2012 Nissan GT-R Licensed To Thrill

Nissan GT-R. These 2 words can make most auto enthusiasts skip a beat, yes, the GT-R is one of the fastest road cars in the world and has proved itself on the epic Nurburgring circuit in Germany. Producing a mammoth 530 Bhp of power, the GT-R is lightning quick and at the same time can be driven by almost anyone, you need not be a race driver to drive it. Sounds like a paradox, doesn’t it? Well, thats exactly the point, the GT-R is an engineering masterpiece.

The GT-R’s design is very Japanese and has been inspired by video games. If you go back and think of all the cars you have raced in the hundreds of video games in the past, the GT-R’s design will suddenly look very familiar. The beauty of this car is that it can be driven anywhere under any condition, you don’t always have to be on the track. The speed is electronically limited for the city roads but once you get to a track, the GPS will detect this and unleash the entire 530 horses to your disposal. Notice the air intakes on the hood. Airflow to the engine has been vastly improved in the newer version.

GM’s New MPV Sunshine Spied

The prospect of GM bringing a low cost MPV to the Indian market under the brand name of Chevrolet was being deliberated for a long time and there seems to be recent confirmed news regarding this. BS Motoring has reportedly caught the to-be-launched MPV on test with temporary registration number plates. The front and the rear although camouflaged is not much hard to picture. GM has an alliance with the Chinese company Wulling that makes the largest selling vehicle in China, the MPV called Sunshine and it will be launched in India soon.

The new MPV will be positioned strategically by the company in the market to compete against Mahindra’s Xylo and the most popular Toyota Innova. The new MPV with is Chinese roots is definitely going to come cheap in the market and if all goes well, should definitely grab some market share and give its competitors a run for their money. GM also has a good portfolio of diesel engines with itself and will likely plonk in the 1.3-liter engine that is reliable and economical rather thanking the small capacity petrol engines with which the car is offered in the Chinese markets. Also, with the recent turn towards love for diesels by the customers such a move surely will help the company to get some good sales volumes.

 

 

Nissan Sunny Diesel Test Drive Review

Car Tested: 2011 Nissan Sunny XV dCi

Price OTR Chennai: Rs. 9.16 Lakhs (XL), Rs. 10.07 Lakhs (XV)

It has been just 3 months since the Nissan Sunny was put into our market, but it seems to have established a clear niche for itself. With sales consistently hovering at above a 1000 units each month with just the petrol variants, Nissan has decided its time to expand the Sunny’s market share further by launching the diesel variant recently. With its ‘Pure Drive’ badge that looks and sounds surprisingly similar to Hyundai’s ‘Blue Drive’ moniker, the Sunny dCi is all set to perfectly take advantage of the diesel craze that is sweeping India right now.

So, how is the Suuny diesel to drive? Does it live up to the high standards that customers in this segment expect of late? Is it competitive enough to instill fear in the Hyundai Verna and Volkswagen Vento that are currently ruling the segment? Read on, to find out. You would be knowing that we at MotorBeam have already posted a comprehensive review of the Sunny petrol a few months back. You can read all about it and much more in this link. This short drive covers only the aspects that are related to the diesel engine and its performance.
 

Performance:
The Sunny diesel is powered by the 4-cylinder 1.5-liter K9K engine that was jointly developed by the Renault-Nissan Alliance. This motor churns out a maximum power output of 86PS at 3750 rpm and a maximum torque of 200 Nm at 2000 rpm. As the figures would suggest, the torque is available right from low end of the powerband and the K9K engine revs cleanly all through the powerband. The generous low-end torque means that the Sunny diesel is effortless to drive in bumper-to-bumper city traffic with the car pulling away cleanly in the second and third gears.

In our very short drive, we were not able to do a 0-100 acceleration tests but we can tell you that the car accelerates celanly and smoothly until 120 kph after which the engine feels strained. Though the refinement is not great even at low rpms, the motor gets very loud once it goes past 3000 rpm. The power delivery is smooth and linear and the turbo-kick that you experience in cars like the Verna is not there in the Sunny. Having said that, all credits to Nissan for making the Sunny diesel a surprisingly good performer, both in city and highway driving conditions.

Whats Cool:
* Space, space and more space
* Feature loaded (ABS, EBD, BA, iKey, Start/Stop Button)
* Good Low-end torque
* Linear Power Delivery

Whats Not So Cool:
* Notchy Gearshifts
* Sparse Service Network



* Engine: 1461 cc, 4 Cylinder, 8V, K9K, SOHC
* Power: 86 PS @ 3750 RPM
* Torque: 200 Nm @ 2000 RPM
* Transmission: 5-speed manual
* Fuel Consumption: 21.64 kmpl (ARAI Figures)
* Fuel Type: Diesel
* Suspension: Mcpherson Struts (Front), Torsion Beam (Rear)
* Tires: 185/65/15 (XV)
* Brakes: Discs (Front), Drums (Rear), ABS, EBD & BA

Project Kahn To Enter India In 2012

Project Kahn is a famous British automobile design company which does aftermarket modifications to many high end cars. Famous for its uniqueness and quality finishing, the company has now decided to set shop in India. The first Project Kahn branch will be opened at Malabar Hills in Mumbai and is later expected to expand to other parts of the country. Afzal Kahn, the founder of the company has 18 years experience in the automobile industry and has done some awesome designs on Range Rovers, Audis, Bentleys, Ferraris, Jaguars, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, etc. Some of his work can be seen below.

