Piston.my

English

Vinfast, Vietnam’s only domestic brand, has been in the market for a couple of years now and is working hard at establishing its credentials as a premium carmaker. Besides the two models it has already started producing, it has also come up with a limited edition SUV model exclusively for the Vietnamese market.

Designed by Pininfarina (which was also involved in its first two models), the SUV is known as the President and claimed to be one of the most powerful SUVs in the world at the moment. Vinfast will build 500 units for sale; the first 1000 will be sold for 3.8 billion VND (equivalent to about RM682,000) and for the remaining 400, the price will be 4.6 billion VND (about RM823,000).

To join the ‘most powerful SUV’ club, the President’s V8 engine has a maximum output of 420 ps/624 Nm and, with an 8-speed automatic transmission and full-time 4-wheel drive, the claimed 0 to 100 km/h acceleration time is 6.8 seconds and a top speed capability of nearly 300 km/h.

As would be expected of such an exclusive model. Pininfarina has given it a majestic and elegant design. The grille is designed in a diamond shape to accentuate the high position, while a large air cavity enhances the strong appearance. The highlight at the rear is a pair of large dual exhaust tailpipes.

Besides a choice of 18 exterior colours, the premium finishing includes sophisticated details covered in gold colour, copper bronze, gun metal, or metallic silver on the logo, roof rack, door braces, car steps, wheels, and bumpers.

The inside gives priority to the comfort of the rear occupants (although the driver’s comfort is not ignored). Massage functions are available in the seats, along with heating and ventilation features for the first and second rows. In particular, the second row of seats is very spacious with legroom of up to 20 cm more compared to the Lux SA2.0 model.

The seats are covered with premium Nappa leather from exclusive leather suppliers, along with premium veneer wood made in Italy exclusively for the President. The wood cladding on each car will have a completely different pattern, thus creating a unique  ‘ID’ and adding to the exclusiveness. The entertainment system consists of a 7-inch multi-function display cluster with a centre screen of 12.3 inches and 13 high-end speakers positioned around the cabin.

Commenting on the President, Nguyen Thi Van Anh, Standing Deputy General Director of VinFast, said: “President is a product line that represents the high class and quality of VinFast, it is also our affirmation to the world of Vietnamese automobile production capacity. We want to dedicate this wonderful product and VinFast’s top-notch customer care services to Vietnamese people who have a pioneering and strong spirit. That is also the reason why VinFast only produces a limited number of 500 cars to ensure this masterpiece is worthy of its owner”.

First flagship models of Vietnam’s Vinfast score 5 stars in ASEAN NCAP tests

BHPetrol RON95 Euro4M

While most people will think of cars when mention is made of Mercedes-Benz, the brand also has a range of exclusive lifestyle products for owners as well as those who are not owners [yet]. These products are available at most authorised Mercedes-Benz outlets and at Hap Seng Star’s new Autohaus, they are presented in a Luxury Lifestyle Boutique that is part of the showroom.

RM3.5 million investment
The Autohaus, situated along Jalan Sultan Ismail, was originally opened in 2004. It has since undergone a RM3.5 million refurbishment exercise to create the first new Mercedes-Benz Retail Brand Presence in the ‘Golden Triangle’ of Kuala Lumpur. The Mercedes-Benz Accessories and Collection Boutique is the first of its kind in Malaysia.

“With this investment, we aim to create the best experience for our customers throughout their ownership journey. Hap Seng Star embraces the Mercedes-Benz spirit of innovation, luxury, and world-class service, delivered by experienced personnel with in-depth product knowledge and exceptional service skills,” said Harald Behrend, Group Chief Operating Officer of Hap Seng Consolidated Berhad and CEO of Hap Seng Group Automotive Division.

Providing the luxury experience
There’s also a private lounge on the second level, while a cafe on Level 3 is available with refreshments for customers. The Autohaus also sells cars, of course, and  the spacious delivery bays, are special illuminated to provide a unique vehicle hand-over experience for the new owners.

