AUTHENTIC CARS

The Volkswagen supervisory board is due to discuss completing the buy-out of Porsche AG on February 14, according to reports from Germany. VW already owns 49.9 percent of Porsche and, according to the reports, it is preparing to purchase the other 50.1 percent. German magazine Der Spiegel says VW will pay £3.2billion (Rs 250 crore) ‘plus taxes’ for the stake, the same price it paid in December 2009 . VW first stepped in when Porsche’s parent company was close to collapse in the wake of the credit crunch and Porsche’s attempt to takeover VW itself. Under the ambitious leadership of Wendelin Wiedeking, Porsche had tried a reverse takeover of VW, building up a 50 percent stake in the giant carmaker before the slump took hold, leaving Porsche AG with massive debts.

Chevrolet is planning to get its all new SUV, the latest Trailblazer, to India. Slated to compete with the likes of the Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour, this body-on-frame SUV will be powered by a choice of 2.8-litre, 180bhp or 2.5-litre, 150bhp diesel units. The larger 2.8 common-rail diesel makes a very strong 47.8 Kgm, incidentally 10kgm up on both the 3.0-litre Fortuner and Endeavour. The Trailblazer is an attractive looking SUV and the company says it will be the most clean-sheet truck it has designed in its 100-year history. On the inside too, the SUV is expected to have more space than the Endeavour and the Fortuner. Chevy claims the Trailblazer will sport car-like features and will be a proper seven seater. GM is hoping to assemble the Trailblazer at its Halol facility, where it currently carries out all its CKD operations. To compete with the likes of Fortuner and Endeavour.We expect the SUV to be priced around Rs 17 lakh.

BMW has revealed the first official pictures of the updated X6 SAV (Sport-Activity Vehicle). Changes at the front of the revised car include relocated foglights, which now sit high up in the outer air inlets, a more pronounced kidney grille and the addition of optional adaptive LED headlamps; these come as standard on the new performance-oriented BMW X6M as do blue aluminium brake callipers. At the rear of the facelifted X6, new horizontally mounted twin LED light banks emphasize the car’s width. Further external revisions include new paint finishes – including Marrakech Brown metallic, Orion Silver metallic and Midnight Blue metallic – and new bi-colour, double spoke 19-inch alloys for the BMW X6 xDrive 50i model. In international markets, the X6 now also come with BMW’s recently launched M-diesel engine while in India we get the X6 xDrive50i with a 4.4-litre V8 petrol engine and a X6 xDrive30d with a diesel. As seen with the recently updated X5, the X6 could also get an eight-s...

Force Motors, which launched its first SUV, Force One, last August will launch a new 4x4 version and a variant equipped with ABS by mid-2012. The new 4X4 was displayed at the Auto Expo last month. At the launch, the company had indicated its intentions to offer more features in the SUV at a later stage. These features have made it to the SUV, but the company has been tight-lipped about launch date  and price tag. The 4x4 variant will continue to be powered by the FM-Tech 2.2-litre common-rail turbo-diesel motor that develops 139bhp and 32.6kgm of torque. It will be offered with a five-speed manual gearbox as is the case with the 4x2 version. There will be no visual changes to  differentiate the 4x4 from its 4x2 sibling, except for  the badge. We expect the ABS-equipped 4x4 version to  cost at least Rs 1 lakh more than the 4x2 variant, which costs Rs 10.65 lakh (ex-showroom,  Delhi). 

‘MPV’ name plate shown at Expo was only a temporary name. Will go on sale mid-2012, petrol powered version will be offered initially. Chevrolet unveiled its much-awaited MPV based on the Chinese Wuling CN-100 at the Auto Expo in New Delhi. But while that car carried name plates that simply read ‘MPV’, it was only a working title, and Autocar India has learned that the seven-seater will be called ‘Enjoy’ by the time it goes on sale in mid 2012. The Enjoy will first be launched with a 94.6bhp 1.4-litre petrol, but will get a 1.3-litre SDE diesel – GM’s version of Fiat’s Multijet – at the beginning of next year. GM is hoping to undercut rivals like the Toyota Innova and Mahindra Xylo by a huge margin – targeting a starting price of under Rs 6 lakh.

