Caterham Project V, a brand-new all-electric sports car, has finally been unveiled after what seems like an eternity of teasing. Project V is a rear-wheel-drive, lightweight sports car, similar to the Seven, the company’s roadster based on the original Lotus Seven. It might be here as early as the end of 2025 and, unlike the Seven, this is fully electric.
Project V was always meant to be an electric car. It offers 268hp and an expected range of 400km thanks to a 200-kilowatt motor placed in the back axle and a 55-kWh USOC lithium-ion battery pack. A 150kW DC rapid charger can also recharge it from 20% to 80% in just 15 minutes.
In order to develop and run the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail project through public-private collaboration, MyHSR Corporation Sdn Bhd (MyHSR Corp) is planning to send a request for information (RFI) to private sector partners.
According to MyHSR Corp, the RFI will be made available for local and foreign partnerships to submit their proposals.
This would enable the government to examine issues like technical requirements, project costs, commercial and business models, consortium and governance framework, and interest and capacity of the industry to completely fund the project.
Aston Martin has unveiled the Valour, a limited edition sports car to mark its 110th anniversary. And guess what? It has a manual gearbox!
The model boasts a retro-inspired look that is unlike anything else in the lineup and is modelled after the 1980 RHAM/1 ‘Muncher’ Le Mans racer as well as the original V8 Vantage.
The Valour has a clamshell hood with a ‘horse shoe’ vent and twin NACA ducts, as well as carbon fibre bodywork. A large grille, vertical air curtains, and round LED headlamps are further down. A noticeable splitter and accents made of exposed carbon fibre connect them.
Most cars released these days are fitted with new technology or as the automakers call it, “cutting-edge technology.” However, new technology does not seemingly translate to good quality. Some are just unnecessary and the car would do fine without it.
The JD Power 2023 US Initial Quality Study, based on 93,380 participants who purchased or leased new 2023 model-year cars in America, found that the industry average increased to 192 problems per 100 (PP100) vehicles from 180 in 2022.
Now, we are not hating on electric vehicles (EVs) but according to the study, the majority of problems are from EVs. We can see why too. Because every automaker wants to release a new model that will “wow” the people, but this seems to cause more problems in the long run.
Apple CarPlay is arguably one of the best device-to-car applications introduced in the history of the automobile. It offers seamless connectivity between an Apple device and a car, but one of the major drawbacks is that CarPlay does not integrate vehicle settings, which means that a user will have to backtrack to the main menu to change vehicle settings, which can be annoying and distracting.
But Porsche seems to have figured it out, and claims to be the first manufacturer to do so.
The Porsche companion app, which is available on the App Store and lets users access a car’s status and get real time data such as travel range, tyre pressure, trip data, close status of the windows and doors, among others. It also allows users to remotely turn on the air-conditioning, and even supports remote parking.
The app has obviously been useful but it has now been upgraded to make it simpler for drivers to control numerous car functions from within the CarPlay interface. A supposed first for any car maker.
The My Porsche app, which was updated on Monday, gives users access to several aspects of the car, including the battery’s level of charge, destinations for the navigation system, and air conditioning settings. These features have been added to CarPlay in an update to the app.
Drivers can now view images of their exact car model within CarPlay, as well as sound profiles, radio station controls, climate management, and ambient lighting, according to the upgrade. The various settings can be configured inside wellness modes like “relax” or “warm up,” and can be called up using Siri, using quick actions in CarPlay.
Volvo Trucks Malaysia (Volvo Trucks) has officially introduced its fully electric heavy-duty prime movers for Malaysia and the launch also marked the first electric heavy-duty prime mover to be launched in the Southeast Asia region.
Following the announcement, Swift Haulage Berhad, an integrated logistics company, became one of Volvo Trucks’ first adopters of the electric truck.
According to Volvo Trucks, the emissions from one heavy-duty truck are comparable to those of up to 47 passenger vehicles. The comparative research revealed a larger requirement for stakeholders to develop an electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem that is friendly and appealing to operators in the transport and logistics segment from the policy level through to the operational level.
Charging and Power
The Volvo FM, FH, and FMX fully electric models were all introduced as part of the formal unveiling. For different applications and market niches, Volvo’s electric prime movers are built with a variety of axel layouts. This is mirrored by variable battery configurations available with a total energy storage of up to 540kWh.
According to independent tests, under the same driving conditions, the electric truck has the ability to use 50% less energy than a Volvo FH diesel-powered engine, giving businesses better fuel economy for travelling the same distance.
