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Supercharged Fiat 500 by Novitec
The Fiat 500 is a sexy small car, but its driving experience can’t be compared to the Mini. Novitec might have the answer.
The tuner applies its knowledge to two engines offered on the Fiat 500, the 1.4-litre petrol engine and the 1.3-litre diesel unit. The diesel engine gets a 13bhp boost and delivers 88bhp. The 1.4-litre gets a more interesting treatment. Novitec has added a supercharger which increases the power from 100bhp to 131bhp. The modified Fiat 500 runs the 0-62mph in just 8.89 seconds instead of 10.5 seconds with the unchanged engine. The top speed jumps from 113mph to 131mph.
The two cars also comes with visual accessories: twin-tip stainless steel exhaust, a front spoiler and 16in or 17in wheels. The suspension has also been modified and the Novitec 500 can be lowered form 30 mm to 80 mm.
With a supercharger under the hood and a lowered suspension, the Fiat 500 modified by Novitec might become a good choice for racetracks.
May 14, 2008
Tata Nano in the US
Tata wants to take over the world with the future Nano and has confirmed that the cheapest car might be sold in the US.
The Indian carmaker denied a report from Conde Nast Portfolio claiming that "The model (Nano) won’t be sold in the US but has the potential to radically alter the market for manufacturers here.” A spokesman for the company said "The company has not yet finalised specific exports markets and timelines. The Nano will meet the prevalent norms of any country it is marketed in."
The spokesman, however, said that Tata will focus on launching the Nano in India first. After positioning the firm in the domestic market, the company would consider exporting the car. he added that Tata Motors usually does not export any of its products in the first few years of launch.
May 14, 2008
Toyota loses hybrid patent appeal case
Toyota has lost a patent appeal concerning the hybrid technology used in the Prius.
Toyota was sued by Paice LLC over the use of a microprocessor which accepts torque information from the electric motor and petrol engine. The court had awarded £2.1 billion to the company and the US Supreme Court has turned away the appeal made by Toyota. The award will cost £12.50 for every Prius, Highlander and Lexus RX400h sold.
The result might have been worse for the Japanese carmaker. The court might have asked the carmaker to stop producing the hybrid models until the trial was finished. There were three patents in question, though only one of Paice’s patents was ruled to be infringed upon.
There are two other possible problems for Toyota and their hybrid technology, one from Solomon technologies and the other from a seventy-five year old engineer in Seattle named Conrad Gardner. Gardner argues that the hybrid vehicles produced by Toyota could not operate without his invention. U.S. patent 7,290,627 called "Extended range motor vehicle having ambient pollutant processing" — is a computer control system that shifts power to the internal combustion engine or electric motor.
May 14, 2008
More details about the new Subaru Exiga
A shadow of the forthcoming Subaru Exiga has emerged on the Internet giving Petrol-Head the opportunity to reveal more details about this new model.
At 4,780 mm long and 1,700 mm wide, the Exiga will be a 7-seater estate with similar dimensions to that of the Subaru Legacy SW . However, the Exiga will be higher by 200mm at 1,630 mm which is only 40 mm higher than the former Forester. The overall design will be close to the eponymous concept car seen at the last year Tokyo Motor Show.
On the Japanese market, the Exiga will be available with two petrol engines, a 150bhp 2.0-litre unit seen on the Impreza and a 230bhp turbocharged engine reserved for the domestic market. If imported to Europe, the turbocharged 2.0-litre unit will be replaced by the 2.5-litre engine from the Impreza WRX. The Exiga would also likely be available with the new diesel engine delivering 160bhp.
The Exiga raises concerns regarding the carmaker’s ability to manage its lineup. The Exiga seems to be the heir of the former Forester. Why did Subaru execs name the new vehicle Exiga? Why did they put the Forester moniker on a SUV set to compete with the Toyota RAV4?
Source: Best Car
May 13, 2008
Details emerge on Audi’s supercharged V6
Autocar reveals more details about the future V6 engine which will power the eagerly-awaited S4.