'Laura name will be dropped altogether. New car based on VW Group’s MQB modular platform' Skoda is planning to bring the Octavia brand back to India in 2013, and will in the process replace the current Laura. This all-new model, codenamed A7, is expected to make its debut at the Geneva motor show next year. It will be built on VW’s modular MQB platform and will be substantially bigger than the Laura. Skoda India plans to drop the Laura name altogether when it is launched, and the new car will be called the Octavia, bringing it back in line with the nomenclature used in international markets. “I like the name Octavia, it’s the best-selling car for Skoda and will definitely come back to India,” confirmed Professor Winfried Vahland during the Auto Expo. Skoda launched the first-generation Octavia over a decade ago and the car established Skoda as a luxury and upmarket brand in India. The company continued to produce the Octavia even after its successor was launched as the Laur...

Behold: a supercar limo with a V10 Expensive, two-seater supercars. OK, so they look cool, go extremely fast, have superb handling based on millions of dollars of research, slip through the air like greased lightning after about a decade in a wind-tunnel, and you can sell them on to someone else for lots of money when you're finished. But you can only take one of your mates for a ride. And if this is the reason you purchased a Vauxhall Zafira over an Audi R8, we have good news. Limo Brokers in the UK now claim to have an answer: an eight-seater R8 limo with eight gullwing doors. Details on the car are - perhaps predictably - very thin. But they've made a CGI video of it, which means that it must be real. It must be.

Fiat to supply upto 100,000 diesel engines every year to Suzuki. Fiat and Suzuki Motor Corporation have reached an agreement for the supply of Fiat’s small diesel engine -- the 1.3-litre Multijet -- to Maruti Suzuki. Fiat India will supply up to 100,000 Multijet 75hp SDE engines every year for a three-year period that begins in the third week of January. Production of the engine for Maruti will start at Fiat India Automobiles’ Ranjangaon plant near Pune. These volumes will be in addition to the 1.3-litre Multijet SDE engines already licensed by Fiat and manufactured by Suzuki Powertrain India. The 1.3 Multijet is a BS IV four-cylinder, 16V engine. It powers the all-new Swift and these additional supplies will enable Maruti to fulfill its deliveries of the car to the over 100,000 buyers who booked it. An estimated 80 percent of demand was for the diesel version. The SX4 and Ritz are also powered by the 1.3 Multijet engine. With the colossal swing towards diesel-engined cars in the In...

Hyundai has added new variants to the Eon line-up. The compact hatch is now available with a factory-fitted LPG kit with at an additional price of Rs 27,000. It comes with a separate 32-litre petrol and a 34-litre LPG tank. The new variants that will accompany the existing range are called D-Lite+, Era+ and Magna+. These will be offered with extra features, but at an additional cost of Rs 7,000. The D-Lite+ gets an additional power steering  and is priced at Rs 2.98 lakh as compared to Rs 2.91 lakh for the D-Lite that is available with only air-conditioning. The Era+ that is priced at Rs 3.12 lakh gets front power-windows and central locking. And the Magna + gets a Double-Din audio system with USB interface at Rs 3.42 lakh. The Magna+ sits below the Magna (O) variant that costs Rs. 3.50 lakh (all prices ex-showroom Delhi).

Hyundai Santro Xing Diesel   Hyundai Motors India Limited (HMIL), second largest automaker after Maruti Suzuki India Limited in India, is all set to introduce Hyundai Santro Xing Diesel. The car maker began Indian operations in the year 1996 and immediately earned significant success in the industry. Launched in 1998, Hyundai Santro earned stature of an iconic car in India. This iconic car model was replaced Hyundai Santro Xing, which was introduced in petrol and LPG version. Diesel version of this family car is expected to be priced between Rs. 3.75 lacs and Rs. 4.50 lacs.   Hyundai Santro Xing Diesel variant will have an appearance like other variants, the only notable difference being CRDI engine. Some of the appealing features of latest edition of Hyundai Santro are V-shaped grille, detailed rectangular headlamps, steering mounted audio controls and Bluetooth interface. Hyundai Santro Xing Diesel will be assembled with 13 inch wheels with radial tyres. Elegant wheel cove...

