Sunday Car Porn: The Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera coach building company

It's another Sunday. Today I thought that I'd give you folks a history lesson on one of the best in Italian Coachbuilding. Most of you would be familiar with them designing and constructing the Aston Martin DB5 (below)  styling (oh, you know, the James Bond car)

Formula 1 tests 18 inch wheel and tyre combo - Bye Bye 13 inch balloons?

When I was avidly following Formula 1 (F1) in the early 2000s I always wondered why the heck they keep using 13inch wheels with balloon-like tyres especially when road tyre technology has evolved into rubber band thin tyres running at least 18 inches those days (these days cars run even larger sizes). Then we also had the DTM and BTCC which ran 18 inch wheels and tyres. Also slimmer than the donuts used in F1. But now, F1 together with official tyre supplier Pirelli has decided to test the use of 18inch wheels on the cars. If all goes well, we may soon see F1 cars having more realistic looking rubber bands instead of the donuts used nowadays.

On the marketing of automotive products, the Peugeot 2008 Dakar Buggy and something Spotted on Sale with Ralliart on it.

You know automotive marketing has come a long way. These days manufacturers have motorsport divisions that promote their products through racing and this in turn sells their cars to the general public. It has now spilled over to a complete lifestyle thingy nowadays. You see a manufacturer promoting their latest SUVs with either a bicycle or a surfboard strapped on it. You also see rally cars parked beside their normal road versions.

News: Subaru BRZ will have a second generation says Fuji Heavy Industries' boss

The Subaru BRZ will not be a one hit wonder. In response to the earlier report, the President of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd has stated in Automotive News that Subaru plans to have another generation of the BRZ. Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, president of Subaru's parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. also added that the current arrangement with Toyota will continue even though Toyota have another joint-venture arrangement with BMW to come up with a hybrid coupe.

Toyota still has a place in the BRZ story due to the fact that Subaru needs the volume that Toyota can sell (the BRZ's Toyota twin is the GT 86) in order for the BRZ to be viable in the first place. Whatever it is, it looks like this pure, normally aspirated rear wheel drive coupe is here to stay. For now that is.

BMW M4 on the 'Ultimate Racetrack'

Here we have the BMW M4 on an aircraft carrier with a racetrack on it. Yes it is a mash-up of actual driving and CGI of a racetrack on an aircraft carrier. Marketing at its best. But, so's the driving in the vid too!

Volkswagen Jetta Customer Test Drive Gone Wrong

This has been trending around local social app sites very recently. I received pictures via my Whatapp and also via my news feed on Facebook. It would seem that a customer test drive had gone a wee bit wrong over at the Volkswagen dealer in Sungai Petani, Kedah.

New Large Mini Cars - 2015 Countryman and 2015 Paceman

The New Large Mini cars are in. Let me type that again. LARGE MINI. Could there be an oxymoron that can beat that in the car industry? Maybe one could if they had a car called Ginormous and then is sized like a Perodua Viva. Anyway, Mini, the brand, has launched the all new Mini Countryman and Mini Paceman for 2015.

Sunday Car Porn: More Kahn Design - Porsche Panamera 3.0 Diesel V6 – Super Sport Wide Track

This Kahn Design Porsche Panamera 3.0 Diesel V6 is actually up for sale over in the UK for £59,875.00. If diesel does not rock your boat (especially since diesel quality is crap in Malaysia) you can head over to the UK and get them to commission a petrol based one for you!

Spotted for sale: Classic VW Beetle that WANTS to be a Porsche and a BMW at the same time

In line with Motoring-Malaysia's unofficial VW Day today let's carry on with a VW you'd never thought was possible, but is very much in existence. I present to you, one which is on sale. It is a vintage Volkswagen Beetle that wants to be a Porsche 911 Turbo on the outside with its whaletail. This is quite acceptable as there are a lot of Porsche style mods around but then it gets steered around with a steering wheel from a BMW. You get BMW, Porsche and Volkswagen for RM18,000. So what more could you want ? Actually a lot more if its going to cost RM18,000!!!!!

TECH TALK: Volkswagen engine and DSG related issues. How to try avoid them (UPDATED)

There has been a fair bit of Volkswagen related news this week and I thought I'd continue with something technical related. Over the last few months I have been driving a slew of Volkswagen cars. From the basic Volkswagen Polo 1.6 hatchback to the latest locally assembled Volkswagen Jetta 1.4TSI. All are decent cars to drive around and some, like the Polo GTI brought a smile to my face because it was simply satisfying to drive fast in a tiny car over a nice mountainside road. The latest Mk7 Golf  1.4 TSI was also remarkable in that after a few days you realise why this car has been the benchmark in family hatchbacks over the years. A tad soulless, but a feat in packaging and also overall vehicle performance. And oh, nothing broke, nor did any issues creep up as regards to them.

