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Three years waiting list for a Ferrari

Fifteen years ago, ferrari sold 128 cars on our shores. Last year the company sold 699 vehicles and it becomes really difficult to get one. Depending on the model, the wait can last up to three years.
If you want a Ferrari 599, but you haven’t place an order yet you will have to wait three years. For the 430 Coupe and 430 Spider the waiting list is of 30 months and the wait for a 612 Scaglietti is around 24 months.
Massimo Fedelli, managing director of Ferrari GB, told The Times: “Britain is Ferrari’s most important territory. Rich people come here to spend their money, so no matter what happens with the economy, I believe the UK market will remain strong.”
The company reported record sales in 2007, and it looks like that trend will continue into 2008 with the launch a new more affordable model.
February 18, 2008
Refreshed S2000 hit showrooms

Honda’s refreshed S2000 is now on sale in the UK with new suspension settings an a few cosmetic changes.
The S2000’s handling and performance characteristics have been enhanced by changing the suspension set-up. From now on, the S2000 features the same suspention tuning as seen on the S2000 Type-S. The dampers have been re-tuned and the anti-roll bars have been thickened.
The exterior and interior styling evolves a bit. The revamped S2000 comes with a new design of 17-inch 5-spoke alloy wheels and a new paint colour Synchro Silver. on the inside, there are three new leather interiors to choose from – Black with red stitching, Brown with red stitching and Red with black sides. There is also a design change to the headrest frame which has been re-shaped to offer greater roll-over protection.
These few changes will likely help the car to maintain its sales. Last year thew S2000 sales totalled 563 units.The model is priced from £28,050 for the Roadster and £28,600 for the GT model with detachable roof.
February 18, 2008
1 Millionth Engine Rolls Out Of Mini plant

The British engine plant of BMW AG’s Mini, has just rolled out its 1 millionth engine. Another milestone you would say, but this one reminds us that more than one million Mini have been built since its introduction in 2001. BMW successfully recreated a brand from scratch and passed the one million mark in April last year.
The plant employed over 1,000 people and continued growth of the Mini brand recently prompted BMW to add another 250 workers. With the growing sales of the Mini, the plant will soon pass the 1.5 million milestone. Indeed, worldwide Mini sales grew 50% in 2007. In USA, Mini reported a 20 percent increase in January 2008 sales, to 2,460 cars compared to 2,050 cars sold in January 2007.
February 18, 2008
Nissan to invest £465 million in IT

Nissan will increase its IT investments over the next three years to cut cost in its design and sales operations.
The Japanese carmaker will spend £465 million to set up a new next-generation computer-aided design platform. The new CAD will increase engineer’s productivity by 20%. Also, the future investment will upgrade company’s IT infrastructure in emerging countries.
The new system will be launched this year and will help Nissan to build vehicles closer to the demand.
Source: Nikkei
February 18, 2008
Ford reveals the Kuga

Ford will finally unveil the Kuga crossover at the Geneva Motor Show set to compete with the successful Nissan Qashqai and the new Renault Koleos.

As expected, the production version is very close to the Iosis X concept car shown at Frankfurt last year. The Kuga follows the new corporate design theme with an appealing styling although a bit more conventional than the new Ford Fiesta the company will also reveal at Geneva. On the inside, Ford cut cost by featuring the dashboard from the C-Max minivan and miss an opportunity to keep out of the fray. The production version will pay tribute to the concept car by offering an exclusive Electric White colour. The Kuga will offer trim levels: Trend and Titanium.

