At motorshows and other exhibitions, carmakers often display concept cars which have advanced designs that suggest what cars will look like in future. They have various bodystyles, suggesting that there will still be variety, and sportscars are popular subjects for futuristic design studies.
The carmakers’ studios have numerous designs for the future but sometimes they also go outside the company to get ideas which may be of value. For instance, Hispano Suiza has worked with students of the ‘Istituto Europeo di Design’ (IED) in Turin, Italy to develop a creative project linked to the 120th anniversary of the brand, which will be celebrated in 2024.
The third-year students of IED Turin Triennial Course in Transportation Design, thanks to their knowledge and imagination, have risen up to the challenge of reinterpreting the Hispano Suiza Alfonso XIII, built about 100 years ago, and adapting it to the near future.
The Spanish King in the Hispano Suiza sportscar which was named after him.
World’s first sportscar
The model, also known as the Type 45, was produced between 1911 and 1920 and is considered the first sportscar in automotive history. It was commissioned by King Alfonso XIII of Spain himself, who was passionate about cars and also the brand. His brief was simple: he wanted a sporty and agile model.
The 2-seater Hispano Suiza met his expectations. With its 3616 cc 4-cylinder engine and 60 ps that powered the rear wheels, it was able to reach a maximum speed of 120 km/h, certainly quite a high speed at that time. 500 units were produced up till 1920 and the King allowed his name to be used for the model. Not surprisingly, some of the cars were also used in races and were victorious.
What would the car look like today?
With the car’s significance, and following the collaboration agreement with the IED in Turin, Hispano Suiza invited the students of the Triennial Course in Transportation Design to reinterpret the Alfonso XIII. The students were asked to explore and design the exterior, interior and describe the user experience of the Alfonso XIII of the future, using the technology currently available, as well as their imagination.
Francesc Arenas, Design Director of Hispano Suiza, has worked closely with the students involved in recent months, advising them, applying his invaluable know-how and experience in collaboration with the IED in Turin.
“I am extremely proud to collaborate with the IED of Turin and to be able to offer the necessary tools to its students so that they let their imagination fly. Innovation and passion for design are key elements in the history, present and future of Hispano Suiza. For me and for everyone in the Hispano Suiza team, being able to advise, work and inspire these new talents has been a stimulating and very rewarding experience,” said Arenas.
“The implementation phases of the project represent, for the students, the moment to be free to express their creativity and the skills acquired during the technical, instrumental and theoretical classes,” explained Michele Albera, Coordinator of the IED Turin Triennial Transport Design Course. “The collaboration with Hispano Suiza has allowed the students to face the demands of a legendary automotive brand, pioneer of excellence in the automotive sector, and the needs of an international market, bringing out their personality and passion.”
While our healthcare services can be considered pretty good and the rakyat are able to obtain good medical treatment at government hospitals and clinics, the cost is also high for the government. Therefore, the private sector too can play a role in helping in this area and as part of its continuing support given to key public institutions nationwide, it recently contributed medical equipment and gifts worth a total of RM87,967 to the Shah Alam General Hospital in Selangor.
The ongoing initiative is aimed at supporting the efforts by Malaysia’s healthcare frontliners to increase the health service quality nationwide. Perodua donated a free-standing warmer, 3 photolights, a high-tech jellypad, 7 stethoscope neonates, a LSCS set used during caesarean, and 10 surgical scissors to the hospital’s paediatric ward.
“We aspire to be a responsible corporate citizen and we will assist where we can in ensuring consistent and continuous access to medical supplies for hospitals and our entire health care system,” said Perodua’s President & CEO, Dato’ Zainal Abidin Ahmad, at the presentation ceremony.
Helping add value to healthcare system
Adding that Perodua recognises the importance of private-public partnership in enhancing the quality of health service in the country, Dato’ Zainal said the company will continue to communicate with key public institutions and the Ministry of Health to see where it can add value in the country’s healthcare system.
Besides key public institutions, Perodua has also provided thousands of face-shields to schools and traders at markets to help them have better protection during the pandemic.
To date, Perodua has contributed medical supplies to public hospitals including Sungai Buloh Hospital, Selayang Hospital, and Sabah Women and Children Hospital in Likas. Additionally, the company has supplied thousands of face-shields (made by one of its subsidiary companies) to schools, traders at markets and government agencies.