 

 

HM Confirms Mitsubishi Pajero Sport Launch

Since the very time news of HM-Mitsubishi launching the Pajero Sport surfaced, every one has been waiting for its arrival. There were quite a few delays due to Tsunami in Japan and the floods in Thailand. However now the company has finally set a date to launch the Pajero Sport in India and the SUV will go on sale in the first quarter of 2012. HM will be locally assembling the Pajero Sport at its Thiruvallur plant in Tamil Nadu. This Mitsubishi vehicle will rival the Toyota Fortuner and will produces 134 BHP of power and 32 KGM of torque from its 2.5-liter, turbocharged diesel engine. The 7-seater SUV is expected to be priced around the Rs. 20 lakh mark. A 215 mm ground clearance and super select 4-wheel drive system ensures the Pajero Sport will maintain the go anywhere attitude that the Pajero is known for. Now only if Mitsubishi sort out their dealership network, there would be no chinks in the Pajero’s armour..

    "We had decided to launch Pajero as well as new variants from the HM stable at the Auto Expo 2012 in New Delhi. However, some dislocation of operations at Mitsubishi Motors’ Thailand facility due to natural calamity and unexpected events compelled us to alter our plans for participation in the auto show. The rescheduled launch of Pajero and HM stable vehicles will start from the first quarter of the coming year (2012) with appropriate publicity," Mr. Manoj Jha, Managing Director, Hindustan Motors, said.

Bugatti Offering Veyron Test Drives In Mumbai

Unless you have been living under your computer table, you must be well aware that one of the most advanced, yet super quick car in the world was launched in India last year. Now, with sales being quite dismal (or so I am made to believe, with not a single sightseeing), Bugatti has commenced test drives of the 400+ kmph car to prospective customers in India. Bugatti is now on an India tour wherein their official lead test pilot, Pierre Henri Raphanel will be in Mumbai to conduct test drives for the Veyron 16.4 Grandsport. This will be followed by the Veyron roaming around other parts of India. Exclusive Motors is the Indian distributor of the Bugatti Veyron and this supercar is priced at Rs. 16 crore (excluding taxes and dependent on currency fluctuations).

    Constant 250 kmph require only 270-280 of the Veyron’s horsepower. More than 700 HP are continuously on standby for quick and fast interludes. In other words, at 1000 RPM, only slightly above idling, the Veyron has 730 Nm torque available. Between 2200 and 5500 RPM, 1250 Newton meter torque are permanently accessible. No other production vehicle has ever offered comparable torques.

The Bugatti Veyron is powered by a 8000cc, W16 engine (if you can call it that) which produces 1001 PS of power and 1250 Nm of torque. The Veyron Grandsport reaches 0-100 kmph in 2.6 seconds and onto a top speed of 408 kmph (with just takes a minute to reach from standstill). But what makes this car so insanely awesome? For starters there are 4 turbochargers and ten radiators!! This includes 3 heat exchangers for the air-to-liquid intercoolers, 3 engine radiators, 1 differential oil radiator, 1 engine oil radiator, 1 for the air conditioning system and 1 transmission oil radiator. The Veyron Supersport which is not yet launched in India is even more powerful, boasting of 1200 PS of power and 1500 Nm of torque. The Veyron Supersport reaches a top speed of 431 kmph.

 

 

2011 Nissan LEAF – First Impressions

Electric technology is still distant when it comes to India. Cost of manufacturing as well as setting up charging stations will be a humungous task. When we talk about alternative fuel cars, broadly speaking there are the hybrids, hydrogen fuel cell cars and the completely electric cars. Hybrid technology is already here, Toyota Prius & Honda Civic Hybrid are a few examples of the same. Fuel cell cars are still a long way ahead, the Honda Fcx Clarity is one successful example and courtesy of infrastructure set up Mr. Terminator in California state, the Clarity is doing well in the States but critics are still not convinced about hydrogen fuel cell technology and some even call if dangerous. Coming to the complete electric vehicles, the Reva is here in India and the company has been taken over by Mahindra’s off late.

Recent development has been in the direction of Lithium ion technology. Nissan has spend millions of dollars into research and have come out with best electric car in the global market last year, the Nissan LEAF. The LEAF stands for ‘Leading, Environmentally friendly, Affordable, Family car’. The LEAF has already won the 2011 car of the year award and is already on sale in Japan, Europe and North America.

ADVANTAGES
No exhaust pipe. (Zero Emmisions). The regular electricals of the car like the tail lamps, horn etc are powered by a seperate 12 V battery. There are 48 lithium-ion battery modules with four battery cells inside each module which fit snugly beneath the floor of the car, these are used to power the motor. The LEAF also has regenerative braking, which means that by applying the brake or lifting off the accelerator, the electric motor acts as a generator, converting energy that would otherwise be wasted into battery energy.
 

The LEAF is powered by a light weight and small 80 kW (108 Bhp) AC Electric motor which can run for 175 km per charge according to the European driving cycle and has a torque of 280 Nm. The electric motor does not idle but rotates only when the vehicle is moving. It is a front wheel drive and can be charged overnight as well as can be Power Charged to 80 percent battery in 30 mins, with the help of a special charger provided with the car.