In the wake of the all-conquering Range Rover Evoque - which we made our car of 2011 - this new Audi A6 allroad quattro seems a bit beige. But it still remains an immensely usable car and one that should question our nation's increasingly insatiable appetite for an all-singing, all-lumbering red-blooded SUV. That penultimate suffix denotes something rather simple. It is, in a nutshell, a higher riding A6 estate. Or in Audi marketing speak, "...when the asphalt ends, it just keeps on driving". How? FACTS: the new A6 allroad sits six centimetres higher than the standard estate and uses adaptive air suspension, lowering and raising that smart-looking body by 15mm and 35mm respectively when required. Visual indicators come via wider, flared arches, a single-frame grille, roof rails, together with stainless steel covers protecting the front and rear underbody. It only comes as a 3.0-litre V6; Audi is offering the petrol 310bhp V6 that hits 100kph in 5.9 seconds, and three ...

E-Bugster. Not the sound of a Yorkshireman swearing, but Volkswagen's all-electric Beetle concept. Unwrapped at the Detroit show, the E-Bugster is a chopped two-seater that demonstrates, in the rather twee words of VW, that the new Beetle is 'more power, less flower'. Its A-pillars are nine centimetres shorter than those of the new Beetle and raked back more steeply too, giving the Bug' a speedsterish profile. The E-Bugster is a couple of centimetres wider than the standard Beetle, with new front and rear bumpers sporting glitzy LED lights, a new VW concept signature. There's a battery where the rear seats should be, serving up 85kWh of power to a electric motor. Despite its schportier profile, the E-Bugster isn't exactly searing in the pace department, taking eleven seconds to reach 100kph. VW assures us it'll manage at least 177 kilometers on a single charge, but then again they haven't seen the way we drive. Good thing, then, that the E-Bugster can ...

The Skoda hall unveiling seemed to have gotten overshadowed by all the glitz and glamour elsewhere at the Expo. Although no new models or variants were launched, the attractions at the Skoda stall were the Fabia Monte Carlo and the RS 2000 concept that was earlier unveiled at the Wörthersee  motor show last year. The Monte Carlo Fabia is a tribute to 100 years of the Monte Carlo rally and 110 years of Skoda in motorsport. This special edition Fabia features piano-black body trim and black coloured roof, door mirrors and radiator grille as well as smoked headlights and black 17-inch lightweight alloy wheels. Interior touches include either black or red-and-black sports seats, and red-stitched leather steering wheel, handbrake and gearstick boot. Success in the S2000 rally series prompted Skoda to make a celebratory concept car. Skoda has the enviable distinction of being the manufacturer with the most number of rally victories especially in the non-modified or N category. Of late,...

Long ago Ford used to offer the Mondeo in India, and if Ford ever decided to bring the car back it will be this, the Fusion. Also sold as the Mondeo in Europe and other parts of the world this is the latest version, which was shown at the Detroit motor show and will go on sale in America this year. The new nose is pretty striking. Some might say Aston-ish, but really no-one’s going to say ‘Oh gosh! Was that minicab you came in an Aston Martin Rapide?’ Anyway it’s very elegant, and we like. And yes, it’s an all-new car, with techy innovations that include a new multi-link rear suspension. There’s also electric steering, which (if you switch the options on) can nudge you in the right direction if you drift out of lane, or will steer into a parking space for those who can’t be bothered, or just plain can’t. But you can, oh skilled TG.commer, can’t you? The engines will be much as per the recently revised ones on the current Mondeo: 1.6 and 2.0 Ecoboost Turbo, and diesels. There are ...