The SDAC-Ford National Dealer Convention held annually by Sime Darby Auto ConneXion (SDAC), the sole distributor for Ford in Malaysia, aims to recognise top-performing Ford dealerships in the country across key business categories including sales, aftersales, service operation excellence and business performance.
For 2021, the SDAC-Ford Ara Damansara dealership outlet was recognised as Best Overall Ford Dealership Outlet, and won this top distinction based on overall performance in sales and aftersales services. The dealership outlet also won the greatest number of awards amongst all Ford dealership outlets nationwide.
Commitment to deliver
SDAC-Ford Ara Damansara’s performance was attributed to its commitment to delivering on overall sales and aftersales performance despite the challenges brought on by the ongoing pandemic. It was also recognised for Overall Sales Target Achievement, Best Overall Sales Outlet (Champion), Best Overall Aftersales Outlet (2nd Runner-Up), Aftersales CVP (Customer View Point) Excellence (Central region), and Parts Sales Target Achievement (Central region).
“We are truly honoured to be named the 2021 Best Overall Outlet despite being in operation for only 2 years. This recognition is a testament to our strong commitment in delivering outstanding business performance while ensuring service excellence throughout the entire ownership journey. We remain steadfast in pursuing excellence and in providing world-class service to all our Ford customers,” said Steven Kong, Dealer Principal of Sime Darby Auto Connexion-Ford which is located at the Sime Darby Motors City complex in Ara Damansara, Selangor.
Full range of services
The outlet offers a complete range of services and has a showroom displaying the latest Ford models available in the Malaysian market, as well a fully-equipped service centre on the upper levels of the building. For customers waiting for their vehicles being serviced, there is a comfortable and spacious area with refreshments and light snacks available, as well as complimentary wifi service.
To know more about the services offered at SDAC-Ford Damansara and other Ford outlets in Malaysia, visit www.sdacford.com.my.
After disruptions to its activities over the past two years, the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Festival (TGR Festival) is expected to be able to proceed smoothly and with a full calendar for Season 5 this year. As before, the highlight will be the Vios Challenge one-make series which has been extremely popular, as well as the GR Velocity Esports Championship.
In the 4 seasons so far, the TGR Festival and Vios Challenge has successfully attracted more than 8 million spectators and online viewers, with social media reach exceeding 19 million, to make it one of the most watched domestic motor-racing events.
“Racing has opened up a multitude of opportunities for Toyota domestically and we will continue to build on this strong momentum to drive both the Toyota and GAZOO Racing brands ahead with exciting activities as well as products,” said UMW Toyota Motor President, Ravindran K.
Season 5 will have 3 rounds and a total of 6 races with Round 1 being run on March 18 – 20), followed by Round 2 in June (24-26) and the third and final round in September (23-25). Two of the rounds will be held at the Sepang International Circuit and one will be a purpose-built street circuit (venue not mentioned yet).
Over the years, the Vios Challenge circuits have been specially designed at venues in Penang, Johor, Terengganu and the Klang Valley. Spectators have liked such circuits as they can be closer to the action – but safely behind protective barriers.
The street circuits (specially built for the races) allow the spectators to be closer to the cars as they race by, adding to the excitement.
4 race classes
The races will again be divided into 4 classes – Promotional Class for local celebrities; Super Sporting Class for top-level and professional drivers; Sporting Class for amateur and gentlemen drivers; and the Rookie Class for young drivers new to racing.
In total, there will be more than a half a million ringgit in prize monies, with RM70,000 and RM50,000 going the overall champion of the Super Sporting and Sporting Class champions, respectively, at the end of the season. This makes the Vios Challenge the most lucrative motorsports event in the country, which has been the case for the last 5 years.
The cars are all similar in performance, so it’s mainly driver skill that makes the difference. The tight purpose-designed street circuits have made for close racing which spectators enjoy seeing.
Affordable series for all
The format of a one-make series in the Vios Challenge has made it attractive and affordable for not only amateur racers, but also the professionals, many of whom are in teams supported by Toyota dealers. Affordability and the level playing field it created also began attracting young drivers to participate and in Season 3, a 16-year-old was remarkably crowned the overall champion in the Sporting Class.
