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.
Both Ford and Jeep also import their flagship products to India from the United States and both these automakers could be affected if the stand-off between the two countries resulting from President Trump's policies continues and extends to cars too.
Basel has chosen to replace these old and highly polluting diesel cars with the flagship offering in the Tesla range, the Model X SUV.
Byton, a Silicon Valley based and Chinese backed automaker has finally started production of its first electric vehicle, the M-Byte SUV. The new SUV will be made in Byton's Nanjing plant in China in a brand new facility which will also serve as the brand's new headquarters. Byton is currently manufacturing the SUV for testing including those required to meet crash norms around the world. Byton will soon be showcasing this production ready version, which will hit the markets by next year.
Maruti Suzuki has sold over 1 lakh units of the new Swift hatchback in India in just 145 days.This is the fastest 100,000 units for any car in India.
Hyundai India has crossed the 8 million cars production milestone in India. Hyundai started making cars in India in 1998 by launching the Santro and the company's 8 millionth was, unsurprisingly, a Hyundai Creta.
What is without a shadow of a doubt the greatest car movie series ever (we love the Fast and Furious series, but are they car movies anymore?), the Cannonball Run will be remade as a brand new movie very soon. According to various reports, the Cannonball Run, a movie based on the actual Cannonball Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Cross Country Race in the United States will be remade and directed by Director Doug Liman. Famous for other automotive greats such as The Bourne Identity, Dog Liman is supposedly in talks to remake the Cannonball series of classic early 80s movies in the same comedy based style that they were originally made.
The Ferrari V8 is one of the most glorious engines ever made. From the naturally aspirated era to the current twin-turbocharged motors, the flat plane V8 has won numerous accolades and here is another one. The 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 found in the Ferrari 488 Pista has won the international Engine Of The Year Award.
Its official, the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ and Aventador Roadster SVJ will be officially unveiled at the 2018 Monterey Car Week, which will kick off on August 18. The Monterey Car Week comes to an end on August 26 with the prestigious Pebble Beach Concourse d'Elegance Vintage and Classic Car Show. The Lamborghini Aventador SVJ will be the final series of the supercar before the replacement is announced sometime in 2019 or 2020. The new Lamborghini Aventador SVJ will be the most track focused V12 powered Lambo ever with active aerodynamics in the from of the ALA or Aerodinamica Lamborghini Attiva and more power from the V12 naturally aspirated engine. Expect the power output from the engine to be between the 770 and 800 bhp mark.
Tesla has officially inaugurated its 10000th supercharger. Located in Belleville, Ontario in Canada, the supercharger was thrown open to public use on June 9, 2018. The Tesla Supercharger will support all three models that Tesla currently offers, the entry level Model 3 sedan, the larger Model S sedan and the Model X SUV. The Tesla supercharger will also support the upcoming Tesla Roadster 2 and the recently teased Model Y Compact SUV/ crossover that is due for a public reveal sometime next year and production / delivery in 2020. The Tesla supercharger however does not support the Gen 1 Tesla Roadster.
The current generation Mercedes-Benz GLE has been around for a while now, first as the Mercedes-Benz ML-Class and then of course as the GLE that we know now. The mid size Benz SUV is one of the best selling cars in its global portfolio and even offers a GLE coupe version that takes on the likes of the BMW X6. The GLE is long overdue a refresh and the new generation is due for a launch later this year. And now spy shots of the new SUV wearing minimal camouflage have been circulating the internet. According to these shots, the GLE SUV seems to have taken an evolutionary approach to design especially when it comes to the iconic C-Pillar design.
Porsche is 70! What is possibly one of the greatest automakers in the world today, the German auto giant has gone from being a small time sportscar maker to appeal to the enthusiast to an automobile powerfhouse making cars for a wide cross section of users. And if that's not all, Porsche's sheer dominance of motorsport has been well documented. Not only are they the most successful LeMans team ever, Porsche has also showcased prowess in almost every sort of track based - and even occasionally some off road motorsport. So here is what I think are the ten greatest road going Porsches ever made. Have a different list or think we missed out of some iconic Porsches? Remember to tell us what you think on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram feeds!
Surprised? Well, you shouldn't be. According to reports, Porsche has confirmed a new coupe SUV based on the Cayenne, which will make its debut in the next few years. The new Cayenne Coupe is no surprise as the Volkswagen Group already makes two similar cars on the same platform, the Lamborghini Urus and the recently launched Audi Q8. The Porsche Cayenne Coupe will be launched sometime next year and will essentially be more expensive than the standard car. It will also take on the likes of the Mercedes-Benz GLE range including the fire breathing GLE 63 and the SUV that started the whole Coupe SUV trend, the BMW X6.
