Organized by Edaran Tan Chong Motor (ETCM), the Nissan Almera Turbo Fuel Efficiency Charity Drive was unique way to raise funds for charity. Owners of the sedan were invited to submit the best fuel consumption figure they achieved and the total number of kilometres of all the entries would be converted to money for charity at the rate of RM1 per kilometre.
Almera Turbo owners throughout the country participated, trying their best to get the lowest consumption (which was shown on the computerized display) and when the entries were added up, the total distance was 12,841 kms. This meant that RM12,841 would be provided by ETCM which would be donated to few charitable organizations (to be announced soon).
Turbocharged engine of Almera Turbo can achieve fuel consumption up to 49.5 kms/litre.
2.7 times better than official figure
For the record, the lowest consumption achieved (owners had to send a picture of the Drive Computer display) was 49.5 kms/litre – almost 2.7 times the figure officially stated by ETCM (18.4 kms/litre). In fact, the top 10 drivers were able to achieve more than double the official figure.
To reward the efforts of the top 20 drivers (click here for the list of drivers), ETCM will send them an exclusive Nissan GT-R by LEGO while the next best 30 will receive a special edition Nissan Duffle Bag.
Keen to experience the Almera Turbo
If you’re planning on experiencing this fuel efficient, yet powerful (152 Nm of torque) sedan, this would be a good time to do so as ETCM is having a ‘Test Drive & Win’ contest. 50 lucky customers will be rewarded with WATSONS vouchers worth RM500 each when they test drive the Almera Turbo at any authorised Nissan showroom nationwide. Alternatively, they can contact the nearest dealership and have a testcar brought to them.
For a limited period, the Almera Turbo also comes with a free Urban accessories package worth up to RM5,500 while sales tax is exempted, bringing to price down to as low as RM79,906. Two other variants, which also come with the free accessories package, are priced from RM85,715 and RM91,310. Purchasers can enjoy an attractive 1.88% Hire-Purchase interest rate (terms and conditions apply).
Other special offers
Other special offers are for the X-Trail (priced from RM139,643) which comes with an Aero Edition accessories package worth RM5,000, and the Serena S-Hybrid (priced from RM140,226) which comes with 3 years of free maintenance service, parts and labour included.
Nissan Serena S-HYBRID
More information is available at any Nissan showroom or at www.nissan.com.my.
At one point the company is winning races with some of the greatest race cars of our generation with full fledged internal combustion engines.
And at another point, the company is building the most efficient and fun to drive electric cars the world has seen.
It almost seems like the company is caught in a conundrum of sorts. But it is definitely a future proof approach to the current problems faced by manufacturers.
Porsche has not lost sight of its roots either, as this writer found out during the recent Porsche World Road Show that took place at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) recently.
Part of the event included a single lap around SIC with the GT3.
But of course there was a lead car. Porsche Malaysia doesn’t trust local motoring journos to go out on their own after some local publications couldn’t return the Porsches given to them in the same way they received it. Putting it lightly there.
I don’t blame their distrust. I was just happy to get to drive the GT3. One lap or not. Lead car or not.
The Porsche GT3 is the road going race car you want but without the extremities of the GT3RS or the manic attitude of the GT2.
It doesn’t have the roll cage of the RS, or the bullish attitude.
But it still has the eagerness, that front end whose only responsibility is to steer and as such feels like a living, breathing extension of your arms.
This time though, in 992 guise, the GT3 feels like it knows what you are about to do even before you know it yourself.
Perhaps this is telepathic character that has been engineered into the car from decades of racing.
And since the GT3 is essentially a race car for the road that actively participates in various race series around the world, you can think of the 992 GT3 as a moving, roaring archive with the collective knowledge of racing drivers from all around the world.
And the result is one of the greatest driving experience you will ever have.
It is the summary of an engineering marvel of an engine, perfect handling and tyres that will stick to a wall when hot.
But in the 992 GT3, you can add advanced aerodynamics to the mix because it features strategically placed vents and a new, massive rear wing that sucks and pushes the car down in corners.
What this ultimately results in is a car that goes anywhere your nose points without a moment of hesitation.
This wild handling is also assisted by the fact that the GT3 now comes with double-wishbone suspension at the front, or as the Americans put it, a control-arm front suspension.
This suspension is not new technology, the GT3 Cup car has been using it for yonks!
But it is now available in a road going 911 for the first time in 58 years.
The engineers will tell you that the benefits of a double-wishbone suspension is that the entire surface of the tyre is now in contact with the road. Rather than only parts of it reaching the surface.
So when the entire tyre is being used to steer the car, you get super quick reaction time to the tiniest steering input. Making the front end feel like it were on rails.
