Far from the circus that is Formula One, retired-F1 driver David Coulthard recently made the news after he was given a speeding ticket worth over $33,000 for driving a Red Bull F1 car along the streets of India.
Sounds insane, right?
The thing is the whole shindig was part of an F1 demonstration on a closed-off part of a busy road. Apparently, organizers of the event were given strict directives by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation for DC not to exceed the 62 mph speed limit at the Rajiv Ghandi Sea Link. Either DC forgot about the whole arrangement or he was too busy delighting the crowd, but the Scot ended up going 162 mph at the area and, as a result, was unceremoniously flagged for ‘super-duper’ over speeding.
We can’t blame Coulthard for the sudden lapse in judgment. After all, F1 drivers are wired to be faster than fast. But unfortunately, the MSRDC was none too pleased about their warnings going by the wayside.
As a result, the MSRDC will not return the organizer’s deposit of around $30,000 as payment for the super-duper speeding infraction DC incurred.
According to an MSRDC official, "We respect David for helping put the Link on the global map. But he crossed the speed limit and we will have to recover the penalty. We will not return the organisers’ deposit”.
The great American automaker, Ford, is invading their competitor’s markets by introducing the new Figo into the Indian market. The compact Figo is an all new car that features a fresh, contemporary shape that offers a distinct alternative to the traditional offerings in the city car segment with a shape that exudes the spirit of energy in motion with its bold fender flares and swept back headlamps.
Like all of the blue oval’s new car, the Ford Figo was designed with their consumers in mind. The all new body features lots of fresh fun elements like a large mouth front bumper, sporty alloy wheels pushed to car’s four corners, squared off rear end and subtle rear spoiler. Despite its compact size, the Ford Figo has a spacious interior with plenty of room for both passengers and cargo thanks to its taller roofline and more upright stance. Ford feels that this is the perfect car to combat the ultra affordable Tata Nano that is produced in the developing nation. The Figo’s size makes it the perfect car to navigate the narrow stretches of the Indian bazaars and markets without scarifying an ounce of style.
With Ford planning on bringing the equally compact Fiesta to the U.S. in the near future, the question that remains is whether or not Americans will have a soft spot in their hearts for a more spacious city car offering.
Press release after the jump.
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There are things in life that, no matter how hard we try, just don’t mix. Hamburgers and wine. Conan O’Brien and slasher movies. Super cars and Third World countries. The last one is worth noting because one of the world’s fastest vehicles – the Ultimate Aero – is somehow making its way to India. Yes, that India.
The Aero’s manufacturer, Shelby Super Car (SSC) will be releasing the car in Mumbai sometime in the coming months, making it the third market after the US and Russia where the Aero will be exclusively sold. The car is expected to go on sale for over Rs 6 crore, which in US dollars would amount to around $1.2 million, thereby making it the most expensive car ever to be sold in the country.
Now forgive us for being sceptical about this but can you imagine the Ultimate Aero, with its maximum speed of 413 kmh, blasting through the tight and bustling streets of India?
Neither can we.
Continued after the jump.
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It was just last week when we brought you a Russian R8 owner who was pining for the days of the classic BMW luxury grand touring coupe, so it was quite comical when we came across this modern day nomad who is proud to call his workhorse a BMW, and that doesn’t stand for Bavarian Mule Works.
Aside from all the all terrain, test mule and harmful emissions jokes you have to ask yourself, what would possess a person to do a thing like this? Could it be the allure of owning an import or being able to ride around on a piece of fine German engineering that motivated this man to badge his donkey as a bonfire Bimmer. We guess that at the end of the day the question you have to ask yourself is, how much more is a BMW ass worth than the regular kind?
Perhaps we will find out in Frankfurt.
It comes as no surprise that we find this golden Audi R8 super car in the oil rich capital of over the top tuning, Dubai. What sets this particular R8 apart from all the other GT machines that have undergone the King Midas treatment is that instead of blinding onlookers with a brilliant reflective surface, draws them closer to adore the matte-gold super car. This rendition makes the matte-black R8 with its stealth like finish look rather dull.
The new monochromatic finish completely changes the entire attitude of the pride and joy of Ingolsdadt. If before a mere 420 HP seemed paltry compared to 600 HP machines from Ferrari, those reservations will fade away quickly after being caught in this Audi’s glow, not to mention the amount of news that the all aluminum super car has stirred up in the automotive journals. Like despite earlier rumors there will be an R8 electric vehicle at Frankfurt. On the heels of the Lamborghini Gallardo Lp 550-2 Valentino Balboni, the German automaker was spotted working testing a rear wheel drive version and the very sheik R8 Convertible was spotted on the set of a major Hollywood motion picture.