“The new Autohaus by Hap Seng Star reaffirms Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s commitment to create a fascinating brand experience at every point in the customer journey. The new brand presence promises an authentic luxury experience with a modern touch. Our aim is to connect our customers not just with a car, but also a lifestyle experience that encourages a sense of joy, luxury and exclusivity,” said Dr. Claus Weidner, President & CEO of Mercedes-Benz Malaysia.

Hap Seng has invested a total of over RM300 million to date in enriching customer touchpoints nationwide. Its Mercedes-Benz Autohaus network is in 11 locations nationwide, with three in East Malaysia.

Click here for other news and articles about Mercedes-Benz.

 

 

The 8th generation of the Hyundai Sonata, which made its global debut in March 2019, will be released in the Malaysian market before the year ends. Hyundai Sime Darby Motors is expecting the new model to be highly competitive in the D-segment with its design and technological advancements.

“Make no mistake. Hyundai’s roll-out of all its latest models is poised to disrupt the market. The all-new Sonata is no exception. It has surged ahead of competing models in terms of sales in several markets and the awards are accumulating,” said Low Yuan Lung, Managing Director of Hyundai Sime Darby Motors.

“The Sonata’s unique features in the D-segment is patently obvious. One look at it and you can already see that its Sensuous Sportiness exterior design, with its coupe roof line and elegant, sporty body lines, makes this the stand-out car in the segment. The conservative look of the D-segment has been totally discarded. This is a stunning, sporty, long coupe-like sedan for the business executive. Its design was conceived to emote. This is not your average D-segment car,” Mr. Low declared.

Under the sleek new design, the 4.9-metre long Sonata has a structure of Hyundai’s proprietary Advanced High Strength Steel. The expertise in steel that Hyundai today possesses is through its decades as an industrial steel company. The steel has been used for railway tracks, bridges and ships and is now also used in the motor vehicles to make them more resistant to deformation.

The new Sonata will have a Smartstream 2.5-litre MPI 4-cylinder engine with improved fuel efficiency. The long-stroke engine produces 180 ps/232 Nm which goes to the front wheels through a 6-speed automatic transmission with shift-by-wire link.

While full details of the features are not available at this time, it is known that there will be a blind-spot display which will be on a small screen within the 12.3-inch digital instrument panel. This means the driver does not have to turn the head to look for alerts of other vehicles in the blind spot as the image will be right in front of him or her.

Mr. Low said that such a feature is not available in other D-segment sedans, adding that the new Sonata is also one of the safest cars in the world. It has already been assessed by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and received a 5-star rating.

A Head-up Display will also be available, also allowing the driver to keep the eyes on the road ahead for better driving safety.

If you want to be among the first to own a new Sonata, you can place a booking now with a fee of RM888 while the price is teased as RM20X,XXX. The bookings are accepted at all authorised Hyundai showrooms nationwide.

The next Hyundai Tucson

BHPetrol RON95 Euro4M

Aston Martin is well known for its fine and exclusive cars and even offers personalisation services to make them more exclusive. For those who also want the same design excellence for their homes – or just the garage to house their cars – the British carmaker also offers design services.

Service from Q by Aston Martin
The new design service was introduced a year ago and is an additional business of Q by Aston Martin, the division which does personalisation services for the cars. Known as Aston Martin Automotive Galleries and Lairs, it offers the opportunity for clients to work with the Aston Martin Design Team to create a home that has the car as the centrepiece (if desired).

Ultimate space for automotive displays
Understanding that, to the car enthusiast, the garage would be an important area of the house, a special auto gallery can be designed that either focuses on showing off the car or is part of a larger, integrated entertainment space. It would be the ultimate space to showcase automotive works of art.

One design concept shown as an example for an automotive space houses works of art including the Aston Martin Valhalla and the iconic DB5 in a subterranean circular space. The chosen car sits at the centre of this extravagant design that focuses attention on the car, whilst providing entertainment and leisure areas, along with living space for guests.

Automotive Galleries & Lairs can also come up with a design to fit the era if a customer has a heritage car. The spaces can be for a single car as a piece of automotive art or a full collection of cars in a private museum. These spaces provide an opportunity for people to create their own unique world where they can share their passion for cars with their guests.

