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New Jaguar F-Type Supercar To Rival McLaren Set To Debut in 2022!

HOT from Auto Express, the successor to the Jaguar F-Type will embrace hybrid technology and go mid-engined when it launches around 2022, Auto Express (AE) has exclusively revealed this. And further down the line, Jag could launch a fully-electric version to rival the forthcoming Porsche Taycan. Development work on the F-Type’s successor is under way, with engineers devising a plan that will transform the model into the brand’s halo product to compete with McLaren and Audi Sport.

Central to the plan and favoured by engineers is the shift from a front to mid-engined layout for the performance car. According to high-ranking technicians working on the project, the Honda NSX is being used as a benchmark for the next-generation Jaguar model, because key to the car’s armoury will be the use of hybrid technology to boost performance. Although it will be a replacement for the current F-Type, the new product is likely to bear little resemblance to the existing car. The switch to a mid-engined layout will enable Jaguar to be more daring with the proportions; the long bonnet and cab- rearward design of the current F-Type will make way for a lower, sleeker overall look, previewed here in AE’s exclusive images.

The mechanical make-up of the car is yet to be finalised, but it’s expected that at least two electric motors, one on each axle to give four-wheel drive, will supplement a mid-mounted V6 engine. If it is to be competitive, a power figure upwards of 550bhp is likely, placing it among competitors such as the McLaren 570S and Audi R8. It will be only the second mid-engined car in Jaguar’s 83-year history, following on from the XJ220 of the nineties (below).

The firm came close to launching another in 2010 with the C-X75. Developed with Williams Advanced Engineering, the supercar was pitched as a rival for the McLaren P1, but the economic situation at the time concerned Jaguar and the project was axed due to a fear of a lack of return on the company’s investment.

The flexible platform on which the new F-Type will be based will also allow the brand to develop a fully-electric version. Auto Express understands engineers are keeping a close eye on the Taycan project and are keen to build a rival for that car. Jaguar has much more experience recently with developing electric cars as opposed to mid-engined vehicles. The I-Pace is widely regarded as the best of its kind and is driven by concentric permanent magnet synchronous motors – that means the car’s driveshaft runs through the middle of them – which are designed and built by Jaguar itself.

It’s also possible that by the time the F-Type EV arrives, solid state battery technology, which is being analysed and developed by a host of global car brands, could be ready for production. Given the extensive changes the F-Type’s successor will undergo, it’s possible Jaguar could rename the model J-Type. The firm applied to trademark the name as recently as last month.

Jaguar F-Type EV Exclusive Photos (all 2022 F-Type photos from Auto Express UK)

GWM Releases ‘ORA’ Brand to Enter New Energy Vehicle Market in Full Stride [+Videos]

GWM or Great Wall Motors, has officially released an independent brand of new energy vehicles – ORA. It is the first mainstream car maker to perform brand management of the new energy car business. iQ, the first model of ORA will be launched in Chengdu Auto Show. Following the announcement of the joint venture with BMW it is another significant move made by GWM in the new energy sector.

The Vice President of GWM and General Manager of ORA, Ning Shuyong said, “Ten years ago GWM established a research group of new energy vehicles, and made layout and devotion to R&D. GWM insists on positive research and development of new energy vehicles, instead of changing from oil into electricity or making policy cars. More consideration is given to the healthy development of the new energy vehicle market after the policy retreats.”

ORA: ‘New Generation Electric Car’ of New Urban Youth

GWM has named the new energy brand ORA in a bid to commemorate the world’s famous mathematician- Mr. Euler. Mr. Euler is well known for his ‘Euler’s Theorem’ and ‘Euler’s Formula’. He has not only made great contributions to mathematics, but also moved mathematics forward into physical field, including ballistics, geostatics, hydromechanics, etc. GWM decided to name its new energy vehicle after ‘Euler’ because mathematics is the foundation of human scientific and technological innovation, and the core and premise of auto design, research and development. Those who are not good at mathematics cannot make good automobiles. ‘ORA’ implies that GWM will continue to be meticulous and insist on making good automobiles.

ORA is the combination of Open, Reliable and Alternative:

Open means open and win-win business mode;
Reliable means being reliable, high-quality, motivation and mileage free of anxiety;
Alternative means unconventional, intelligent network connection and automatic drive for pure electricity.

ORA brand logo derives from the exclamation mark, which means to salute and greet to salute Mr. Euler, to greet users and the world. ORA hopes to bring surprise to people, and represents GWM’s determination to create amazing products for users at the same time.

ORA is positioned as a new generation of electric car. Different from traditional car-making enterprises and new car-making enterprises making power like changing from oil into electricity with difficult delivery and high pricing, ORA has a profound car-making accumulation and control of quality and safety which are not available in the new car-making enterprises. At the same time, it is an independent brand of new energy in traditional car-making enterprises, integrating the current leading intelligent network connection technologies.