Today, the series has grown to include even talented rookies competing under the GAZOO Racing Young Talent Development Program which is envisaged to provide more young drivers between the ages of 16 and 20 with an impactful and affordable platform to transition into saloon car racing in Malaysia.
Naquib Azlan, one of the talented rookies of the GAZOO Racing Young Talent Development Program who performed impressively in his first season.
Additionally, from the very first season, the Vios Challenge has been the only event of its kind to have a class for local celebrities to race against each other. The races have been crowd-pullers, with fans of the celebrities following them to each venue and cheering for them. Special sessions have been organised at each round so they can also get close to their favourite celebrities.
The celebrities who race have many fans who follow them to each race and in between races, there are opportunities for the fans to meet them.
Additional events
Also included in this year’s GAZOO Racing calendar will be the Vios Sprint Cup, which is run independently from the Vios Challenge. Two rounds are scheduled for April and July in tandem with the Malaysia Championship Series (MCS). Each round will have 2 races with a total of more than RM200,000 in prize monies. The event will provide even more racing and rewards for participating drivers, teams and dealers already signed up to compete in the Vios Challenge.
Last year’s season also saw a night race being run for the first time in the Vios Challenge.
GAZOO Racing will also continue to make its presence felt in the national series by once again entering a team to participate in the Sepang 1000KM Endurance Race (S1K) in November. The race will also see the second running of the Vios Enduro Cup which will have a RM30,000 prize purse.
“Overall, the objective of our racing activities is to contribute to growth of Malaysian motorsports from all aspects – to not only provide an affordable platform for competition; to grow awareness and appreciation for motorsports amongst the masses; and to uncover, develop and provide a conducive platform for the nation’s next generation of young and talented drivers to step up in motor-racing,” said Mr. Ravindran.
Finals of the GR Velocity E-sports Championship in 2020.
E-Sports series in fifth season
Besides the real racing on the tracks, racing will also continue online with the fifth season of the GR Velocity Esports Championship. Billed as one of the most lucrative local online racing series in the country, the championship (first held in 2018) today attracts close to 1,000 participants with more than 1 million online spectators. UMW Toyota Motor continues to have the distinction of becoming the first and the only Malaysian car company to be directly involved with E-sports activities related to motor racing.
New GR products
Expect to see new GR and GR-Sport models during the year, along with enhancement of the GR Garage network and activities nationwide. Besides new models, Toyota and GAZOO will be organizing of GR driving clinics, experiences and activities for the owners to enable them to fully enjoy the high performance of their cars safely. They will be able to fully immerse themselves and get the most from owning a GR vehicle.
The current models available in Malaysia are the GR Supra, GR Yaris and GR Sport Vios. The GR-Sport Vios, assembled at UMW Toyota Motor’s own plant in Bukit Raja, Selangor, is a tribute to the Vios Challenge racing cars. It is also the very first ASEAN-manufactured vehicle to wear the GR badge.
Toyota GR-Sport Vios – first ASEAN-manufactured vehicle to wear the GR badge.
Efforts are already underway to enhance and expand on UMW Toyota Motor’s network of dedicated GR Garages nationwide which are the only outlets that offer GR models. This will include offering a comprehensive aftermarket parts list as well as merchandise for GR and Toyota owners.
GAZOO Racing has also announced the continuation of 3-time Vios Challenge Super Sporting Class champion Tengku Djan Ley as its Malaysian Ambassador. Tengku Djan was instrumental in assisting to develop the GR-Sport Vios.
Special mention should be made of Akio Takeyama who, besides his role as Deputy Chairman of UMW Toyota Motor, was also the Chief Motorsports Officer. Besides being a driving force for the racing series, he personally took part in the Vios Challenge for all four seasons, racing together with the celebrities. Mr. Takeyama’s tenure in Malaysia ended recently and he will be taking on a new position in Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan. His successor as Deputy Chairman is Takashi Obata.
“I would like to record my excitement and commitment to chart the way forward for GAZOO Racing to continue to make an impactful and valuable contribution to Malaysia – via our involvement in motorsports and the development of young talent, through more GR experiences and touchpoints through our GR vehicles, the assembly of GR-Sport vehicles in Malaysia, the expansion of the GR Garage network and the offering of performance parts and merchandises for Toyota and GR customers,” said Mr. Obata.