Then comes the engine.
Based on the same engine that powers the 911 GT3R, 911 Cup and the 911 RSR, the flat-six engine is race proven, a proper race champion that has been slightly modified for road legality.
The 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated engine puts out 502hp and 470Nm of torque.
It enables the GT3 to accelerate to 100km/h in just 3.4 seconds. And it tops out at an amazing 320km/h.
It offers a sound that can only be described as hypnotic, and Porsche made no effort to dampen the sound save for some carpeting that makes the interior a little more comfortable for day to day use.
The race-based engine offers race based technology such as six individual throttle valves per cylinder. The result of this is an engine that responds to every flex of your toe.
The engine is mated to a seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox (a six-speed manual is also available).
Shifts are of course mili-second quick. Porsche’s PDK gearbox has been around since 2008 and has been continuously refined over the years for speed, accuracy and durability.
The interior is of course the same as every 992 generation 911.
What I truly like about the new generation 911 is the instrument cluster.
While marque’s like Ferrari have digitised the entire meter panel, Porsche has stayed true to its roots; the rpm dial is still analogue and still sits prominently at the centre of the meter panel.
I appreciate that, and while I understand the advent of digitisation, I am grateful to Porsche for keeping the analogue rpm dial.
GT3’s have always offered an amazing driving experience with an race-derived engine and handling that mimics a race car.
The new 992 GT3 is no different, yet takes it a notch further.
While it is available with the usual massive rear wing and aero wings around the car. The new GT3 is also available in something called the Touring Pack.
The Touring Pack will appeal to the gentleman racers who prefer their GT3 without the functional but potentially an eye sore of a rear wing.
Those who want to leave their racer boy image behind but can’t seem to shake off their love for an engaging drive.
In its place is an electronically adjustable rear wing that neatly tucks back in place and sits flush with the body work when not in use.
While the world embraces new technology with electric cars and some that can even drive themselves. The Porsche GT3 is proof that some things should never change, because no matter how advanced technology becomes, none can replace the driving experience a GT3 offers.
The GT3 is now available in Malaysia with prices starting from RM1.78 million.
In spite of being a challenging year for the auto industry, 2021 will still see Proton staying above the 100,000-unit level for the third year in a row. In fact, even with one month left, the Malaysian carmaker has already reached a cumulative total volume of 100,566 units. This has been achieved with a sales volume of 14,187 units (domestic + export) during November
Another month of growth
With the market on the upswing, Proton too has enjoyed revived interest by car-buyers, with a 6.2% increase over October sales. This would be the third consecutive month of growth. And looking back at a year ago, November 2020 sales were 24.3% lower.
*Volume for 2021 is from January – November.
The market share of the Malaysian market for the month is estimated to be 24.5% and for the 11-month period, the share has grown by 1.9% to an estimated 22.8% at the end of November 2021.
Saga remains bestseller of the brand
The evergreen Saga remained the brand’s bestseller and had its best sales month since December 2020. 5,666 units were sold nationwide, placing it at the top of the A-segment sedan class, a position the company is hopeful it will retain to the end of the year.
The younger X50 also had a record month in November with 4,010 units delivered. That is significantly better than its previous high of 3,839 units set in October. Its bigger brother, the X70, remained in high demand and gained 1,901 new owners in November, also giving it leadership in the C-segment SUV class.
TOP THREE PROTON MODELS IN NOVEMBER
The Exora MPV is still dominant in the C-segment MPV market and saw a fourth consecutive month of growth 434 units sold. There is demand for the other models but, as with many carmakers, Proton has experienced component supply issues for the Iriz and Persona. This has limited their production volumes and only 642 and 1,534 units, respectively, were available for delivery to customers.
Limited by supply, not demand
“November was a good sales month for Proton though overall industry numbers continue to be limited by supply and not low demand. Crossing over the 100,000-unit threshold with a month to go is a high point for us after another year disrupted by COVID-19,” said Roslan Abdullah, CEO of Proton Edar.
“We are humbled by the achievement and are now confident of ending the year with an increase in total sales. This will make Proton the sole national brand to grow sales and market share this year and give us a strong base heading into 2022 as we look to consolidate and improve our ranking both domestically and overseas,” Encik Roslan added.
Switzerland may be a small country – around 340,000 new vehicles sold annually before the pandemic – but it has had one of the major international motorshows, the Geneva Motor Show. It is also home to a number of specialist companies in auto design and engineering. One of them is WayRay which describes itself as a ‘deep-tech’ company and it is the only company capable of designing and manufacturing complex Deep Reality Display technology. It also has expertise in rendering the AR content in real-time around the car using a proprietary True AR Rendering Engine software.