As reported in a previous post, Audi will replace its current V8 engine by a smaller V6 engine. The new engine will have a displacement of 3.0-litre. It was initially thought that Audi would follow BMW on the path of twin-turbochargers, but company’s engineers chose a simple supercharger. Compared to the BMW’s engine, the new V6 will be less powerful. Instead of 306bhp for the 335i, the S4 will offer 286bhp. It will also be less than the current S4 with its 339bhp. The torque output will be 310 lb ft at 2500rpm. The new engine uses an Eaton supercharger and has an air-to-air intercooler rather than a water-to-air unit.
Audi bets the next S4 will be as sporty as the current model. Engineers focused on weight reduction and the S4 is reported to be 100lbs lighter than the current model.
In addition to the S4, the new engine will likely be fitted in the next year facelifted A6, the Q7 and the A8 flagship.
May 13, 2008
GM buys Detroit headquarters for £313 million
GM has announced it has bought the headquarters it currently rents in Detroit for an amount of £313 million.
Despite a £1.6 billion loss for the first quarter of this year, GM has given the green light to buy its headquarters, known as Renaissance Center, for £313 million and two other properties located in Pontiac, Michigan for £100 million.
Built by Ford during the 70’s, the Renaissance Center was leased by GM in 1996 which spent around £250 million to renovate and improve it. The lease was ending on the 1st May which decided the carmaker to buy the building.
May 13, 2008
Renault-Nissan annouces their £1,250 car
Renault-Nissan has given the green light to the future Nano competitor due to be launched by 2011.
The news doesn’t come as a surprise as Petrol-Head regularly covered the future Nano competitors the last months. Until now, the carmaker which teams up with Bajaj Auto, was studying the feasibility to build a Nano competitor. As predicted, the future model will be sold for £1,250.
Renault-Nissan and the Indian motorcycle manufacturer will set up a new joint venture which will be 50% owned by Bajaj Auto, 25% by Renault and 25% by Nissan.
Targeting the growing Indian new vehicle market, the ultra low cost model will be made at an all-new plant to be constructed in Chakan in India with a an initial planned capacity of 400,000 units per year.
May 13, 2008
VW to choose its US factory in July
Volkswagen’s CEO has finally announced that the company will choose its US factory in July before the company’s mid-July meeting.
In an interview with the German newspaper Handlesblatt, VW Group’s CEO, Martin Winterkorn, has revealed that a decision will be made before the company’s mid-July meeting. VW Group wants a American factory to offset the impact of weak dollar as part of an ambitious plan to increase its sales on the American market and catch up with Toyota. The factory is planned to build Volkswagen and Audi models, but also Porsche.
Winterkorn also revealed that the company had selected three states for the new plant: Alabama, Michigan and Tenesse.
May 13, 2008
Daimler to increase component sharing
Mercedes-Benz wants to increase the component sharing between its models.
In an interview with Automotive News, Thomas Weber, board member of R&D for Mercedes’ parent company, Daimler, said that the carmaker wants share as many components as possible between models in an attempt to reduce costs. Current new models already shares components such as powertrains and electronic devices.
Sharing components enables the carmaker to cut cost, but also to increase reliability. However, it also put constraints on designers and designers which can’t create unique designs any more.
The E-Class and C-Class already shares 50% of components, while the GLK and the C-Class are built on the same assembly lines despite featuring radically different designs. The future SLC will share its electric components with the next-generation E-Class. Thomas Weber even revealed that the S-Class flagship and the Smart ForTwo share 5% of their components.
May 13, 2008
Alfa Romeo Mi.To: more images of the interior
Here are new pictures of the Alfa Romeo Mi.To revealing the interior.
Yesterday, we published a picture of the dashboard of the Mi.To. This time, the interior is shown with a black leather upholstery. The front seats look spoerty featuring proper side support. The interior might be a bit too dark with the blakc treatment.
At 4.06 metres long, 1.44 metres high and 1.72 metres wide, the Mi.To should be roomy enough like the Mini. The baby Alfa shares its engine range with the Fiat Grande Punto, turbocharged petrol and diesel engines spanning 90-155bhp. Higher powered versions will be launched later.
With this new model, Alfa Romeo wants to increase its global sales by adding around more than 100,000 Mi.To per year to the current production. If the Mi.To doesn’t meet success, the company’s future might be shadowed as Sergio Marchionne wants the brand to come back to profit by 2010.
May 13, 2008