Since 1999, BMW M has been a partner of MotoGP and that commitment continues in 2022 with a new Official Car. It is a first in the BMW M safety car fleet as the M2 CS Racing is the first thoroughbred racing car to be used as the lead car in the series. It heads the fleet of powerful BMW M safety cars in the 2022 season which begins on March 6 with the Grand Prix of Qatar.
“M stands for Motorsport – something we are underlining with the new BMW M2 CS Racing MotoGP Safety Car,” said Franciscus van Meel, CEO of BMW M GmbH. “BMW M GmbH combines high-performance production automobiles and motorsport under one roof. It is for this reason that we selected a race car from our BMW M Motorsport range to be the new MotoGP Safety Car – an appropriate choice to mark the 50th anniversary.”
“The BMW M2 CS Racing has been successful in a wide range of championships – and, as a thoroughbred race car, is perfectly suited to leading the field as the safety car in the pinnacle of motorcycle racing. We are looking forward to our 24th season as ‘Official Car of MotoGP’ and to seeing the BMW M2 CS Racing in action as a safety car for the first time in Qatar,” he added.
The M2 CS Racing is part of BMW M Motorsport’s extensive range of racing cars. It is successful in championships around the world, and there are also multiple international and national one-make cups featuring the car. BMW M Motorsport drivers and teams also score points towards the BMW Sports Trophy on their outings with the M2 CS Racing.
As well as an engine generating up to 450 ps (depending on the version), the racing car also has motorsport-specific driving aids like ABS and DSC, a mechanical limited-slip differential with pre-load and separate cooling, as well as specially manufactured drive shafts and a carbonfibre roof.
For its role as the MotoGP Safety Car, the M2 CS Racing only required modifications in a few areas, including the addition of light bars and front lights. The livery of the new safety car is a reference to the 50th anniversary and based on the anniversary logo of BMW M GmbH.
Completing the BMW M fleet for the 2022 MotoGP season are the M3 Competition Safety Car, the M4 Competition Safety Car, the M5 CS Safety Car, the M8 Competition Gran Coupe Safety Car, the X5 M Competition Medical Car, and two M 1000 RR Safety Bikes. The fully-electric i4 M50 Safety Car will also lead the field in the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup, the electric motorcycle series held on the MotoGP support programme.
In 2020, Toyota (or more specifically, its President, Akio Toyoda) expressed reluctance to make a bigger push towards fully electric vehicles (battery electric vehicles or BEVs) and even felt that it was not the right move in pursuit of carbon neutrality. While the other major carmakers were outlining their EV plans and even previewing models to come, it seemed that Toyota was not going to join the crowd if it meant leaving some customers behind. And being the world’s largest carmaker, that certainly has implications.
However, just a year later, the Toyota President went in front of the cameras and announced to the world that the company would be spending a total of 8 trillion yen (1 trillion yen = around RM37.2 billion) over a period of 9 years from 2022. Of this gigantic amount, 50% would be for the development of BEVs (inclusive of battery development).
And while other carmakers might show a handful of prototype models that will be in showrooms in coming years, Toyoda had no less than 17 models of the Toyota and Lexus brands assembled in the hall. They represented virtually all the segments that the two brands are in, including pick-ups, a segment that the American manufacturers already have fully electric models about the enter the market. And as long as Akio Toyoda is still the boss, we will certainly also get sportscars, even if they no longer run on combustion engines.
The BEVs to come
Only a couple of models among the 17 shown last December are to go on sale this year or in 2023 and, presumably, the others are just having the development programmes started. From Lexus, the closest one to production is the SUV known as the RZ450e but there was also interest in some of the other models that were visible, including a sportscar.
It is likely that top management has signed off on the designs and Lexus can now give a preview of the 3 BEVs that will follow the RZ450e. The three will slot into the segments the brand is now in – sedan, SUV and sportscar – and are associated collectively as the ‘Lexus Electrified’ vision. The brand aims to accelerate sales of electrified models from 2025.
Of the three, Lexus has provided three bits of information about the sportscar which it says revives the spirit of the LFA. Its targets are a 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) time in the low 2-second range, a cruising distance of over 700 kms, and it will possibly use solid-state batteries.
Charging stations for all
On the issue of charging stations for BEV owners, Toyoda said that this is an area where different parties must collaborate and cooperate. Some of the companies may establish the infrastructure on their own, but that infrastructure should be accessible to all other customers who drive vehicles of other brands.
“Toyota would like to urge related parties to realize that. When it comes to infrastructure, there’s a limit to what each OEM (company) can do to realize the sufficient convenience for customers. Of course, we will try to do what we can do. Regarding the regions where Lexus aims to achieve 100% BEV sales, in North America, there are 1,800 dealers, 2,900 in Europe, 1,700 in China, and 5,000 in Japan. I believe it is important to utilize these locations, and make such infrastructure open and available to non-Toyota [and non-Lexus] owners,” he said during the press conference last year.