Metaverse device on wheels
It has now applied the advanced technologies to Holograktor, is the first car designed around True AR technology and a new ride-hailing business model. WayRay calls it the very first ‘Metaverse device on Wheels’.
Backed by early investments from companies like Porsche, Hyundai, and Alibaba, WayRay is using the Holograktor car to emerge from its ‘Deep Tech’ automotive supplier status into the world of new mobility models.
“The idea is that you can choose Uber Black, Uber SUV, or Uber Holograktor. And if you choose the Holograktor, your ride will be subsidized by sponsored content, so the price will be much lower,” said WayRay Founder & CEO Vitaly Ponomarev.
Connecting virtual and real worlds
With the seamless connection of the virtual and real worlds, there can be greater safety, comfort, services, and entertainment. The 3-seat Holograktor can either be driven conventionally or by remote control via a 5G and satellite internet connection to a qualified driver. That left the question of what to do with the disengaged steering wheel in the remote mode. WayRay solved it by sliding it forwards and simply fitting it into a groove in the dashboard.
The interior has been designed around a novel 2+1 seating arrangement. The front seats are pushed wide apart to provide all three occupants with a clear view of holographic displays engineered around WayRay’s technology. Its unusual single rear seat ‘throne’ layout was inspired by data showing that more than 80% of Uber trips were for one person only
The entire car was also designed to showcase the holographic technology. Each passenger will have access to several holographic Deep Reality Display HUDs in front and on the side, with each seat fitted with joysticks for gaming and interacting with the content.
The AirKnife system creates a barrier that separates the air between passengers and cleanses the air throughout the cabin. It works together with the air-conditioning system to control the climate, filter the air, and keep passengers safe. That’s something which will be most welcome in these times.
Exterior design
The Holograktor was designed by hypercar designer Sasha Selipanov, Head of Design at RAW Design House and chief designer on the Holograktor project in collaboration with WayRay’s in-house team of designers. Selipanov’s design work includes the Lamborghini Huracan, Genesis Essentia, Bugatti Chiron, and Koenigsegg Gemera. He was trained at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, before being taken in by the Volkswagen Group.
Selipanov came to work on the Holograktor car in an appropriately modern way — via an Instagram message. “I saw a message from Vitaly on Instagram in my Inbox that said: ‘Hey! Would you like to catch up and brainstorm about a potential collaboration? Outside of being obsessed with sportscars, I’m a science geek and a bit of a physics nerd, and the fact that his company was playing around with deep-tech ideas and bringing them to customers around the world was hugely exciting. I thought that as far as non-lap-time-setting cars were concerned, this project was probably as exciting as I was ever going to find!”
At the core of the Holograktor’s design was the challenge of combining the concept car’s enormous interior space with a well-proportioned exterior, all while staying in line with all current and approaching regulations.
“We wanted to create a visual language for WayRay that took Russian constructivism as the base. If you have those early Soviet posters in mind, you can see those brightly coloured geometric shapes of triangles and blocks. Coincidentally, the triangular form is reminiscent of a prism, like the Pink Floyd “Dark Side of the Moon” album cover,” explained Selipanov.
It is a light-ray aesthetic that comes with the triangularity and the prism-like effect, which is just perfectly appropriate for a car built to highlight holography. Beyond that, the strong triangular shapes and solid stance are nods to the Russian backgrounds of WayRay’s founder and the designer.
That triangular theme is integrated everywhere, from the 22-inch wheels to the laser headlights and taillights and even to the shrink-wrapped form of the roof itself. While the front doors of the futuristic car open conventionally with a slight upward angle, the rear doors contain an integrated B-pillar and open rearwards and upwards, providing easy access to all 3 seats.
The Shrimp
The boxy shape on the roof of the Holograktor has been nicknamed ‘The Shrimp’ (though why that name was chosen is not explained). The shape makes it clear that the car is very different from any other car on the road and houses the holographic system for the rear passenger.
‘The Shrimp’ in its current location is, in fact, inevitable, as packaging and ergonomics constraints have led the design team to place it on the roof. It needs to be there because it contains an enormous amount of high-end technology, and it has the ideal focal length for the rear-seat passenger.
Even with the holographic system needing less than 3 litres of volume instead of the 20+ litres required by conventional HUDs, it was decided to prioritize the ride-hailing capability over hiding the technology. There is no Shrimp for the front passengers, though, as the True AR technology sits within the dashboard, aiming up at the windscreen, where the Shrimp’s projections aim down from the roof.
With Project MAYBACH, Mercedes-Benz pays tribute to the late Virgil Abloh who passed away recently. Designed as a showcar to inspire the next generation, it is being revealed at the wishes of Abloh’s family.
