If you’re a fan of Bentley vehicles, you would know the existence of the Bentley EXP 100 GT concept vehicle that they unveiled a few months back. In celebrations of the brand’s 100th birthday, the Bentley EXP 100 GT is essentially a present for themselves and by the looks of things, what a grand present to get. (more…)
The Art of Speed 2019 just concluded a few months back and they’re already setting up shop for next year’s installation. Kicking things off, the application for the Art of Speed 2020 Invitational Build-Off is now open to cater to the ever-growing quantity and quality of participants in the recent years of AOS. (more…)
Only recently launched in Malaysia, the new Isuzu D-Max 1.9 with the BluePower turbodiesel engine is going to face a very tough test – the Borneo Safari, one of Asia’s most extreme off-road events. This is not the first time for the D-MAX as models with the 2.5-litre and 3.0-litre engines have been conquering the Borneo Safari for a decade. But this is the first time that the new BluePower engine with a 1.9-litre displacement is being used.
“This year, we bring the challenge to the new 1.9-litre engine to prove just how capable it is over the unforgiving terrain despite its small engine displacement,” said the Chief Operating Officer of Isuzu Malaysia, Masayuki Suzuki.
Isuzu’s revolutionary new 1.9-litre 4-cylinder turbodiesel engine (RZ4E-TC) is the smallest engine in its class. With new technology, the amazing thing is that ‘less equals more’ where output is concerned. A comparison between the BluePower engine and the 2.5-litre engine will show that the smaller engine produces 150 ps/350 Nm, whereas the bigger one generates with 136 ps/320 Nm.
With its innovative design and engineering, the new model is expected to perform better in the difficult off-road conditions as it has in on-road situations where it has impressed thus far. Apart from the extreme mud terrain tyres, uprated suspension to accommodate the larger wheels, heavy- duty body protection, a winch and an air snorkel, the ‘Blue Monster’ – as the D-MAX taking part is nicknamed – remains virtually stock standard and resembles models available to customers from Isuzu showrooms.
The Blue Monster was handed over to the organizing team of the Borneo Safari in Kota Kinabalu as part of Isuzu Malaysia’s commitment as the event’s Diamond Sponsor to provide media vehicles for the event.
This year’s Borneo Safari is the 29th edition in its history and the 13th year that it has received support from Isuzu Malaysia. The event is scheduled to begin in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, on October 27 and will take a more southerly loop, skirting Beaufort, Tenom, Keningau and Tambunan before heading back to the city on November 3.
Visit www.isuzu.net.my to know more about the latest Isuzu D-MAX.
Looks like Sime Darby Auto ConneXion (SDAC) aka Ford Malaysia has seen a positive growth in their Ford Ranger sales figures as they celebrate an increase of 12% in Q3 compared to the previous quarter between April and June 2019. (more…)
Some years back, Hakan Samuelsson, President & CEO of Volvo Cars declared that the company is determined to be the first premium carmaker to move its entire portfolio of vehicles into electrification. After starting with hybrids, the plan was to have fully electric models by the end of this decade and with three months remaining, the company has rolled out the XC40 Recharge, its first ever fully electric car and the first model to appear in its brand-new Recharge car line concept.
First in the fully electric Volvo family
The XC40 Recharge, based on the XC40 SUV, is the first of a family of fully electric Volvos. Over the next 5 years, the Swedish carmaker (part of China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group since 2010) will launch a fully electric car every year. This will enable it to make all-electric models account for 50% of global sales by 2025, with the rest being hybrids. Recharge will be the umbrella name for all Volvos with a fully electric and plug-in hybrid powertrain.
The new XC40 Recharge, with all-wheel drive and 408 ps, has a claimed range of over 400 kms on a fully charged battery pack. The battery pack can be recharged to 80% of its capacity within 40 minutes but only if a fast-charger system is used.
Fully powered by Android
An Android-powered infotainment system is fully integrated with Volvo On Call, the company’s digital connected services platform. The Volvo Car Group is the first company to team up with Google on integrating an infotainment system powered by Android, with the Google Assistant, Google Maps and the Google Play Store built-in. The new system offers full integration of Android Automotive OS, Google’s open-source Android platform, with real-time updates to services and automotive apps created by the global developer community.
“We are finally giving you the same experience in your car that you’re used to on your phone, but adapted for safe interaction while driving,” said Henrik Green, Chief Technology Officer at Volvo Cars. “And by introducing over-the-air updates for everything from maintenance to completely new features, the car can stay as fresh as your other digital products, always with the latest and greatest features.”
To meet the anticipated growth in demand for its Recharge models, Volvo Cars will triple production capacity for electrified cars and will, as of next year, prepare a Designer’s Choice selection of popular Recharge models, offering the potential for radically reduced delivery times.
It may be hard to believe but the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) started as far back as 1958 – 61 years ago – and only Formula 1 and America’s NASCAR series have longer histories. It’s a rave series that has gone from strength to strength, becoming an event that major manufacturers must have a presence in.
It appears that Goodyear also see the BTCC as being important and has announces a return to UK motorsport by becoming the new sole tyre supplier to the championship from 2020. The decision comes with a view to enhancing Goodyear’s brand within the motorsport and ultra-ultra-high-performance (UUHP) segments.
2019 witnessed Goodyear’s return to these segments with the launch of its Eagle F1 SuperSport range of road tyres and successful return to European and International sportscar racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Platform for demonstrating tyre technologies
Goodyear has chosen the BTCC for the second step of its racing comeback as it provides a strong platform for demonstrating tyre technologies on a wide range of saloon cars as well as providing the right marketing platform to reach high-performance car enthusiasts within the UK.
“The recent launch of Goodyear’s Eagle F1 SuperSport range and relaunch into motorsport shows how the brand is applying itself to a broader range of initiatives within the ultra-high-performance automotive sector,” said Motorsport Director at Goodyear, Ben Crawley.
“The BTCC is one of the best-loved, most famous motor racing championships in the world and it will provide a great opportunity for Goodyear to get close to the hearts and minds of motorsport enthusiasts. We are thrilled to be partnered with the championship from 2020,” he added. ”The decision to become the sole tyre supplier to BTCC forms part of a broader strategic marketing plan for the company.”
As tyre supplier, Goodyear will meet the current regulations by supplying tyres with the size of 265/660 R18. Three tyre compounds (Soft, Hard and a specific compound used at Thruxton only) – Prime and Option will be available to teams.
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