THE VOLKSWAGEN MARATHON SERIES 2014: DRIVEN BY VOLKSWAGEN

This is a bit of news for those who like to run for fun or for fitness or for competition. I'd rather drive. But those who would rather run, do take note. Langkawi in August, Hulu Langat in early September 2014.

PRESS RELEASE

THE VOLKSWAGEN MARATHON SERIES 2014: DRIVEN BY VOLKSWAGEN

2015 Volkswagen Passat previewed - It looks much better than ever

The All-New 2015 Volkswgen Passat B9 is 2mm shorter than the outgoing one at 4767mm (wheelbase is an impressive 79mm longer at 2791mm), 12mm wider at 1832mm and 6mm lower at 1456mm. Like most new cars these days it is no longer heavier than the outgoing model but up to 85kg lighter with the base models coming in at 1312kg which is very impressive for a full sized sedan.

Automotive News: VW Group takes over Blackberry's European R&D centre and also founds Volkswagen Infotainment GmbH

This is something fairly interesting. The Volkswagen Group is taking over BlackBerry's European research and development centre in Bochum (Germany). What does this tell me? 

Spotted for Sale: 1994 Toyota Sera - Budget McLaren F1 Butterfly door experience

The Toyota Sera (model designation EXY10) is a two door, 2+2 Butterfly swing door equipped coupe which Toyota built from 1990 to 1996. Built originally and exclusively for the Japanese market, it somehow made its way overseas and Malaysia was one of them.

Sunday Car Porn: Land Rover Defender 2.2 TDCI XS 110 – Chelsea Defender by A. Kahn Design.

Kahn Design, that UK based company that adds more leather, wide arches, big wheels and basically everything turned up to 11 on a scale of 10 has did up another Land Rover Defender - The Land Rover Defender 2.2 TDCI XS 110 – Chelsea Defender. 

"The look of the Nara Bronze XS 110 Chelsea Wide Track is complimented by a multitude of additions that include a front bumper including bumper lighting, front and rear wheel wide wheel arches and wings in matt black, LED diamond bright headlights, bonnet vents with mesh, painted brake calipers, privacy glass, front bumper sump guard, hardwearing mud flaps, exhaust shields, Kahn crosshair exhaust system, Kahn 9 x 20" Mondial wheels in volcanic black and a Chelsea truck company spare wheel cover.

BMW i3 wins award for Production Interior Vehicle Design of the Year

The new BMW electric hybrid coupe, the BMW i3 has won an award for 2014 Production Interior Vehicle Design of the Year at the Automotive Interiors Expo Award 2014 (there IS such an expo!). The car, innovative as heck but isn't something for the sporty sort of BMW drivers. More for the uncles and aunties. And Eco-mentalists. Yup.

PRESS RELEASE

Tuning News: New 2014 Mercedes Benz C180 W205 tuned by Inden Design

The tuning houses have descended on the W205 Mercedes Benz C-class. Here we have Inden Design, tuner of Ferrari and Mercedes Benz over in Germany coming up with their interpretation of the entry level C180 model. This could be inspiration to those local car enthusiasts who intend to get the new C-class and start making it slightly different from the norm.

News: Subaru BRZ may be axed due to a BMW-Toyota collaboration

The Subaru BRZ, or the Subaru version of the Toyota GT86 may be discontinued if Toyota and BMW's joint venture on the developement of a high performance sports car gathers momentum. The chief engineer responsible for the Toyota and Subaru versions, Tetsuya Tada, had stated in an interview with www.Drive.com.au that the program with the German brand could be expanded to include the next 86. 

The engineers are currently examining whether to keep the current 2.0liter flat four engine or replace it with something more conventional, or in my opinion, something 4 cylinder with a turbocharger that allows for better emissions and torque (as well as downsizing the engine even more).

News: Volkswagen Peninsular Malaysia 'Volkswagen On Tour' Roadshow is now on going

Volkswagen Group Malaysia is extending its comprehensive and compelling Volkswagen brand experience to various locations across Peninsular Malaysia as part of its continuous commitment to engage with Malaysians. 

Starting with its first stop at One Utama in Petaling Jaya, the continuation of the Volkswagen On Tour series of roadshows will see visitors engaging personally with Volkswagen’s fleet of vehicles in Malaysia including all of Volkswagen’s recently launched vehicles – the all-new Golf R, the latest Tiguan, the enhanced Passat and the locally assembled Jetta. Visitors will also stand the chance to win the Polo Sedan in conjunction with Volkswagen’s “Safe and Stylish Balik Kampung” campaign.

News: Hyundai's new 3S Centre in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia and enhanced Hyundai Veloster launched

Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors (HSDM) has opened its first 3S centre in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The 3S centre is located in Kuantan, Pahang and it is part of Hyundai's plan to increase its market share over the next three years continues to gain momentum. You can now get everything Hyundai in one stop over in the 'Pantai Timur'.