Following the launch of the Honda City Hatchback in December, for which there are more than 5,200 bookings, Honda Malaysia has now announced the price of the City Hatchback RS e:HEV which was not revealed earlier. Without insurance, the price is RM107,783.09 and this price without sales tax will be applicable until June 30, 2022. There are 3 colour options – Ignite Red Metallic, Meteoroid Gray Metallic and Platinum White Pearl.
This is the first time that the City model is offered in a hatchback bodystyle and the flagship version also comes with e:HEV technology that uses the 1.5-litre Sports intelligent Multi-Mode Drive (i-MMD) powertrain coupled with Electric Continuous Variable Transmission (e-CVT). The hybrid powertrain produces 109 ps/253 Nm and can run in hybrid, engine or even fully electric mode, the latter available for a limited distance depending on the battery pack level.
The City Hatchback’s e:HEV system can run on just the electric motor powered by the battery pack, saving fuel and with no exhaust emissions.
However, as a hybrid electric vehicle, there is no need for recharging from an external source as the battery pack will recharge while the car is being driven. Recharging constantly takes place either by the engine or through regeneration during braking and coasting. This is therefore a more practical approach to electrification for Malaysians at this time when the network of recharging stations is still very small.
Specific to the City Hatchback are a Gloss Black front Grill, Solid Wing and Door Mirrors, and standard are LED headlights with LED Daytime Running Lights, LED front foglights, a rear spoiler and LED rear light units, along with 16-inch alloy wheels.
The interior follows the layout of the sedan and comes with red-stitched Ultrasuede® Seats. The City Hatchback offers additional versatility as it comes with the 4-mode ULTRA Seat, a feature that originated in the first Jazz. The ULTRA Seat allows for different seating layouts in the cabin to suit different usage requirements, including one for carrying tall items like plants.
With the ULTRA Seat, it is possible to fold the seats upright to create more vertical space to carry tall items like plants.
This variant also comes with a 7-inch Interactive TFT meter, 8-inch Display Audio with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Connectivity as well as rear air conditioning. Other first-in-segment features are Honda LaneWatch to monitor the blind spot on the left side, Electric Parking Brake and Remote Engine Start.
Honda LaneWatch uses a small camera on the left door mirror to monitor the blind spot behind the car and display real-time images on the centre screen.
Like the City Sedan RS e:HEV, this hatchback variant also has Honda SENSING, the camera-based driver-assistance system which allows Level 2 autonomous driving as well. Honda SENSING consists of Adaptive Cruise Control, Collision Mitigation Braking System, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Keep Assist System, Road Departure Mitigation, Lane Departure Warning and Auto High Beam. With the systems active, the workload on the driver is less so fatigue on long journeys can be reduced as well as motoring safety being enhanced.
Honda CONNECT is also included and this smart Telematics Technology allows owners to connect with the City Hatchback via a smartphone application. The owner can be easily informed of the car’s status as well as other useful information.
For more information or to locate a showroom for a test-drive, visit www.honda.com.my.
The reveals of the 2022 Formula 1 racing cars continue this week, starting with Scuderia AlphaTauri’s new AT03. Like all the other contenders in this year’s championship, the AT03 has been engineered to meet the significantly changed technical regulations aimed at not just furthering sustainability in the sport but also promote closer racing.
“I am excited to finally reveal what our 2022 Formula 1 car will look like. It is a completely new era for F1 and we hope that this package will be very strong, following last year’s success,” said Franz Tost, Scuderia AlphaTauri Team Principal. Though finishing 6th in the Constructors Championship, the 2021 season was the team’s most successful ever since they first raced in 2006 (as Scuderia Toro Rosso).
Same driver line-up
The drivers will be the same as for 2021 – Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda. Frenchman Gasly, who entered F1 in 2017, finished 9th overall in the Drivers Championship last year and scored one podium (third place in the Azerbaijan GP). Tsunoda began his first season in F1 last year in place of Daniil Kvyat and finished 14th in the championship.
The livery of the AT03 retains the white and navy blue colours that have become familiar with the team but with changes in the paint scheme. Gasly’s car will carry the number 10, while Tsunoda’s will have 22 which, incidentally, will be his age this year.
Honda power units, Red Bull name
The AT03 will run with Red Bull power units which are actually Honda power units supplied by Red Bull Powertrains, a F1 power unit maker owned by Red Bull. Red Bull Powertrains was established last year to take over the operation of F1 power units developed by Honda after the Japanese carmaker ceased its involvement in F1 at the end of the 2021 season. Naturally, the Red Bull Racing Team will also be using the same V6 engines during 2022.
The area where the biggest and most obvious changes can be seen – and the most important new element – is hidden underneath the car! A ground effect floor features two tunnels so that a much greater percentage of a car’s downforce is generated from the underside of the car.
