Cyrus Dhabhar was born and brought up in a motorsport family and cars run deep in his blood. As a passionate founder and head of a classic car club in Mumbai and an avid part of the vintage and classic car scene in the country, Cyrus prefers his cars older and simpler. That said, he loves everything on four wheels and the occasional two-wheeler as well. Cyrus currently is the Assistant Editor - AUTO for the NDTV Group.
Maruti Suzuki has breached the 20 million or 2 crore cars production milestone since its inception in 1983. The 20 millionth car was a new Maruti Suzuki Swift.
Lego is one of the coolest toysyou can have as a kid (or even of you are an adult) and in the last few years, we have seen the block maker come up with some of the coolest automotive themed sets that we have laid our eyes on. From the likes of the awesome GT3 RS to the legendary Ferrari F40, Lego has now launched yet another car based kit - the Lego Bugatti Chiron. With 3,599 individual pieces, the kit is rated at about 1:8 scale and is one of the more expensive Lego box sets out there. At 22 inches in length, 9 inches in width and 5 inches in width, the complex Lego set will be quite a challenge - a challenge we accept * hint hint * The Lego Bugatti Chiron comes under the Lego Technic lineup and is the most expensive and most complex set of its kind launched by the toy maker so far. And it isn't just a static model. Oh no! ... You can actually set the rear wing to its correct position by inserting a miniature 'top speed key' and even the pistons in the engine accurately move as with the real car. The car also has an actual working gearbox where you can change through the gears using the actual paddles on the steering wheel. And if that doesn't excite the 9 year old kid in my head, I don't know what will!
Jeep has announced that it will offer a second speciality off-road package to buyers - this one for off road use too but for a different purpose - the 'Deserthawk'. The Deserthawk package will most likely be available on the likes of the Cherokee platform.
Alfa Romeo is bringing back two of its most legendary sports car names - the GTV and the 8C. Both sports cars will be launched in the next four years and will feature modern hybrid tech, along with Alfa-Romeo's tried and tested internal combustion engines.
Jeep has announced that it will completely revamp its powertrain options for all its offerings in the near future. While the diesel engine will be phased out, especially for Europe, there will be a whole new range of full electric and plug-in hybrid models to take its place.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has announced that it will phase out all diesel engines in Europe by 2021. Speaking at the Capital Markets Day 2018, FCA boss Sergio Marchionne said that there was no future for the technology, especially in Europe due to stringent emissions regulations.
With petrol prices and diesel in India rising almost every single day and reaching new record highs, one would expect auto sales to slow down. In fact, auto sales in May 2018 have been on the increase with the likes of Maruti Suzuki and Toyota both showcasing growth in most segments. Car sales have also recently shown an upward trend due to the fact that many automakers are offering discounts on older models and variants while preparing for the salvo of new launches that are expected to come just in time for the looming festive season. Another trend that is noteworthy is the fact that Indian car buyers are moving more and more towards petrol cars as compared to diesel due to a smaller differential in fuel prices between these two fossil fuels.
India's largest automaker, Maruti Suzuki is showing no signs of slowing down. With over 50 per cent market share in India today, the automaker has showcased a huge improvement in sales in May 2018 as compared to the same month last year. Overall sales are up by 26 per cent as compared to the same time period last year with domestic sales up by 24.9 per cent and exports up by a whopping 48.1 per cent. The big growth was led by the compact segment which includes the likes of the Celerio, Ignis, Baleno, Dzire and the recently launched Swift. The segment was up by 50.8 per cent with sales figures of 77.263 units as compared to May 2017! The surge is being led of course by the thee hot sellers, the new Swift, the Dzire and the Baleno.
While India's first ever McLaren came in last year in the form of a lovely red, left hand drive 720S, that made its way to Bangalore, it had to eventually make its way back to Dubai due to Carnet rules. And now, we have India's first right hand drive McLaren - and this one is here to stay. The 720S seen in the pictures here is the first official McLaren which will be registered in India soon and will run Indian plates and has found in a home in a famous 'stable' in the city of Pune. The McLaren 720S will share its garage with a long list of supercars including an extremely desirable Ferrari, a Mercedes-Benz SLS and a long list of Rolls-Royces.
With level 3 and level 4 autonomy already in production or just around the corner, most automakers have started looking at cars that are equipped with level 5 autonomous technology. General Motors might have left behind the lucrative Indian market but they are looking into the future with their automotive startup Cruise, a technology company that will make Level 5 autonomous tech. And now, it gets a big boost in the arm with SoftBank Vision Fund announcing a massive $2.25 Billion investment into the firm. In addition, General Motors will also invest an additional $1.1 Billion post the SoftBank investment into Cruise thereby giving it a big push towards quicker and faster - and more modern tech.