The team has already produced interior design work for the 66-storey Aston Martin Residences in Miami, Florida, as well as collaborated on the design of Aston Martin’s global brand centre in Tokyo. The interiors of numerous Aston Martin dealership centres have seen involvement by the design team.

The first private residential estate designed by the Aston Martin service is Sylvan Rock (shown above), in collaboration with S3 Architecture. Located on 22.3 hectares of land in Rhinebeck, 90 minutes from Manhattan in the US state of New York, Sylvan Rock firmly embraces the natural landscape. It is described as ‘a truly visionary example of elegant, post-pandemic design thinking’.

[All images by Aston Martin]

AMR-C01 – the ultimate racing simulator from Aston Martin

The rush of new model introductions, some delayed by the MCO earlier in the year, continues and today, Honda Malaysia has announced that an updated Honda CR-V will be in showrooms before the end of this year. Bookings are now accepted at all 101 authorised dealerships nationwide.

The CR-V was the first model that Honda Malaysia assembled at its new plant when the facility opened in Melaka in 2003. Since then, over 100,000 units have been sold, of which more than 36,000 have been of the 5th generation which was launched in 2017.

Restyled front bumper of New CR-V has a bolder look than the previous one (below).

“We are confident that the New CR-V will not only continue to live up to this stellar track record, but also regain its status as No.1 in the Non-National SUV segment as it offers a complete package comprising bold exterior, VTEC Turbocharged engine as well as Next Generation Advanced Safety Technology – Honda SENSING. We believe the enhanced New CR-V is an ideal SUV for families and professionals with a keen sense of sophistication and style,” said Honda Malaysia’s Managing Director & CEO, Toichi Ishiyama.

The changes
The exterior of the New CR-V receives cosmetic changes with a new black grille combined with Honda’s signature LED headlights. The restyled front and rear bumpers have a wing-style chrome fascia, while the rear end has new dark chrome and new smoked finish taillights, plus a new tailpipe finisher. The 18-inch dual-tone alloy wheels have a new design as well.

Owners of the New CR-V will no longer have to press a button to open the tailgate. It now comes with a Handsfree Power Tailgate which will open (and close) when a foot is positioned under the rear bumper.

The CR-V has a 1.5-litre VTEC turbocharged Earth Dreams engine with an output of 193ps/243 Nm, which makes its more powerful than a conventional 2.4-litre engine. Having a smaller displacement helps in fuel efficiency which can be enhanced with activation of the ECON mode.

The CR-V is available with all-wheel drive (AWD) that is managed by an Intelligent Control System. Torque is distributed optimally to the wheels, providing better traction and control on all surfaces.

Full Honda SENSING suite
The New CR-V will come with a full suite of Honda SENSING that that consists of eight systems, all of which work with a camera mounted at the top of the windscreen. The systems are Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Low-Speed Follow (LSF), Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Road Departure Mitigation (RDM), Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS), and Auto High-Beam (AHB).

In addition, Honda LaneWatch (shown above) is now a standard feature. This is a noteworthy innovation by Honda which provides a real-time image of the blind spot along the left side of the vehicle from a small camera mounted on the left door mirror. The image, which is clear day and night, is displayed on the infotainment screen in the middle of the dashboard, so the driver does not have to turn the head so much to view.

Pricing for the New CR-V is not revealed yet but it would, of course, have full exemption of the 10% sales tax until December 31, 2020. Visit www.honda.com.my for more information or let a Honda dealer know of your interest to be updated.

Honda Insurance Plus plan upgraded with more benefits

The Hot Wheels Legends Tour, now in its third year, is a global search for the next fan-made custom car to be made into a Hot Wheels die-cast toy. In 2019, the event saw more than 110,000 participants and over 5,000 entries, with 18 finalists and of course, 1 winner. This year, in view of the ongoing pandemic, the Tour has gone virtual and one of the new stops will be in Malaysia in search of a winner. Malaysia is the first country in Asia to be selected as host.