Toyota has officially revealed a refreshed version of its Land Cruiser 200 or V8 in its home market of Japan, with most changes expected to pass on the global variant as well. On the outside, the 2012 Land Cruiser 200 gains a boxier front bumper with new foglamps, redesigned headlamps with integrated LED strips on the lower side and a revamped front grille with chrome slats. The new exterior mirrors with turning signals, along with the different tail lamp graphics and newly designed alloy wheels in sizes 18- and 20-in. complete the look. Changes to the interior are limited to the graphics of the instrument panel, an improved TFT screen info placed between the two main gauges, and new colors and trim materials for the cabin. On the technology front, Toyota has updated the Land Cruiser 200's Multi-Terrain Select system, which provides the ability to alter the settings of the traction control and ABS for different driving conditions, as well as the "Craw Control" ...

The party at Auto Expo 2012 in New Delhi wouldn’t be complete without Tata Motors, and as expected, the Indian manufacturer has brought a number of new wares to the show, one of them being the Indica Vista Concept S2. The car is a reinterpretation of the form, as previously seen on the Indica Vista Sport, which came about at the last Auto Expo in 2010. The Concept S2 has a wider and wedge-like stance, and the design features a central volume that’s encased by two arrow-like flanks. A two-tone paint scheme – a matte metallic dark shadow and bright silver combination – and the use of aluminium and red accents helps highlight the shape further. Dress-up kit includes a metallic brow for the headlamps, a lower grilled with a polished black lip surround and signature LED daytime running lights at the front, while the rear gets a spoiler, restyled rear bumper and a stylised LED tail lamp cluster. The inclusion of side skirts completes the picture. Inside, the Vista Concept S2 gets a black-th...

Taking centrestage at the Tata stand is the Safari Storme. The Storme is not an all-new Safari but a throroughly revised version of the existing SUV. Among the biggest changes to the vehicle is the adoption of Tata's modern X2 platform that also underpins the Aria. The switch to the X2 platform should reap huge benefits in terms of dynamics and overall refinement. Tata has also tweaked styling to make the Safari look contemporary. The nose is all-new with a different front grille and headlamp design. In silhouette, the Safari looks pretty similar to the outgoing model though the different side cladding are give aways of the new car. Styling changes to the rear include a new tail gate with the spare wheel now mounted under the body. A thick horizontal strip above the repositioned number plate is a noteworthy detail here. Dual chrome tipped exhausts complete the rear redesign. The interiors have received a makeover too with a revised dashboard design and plastics that seem to have...

Sail hatchback to be powered by 1.2-L petrol, 1.3-L diesel motors. MPV to get 1.4-L petrol engine . Chevrolet India has unveiled the Sail and MPV models at the Auto Expo 2012. The two cars are the first models to be launched from GM India’s Chinese partner SAIC’s portfolio of models.The Sail is a sub 4-metre hatchback (overall length is 3947mm) that is scheduled to go on sale in mid-2012. While styling may not break new ground, the Sail is quite pleasing to look at. Linking the Sail to the rest of the Chevy range is the split grille with the bowtie emblem in between. The Sail looks quite smart from the rear, thanks to its near-vertical tail section. A 2465mm wheelbase promises good interior space. Like the exterior styling, the cabin is quite neat too but does not really standout in terms of design. The Sail will be launched with a 81bhp 1.2-litre petrol engine. A Fiat-sourced 1.3-litre diesel will be added to the line-up later in the year. The ‘MPV’ will the second model to be added...

CARS Hyundai : Hyundai Motor India made quite a splash in 2011 with their fluidic design philosophy. And then the new Verna walked away with the Mid-Sized Car of the Year at the CNBC-TV18 OVERDRIVE Awards 2012. But making a bigger impact was the Eon which bagged the Micro/Mini Car Of The Year and is looking like a worthy challenger to the Maruti 800 and the Alto. Hyundai are looking to start 2012 with a bang at the Auto Expo. They will showcase the sleek Veloster, their three door (yes, three doors, the driver’s side has just one door) crossover vehicle. There will be also be a concept compact SUV which will be unveiled in Delhi. We will also see the launch of the new Elantra (Avante) in its fluidic avatar. The last generation Elantra didn’t do that well but the application of the new design philosophy should have its competitors, the Corolla, Laura and the rest getting worried. Another car that will be launched here is the next generation Sonata. Audi: Audi is on a high having bagge...