ORA is specially made for urban travel advocating more stylish, smarter and safer ways to travel. ORA’s vision is to become a No.1 brand in electric cars. ORA’s targeted users are the new generation of urban youth who have an open, friendly, happy and confident attitude to life, who love challenges, who are reliable and responsible, who have their own value judgments about life and work, who don’t go with the flow, and who are the slash youth of new urban life.

Brand-New ME Platform Builds Three Major Models

In the past ten years, GWM has invested over 10 billion RMB to research the development of cutting-edge technologies such as new energy, intelligent network connection and automatic drive, to create an exclusive platform and products for new energy. ORA pursue “Being the best at the same level”. As the exclusive pure electric platform created by GWM for ORA, ME platform combines the advanced technology of the current intelligent network connection and makes substantial breakthroughs in space, safety and efficiency ranging from the chassis to interior and exterior decorations.

Firstly, ORA can maximize the wheelbase to greatly enlarge the back space of the car under the condition of the shortest car body at the same class. Secondly, safety is taken as the core: in terms of passive safety, the proportion of high strength steel body is over 60% and as many as 8 pieces of hot modeled steel panels are applied; in terms of active safety, the full series are equipped with 6 air bags, AEB system and L4 level driving assistance system. For the electricity safety, conventional puncture, extrusion and fall conditions are subject to strict testing, and the vehicles can be powered off within 60 milliseconds after vehicle collision.

ME platform is of lightweight design under the premise of ensuring safety. In terms of motivation, the density of the highly integrated electrical driven system used by ME platform will reach 160Wh/kg. The vehicle can be driven for about 10km per KWh based on the system efficiency up to 97%.

Based on ME pure electric platform, ORA has created three products: iQ, R1 and R2. iQ is the first model of ORA. It is positioned as a new generation of pure electric compact crossover SUV which is equipped with Farasis ternary lithium-ion power battery and BorgWarner permanent magnet synchronous motor, with comprehensive extended range of 360 Km. The overall design style of iQ is concise, fashionable and full of a sense of the future. The interior design with beauty of simplicity is favored by young people today due to its penetration design of left and right air conditioning vents, and the sense of suspension created between the center console and the leather sole. The advantages, such as big back seat space, and the design and convenience of hatchback luggage trunk, are more obvious than those of the same type of electric cars.

The R series models has the lightest and the longest extended range, the largest space, the finest workmanship and the most intelligent interconnection in the same level of cars. The lovely and retro ORA R1 is positioned as a new generation electric car due to its fashionable and individualistic, nifty and lovely design style. The space mascot ORA R2 is positioned as the more intelligent electric car due to its cute appearance and little more science fiction.

The new energy strategy of GWM started its layout and R&D as early as 10 years ago, incorporating the technologies of multiple countries around the world such as China, German, Japan, Austria and Korea, and common wisdom of modeling experts. Thus, ORA products meet global sales standards.

Distribution of New Energy and Creation of Ecosphere

According to the planning, GWM will create four platforms and four brands, and derive many products based on such four platforms by adopting three technical routes: hybrid + pure electric + hydrogen fuel.

Besides ME platform, high-end plug-in hybrid platform-Pi4 platform has been applied in plug-in hybrid model – WEY P8. Its core is to support hybrid two-axis drive technology. The front and rear axles can be completely decoupled to realize three driving models including front drive, rear drive and four-wheel drive. The hydrogen-powered XEV platform is a special platform for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Due to a certain commonality between parts and power system layout of electric cars and fuel-cell vehicles, a common platform for electric cars and fuel-cell vehicles will be developed in XEV project, so that the pure electric cars and fuel-cell vehicles of GWM can be both produced by such platform in the future. Furthermore, the joint venture between GWM and BMW will also create a new platform.

As the sole member of the Hydrogen Council in Chinese automobile brand, GWM has established a hydrogen fuel R&D center and created a hydrogen power XEV project platform. The first new hydrogen fuel car out of the platform will be launched before 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

The coming automobile technology and transportation technology will pay more attention to the connection of people, vehicles, roads, social environment, and integrate management and control. GWM adheres to the principles of openness and win-win cooperation in the field of intelligent connection and automatic drive, and has cooperated with Huawei in 5G field and with Baidu in automatic drive field.

In terms of automatic drive, GWM has established an automatic driving test field in Xushui Base which is 34.6 Km away from the core zone of Xiong’an New Area. The testing environment has V2X communication network like 5G/LTE-V/DSRC, high-precision maps and differential navigation base station, covering crossroads, five-fork roads, ring roads, S bents, simulated flyovers, obstacle courses and other special roads. Urban and suburban traffic conditions can be fully simulated in more than 200 kinds of early planning application scenes.

The world auto industry is entering into an era of truly subversive innovation. GWM launches ‘ORA’ brand as its starting point and penetrates into the field of new energy vehicles in full stride. It is the choice of the times and the inevitability of historical development. GWM, which has always insisted on making automobiles steadfastly, will promise to the times that it will bring more surprises to users and the market with technical innovation.

