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.
After a few leaked pictures and more than a few teasers, the newest member of the Range Rover family has officially been unveiled. The new Velar (which means To Veil or To Cover) is the forth SUV in the Range Rover family and sits snugly in between the Range Rover Evoque and the Range Rover Sport. The new Range Rover Velar will of course be making it to India next year with a possible 2018 Auto Expo unveil and should be priced around the Rs 70-80 lakh mark to go up against the likes of the BMW X5, the Audi Q7, the Volvo XC90 and even the Jaguar F-Pace and the Porsche Macan.
Maruti Suzuki is known for making some of the best handling hatchbacks in India, from the original Zen to the current Swift and now is finally launching a hot (or lukewarm) hatchback for India. Now we have already told you all you need to know in terms of the specifications but let us take you through how the standard Baleno and the Baleno RS differ in terms of external appearances.
Although we do get to go off-road regularly, driving in the desert is something that is far and few between. And that is what makes the annual invitational Great Escape in Rajasthan an event to look forward too. This time around, the town of Mandawa hosted about 150 people and over 75 cars for what would be a great weekend of off roading in the sand and across the semi arid region that surrounds the town. Incidentally, this is the 137th Great Escape that Mahindra is organising with the first ever Great Escape held back in 1997.
Volkswagen Motorsport in India has been setting the pace when it comes to giving young drivers a platform. Stars like Aditya Patel have all come from humble beginnings of the Volkswagen Polo Cup and of course, VW has also had the Vento cup for the last few years. Having been behind the wheel of every single race iteration Volkswagen Cup cars in India, from the Polo R racecar, in both the petrol and diesel form and the Vento in its original and evolution format, this new Ameo R racecar that has recently been doing the test rounds at the MMSC race track in Chennai is something that I personally am itching to get behind the wheel of.
As of April 1, 2017, Nissan will have a new CEO. Replacing Carlos Ghosn, will be Hiroto Saikawa the current co-CEO of the Nissan Motor Company. Carlos Ghosn will continue to however be on the board of directors of the Nissan Motor Company as well as the head of the Renault Nissan Alliance.
With the likes of the Mercedes-Benz CLA to go up against, the Audi A3 desperately needed an update and a mid-life facelift. We have already driven the facelifted A3 a few months ago in Germany, and now it has arrived on our shores!
Goodbye Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, Hello Ferrari 812 Superfast! As Ferrari resurrects yet another long forgotten badge as the replacement for the F12 Berlinetta, here are the facts and figures you need to know before we wax lyrical about how this new super-GT looks absolutely epic. Under the long signature bonnet is a 6.5-litre V12 making 789 bhp! Yep, thats 60 bhp more than the car it replaces and incidentally about 70 bhp more than the recently launched Lamborghini Aventador S! Looks like Ferrari has put in every last bit of engineering expertise in what could probably be the last ever naturally aspirated engine ever made by the Italian supercar maker.
Sensing an opportunity in the market for a multi purpose vehicle that wasnt van-like, Volvo decided to take its V70 station wagon, raise it a bit with some chunkier suspension, install all-wheel-drive and some plastic clad bumpers and voila! the V70 Cross Country was born. In fact, the XC nomenclature that we have come to associate Volvo with today was originally used for the first time on the V70 Cross Country (X-Cross and C-Country). That was in 1997. Fast-forward 20 years to 2017, and Volvo has decided to update its model portfolio and the Cross Country badging is now offered on the V9
Everyone in India knows what the Hindustan Ambassador is. As a symbol of Indias automotive history, there is little else that defines motoring in the country like it. From a mode of mass transport as the most popular Taxi in India at one point of time, to the de facto politicians preferred car, to a symbol of status in some parts of the country, the Ambassador has seen it all. In fact, the Ambassador was even raced and rallied in the 70s and 80s in rallies like the gruelling Karnataka 1000 and the Himalayan Rally with positive results. Of course, most of us will remember the Ambassador fondly through a childhood memory in the spacious rear seat or as a car someone in the neighbourhood had. That said, since the Ambassador brand name is due for a revival, let us take you through a quick history of the cars humble beginnings in the United Kingdom and how it made it to India in its various avatars.
Tata Motors has decided to consolidate all its future product offerings to only two platforms. Comparatively, Tata Motors currently has six platforms between the range of SUVs and hatchbacks it makes today.
