Archive for the ‘News’ Category
The Jaguar C-X75, the super awesome hybrid that stole the spotlight at the Paris Motor Show, will be realized in late 2013.
Jaguar announced Friday morning in London to create a production version of the car, and make about 250 examples from 2013 to 2015 as part of a partnership with Williams F1. Pricing starts at $ 1.1 million, and more orders and technical information is available on 1 September.
Bill C-X75 will continue to use the name, but a “proper” nickname will be selected for the production of cars, authorities said. It will use an internal combustion engine powered by two electric motors. Jaguar says it can run on hybrid modes, electrical and track.
The supercar is capable of a speed of 200 km / h above, can reach 60 mph in less than three seconds and can run at 100 km / h in under six seconds. It will use a carbon fiber chassis.
“This is Jaguar’s best time,” said chief Adrian Hallmark brand.
Williams F1 help in the development of the C-X75 as part of a new partnership.
In a surprise announcement, Jaguar has announced ambitious plans to add engineers and workers to help design and build its new supercar.
The C-X75 AutoWeek was named Best in Show at the Paris Motor Show 2010.
THE JAGUAR PRESS
Jaguar can confirm today that it will launch the remarkable C-X75 car concept as a unique hybrid supercar.
Jaguar C-X75 will become more advanced model of British brand to date. We offer performance on par with the fastest production car on the market, while the adoption of cutting edge technology that offers very economical way. Jaguar hopes that this hybrid supercar to deliver very low CO2 emissions of less than 99g/km same time be able to achieve in excess of 200 mph.
“People expect Jaguar to be innovative – that’s when Jaguar is at its best,” said Adrian Hallmark, director of Jaguar. “The C-X75 received an incredible reception as a concept car. We have been building at the time and no clear business model for this model halo of exclusivity. No other vehicle better mean Jaguar renewed confidence and excellence in innovation this technology. “
Bill C-X75 is the ultimate expression of Jaguar design and engineering innovation. This high-performance hybrid sports car will stick to the study of initial design concept that made its debut at the Paris Motor Show 2010, while meeting the requirements that allow it to be homologated for road use.
“We were always determined that the Jaguar C-X75 would be so amazing on the road as it was in concept form,” said Ian Callum, Design Director of Jaguar Cars. “This will be the best future for Jaguar and most innovative ever produced. Even in the world of supercars, it can still produce the most beautiful.”
In an unprecedented move, the Jaguar C-X75 was developed in partnership with Williams F1, which will provide engineering expertise in areas such as aerodynamics, the manufacture of carbon composites and hybrid technologies. This association is at the forefront of British engineering and automotive innovation.
“The confirmation of this project today continued determination signals Jaguar and Land Rover to embrace the new technologies,” said the CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, Dr. Ralf Speth. “A supercar as the C-X75 is the logical choice to present cutting-edge design, clever use of new environmental technologies and performance of motor sports as inspiration.”
It also marks a new milestone in the history of both companies as Jaguar and Land Rover and Williams first teamed up to produce one of the highest performance and environmentally sustainable world of luxury cars. The production of the Jaguar C-X75 will create more than a hundred highly skilled jobs in the UK.
Direct technology transfer between motorsport and road cars elite production is the key to the success of C-X75. The chassis of the supercar will be made of carbon fiber to create a very lightweight structure, but rigidly strong.
Help the transition from concept to production vehicle is the choice of propulsion system. Jaguar continues to develop the use of micro-turbine technology that was showcased in the original concept of C-X75. Jaguar’s parent company Tata has acquired a significant stake in Bladon Jets, and develop this advanced technology as a medium-term aspiration to play a role in the future of Jaguar.
To bring the project C-X75 Exposure to reality within the time of a conventional model, an innovative propulsion system also had to be developed. The street supercar will use a state of the art, small capacity, is reinforced with internal combustion engine with a powerful electric motor in each axis.
