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Nissan Murano adds a 190hp 2.5 liter diesel for the European market
Nissan has revealed a new diesel engine option for the Murano in the European market. The company has added a 2.5 liter dCI 4-pot diesel that comes with an upgraded direct injection system with 2,000 bar of pressure as well as a revised cylinder head fitted with parallel port and a new variable nozzle turbo system (electronic control).
The engine is paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission, linked to an all-wheel-drive system. Overall horsepower figure is 190 while torque is numbered at 450Nm. Continue reading to view more images of the Nissan Murano. Read the rest of this entry.
Bugatti 16C Galibier: More images released!
This is the Bugatti 16C Galibier. It is powered by an 8.0 liter 16-cylinder powerplant that is also featured on the super quick Bugatti Veyron. The huge engine has two-stage turbocharging and has the ability to run on biofuel and its power should be figured at about 900hp.
Rumor also has it that this almost production ready Bugatti shares the same platform with the Bentley Mulsanne. The company has released more images of the all-wheel-drive super saloon featuring a black Galibier. You can feast on these images after the jump. Read the rest of this entry.
Alonso led Ferrari’s 1-2 victory in Bahrain!
Double World Champion Fernando Alonso was the first driver to cross the finish line at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Spaniard completed 49 laps at the Sakhir circuit and finished ahead of his teammate Felipe Massa. The final podium position was taken up by 2008 World Champion Lewis Hamilton from McLaren.
Sebastian Vettel had to settle for fourth place as he suffered from a mechanical problem. Vettel started from pole and was leading till halfway through the race. Fifth and sixth positions were filled up by both the Mercedes drivers, Nico Rosberg and 7 times World Champion Michael Schumacher who finished about 4 seconds behind Nico.
The rest of the top ten was made up by Jenson Button (McLaren), Mark Webber (Red Bull), Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India) and Rubens Barrichello (Williams). Unlike last year, everyone in the top ten were awarded with points due to the bigger field. The top three bags 25, 18 and 15 points and it goes on till the tenth place driver who gets 1 point.
Both Hispania and Virgin Racing proved that they have a long way to go in terms of reliability as all four cars suffered from mechanical issues. Lotus on the other hand successfully completed the race. Heikki Kovalainen finished in 15th position while his Italian teammate Jarno Trulli came home in 17th although it looked like Trulli ran out of fuel at the dying moments of the race. Nevertheless he was including the finisher’s list. The Formula 1 circus now heads to the Australian Grand Prix which takes place on March 28th.
Click here to check out the complete results.
Lotus is back in IndyCar! Will be part of the 2010 season
Right after qualifying 20th and 21st during the qualifying session of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir, Lotus has officially announced its return to IndyCar. The company announced a partnership with Cosworth and a current IndyCar team called KV Racing Technology.
The new team will take part in this year’s series which kicks start in Sao Paolo, Brazil on March 14th. The Lotus-Cosworth IndyCar will be piloted by former Formula 1 driver Takumo Sato. Lotus also said that the race car will be treated to the company’s classic green and yellow colour scheme.
KV Racing Technology was established in 2003 and has competed in two IndyCar championships. The team has thus far won two races, first by Cristiano da Matta and second by Will Power. Pictured above is a rendering of the Lotus-Cosworth IndyCar machine.
Initial images of 2011 Kia Magentis / Optima revealed
Kia has officially unveiled the 2011 Magentis (or Optima in other markets) ahead of its world debut at the New York Auto Show this April. This new Magentis which looks really good if you ask me is expected to go on sale in the UK next year while US buyers can expect it this fall.
This new Magentis mid-sized sedan which should go head to head with Ford’s very impressive Mondeo sits on a platform that is being used on the new Hyundai Sonata. Kia claims that the new model is longer, wider and lower compared to the outgoing model.
Unfortunately the company has not revealed technical specifications but you can safely expect 2.0 liter engines from both the petrol and diesel families. A hybrid variant is expected as well. Continue reading to view the images above in high-res glory. Read the rest of this entry.
All new BMW 5-Series Touring unveiled!
BMW has added a new variant to the all new F10 5-Series which we had a go in earlier. This is the new Touring which is codenamed the F11. As expected with such a wagon, the boot space is huge. With the rear backrests up the space is figured at 560 liters. This figure can go up to 1,670 liters just by folding down the 40:20:40 split rear seats. On top of that the rear seats are also individually inclinable by 11 degrees in 7 stages by the way, nice!
Features like the Electric Power Steering and the 8-speed automatic transmission have been carried over from the sedan variant. The Touring also comes with self-leveling rear air suspension. There are two petrol and two diesel engines two choose from. The diesel family is made up by a 520d model with a 181hp and 380Nm of torque 4-cylinder unit.
There is also the 530d that features a 6-cylinder units which can crank out 242hp and 540Nm of torque. A more powerful 535d version is expected to join the line-up later on as well. Petrol wise, there is the 523i that makes 201hp and 270Nm of torque while the top of the line spot is taken up by a 302hp force-inducted 535i that can also produce 400Nm of torque. These engines come standard with the a 6-speed manual transmission.
Optional equipment includes Dynamic Drive Control with Normal, Comfort, Sport and Sport+ modes, Integral Active Steering and more. The tail gate also opens up separately. With this who needs a 5-Series GT? As always more images can be found after the jump. There is also a video for your enjoyment. Read the rest of this entry.
Red Bull’s Vettel clinches pole position in Bahrain
Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull will start tomorrow’s 49-lap Bahrain Grand Prix from pole position after the German set 1:54.101 which was just 0.1 seconds quicker than Felipe Massa. Massa’s teammate Fernando Alonso managed to secure third place. It looks as though both Red Bull and Ferrari are leading the front running pack which is also made up by Mercedes and McLaren.
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton ended the session with his fourth place ahead of Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg and followed by Red Bull’s Mark Webber. Formula 1’s most successful driver with 7 championships under his belt, Michael Schumacher will start the Middle Eastern race from seventh place. It was revealed previously that Schumacher isn’t too happy with his car’s tendency to understeer.
McLaren’s other British and World Champion driver Jenson Button secured eight in front of Renault’s Robert Kubica. Adrian Sutil surprised everyone with his 10th place finish for Force India. As expected Formula 1’s latest entrants made up the final six grid positions. Virgin Racing’s Timo Glock was the quickest of all with his 19th place finish. Lotus Racing’s Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen settled for 20th and 21st while Virgin’s Di Grassi was 22nd.
Hispania Racing was the slowest of all as Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok were about 4 seconds slower than the times set by Virgin’s and Lotus’ drivers. The extremely slow pace was also due to the fact that the team did not take part in any pre-season testing. Virgin and Lotus are still about 5 seconds slower than the leaders who can probably lap these slower cars after about 20 laps. Please click here to view the full results.
Maybach facelift’s design illustration leaked? To be revealed next month
The leaked design illustration you above is said to belong to the facelifted Maybach that is scheduled for a reveal in April. According to the source the Maybach’s facelift is just limited to visual upgrades and upgrading the engines to fit with Euro V standards. Power output will remain the same.
Visual upgrades are expected to be made up by a new front bumper, revised grille, redesigned hood and LED daytime running lights. The Maybach is expected to make its debut at the Beijing Auto Show happening next month. Continue reading to view two more images.
Source. Read the rest of this entry.