With the explosive growth in SUVs for many years now, demand for replacement tyres for such vehicles has obviously been growing. So besides offering passenger car tyres, companies have now to also offer SUV tyres which have to be a bit more robust and handle heavier loads, and be off-road capable.
There are many brands on the market nowadays which offer SUV tyres but it’s always better to buy tyres from a reputable and known brand. BFGoodrich is a brand in the Michelin group, so it is obviously a trusted brand and Michelin Malaysia has brought in a new tyre from the brand for SUVs.
The new tyre is the Trail-Terrain T/A, a premium ‘on-road plus’ tyre which can perform well on highways and also handle light off-road motoring (which is what most SUV owners do). Its performance is due to having an optimized footprint design, and resistance to chipping and tearing, and a serrated shoulder design optimized for soft-soil traction without increased road noise.
The tread has Full-Depth 3D Locking Sipes that provide good tread block stability for even wear so tread life can be longer. The tyre also provides a quiet and comfortable ride on all surfaces.
The Trail-Terrain T/A is available in 41 sizes so it covers a wide range of SUV models and can also be used for pick-up trucks. However, availability of sizes will be dependent on dealer’s stock, but they should be able to order from Michelin Malaysia anyway. The tyre covered by a 6-year manufacturer’s warranty.
The new BFGoodrich tyre is suitable for many SUVs and pick-up trucks, including the Nissan X-Trail (above) and Isuzu D-MAX (below).
“The BFGoodrich Trail-Terrain T/A responds to the post-covid adventure mindset and the growing DIY trends that target drivers of All-Wheel-Drive crossover utility vehicles, sports utility vehicles and light trucks. These are adventure-ready vehicles offering versatility for hobbies, carrying gear, and outdoor recreational activities – perfect for the next exploration ahead,” said Michelin Malaysia’s Managing Director, Oliver Biggart.
Electric vehicles and the technologies associated with them are still developing and evolving. And just like the early years of the auto industry over 100 years ago, there’s fragmentation as different approaches are taken and different technologies are explored. That’s part of the reason why EV technologies are still costly – because they cannot reach a point where they are stable and economies of scale can start to kick in to lower costs.
Even with recharging the battery packs, there are different systems and connectors. In China, swapping entire battery packs in one approach. While the ideal is to enable owners to recharge their vehicles at home, it is not entirely practical and outdoor charging stations are needed. The common approach has been to provide a station and a cable connects to the charging point on the vehicle.
So far, we haven’t heard of cables being stolen but there is a possibility of that happening in future as more EVs are in use, and cables (which are not cheap) become valuable items. In most cases, the cable system will likely be the common method for charging but some companies are also looking at wireless charging which will not require cables. The technology is already available for smartphones so applying it to EVs is also possible.
BMW was the first car market to offer wireless charging and ran a pilot program in America three years ago. Its system used a wireless charging from a pad on the ground and planned to introduce it more widely. However, it may have been the pandemic that has delayed the plans as nothing else has been heard about it.
In the meantime, Volvo Cars has begun testing wireless charging technology and has a 3-year program with a taxi company. The company will have a small fleet of fully electric Volvo XC40 Recharge cars which will be run in Volvo’s home city of Gothenburg in Sweden. They will be charged wirelessly at special stations around the city of about 600,000 people.
In total, the cars will be used for more than 12 hours a day and each will cover 100,000 kms per year, which also makes this the first durability test of fully electric Volvo cars in a commercial usage scenario.
The charging starts automatically when a compatible vehicle parks over a charging pad embedded in the street. The drivers can remain in their car while charging takes place. Electric energy is sent through the charging pad, which is picked up by a receiver unit under in the car. To easily align the car with the charging pad, there is a 360-degree camera system.
For the fully electric XC40 Recharge, the wireless charging power will be more than 40 kW, making the charging speeds around 4 times faster than a wired 11 kW AC charger, and almost as fast as a wired 50 kW DC fast-charger.
The wireless charging test is one of many projects outlined within the strategic initiative Gothenburg Green City Zone, under which designated areas within the city are used as live testbeds for the development of sustainable technologies.
“Gothenburg Green City Zone lets us try exciting new technologies in a real environment and evaluate them over time for a potential future broader introduction,” said Mats Moberg, Head of Research & Development at Volvo Cars. “Testing new charging technologies together with selected partners is a good way to evaluate alternative charging options for our future cars.”