“The motor’s compact size allows it to be mounted low in the car for optimum weight distribution and maintain the impressive silhouette of the concept. This will make the Jaguar C-X75 bona fide supercar hybrid capable of operating in a large electrical silence EV range in excess of 50 km, “said Bob Joyce, Engineering Group Director of Jaguar and Land Rover.
When engines and combine X75 C-combustion engine, is one of the
fastest production car in the world, with a sub within three seconds from 0 to 60 mph and a top speed over 200 mph. Basically, this was generated along with incredibly low emissions, with a goal of less than 99g/km CO2, thanks to the lightweight construction of the Project C-X75 and the technology of the propulsion system.
Williams F1 has been at the forefront of the engineering of motorsports for three decades. Project participation Jaguar C-X75 is a testament to the ambitions of the team and bring together two stars of the UK car industry.
“Our new partnership with Jaguar and Land Rover offers an exciting opportunity to work with one of the most famous brands and representative of the automotive world,” said Sir Frank Williams, president of Williams F1. “Williams has always considered itself an engineering company and so this project allows us to combine our expertise to create something truly exceptional.”
Jaguar C-X75 will redefine the customer experience, and set new standards in sales and after-sales service will be recreated throughout the range in the future. Only 250 examples were built, each one costs between £ 700 000 – £ 900 000 depending on the market and local taxes.
“Never before has the company launched an ambitious program, the vehicle around the world playing,” said Carl-Peter Forster, president of Tata Motors. “This is the Jaguar of the future. The opportunity for innovation of its kind in the UK is part of the reason Tata Motors has invested in Jaguar, and it’s great that products like the C-X75 can become reality.”
When we think about Toyota-Subaru collaboration, the first thing that comes to mind is the highly anticipated rear-wheel-drive “Toyobaru” project. But while the FT-86 and its Subie sibling are first in our thoughts, it wasn’t number one to market.
Automotive News reports that Subaru is set to unveil the Trezia hatchback in March at the Geneva Auto Show. The roomy five-door, which closely mirrors the Honda Fit in most every measurement, will be a near spot-on match of the Toyota Verso it’s based on, but with an Impreza-style grille slapped on the front clip and some Subaru badging sprinkled throughought. Both the Toyota Verso (named Ractis for JDM consumption) and Subaru Trezia are being sold in Japan now, and both vehicles are destined for Euro showrooms this spring.
In Japan, the Trezia is powered by a choice of 1.3-liter and 1.5-liter inline-four cylinder gasoline engines mated to a CVT, but in Europe the 1.5 will be replaced with a 1.4-liter diesel. In Japan, the Trezia can be had with all-wheel-drive provided car buyers check off the box for the more powerful engine, which will likely be the turbodiesel in Europe.
With its roomy interior and diminutive footprint, the Trezia will likely do well overseas. But will we ever see Subaru’s Fit-fighter in North America? With gas prices once again on the rise, it might not be a bad idea.
Wow! What a beautiful, fast ride this is. I must say, the design of this car, inside and out, is dazzling. To my eye, it’s the best-looking Jag in years. And the interior is just as eye-catching. I must compliment Jag on the much-improved touch-screen interface. It’s bigger than the one on previous models, and it’s way easier to navigate through the menus.
Having 510 hp underhood is always a good thing, and the power here is as smooth as it is prodigious. This is a joy to drive.
What a wondrous luxury cruiser–with a serious sledgehammer under the hood. Not everyone is down with the new design for the XJ, but I find it stylish from every angle, even if it’s not quite as tried and true as the old design. Time will tell whether this look can carry the badge for years into the future, but my guess is that it will do just fine.
Inside, the car is loaded with niceties, as you’d expect from an $111,000 Jaguar. But it’s not until you tighten up the suspension and put your foot into this Supersport model that you get a real appreciation for what 510 hp is good for in a 4,200-pound sedan. The extra power creates a positively lithe machine, able to tuck into bends without drama and flick back and forth through the lanes without effort. Steady, sporty and strong.