With the world moving quickly towards electric mobility, it is no surprise that automakers are scrambling all their resources to bring out the one body style that everyone really wants - the crossover or SUV. BMW has already announced an all-electric SUV by 2020 with the new iX3 and now a larger electric SUV is slated for launch in 2021 - the BMW iNEXT. The new BMW iNEXT will be the size of the current BMW X3 and will take on the likes of the Jaguar iPace. The iNEXT will serve as a flagship model for the BMW i lineup until of course, as always, it is shadowed by a larger and more flamboyant SUV.
Tesla has been in the news nearly ever day and not particularly for all the right reasons. Just recently, we brought you news about how the Model 3 had a braking issue - which was subsequently fixed by an on-air upgrade that updated the ABS module. Tesla has also had its fair share of crashes, including a fatality recently while the cars have been on autopilot or the level 4 autonomous mode and this had prompted a group of Tesla owners to take the automaker to court over the actual usability of the Autopilot system. However, to avoid a full fledged class action lawsuit, Tesla has settled the case by paying an undisclosed amount.
Tesla has officially announced the highly anticipated and much awaited Tesla Model 3 AWD and Tesla Model 3 Performance variants. The performance version of the Tesla Model 3 will be available earlier with production starting around July 2018 with the standard AWD versions starting soon after. Tesla has also announced prices on the Model S AWD and the Performance versions. While the standard AWD starts at $ 54,000, the Performance version will start at a whopping $ 78,000! And both these prices are without the autopilot function. The Tesla Model 3 AWD will look pretty much like the standard car but the performance version will have some very noticeable changes to both the exterior and the interior.
The BrandZ survey is one of the most important and most recognised global brand value surveys in the world. And for the first time ever, Maruti Suzuki, India's largest automaker, has managed to break into the global Top 10 brand chart for the auto sector and is now the 9th most valuable auto brand in the world. The automaker is valued at $ 6,375 Billion and is actually rated higher than Volkswagen (the automaker and not the group), which comes in at number 10 rated at $ 5,986 Billion. Maruti Suzuki is the only Indian automaker in the BrandZ top 10 list for the highest valued global automakers.
The 'connected automobile' has truly come of age. While in the past, one had to resort to mechanical upgrades like better brake pads, cross drilled and slotted discs and of course, weight reduction, to improve braking performance, Tesla has done it with a few lines of computer code. A new on-air update for the Tesla Model 3 has improved braking in the electric automaker's entry level offering by upto 20 feet under hard braking. Tesla's software team has done this by changing the characteristics of the Anti-lock braking system or ABS on the Model 3 and it is applicable to all the cars that are currently delivered and plying on the road globally.
Tesla is about to expand the manufacturing capacity of its Gigafactory to accommodate even more capacity and increase manufacturing figure to over 6000 a month.
Founded in 1994, Mercedes-Benz India, currently India's largest luxury automaker has crossed an important production milestone by making its 1,00,000th car in India. The German automaker assembles a wide variety of cars in India and unsurprisingly, the 1,00,00th car to be made was its most popular offering in the country, the E-Class. In particular, the car was an E220d, which is the most popular variant in the E-Class lineup in India and is available exclusively in the long wheelbase specification as is the case with the E-Class family sold here. Mercedes-Benz also makes the likes of the C-Class, CLA-Class and the range topping S-Class both in standard and Maybach form in India.
Supercar maker McLaren has crossed the 15000 car production milestone. The British automaker started making cars as an independent automaker in 2011 with the introduction of the McLaren MP4-12C which was later replaced by the 650S and then the 720S, which is currently in production. McLaren also makes the 'sport series' lineup that includes the 570S coupe and roadster along with the 540C coupe and roadster. The 15000th car produced by McLaren is also a 570S roadster finished in a bright shade of blue. Incidentally, the 570S roadster is also the most popular car in the McLaren lineup and the sport series cars account to over 60 per cent of overall McLaren production.
With lakhs of Indicas sold over the span of its 20 year life time, the Indica went through many avatars, including the V2, the Turbo and later, even a major midlife facelift. But with the likes of the Tata Tiago taking over the mantle, the Indica found negligible takers. And now, after a long and iconic journey, production of the hatchback has finally been wound down.
Ferrari has taken the wraps off yet another one-off creation - the new SP38. The Ferrari SP38 has been made as a one-off for a loyal Ferrari customer and is based on the Ferrari 488's underpinnings. The SP38 pays homage to the likes of the Ferrari 308 and the Ferrari F40 with subtle styling cues and will be publicly showcased for the first time at the Villa d'Este concourse d'elegance at Lake Como, Italy on May 26, 2018. The new Ferrari though is not just a pretty car to look at as immediately after the delivery to the customer at the factory in Maranello, the car was taken to the Fiorano test track for some hot laps to drove its worth.
