad.


Smart ForTwo CDI




With a 0-100kmph time of 16.8 seconds (older ones were even slower!) the diesel Smart is one of the slowest cars you can buy. But, bizarrely, from the wheel it feels strangely rapid and fun to drive. Even if evidence points to the contrary!


Bentley Arnage





As big as a stately home and pretty much as well-appointed, the Bentley Arnage transcends lousy aerodynamics and old school looks by virtue of outrageous, twin-turbo V8 muscle. Final versions had as much as 500hp.


Mazda CX-7



Mazda's now done the sensible thing and replaced the petrol-powered CX-7 with a diesel. But we shed a tear for the original and its ludicrous 260hp turbocharged petrol or nothing option. With handling to match it was way, way faster than you'd have ever thought.



Morgan Roadster 3.0



It looks as old as your grandad's slippers but it moves somewhat faster, the 3.0 V6 version of the classic Morgan boasting 220hp and a Lotus-like kerbweight to give 0-100kmph in a far-from-retro 4.9 seconds.



Ford Kuga 2.5 T




The Ford Kuga looks pretty sporty for a 4x4. But even this doesn't quite prepare you for the outrageously potent performance and warbling five-cylinder engine note of the 200hp Focus ST-engined 2.5. Rocketship performance and about as thirsty too.



A rental car




That base-spec Tata Indica that just smoked you on the highway? Likely as not it'll have a sticker in the back window betraying the fact it's been hired from a rental firm. And therefore faster than anything on the road.

Volkswagen launches new Polo 1.6L

Following the successful debut of the 1.2-L Polo in March in the country, the largest car European car manufacturer Volkswagen today rolled out a higher variant of the hatchback with an initial price tag of Rs 6.16 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi).



The new 1.6 L Polo comes with a 4-cylinder petrol engine and is paired with a 5-speed manual gear box and is claimed to have a fuel efficiency of 15.96 km/litre. Manufactured at the company's Chakan (Pune) plant, the new Polo is available to customers immediately, the company said in a statement.



"With the introduction of this variant, the Polo becomes even more exciting for our customers as it becomes more powerful and fun to drive while continuing to maintain all the features available in the 1.2-L Polo," Volkswagen India director for passenger cars Neeraj Garg said in the release.



The company launched the 1.2-L Polo in March 2010 with a price tag of Rs 4.8 lakh.

Besides the Polo, Volkswagen currently assembles (at the Aurangabad plant) Jetta and the Passat and offers the imported New Beetle, SUV Touareg, Phaeton, and Vento.

Source: Agencies