As this was the first ever time Ford made a right hand drive Mustang in over 50 years of its existence, 2016 saw the long awaited launch of the muscle car in India too. Priced well at Rs 65 lakh, the Ford Mustang has been a hot seller for the American car manufacturer as a halo product. In fact, not only have a number of buyers bought themselves a Mustang, but almost every single car has undergone some sort of customisation including a few buyers option to install aftermarket exhausts and even superchargers. The new updated ford Mustang facelift though will be launched in India in early 2018 and will be available to customers for a similar price point.
2016 was a tough year for the Volkswagen Group with the Dieselgate scandal affecting its generally impeccable reputation in the United States and around the world. But even the largest ever automotive scandal the world has ever seen has not stopped the Volkswagen group from regaining the title of the Worlds largest carmaker for the year 2016. According to published figures, Volkswagen delivered 10.31 million cars (1.03 Crore) in 2016. Its biggest rivals, Toyota, on the other hand have published a sales figure of 10.17 million cars (1.01 Crore) and a total production figure of 10.21 million cars (1.02 Crore) for the duration of January to December 2016.
The Hyundai Grand i10 was unveiled at the 2016 Paris Auto Show and we were there to give you all the hot details on whats new and whats coming our way to India. The new car is due to be launched in February and as details start trickling in about what changes the car will get, one of the biggest pieces of news is the all new engine. The diesel motor in the Grand i10 was a little underpowered as compared to the likes of the 1.3 litre DDiS that the Maruti Suzuki Swift gets. And this is why Hyundai has decided to revamp its diesel models and give a brand new 1.2 litre diesel instead of the original 1.1 litre version.
Maruti Suzuki has announced a price increase on all its models with immediate effect. The price increase will range from Rs 1,500 to Rs 8,014 and will be applicable to all the cars in the Maruti Suzuki range excludingthe newly launched Maruti Suzuki Ignis. Cars sold from both the standard channel i.e. Maruti Suzuki dealerships and those sold through the Nexa dealership channel which are the premium outlets for cars like the Baleno andS-Cross will both be affected by the price increase.The Maruti Suzuki Alto and the Wagon R have had a price increase of about Rs 1,500 while the Baleno sees the maximum price increase at Rs 8,014.
Hindustan Petroleum has announced the launch of a new high-performance fuel poWer 99 which has been made specifically for high performance cars and SUVs in India. The high performance petrol will be the second one of its kind in India after Bharat Petroleums Speed 97 which has been the only option for supercar, sports car and performance car owners so far. Currently, the fuel will only be available in the city of Bangalore but expect more metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Chandigarh and Hyderabad to get it soon too. Expect the 99 octane rated fuel to be about Rs 20 per litre more expensive than standard 89 octane fuel.
Honda Cars India is all set to introduce the Jazz based WR-V sub-compact SUV in the country. The latest spy images reveal that production of the new model have commenced at Honda's Tapukara facility in Rajasthan and will be introduced in March this year. Honda, however, will first introduce the City facelift in the country in the following weeks.
The Skoda Kodiaq Scout is expected to be launched in India in the second half of 2017. Skoda should most definitely bring in the Scout variant on the Kodiaq in India with its off-road ready styling to take on the likes of the larger and more aggressively designed SUVs like the Toyota Fortuner and the Ford Endeavour while the standard car can take on the likes of the Hyundai Tucson and the upcoming Volkswagen Tiguan.
Ferrada was set up in the United States in the early 2000s and has exclusively made high end aftermarket wheels for brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche and Lexus. Ferrada has launched their brand in with partners DAD Design (Mumbai) who are their official partners for India. Ferrada wheels are currently available in 19-inch and 20-inch configuration with a wheel widths varying from 9.5-inch to 11-inch. Ferrada will soon also have 22-inch wheels that will cater to luxury SUV customers in India. The price range for Ferrada Wheels is between Rs 1.8-3.0 lakh depending on size, design and wheel finish.
Peugeot and PSAs entry into India has been confirmed in association with the Birla group with a tentative plan to have an assembly plant in Chennai. PSA does have a few products in that range offering including the Peugeot 3008 but we think the DS4 Crossback would be a more ideal offering due to its design and the DS brands young and modern global image.
Maruti Suzuki have launched a limited edition of the Swift Dzire. Christened Allure, the new limited edition will be one of the final offerings on the Swift Dzire from Indias largest car maker to wrap up the production of one of the hugest selling cars in the country. The current generation Dzire will soon be replaced by a new Swift Dzire based on the new Swift hatchback that will be launched later this year. The Swift Dzire Allure will be an addon package on top of the standard trim and will be offered on all variants and colors of the Dzire.