Tata Motors Ltd.’s purchase of Jaguar and Land Rover caught the auto industry by surprise. As far as the water cooler talk surrounding the purchase was considered, a familiar question was repeatedly asked: How can a truck-maker from India end up buying two of the most luxurious brands in the world today?
Now, it seems that the purchase has come back and turned the tables on the Indian truck giant.
For the first time in seven years, Tata has posted a consolidated net loss of over 25 billion rupees ($520 million) from the period of April 2008 up to March 2009. This, of course, is a stark contrast from Tata’s performance a year ago when it made a net income of 22 billion rupees.
The culprits for this unfortunate about-face in company fortunes lies in the plummeting sales of the industry’s luxury car segment as to which both Jaguar and Land Rover are staples. For one, Land Rover sales fell to 120,000 after selling a little under 200,000 units the year before. Similarly, the sale of Jaguar vehicles met a similar fate, falling to 47,000 units from 50,000 the previous year.
Continued after the jump.
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So what does it take to get to be number one? For athletes it means a lifetime of disciplined training, for a car company it can mean decades of thorough and consistent work, but in the recently wealthy car crazed tuner scene of the UAE, it’ll run you a little more than $14 Million. Saeed Abdul Ghafour Khouri recently shelled out 52.2 dirham, the equivalent of $14,300,000 at an auction at the 7-Star Emirates Palace Hotel in Dubai. Don’t feel bad about the money; it’s going to charity that helps accident victims.
When Saeed laid down all that dirham he was buying more than just a metal rectangle with a coat of paint on the front, he is buying a place in society. The oil-rich nations of the Persian Gulf are developing a form of car culture that makes Paris Hilton’s car collection look amateur. All these new funds have made the citizens of Abu Dhabi crazy for custom super cars. If you can imagine what it costs to have a set of rims mounted on your lowly Acura Integra, imagine the cost of milling a custom set of alloys and then mounting them on your Black Series. The UAE’s tuning scene has developed in such a way, that only a handful of these super-tuned machines could stand up to any group of big money collector cars from around the rest of the globe. The Middle East has become a place where your super car is nothing, unless its gold plated or modified to a point that would mean bankruptcy for most.
In this new status-seeking environment it is not uncommon to see a automobile wearing a number plate that is many times more expensive than the car itself. So after all, is Saeed that crazy for spending so much for the right to be first? However this can also be seen as a wise investment, because someone will always want to be number 1.
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Mahindra is an Indian carmaker that first gained attention by building Jeeps for the home market. Now they may be interested in moving on to the next generation of American military vehicles by buying the Hummer brand. This may seem like an odd move during a time when high fuel prices are causing large SUVs to grow stale on dealer lots, but Mahindra may be looking at Hummer for part of a bigger plan.
It’s no secret that General Motors wants to get rid of Hummer, and Mahindra may utilize its name and products to help bring it’s own cars to the U.S. Its rumored that the company is developing a network of around 300 dealerships across the U.S. to sell Mahindra vehicles, with a $125,000 fee being asked from dealerships to become franchisees.
Tata is taking steps to makes sure the little Nano won’t be short on power. FEV, a German engineering and powertrain firm, is right now actively working on the diesel engine for the Nano to debut later next year. The 800 cc, turbocharged CRDI engine would most likely be the tiniest engine with common rail technology in the world, taking the crown from Daimler.
The CRDI systems are being developed in conjunction with Bosch, while Honeywell Turbo India is working on the turbo charger. Originally the 700 cc CRDI engine, which Tata uses in its Ace mini-truck was considered for the Nano, but Tata has decided against it. The new FEV engine is cheaper and could also involve more progressive technology to battle emissions, redeem a better fuel economy, and achieve better engine refinement.
India has become one of the emerging markets that carmakers want to get a sizable foothold, and Volkswagen is no exception. Today India gets what the rest of the world has had for almost 30 years, the Jetta. The current generation, now celebrating its fourth year, is available in three trim levels. All available engines produce about 100 horsepower, and the price will stay between $30,000 and $40,000. The mid-size sedan joins the more upscale Phaeton and Touareg that are already on sale in the country.
Continuing the expansion into this market, Volkswagen is also reported to be preparing a small car to be built and marketed specifically for the south Asian country by 2010.
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