Hosted & presented by Art of Speed
The Hot Wheels Legends Tour Malaysia, hosted and presented by Art of Speed, will see one lucky custom-build immortalized as a die-cast car and shared with fans across the globe. The winning Malaysian car will be announced live on November 12, 2020 at the 1Utama Shopping Centre in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. It will, of course, also be streamed on the Hot Wheels Facebook livestream (www.facebook.com/HotWheels).

Open to all Malaysians
Fans, families and car enthusiasts can participate in the Hot Wheels Legends Tour Malaysia by submitting their builds here and by tuning into the live virtual stop where the top Malaysia’s entries will be shortlisted.

Entries are accepted from today until October 15, 2020 and fans can submit photos and videos of their custom builds for the chance to have their design included in the Legends Tour/Date virtual  stop and livestream. For the rules and entry conditions, click here.

After the submission window closes, a panel of judges will select the top vehicles to be featured during the 9th Annual Art of Speed Malaysia 2020 on-ground event on November 12th at the 1Utama Shopping Centre and judging will be live. Similar to all Legends Tour stops, the judges will consider creativity, authenticity and garage spirit when selecting finalists and winners.

The finalist from the Hot Wheels Legends Tour Malaysia’s virtual stop will join all other Legends Tour finalists at the Virtual Global Finale in Los Angeles in November for a chance to have their car immortalized as an iconic Hot Wheels die-cast vehicle.

For more information about this event and AOS activities, visit www.artofspeedmy.com.

Hot Wheels Japan Historics 3 makes global debut at AOS 2019

Additional choices of electrically-powered cars will be in showrooms soon with the start of production of new models from Volvo and BMW. From the Swedish carmaker’s factory in Belgium is the XC40 Recharge while BMW has begun rolling out its new iX3 at the BMW Brilliance Automotive joint venture (BBA) in China.

Volvo XC40 Recharge
The XC40 Recharge is the first of several fully electric Volvos to come. By 2025, Volvo expects 50% of its global sales to consist of fully electric cars, with the rest hybrids. Customer demand for the XC40 Recharge has been strong and at this time, every car to be built during this calendar year has already been sold. First deliveries to customers in Europe will commence later this month.

As a fully electric version of the popular XC40 SUV, the XC40 Recharge is based on the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA), an advanced vehicle platform co-developed within the Geely Group. It has a projected range of over 400 kms on a fully charged battery pack which can be charged to 80% capacity within about 40 minutes (with a fast-charger system).

The XC40 Recharge, Volvo’s first model to win the ‘European Car of the Year’ title, has the typically high safety standards the brand has been known for. However, being a EV without a conventional engine means it has a different architecture and Volvo engineers have reinforced the frontal section to address that issue.

The battery pack is protected by a safety cage embedded in the middle of the car’s body structure. Its placement in the floor of the car also lowers the centre of gravity of the car, for better protection against roll-overs.

BMW iX3
The fully-electric iX3 is  the first pure electric model from the BMW brand. The iX3 has been developed under the strategic “Power of Choice” approach to cover broad spread of customer requirements and statutory regulations around the world.

It has fifth-generation BMW eDrive technology with major progress made in terms of power density, operating range, weight, installation space requirement and flexibility. Electric motor, power electronics and transmission arranged in a central housing for the first time. The claimed operating range is between 460 kms and 520 kms, depending on the test cycle used).

Power transfer is to the rear wheels from the eDrive electric motor which produces maximum output of 286 ps/400 Nm. This gives the SUV a 0 to 100 km/h acceleration time claimed to be 6.8 seconds which is close to that of the X3 30i that does the same run in 6.4 seconds.

The iX3 will be the brand’s first model to also be produced for export at the joint venture factory in China. As well as intelligent manufacturing and state-of-the-art technologies, the production facility in Shenyang is also distinguished by its comprehensive quality management system.

A special ‘zero defect concept’ ensures that the globally high market requirements for electric mobility are met. There is rigorous testing of everything from the battery to the finished car to guarantee the vehicle safety. These include 128 mechanical tests and 994 software functionality tests ensure the high quality of the high-voltage battery packs throughout the entire lifecycle. Another 140 functional tests check every aspect of the vehicle during acceleration, in particular road conditions and on rocky roads.