Menangi RM80,000 dalam pertandingan filem pendek BMW Shorties!

Pertandingan filem pendek BMW Shorties kembali untuk tahun yang ke-12.
Tema peraduan filem tahun ini adalah “Drive” atau “Dorongan”.
Penyertaan akan dibuka dari 30 Ogos 2018 hingga 26 Oktober 2018.

Perhatian kepada semua pengarah filem tanah air! Pertandingan filem pendek BMW Shorties kembali untuk tahun ke-12. BMW Shorties merupakan pertandingan filem pendek masyhur yang paling lama ditubuhkan di Malaysia sejak tahun 2006! (more…)

HOT News! VPCM Extends “Tax Break” 0% GST Holiday For All Volkswagen Vehicles!

HOT NEWS! Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) has announced an extension of the tax holiday for its range of models with the Price Protection Scheme. The Scheme covers all Volkswagen models registered from now till 15^th November 2018, while stocks last. With the upcoming implementation of the Sales and Service Tax (SST) on the 1^st of September 2018, any difference in the vehicle price based on the current 0% GST prices will be absorbed by VPCM.

The Scheme is applicable to all Volkswagen models sold in Malaysia, both locally assembled and imported. However, there is also limited availability of stocks and customers should take this opportunity to place their booking for a new Volkswagen and enjoy the Price Protection Scheme to avoid disappointment.

Erik Winter, Managing Director of VPCM (above) said “The response in the past three month since the announcement of 0% GST has been overwhelming and we have been trying to keep up with the demand for stock. The introduction of this Price Protection Scheme is a way for VPCM to assure our customers that we have their best interest at heart, so we urge customers to place their bookings now and enjoy the extended tax holidays”.

All Volkswagen models come with 3 years free maintenance, 5 years manufacturer’s warranty and 5 years roadside assistance. For more information, visit www.volkswagen.com.my

BIKES: BSH Introduces New Vario 150 Scooter Priced at RM7,199

Boon Siew Honda (BSH) has just launched a new Honda Automatic Transmission (AT) model called the Vario 150. Boasting a combination of sporty style, high-performance and value-for-money features, the new Vario 150 is a “scooter-cub” bike (a.k.a. skuchai) an ideal option for bikers who seek a competent daily-commuter. In-line with its commitment to bring more joy to the customers, Boon Siew Honda has been continuously working to enhance customer satisfaction and evoke the creation of new value.

BSH noticed a growing popularity for AT models especially among young riders who wish to be pampered with quality features and specifications with an affordable price tag. Having understood the market demand, Boon Siew Honda saw great potential in the AT segment and decided to provide more options to Malaysians by introducing the Vario 150.

The advanced safety features of Honda AT Model provide peace-of-mind, while the automatic transmission makes them easy to handle. Other than the safety features and manoeuvrability, there is also an increased interest towards Honda’s smaller bikes with higher cc amongst Malaysian riders. The Vario 150 is powered by a 150cc liquid cooled 4-stroke single-cylinder engine that produces 13.1 PS at 8,500 rpm and 13.4 Nm of torque at 5,000 rpm. The 150cc engine is incorporated with eSP technology and advanced Idling Stop System (ISS) to provide an outstanding balance of riding performance and fuel efficiency. Riders will be able to enjoy the dynamic performance of the new AT Model that will exhilarate the riding experience to a whole new level.

The striking Honda AT Model offers many value-added features such as the Dual LED Headlight and LED Taillight, LCD Digital Meter Panel, Honda SMART Key System, Sporty Style Muffler with Aluminum End Cap, 14-inch Sporty Wheel with Wavy Disc Brake, 18-litre Under Seat Compartment and Double Inner Rack. Boon Siew Honda has also taken account of safety concerns into the AT Model design. The new model is equipped with a Combi Brake System (CBS) that helps to balance the braking system across the front and rear wheels to reach to an optimal standard.

Boon Siew Honda is targeting to sell 1,000 units per month and the company believes the standard of the AT segment will be elevated following the launch of this new model. Set to be the trendsetter in the AT segment, the Vario 150 (RM7,199) is available in four colour options, which are Pearl Magellanic Black, Pearl Nightfall Blue, Force Silver Metallic and the Repsol edition (RM7,399).

Available at all authorized Boon Siew Honda dealers from 30th August onwards, the Vario 150 comes with a 2-year or 20,000km manufacturing warranty (whichever comes first). In conjunction with the National Day celebration, a series of exclusive and unique Vario airbrushed with the flags of the nation and 13 states of Malaysia will be hitting the roads across Peninsular Malaysia. These special Vario by Boon Siew Honda embody the patriotic spirit of Malaysians.

For more information, please visit www.boonsiewhonda.com.my or call Boon Siew Honda’s Toll-Free number at 1800-88-3993 (Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm, except for public holidays). You can download the official price list below:

Vario 150_Price