Among other 2022 rules, the front and rear wings are much simpler in design, with no rear wing endplates or bargeboards. Each team can interpret the rules as they wish, but within very strict templates for what is permissible.
New requirements for chassis design
The chassis is the core element around which the entire AT03 is built, able to absorb more energy than before in front, rear and lateral impact tests. The 2022 design also requires the power unit to separate from the chassis in a crash without damaging the fuel cell. To further protect the driver in a frontal impact, the nose section is longer. All these changes have seen the car’s minimum weight increase by approximately 5% to 795 kgs.
Another very visible change is the switch from the 13-inch wheels that have been the norm in F1 since the 1960s, to 18-inch wheels, with just one supplier – BBS Motorsport – for all 10 teams. Aesthetically more pleasing and modern, the real function of the bigger low-profile tyres supplied by Pirelli is to make them less prone to overheating, so that the drivers can push harder for longer. However, they still have a performance drop-off to allow for interesting strategy choices. The compounds are also new this year, with Pirelli producing 5 different dry weather compounds of which three are chosen for each round, along with two wet weather options.
Yuki Tsunoda in the AT02 during the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship.
Both drivers are pleased with the looks of their new cars but do not know how they will perform with all the changes resulting from the new regulations. “We won’t know the true performance of the AT03 until we get it out on track at pre-season testing in Barcelona but so far, I think it looks great and I am very excited to get this new season started,” said Gasly. Last month, to get them warmed up for the new season, the drivers ran their 2020 car, the AT01, at Imola.
Toyota, which last year reclaimed its position as the No. 1 non-national brand after 6 years, started 2022 on a strong note with a total sales volume of 7,528 units (including Lexus models). This was a 96% increase compared to the 3.845 units that were reported in the same month last year.
The Vios remained as UMW Toyota Motor’s bestselling model, accounting for 28% of the total sales volume, while the Hilux accounted for 38% of sales and has been the country’s bestselling pick-up truck for 15 years.
Strong sales helped by promotions
The strong sales numbers have been helped by ongoing promotions such as the ‘Stay Ahead’ campaign which gives buyers savings up to RM4,500. The promotion offers the Vios at monthly instalments from RM540 with 100% sales tax savings of RM2,216. For the sportier Yaris hatchback, customers can own one with H-P loans that have instalments from RM493, plus additional RM2,192 in sales tax savings.
The bestselling Toyota models in Malaysia are the Vios (above) and Hilux (below), with the latter being the bestselling truck in the country for 15 years.
“We are thankful for the government’s decision to extend the Sales and Service Tax (SST) exemption incentives for passenger vehicles until June 30, 2022. This has greatly helped automotive players like us to recover from the impact of the pandemic during the last two years. We also encourage Toyota fans to take advantage of the extended tax exemption to purchase their dream car, coupled with the value-for-money deals UMW Toyota Motor is offering such as the ongoing ‘Stay Ahead’ sales campaign to enjoy the best savings during this period,” said Ravindran K, President of UMW Toyota Motor.
Locally-assembled Toyota hybrid electric vehicles
In support of Toyota’s global agenda to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, as well as similar objectives by the Malaysian government, UMW Toyota Motor will assemble models with hybrid electric vehicle technology. This has started with the Corolla Cross Hybrid which was launched last month which is seeing growing demand
According to Mr. Ravindran, since it was made available for booking in October last year, the Corolla Cross Hybrid has met with positive response, accounting for more than 40% of the total sales of the Corolla Cross crossover SUV. “This shows that Malaysians are in support of environmental sustainability and are taking their first step towards going green through hybrid electric vehicles. We urge our customers to place their bookings early in order to avoid missing out on the SST exemption for better savings,” he added.
While the Corolla Cross Hybrid (above), priced from RM136,550 (without insurance), has the typical high quality and durability that has made the Toyota brand so popular worldwide, UMW Toyota Motor also offers a 5-year warranty with unlimited mileage. More importantly, for the owner’s peace of mind, the hybrid battery pack has a separate which covers replacement of the hybrid battery pack, inverter and Power Management Control Unit if defective during the first 8 years of ownership (with no limit on mileage). Customers can also extend this warranty by 2 years at the time of purchase.
Being a good Corporate Citizen
In addition to the positive sales results, January also saw the company doing its part at a good corporate citizen to help Malaysians affected by the floods. Partnered with Yayasan Raja Muda Selangor through its ‘Back On Your Feet’ programme, the company contributed RM10,000 to Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Lui for the school’s repairs of its flood-damaged premises. The company also donated essential home appliances to the affected community in Sungai Lui such as rice cookers, kettles and gas stoves.
Employees of UMW Toyota Motor went to flooded areas to assist in clean-up work and also brought essential items donated by the company.