The tyres on your car may generate electricity in future!

COVID-19 Facemask

BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia today committed, on behalf of their customers, to a RM100 donation to the BMW Safety 360° subsidy programme. The donation will come from every contract funded through BMW Engage, its online financing platform. By spending only 15 minutes to submit their applications through BMW Engage, customers can indirectly contribute to this good cause via BMW Group Financial Services.

BMW Child Safety

25,000 applications for subsidised childseats
The BMW Safety 360° initiative subsidy programme was first introduced in December 2019 with Safe ‘n Sound and Childline Foundation. For that inaugural initiative, 150 units of infant carrier carseats were made available at a subsidised price of RM100 each. The initiative drew over 25,000 registrations from parents in the B40 income group. The second phase of the subsidy programme focused on equipping the remaining registrants from the first phase with a range of child safety seats for newborns to children of up to 36 kgs.

“Although the government has postponed the enforcement of the use of Child Restraint System (CRS) until the end of the year, we hope parents recognise the need for CRS to keep their children safe while on the road – no matter how short the driving distance. However, we recognise that advocating for child safety seats is a shared responsibility, and with BMW Safety 360° and its respective partners, we are also taking ownership to ensure more child safety seats are accessible to those in the B40 income group,” said Tobias Eismann, MD of BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia.

More supporters invited
Sashi Ambi, Head of Corporate Communications at BMW Group Malaysia, notes that the support from BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia’s has come at just the right time. “We are continuing to equip even more parents with child safety seats before the end of the year. Once again, we want to continue to urge individuals, partners and companies who have the means to support – be it through raising greater awareness on the topic through education, making child safety seats more accessible or reaching out to us for collaborations – to make child safety seats instinctive for parents moving forward,” he said.

BMW Engage is a first-of-its-kind online financing platform introduced by BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia which makes applying for financing for a BMW or MINI vehicle purchase easier. The process can be done from home or office, thereby supporting the government’s call to practice social distancing as much as possible so as to prevent spread of COVID-19.

It also supports the BMW Group’s overall contribution to sustainable environment by reducing the use of paper through digitised processes.

BMW Group Malaysia invites other companies to join in childseat subsidy initiative

 

Imagine a place that is something like SimCity, the urban development simulation game, where you can control what happens on the streets. You manage how many cars move along the roads and how fast they go. You allow a certain number of cyclists on a roundabout – and allow some to ignore basic rules of the road. You can even change the weather conditions, with sunny skies one moment and suddenly there’s a heavy downpour.

Such ‘power’ is usually only available in computer simulations and doesn’t exist in real life. However, if you drive out to the middle of Merced County in the American state of California, you’ll find it at Castle, a former air force base used by the Waymo development team to help build ‘The World’s Most Experienced Driver’.

Covering over 450,000 square metres, Castle is a state-of-the-art, closed-course testing facility which has been specially designed and redesigned over the years for the unique testing needs of Waymo, the company handling Google’s autonomous car project and developing the required technologies.

Preparing the Waymo Driver
Waymo’s unique testing needs to prepare the Waymo Driver to handle challenges on the road, evaluate new software before it’s released to the self-driving fleet, and validate system performance in all kinds of conditions. The closed-course testing at Castle has always been a critical component of the development process, unlocking some key technology advancements.

Following some months of lockdown restricted movements due to the pandemic, Waymo’s test vehicles are back on the road and the Waymo Driver’s deployment can proceed with the entire development cycle. This involves gathering real-world data and analyzing it and rigorously testing updates made to the system.

The ‘one in a million’
The testing site on the former base is set up like an adaptable city, including everything from wide avenues and suburban driveways to a railroad crossing and roundabouts. It’s meant to be like the real world and complex and rare scenarios are staged in a safe, controlled environment.

These scenarios can be a person walking across the street without considering oncoming traffic, or garbage falling out of the truck ahead. Over the years, the Waymo team has built up a library of over 40,000 structured testing scenarios — and that does not include all the variations with each situation. Some of the scenarios include are situations never seen on public roads but could happen one day, perhaps once every hundreds of millions of kilometres.