The Kuga is based on the C platform shared with almost all Ford vehicles sold on the C segment. It will be available either as a front-wheel drive or a four-wheel drive. The four-wheel drive will feature a full-time Haldex system. However, one does not expect the Kuga to be a serious off-roader as it is road-biased.
At launch, the new crossover will only be available with a diesel engine, the 136bhp 2.0-litre TDCi hooked up to a six-speed manual gearbox.
The Kuga will be built on the same assembly lines as the Focus three-door, five-door and wagon variants and C- MAX at the Saarlouis plant in Germany. It will hit our showrooms in summer of this year.
February 18, 2008
VW to recall 510 New Beetle due to a faulty roof spoiler

Volkswagen has announced it will recall 510 New Beetle due to the use of an incorrect adhesive that may have been used to attach the roof spoiler to the rear glass of the car.
The concerned New Beetle are model year 2008. If the incorrect adhesive was used, the spoiler could fly off and possible strike either pedestrians or other cars.
The recall will officially began on February the 29th.
February 18, 2008
TTRS and RS5 details

Fourtitude provides a few details about the engines of the upcoming TTRS and RS5 models. The TTRS will be unveiled at the next Paris Motor Show while the RS5 will arrive in 2009.
The TTRS will be powered by a turbocharged 2.5-litre engine which will have an output of 350bhp. However some insiders talk about a 2.3-litre unit. The RS5’s powertrain remains unknown and is still prone to speculation. According to Fourtitude, the RS5 might be powered by a V10 engine taken from the RS6. However this choice might confuse customers as the RS6 is bigger than the RS5 and the price would likely be more expensive than an equivalent M3.
So, a normally aspirated might be the second option for Audi. Detuned, the V10 would still be powerful enough to competed with the german clique. Mercedes did it with the C63 AMG and performances are still at the top. The third option might be to reuse the 4.2-litre V8 seen in the RS4 and add a turbocharger to boost the power output to 450bhp. The last option would be to use the normally aspirated V8 found in the RS4. With its 414bhp, it’s powerful enough enough to fight the M3 and C63 AMG.
February 18, 2008
Future Bentleys might be powered by diesel

Volkswagen is seriously considering fitting diesel engines in future Bentley models as marketing director Adrian Hallmark revealed in an interview with AutoTelegraaf.
He said customers enjoy the high torque and low rev of Bentley’s engines which is perfectly matched a diesel engine. The company has the choice inside the engine range of Volkswagen group. There is the 5.0-litre unit powering the Phaeton and the Touareg while a V12 is featured in the Audi Q7.
Using diesel engine would help the brand to lower the CO2 emission fleet average and would also lower the fleet average consumption. Rolls Royce is also considering adopting the same solution as BMW is currently working on a twin-turbocharged V8 unit.
February 17, 2008
New details about the VW Scirocco

Volkswagen has released some information about the engine range of the Scirocco coupé due to be launched at Geneva.
The future Volkswagen will be available with a petrol engine and two diesel units. The petrol engine will be the 122bhp 1.4-litre unit which is also used by the Eos model. Along this unit, there will be two TDI 2.0-litre engines in either 143bhp or 170bhp. No V6 engines have been confirmed although it is certain that the Scirocco will offer a powerful engine at the top of the range. The 300bhp 3.6-litre V6 from the Passat R36 mustn’t be excluded from the list.
The company officials also confirmed the list of basic equipments: power steering, ABS, EBD, ESP and 17” wheels.
February 17, 2008
Official spy video of the Panamera
What a better way to increase the pressure than a spy video two weeks before the official launch of the Panamera?
Porsche has released on the Internet a vide of the upcoming super saloon in which we can see the car being filmed in cities and on the roads. The Panamera will be 200” long and will weigh from 1.8 tonne for the entry level to 2 tonnes fro the topping version.
The entry level will be powered by a 304bhp 3.6-litre V6, followed by a normally aspirated V8 that will have an output of 410bhp. The topping engine will be the same V8 but turbocharged. The output will be 527bhp. There will aslo be a hybrid version which will feature the V6 engine associated to a 111bhp electric motor. The Panamera will feature a dual clutch seven-speed transmission. The entry price will cost £60,000 and the top version will cost £94,000. Porsche plans to build 30,000 Panamera per year.
February 17, 2008