“UMW Toyota Motor endeavours to propel society forward by empowering people beyond the road. We are glad to have been given the opportunity to partner with Yayasan Raja Muda Selangor to give back to the community we operate in and help them get back on their feet during these trying times,” Mr. Ravindran said.
Besides initiating a Toyota Flood Assist Program as an immediate response to help flood victims in December, a flood ‘Command Centre’ was also established at the UMW Toyota Motor headquarters in Shah Alam, Selangor, as part of its broadened initiatives. This will also function as a soup kitchen and relief distribution centre for victims in the event of a similar phenomenon in the future. Additionally, up to 100 parking spaces in the compound will be allocated in such situations for flood victims to park their vehicles safely.
For more information on Toyota products and services in Malaysia, visit www.toyota.com.my.
Imagine telling your friend in America about driving along the scenic Temiang – Pantai Highway in Negeri Sembilan or the popular Ulu Yam road that leads to Genting Highlands on the Selangor/Pahang border. Then you send over a file which can be loaded onto their computer and they too can take a virtual drive along the same route as you did.
Until now, reproducing roads and racing circuits for computer games has required specialised software and skills and since the first ‘Test Drive’ simulator in the 1980s, the digital worlds on the screen have become more and more realistic. But they are still limited to whatever the game creator chooses, rather than the user.
Now Porsche is developing an innovative software solution in cooperation with Swiss start-up Way Ahead Technologies known as the Virtual Roads project which can make this a reality. The aim is to offer drivers the opportunity to quickly and easily record their favourite routes from real life and transfer them into a videogame.
Developing a new videogame can take months, if not years. For example, the tracks for racing simulators must be precisely scanned by experts using lasers before they can be digitalised. Porsche hopes to considerably accelerate this time-consuming process when Virtual Roads is ready to be launched.
In the future, the innovation project will allow drivers to record any route using a specific app on their smartphone which can be mounted behind the windscreen. The data can then be transferred automatically to the virtual world with software that converts the recordings of the road and surrounding area into a 3D environment. This process is expected to take less than 1% of the time (less than an hour) required by a conventional digitalisation process using lasers.
Driving the most beautiful roads virtually
“If you ask people what they think is the most beautiful road, everyone has their own, very personal route in mind. The characteristics of the topography are what make a route particularly attractive, regardless of whether it is a unique Alpine pass or a legendary coastal road,” said Robert Ader, Chief Marketing Officer at Porsche, whose department is responsible for the project. “We want to trigger these great memories with a much simpler digitalisation process that allows anyone to drive their favourite route virtually.”
The project is based on specialist software that uses technology such as artificial intelligence to capture a road and its surrounding features like dividers and trees. These characteristics are then reproduced as faithfully and quickly as possible in a digital 3D form. The programme, developed by Way Ahead Technologies, draws on an extensive graphics archive.
Imagery from the real world (top) recorded on a smartphone can be quickly converted into a digital scene (above) and then loaded onto a videogame simulator.
Data protection is an important element of the development process. The programme makes sure that other road-users are also ‘captured’ from real life and transferred into the virtual world. This is a similar type of measures as taken in Google Maps where vehicle numberplates, faces and anything with personal identification is obscured.
The virtual experience in a Porsche
The file for each unique route that is generated using the new application is currently compatible with a number of racing games including ‘Assetto Corsa‘, meaning that Porsche drivers and fans of the brand will have access to all the possibilities of the virtual world. The routes can be experienced again and again on any simulator equipped with the appropriate equipment or via a smartphone.
Drivers will be able to enjoy the trip along the beautiful mountain roads in Europe or as mentioned earlier, the drive along the Temiang-Pantai Highway – and so can their friends. The innovation project has another great advantage: even routes that are closed to the general public or only open on designated days can be experienced in a sportscar from Porsche and shared with others.
Racing games generally allow the user to choose any car for their virtual drive and the simulation is based on the power output and handling of the chosen vehicle. The characteristics of the route are also conveyed in the most realistic way possible. An appropriately equipped simulator mimics an uneven road surface with vibration, while drivers who approach a corner too fast will feel themselves slide off the road.
The Temiang-Pantai Highway in Negeri Sembilan which was opened last year.
Ambitious drivers can use the simulations to tackle particularly demanding routes in a sportscar, improve their lap times and compete with others without any risk to their lives. And another thing: they can also go faster than the speed limits for the highway with getting caught by a speed camera! The technology can also be used for a wide range of other scenarios as well.
“After several years of development work, our software is now so advanced that it can digitalise routes for virtual roads of up to 8 kilometres long in less than an hour, depending on how complex the route is,” revealed Roger Rueegg from Way Ahead Technologies. “We’re also looking at other options and functions at the moment. For example, data from the sensors that measure lateral acceleration and chassis control could also be recorded and used in the future”.
