Automobile

The Hennessey Performance Venom GT has set a new world record after reaching 435.5km/h during a test run at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, breaking the 431km/h record set by the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.

Bugatti’s Veyron is the jewel in the Volkswagen Group’s crown, and the result of an immense research and development program, while Hennessey’s car is a stretched Lotus Exige with a 7.0-litre, 927kW twin-turbo V8 wedged between its axles.

In yet another bonanza to air travellers at the onset of the summer season, budget carrier SpiceJet today reduced its fares by up to a whopping 75 percent under a special offer. Reuters

In yet another bonanza to air travellers at the onset of the summer season, budget carrier SpiceJet today reduced its fares by up to a whopping 75 percent under a special offer.

This is the third time in the last one month that the Kalanithi Maran promoted carrier has slashed fares to avail early summer bookings.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is delighted to announce the introduction of Ghost V-Specification; a limited series of Ghost and Ghost Extended Wheelbase motor cars, that will be available for customers to commission immediately.

Donald Trump”s business partner, who bought dozens of vehicles from the James Bond museum in Keswick in 2011, is selling the world”s largest private collection of cars for 20 million pounds.

The collection of cars by Michael Dezer included the tank from Goldeneye, the Q Boat from The World Is Not Enough and six Aston Martins, the Daily Star reported. After purchasing the cars in 2011, Dezer continued to build the collection, adding more cars from the latest film, Skyfall.

Profit and revenue will flatten for Rolls-Royce this year, the engine maker warned today, as government cutbacks on defence spending ends the company’s decade of rampant growth.

The announcement, alongside news of a 41-per cent slump in annual profits, sent Rolls-Royce shares diving 15.15 per cent to 1,027 pence on London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index, which was down by 0.52 per cent heading into the close.

“For the full year 2014, we expect underlying group revenue and profit to be flat,” Rolls said in an earnings statement.

The entire look of the BMW Pavilion at Auto Expo 2014 was completely sporty and futuristic, whether it was the iridescent lighting or the booth girls dressed in shades of blue and white.

Rod Anker, Creative Director of Monsoon Salon and Spa, said that they have given the booth girls at BMW a very sleek runway look, that is based on a neutral look, but in times when overkill is not in, this is what stands out, just like the fleet from the BMW stable. Luxury carmaker BMW India have unveiled four cars at the Auto Expo, which was launched by master blaster Sachin Tendulkar. (ANI)

International bikemakers such as Harley Davidson, Triumph Motorcycles and Ducati unveiled their super bikes before awe-struck Indian bikers as they vie for the wallets of a booming middle-class with aspirations for a Hollywood-like lifestyle.

With the explosion of big biking lifestyle machines making inroads across India with the U.S. major Harley Davidson, the Italian Ducati and British Triumph, urban riders are readying to take on the new cruiser genre of motorcycles and loosen their pockets despite the economic gloom hitting the market.

Braving chilly weather and long distances, more than 1 lakh people visited India’s flagship automobile show today, forcing organisers to periodically close entry to one of the display halls.

Through the day, auto enthusiasts thronged the venue of Auto Expo 2014 in Greater Noida, about 35 kilometres from the national capital, to get a glimpse of luxury cars, superbikes and Bollywood stars.

According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, 1.1 lakh people visited the expo today. The show had attracted more than 60,000 visitors yesterday.

John Abraham was seen endorsing Yamaha motorbike at the 12th edition of Indian Auto Expo in Greater Noida.

The 41-year-old actor, who is also the face of Japanese bike maker, launched the power pact upgraded versions of Yamaha’s R1 and VMax motorbikes. “I think we have got a wide range of motorcycles and scooters across and of course the VMax is a total muscle bike, it’s a men’s bike and I must say that very few people can actually control that VMax. It’s huge and it’s 1700 cc.

India’s flagship automobile show Auto Expo opened to the public Friday drawing warm response from automobile enthusiasts, who heaped praises on the new venue for better space and well organised pavilions.

As crowds started trickling in, soon after gates were thrown open to the public in the afternoon, there were scenes of people trying to reach various stalls and get themselves photographed with their favourite cars and bikes.

Bringing curtains down on the glorious saga of the Maruti 800 model, Maruti Suzuki India has stopped production of the iconic car brand that had been carrier for millions of Indian middle class families, since last month, said senior official of the auto maker here on Friday.

C V Raman, Executive Director MSIL, said though the car production has stopped, spare parts will be available for customers for the next 8-10 years as per rules.

Commercial vehicle maker SML Isuzu today said it expects revenues to grow 10 per cent in 2014-15 as it expands its product portfolio and forays into the 10-12 tonne gross vehicle weight (GVW) category.

“We have about 16 per cent share of the 5-10 per cent GVW category and now we are expanding to the 10-12 tonne category. With this, we want to increase our market share further. We are looking at 10 per cent increase in our revenues in 2014-15,” SML Isuzu Senior Vice President Marketing K B Prasad told PTI.

The company expects to close FY’14 with Rs 1,100 crore in revenue, he added.

Lohia Auto, which today launched electric-three wheeler ‘Humrahi’, is investing Rs 40 crore in the next two years to ramp up production capacity.