The artist, architect, creative director, fashion designer and philanthropist, who was also artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear, had collaborated with Gordon Wagener, design chief of Mercedes-Benz, for this design study. It interprets Mercedes-Maybach’s luxury identity with a new design language and pushed the boundaries of function, style, and collaborative creativity.
Inspired by the great outdoors and recontextualizing a traditionally urban brand within a distinctly off-road environment, the 2-seater, fully-electric off-road coupe combines huge Gran Turismo proportions (almost 6 metres long), large off-road wheels and distinctive attachments. Under the transparent surface of the showcar’s bonnet are solar cells that increase the imagined range of the Project MAYBACH.
Like Project Gelandewagen in 2020, Project MAYBACH is a design unlike anything that has been developed by Mercedes-Benz, with every element built from scratch. Key for both Abloh and Wagener was a responsible vision of future design. Complete creative freedom – unlimited by production requirements – enabled the design teams to conceptualize what the future of electric travel could look like.
The X-Factor nature of Project MAYBACH results not only from its imposing – almost 6 metres long – and characteristics, but also from its unique contrasts. ; most notably through how naturally authentic Mercedes-Maybach design elements are harmoniously combined with a new Outdoor Adventure design motif.
Project MAYBACH channels Abloh’s passion to challenge the status quo and re-write the rulebook of aspirational design. The power of his work is not only from the product design, but also the exploratory conversations that his work ignited. Whilst the showcar was inspired by how one could explore nature within a uniquely luxury context with Maybach, the Mercedes-Benz teams thank Virgil Abloh for the inspiration to explore every day the power of cross-industry dialogue to imagine a better, more inclusive future.
Project Gelandewagen, another car from Virgil Abloh, which was inspired by the G-Wagen.
Vaccination does not make you immune to COVID-19 infection. You can still get infected and although you may not show symptoms, you could spread the coronavirus to others. Do not stop taking protective measures such as wearing a facemask, washing hands frequently and social distancing.
John Hennessey, the founder and CEO of Texas-based Hennessey Performance, is a man who loves powerful cars and his company has been ‘making fast cars faster’ since 1991. His work covers not only musclecars but also trucks and SUVs, with notable recent models like the 700-bhp Velociraptor F250 and a ZL1 Camaro nicknamed ‘The Exorcist’ with 1,000 bhp.
In 2017, he started Hennessey Special Vehicles to develop even faster cars, with the Venom F5 being of hypercar status and the first road car capable of achieving more than 480 km/h. The Hennessey team developed an all new, twin turbo V8 engine that can deliver 1,817 bhp which sits on a lightweight chassis enclosed by an all carbonfibre body.
The Exorcist, a Camaro ZL1 with 1,000 bhp (above) and the Venom F5 are just some of the superfast cars from Hennessey.
The F5’s combination of light weight, low drag and massive horsepower is claimed to enable an acceleration time from 0 to 300 km/h in less than 10 seconds, making the new Venom quicker than current Formula 1 racing cars.
Project Deep Space
Now Hennessey Special Vehicles is taking things further with a strategic product plan to introduce 3 all-new vehicles over the next 10 years. Project Deep Space, the codename for one of the vehicles, will be the world’s first 6-wheel drive Hyper-GT.
During the next 10 years, electrification will be permeating through the industry and Hennessey is going with the change by making the hyper-GT run only on electric power, generated by 6 motors. With a 50% increase in surface contact over traditional 4-wheeled vehicles, the performance of the hyper-GT will be astonishing.
Fitted with dramatic gullwing doors, Project Deep Space will be constructed with an ultra-lightweight carbonfibre chassis and body panels. The car will be a unique, ultra-luxurious, Grand Tourer that can transport 4 adults in comfort along with 4 sets of golf clubs, plus luggage.
Diamond=shaped seating layout
The distinctive diamond seating arrangement places the driver in a central position and the rear offers lie-flat seating. The interior will be fitted with the highest quality materials and for the asking price, customers will be able to add whatever they want to personalize their hypercar.
“I’ve been building some of the world’s fastest accelerating vehicles for decades, yet they have always been performance-limited by mechanical grip. Six-wheeled electric propulsion is the solution. The technology is unprecedented in this segment – both forward-thinking and innovative. Our design and engineering team is excited about embracing the future,” said John Hennessey.
World’s most expensive EV
Full specifications for Project Deep Space are yet to be announced, but Hennessey has confirmed that pricing will start at US$3 million (RM12.6 million at today’s exchange rate) which will make it the world’s most expensive EV (unless Bugatti or someone else comes out with a rival model). Only 105 hypercars will be built with production planned to begin in 2026.