The Tesla Model 3 is possibly the most talked about car in the last few years. When launched in 2016, the demand on the car was so high that in just a couple of days it saw over 3.25 lakh reservations and in just a month of bookings opening, the number was up to over 4 lakh! Currently, the Tesla Model 3 bookings are hovering around the 4.5 lakh units globally with the United States accounting a major chunk. That said, according to reports, over one fourth of all bookings for the Model 3 in the United States have now been cancelled!
The new sportscar, rumoured to be badged the McLaren 600 LT will get a bump in power and of course, get a lot more aero as compared to the standard McLaren 570S too.
A new category of small vehicles - Quadricycles, has been approved by the Indian government and in particular the Ministry Of Road Transport and Highways. This new category, which will mainly be used to classify small four wheeled personal vehicles (or commercial vehicles) will have to pass a list of emissions, crash and other norms which will be laid down by the government and the Automotive Research Association Of India - ARAI. The first vehicle to be launched under this new category will be the Bajaj Qute. Bajaj Auto has heavily lobbied for this particular class of vehicle as until now, there was no such special category in India like the ones in Europe and in other countries around the world. The government has made no indication as to what GST rate will be applied to register these vehicles or whether they will have special registration plates like the new green plates on electric vehicles.
The Hyundai i20 CVT is available in two variants - the Magna and the Asta. Unlike the manual, which offers a higher, spec Asta (dual tone) and Asta (optional) variant, the CVT gets just the standard Asta, which is the top spec variant in its lineup. So what it looses out on as compared to the Asta(O) are a bunch of features that although aren't crucial, would have been nice to have. You don't get the projector headlamps with integrated LED DRLs for starters. Instead, you get a set of daytime running lights integrated into the bumper just below the fog lamps. And in my opinion, these look fantastic! You do however miss out on auto headlamps and cornering lights. You also get dark grey 15-inch wheels as compared to the larger 16-inch diamond cut wheels that are available on the optional package. You also loose out on the likes of a whole bunch of interior features like the leather wrapped steering wheel and gear knob, and the smart keyless entry with a start-stop button.
Goldstone Infratech in collaboration with BYD - a Chinese auto giant has launched a new urban electric bus in India. Called the eBuzz K6, the electric urban bus is a 7-metre long, high floor bus that has a range of over 200 kms on a single charge. The electric bus will essentially be used as a 'feeder bus' for last mile connectivity. What this means is that the bus will be used in dense urban areas on urban routes that have a high degree of congestion. The electric bus will be made in India and will also be exported to countries such as Nepal.
Nissan is the latest in a long line of auto makers that have announced plans to end development of diesel engines. According to reports, the Japanese automaker will work towards phasing out diesel engines and it has already stopped selling diesel powered passenger cars in markets in Japan. Diesel engines around the world are nearing a point of extinction. With automakers like the FCA group, which includes the likes of Fiat and Jeep already announcing a phase out of diesel engines in select markets globally by 2022 and cities in Europe imposing bans on diesel powered cars in certain areas, it is only a matter of time the development of new diesel power plants slows down or comes to a complete halt. Fellow automaker Toyota too had announced plans of phasing out diesel engines in the near past.
What is possibly one of the most famous Ferraris of its era and even amongst the 250s, a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO bearing the chassis number 4153 GT has sold for a record $ 70 million. And before you ask, that is about Rs 469 Crore! The car has been sold to known American Ferrari collector David MacNeil, CEO of a company called WeatherTech that makes floor mats and accessories for cars. It is not uncommon to see classic cars go for a pretty penny. After all, as an investment, classic cars are regarded to be one of the safest bets and at the end of the day, you can also drive and enjoy them. The Ferrari 250 GTO has been on the top of the charts when it comes to 'the most expensive car in the world' with one selling for about $ 35 million in auction a few years ago and then another allegedly going for $ 50 million to a private seller. And now all these records have been smashed and how!
Jeep has officially teased the upcoming face lifted version of the popular Renegade SUV. The Jeep Renegade facelift will be launched this week on June 6 at the Turin Motor Show and will be the global premier of the SUV. Interestingly, FCA has chosen to launch the updated version of the Jeep Renegade in Europe first due to its overwhelming popularity in European markets due to its small dimensions and funky design. The Jeep Renegade facelift will also be launched in India in the near future to take on the likes of the recently updated Hyundai Creta and the Renault Captur/Duster along with the likes of the Mahindra Scorpio. The Jeep Renegade will be priced cheaper than the extremely popular Jeep Compass.