“We will be making an investment of Rs 30-40 crore in the next two years to enhance manufacturing capacity of diesel and electric three-wheeler,” Lohia Auto chief executive officer Ayush Lohia said at the 12th Auto Expo here.

The company has its manufacturing plant in Kashipur Uttarakhand with a capacity of 1 lakh units per year.

Tata Motors and Samsung have entered into a collaboration under which the South Korean electronics major will provide in-car infotainment systems to the Indian auto maker.

Tata Motors would launch passenger vehicles next year equipped with Samsung’s ‘Drive Link Application’ on MirrorLink technology that will help driver to navigate, answer calls and access Internet and music.

“We will introduce passenger cars in the market equipped with the technology within the next year,” Tata Motors Passengers Vehicles Unit President Ranjit Yadav told PTI on the sidelines of the Auto Expo.

Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) plans to invest Rs 5,000 crore over the next three years towards infrastructure upgradation, product development and capacity expansion.

The company is also planning to introduce 8-10 new variants and upgrades of its products this year.

“Adding new products is a continuous process…We have grown consistently over the last few years. We plan to invest Rs 5,000 crore over the next three years to continue this momentum,” M&M Chief Executive – Automotive Division Pravin Shah told PTI.

BMW India presented the new generation of individual mobility by unveiling the BMW i8, the all-new BMW X5 and the all-new BMW M6 Gran Coupé at the 12th Auto Expo 2014.

The all-new BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo was also launched in India. Philipp von Sahr, President, BMW Group India said, “We are on the verge of a new era of sustainable individual mobility and a revolutionary interpretation of BMW’s hallmark driving pleasure.

Car makers and their global rivals put on a bold display of optimism and lined up a range of concept cars and new models to kick off the 12th Auto Expo as they sought to put a year of sluggish sales behind them.

Maruti Suzuki India and Hyundai Motor India were among auto companies that put forward their new offerings at India’s flagship automobile show in the hope that demand will revive and help lift the industry from a prolonged slump.

Experts have argued that with a quarter of crashes in the United States now attributed to mobile phone use, it’s the time to act on its use while driving, while suggesting that technology could be used to stop cellphone use behind the wheel.

Charles and Barry Pless claimed in the new report that although there is still some uncertainty about the association between mobile phone use and risk of crashes, given the proliferation of mobile phones, the prevalence of distracted driving is undoubtedly increasing.

Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will showcase new products at the Auto Expo, including a five-seater version of Jaguar’s sports crossover concept C-X17, the new F-TYPE coupe sports car and Project 7, a single-seater all-aluminium bodied roadster.

The company will also display a range of sports utility vehicles such as the new, long wheelbase Range Rover, the upgraded 2014 Discovery and a new Range Rover Evoque equipped with a host of new technologies.

Maruti emerged as the favourite when it came to searches for cars online in 2013 and its ‘Swift’ was the most searched model, Google said today.

According to Google’s 2013 auto search trends, India’s flagship Auto Expo show is expected to boost car-related queries this year compared to 2012 as companies unveil new models to draw consumer interest.

“Online search trends usually mirror consumer trends offline. This is further clearly evident through the fact that Maruti is the top-searched car brand, closely followed by Hyundai, Mahindra, Honda and Tata,” Google said.

Japanese auto-maker Nissan will introduce three variants of its latest hatchback ‘Datsun GO’ in India under the Rs 4 lakh price band, as the first car was rolled out from the assembly line of its manufacturing facility in Oragadam near here today.

The entry-level car under the popular Datsun brand is aimed at the first-time car buyers.

The company is reviving the Datsun brand after almost three decades and the car is expected to hit Indian roads next month.

India’s flagship automobile show Auto Expo will kick off tomorrow with companies hoping that new models to be unveiled during the spectacle will help revive demand at a time when the sector is going through a prolonged slump.

The first two days of the expo to be held from February 5-11 has been reserved for media and entry for general public will open from February 7.

Tata Motors has assured to work on the safety of its cars after a range of small Indian cars, including theirs, failed a first ever independent crash tests, revealing high risk of serious injuries in road accidents.

A test conducted by GLOBAL NCAP, an independent U.K. based charity for consumer-orientated vehicle safety initiatives, showed disastrous results for some of the most popular running cars in India including Maruti Alto 800, Tata Nano, Ford Figo, Hyundai i10 and Volkswagen Polo.

The U.S department has reportedly announced plans for a regulatory proposal that will require vehicle-to-vehicle communication in order to prevent crashes.

The proposal has been announced following a yearlong pilot program by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is set to release a report on its findings in the coming weeks.

The U.S Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said that by helping drivers avoid crashes, this technology will play a key role in improving the way people get where they need to go, the Verge reported.

Tata Motors has unveiled its first new models in four years, banking on two small cars to reverse the company’s sliding passenger car sales in the face of growing foreign competition.

In a bid to revive its fortunes, Tata is pinning its hopes for now on the all-new Bolt hatchback and Zest entry-level sedan to tap into the small car market that accounts for the bulk of passenger vehicle sales in India.