Additionally, there are relatively mundane tests that can also be quite challenging for self-driving vehicles and humans alike. For example, driving behind a large garbage truck on a narrow street — one that keeps stopping to load garbage and sometimes the bins are left on the road – may create a lot of complexity on the road and an autonomous vehicle must know what to do.

One source of scenarios is documented traffic accidents and these situations are recreated. By exposing the Waymo Driver to a wide variety of scenarios and teaching self-driving technology fundamental skills rather than only to handle individual situations, the vehicles can become more equipped to handle any situation they encounter on the road.

Structured testing and simulation
When a scenario is developed to test new software, structured testing, simulation, and public road operations can be used separately or together. For example, after executing a test on the closed track, the researchers create and run hundreds of variations of that scenario in simulation. But as much as simulation can help scale the value of structured testing, structured testing complements simulation.

Waymo’s fifth-generation hardware suite
Over the past decade, Waymo has changed the number of vehicle platforms and sensor suites tested and operated on 5 times — from Lexus 450 SUVs to a custom-built Firefly; from Chrysler Pacifica minivans to 18-wheeler trucks. Today, it uses the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE. Like the platforms that came earlier, today’s custom-built 5th generation sensor suite has been rigorously tested at Castle to help ensure its safety and readiness for public roads.

Human drivers use two eyes, autonomous cars need three eyes

COVID-19

Like a number of automakers, China’s Dongfeng Motor has a constantly growing range of models and to provide more differentiation, sub-brands are created to cater for specific niches. In July this year, the company launched VOYAH, its new premium brand which is dedicated to EV products.

It aims to introduce a new model each year over the next 3 – 5 years, creating a line-up of at least 9 models in the various bodystyle segments.  The first of these is the i-LAND, a sportscar that will go on sale in July 2021.

In collaboration with ItalDesign
The i-LAND prototype was unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show recently and the project is being undertaken with Italdesign. The Italian studio has been given the responsibility to develop the interior and exterior styling as well as the on-board human-machine interface. Additionally, it is also providing engineering development services and the concept construction.

The approach taken by the designers and engineers at Italdesign for the i-LAND is to combine ergonomics and cutting-edge technology with innovative aesthetic solutions, blending form and function.

2020 Voyah i-LAND prototype

GT styling
The i-LAND exterior styling follows the Italian tradition of Gran Turismo (GT) cars. For the prototype, there are typical exotic features such as large gull-wing doors with eye-catching front and rear light clusters and a LED-illuminated front grille. Viewed from above,  the sculpted form of the bonnet can be seen to be coordinated with the design of the grille.

2020 Voyah i-LAND prototype

The front lights, referred to as ‘winged headlights’, provide a characteristic signature for the i-LAND, which makes it recognizable even in the dark. It generates directly from the centre of the grille where the Voyah logo, created by ItalDesign, is embedded.

The rear of the car also has a form inspired by GT models with a classic truncated tail that combines both aesthetic elements with aerodynamic functionality.

3-seater cabin
Sitting on an ESSA (Electric, Smart & Secure Architecture) electric platform developed by the company, the i-LAND has a 3-seat layout. One position at the rear right end is for relaxing or smart working, with the seat next to the driver replaced by an element that can become a table or footrest if necessary.

2020 Voyah i-LAND prototype

2020 Voyah i-LAND prototype

A series of floating screens provide infotainment services as well as driver assistance. Some aesthetic elements enhance the general feeling of luxury experienced within the i-LAND. Examples are the vanes positioned in the central tunnel, along with the start/stop button, gear selection and the air conditioning switches.

2020 Voyah i-LAND prototype

2020 Voyah i-LAND prototype

The platform is set on EIC technology and integrates the WindLink 4.0 intelligent network connection, L3 and higher-level intelligent driving and other core configurations. In terms of power and battery runtime, MVP (Multi-choice important power) solutions are said to be provided, according to Voyah.

2020 Voyah i-LAND prototype

Archive

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on YouTube