Though I didn’t approach triple digits in this car, I can attest to recently running a similarly equipped XKR stablemate flat-out to 176 mph on Jag’s test track in England, without really ever feeling very ruffled by the whole affair. Translate that to typical U.S. highway speeds, and it is clear that the Supersport is sure to be up to any of your driving needs.
2011 Jaguar XJ Supersport
Base Price: $111,075
As-Tested Price: $111,075
Drivetrain: 5.0-liter supercharged V8; RWD, six-speed automatic
Output: 510 hp @ 6,000-6,500 rpm, 461 lb-ft @ 2,500-5,500 rpm
Curb Weight: 4,172 lb
Fuel Economy (EPA): 17 mpg
For the IRL IndyCar Series, the 2010 Kentucky Indy 300 was all about the number “200.” It was the 200th race in IRL history. The drivers would be running 200 laps around the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway. And the speeds would be well above 200 mph as the field of 27 cars ran inches away from each other under the lights of Kentucky. Among those 27 drivers was last year’s runner-up, Ed Carpenter, who still hasn’t scored a full-time ride, and Paul Tracy, the fan favorite who seems to never get rusty. Maybe we’ll have to start calling him Platinum Paul.
Last week’s winner Dario Franchitti was making things interesting in the race for the championship by closing the gap to points leader Will Power who hasn’t done as well as some of the others – including Franchitti – on ovals. Kentucky is an oval, of course, and so are Motegi and Miami, the final two races of the season. Would Power be able to get that monkey off his back? Would Franchitti take the win and close the gap even further? Would the talented and hard luck Ed Carpenter finally head to Victory Lane? Follow the jump to see how the 2010 Kentucky Indy 300 went down.
Qualifying was a series of two-lap runs – the series switching from four-lap averages to two last week in Chicago – with Hideki Mutoh showing the best time until Will Power hit the track. The Team Penske driver has been just about perfect all year and his qualifying run was more of the same. The very next driver, however, didn’t have as much luck. Ryan Hunter-Reay looked to be going pretty quick when his car got loose between 1 and 2 and was up into the wall in a split second. That finished his qualifying run and caused a delay before the rest of the field was able to complete their runs.
When they did come back on track, the next driver up was Dan Wheldon, who is frequently at the front on ovals. He was again very quick, but not quick enough to catch Power. With just five drivers left to qualify, it was finally Ed Carpenter who nipped Power for the Peak Performance Pole. It was Carpenter’s best qualifying run ever as he became the 34th different pole winner in IRL history.
Ryan Hunter-Reay was cleared to race on Saturday night and lined up at the back of the field. After a two-seater demonstration run by Arie Luyendyk and football star, Terrell Owens, Grand Marshal Rick Mears waved the flag for the start of the race. They didn’t even make it around to complete the first lap before the hard-charging Tony Kanaan took the air off of Takuma Sato’s rear, sending the hard-luck rookie into the wall and bringing out a full-course yellow. Ryan Hunter-Reay also spun in that incident, his car losing downforce when he had to get out of the throttle. Ryan didn’t make any contact and was able to continue on after pitting to replace his flat-spotted tires.
When they finally got back to racing, Dan Wheldon slipped past Carpenter for the lead. Wheldon held the lead until the first round of stops between Laps 55-60, when Will Power took command. He led until Lap 80, when a multi-car crash once again brought out the yellow. It looked like Simona de Silvestro tried to edge down to let faster traffic through, but failed to notice Vitor Meira below her on the track. They also collected Ryan Briscoe before Simona’s car slid back down the track and slammed into the inner wall as well. She was okay, but it was another scary moment for this so-far impressive rookie.
The top five at that moment were Power, Wheldon, Marco Andretti, Scott Dixon and Franchitti. Power had a bit of a scare a few laps later as a momentary lapse caused a wiggle that had Will slapping the wall and falling back about five spots in a split second. That gave Wheldon the lead once again. The running order stayed pretty consistent up front for another long block of laps until the second round of stops started around Lap 140. Although there weren’t a lot of dramatic changes in the running order, that didn’t mean the race was boring by any means. The in-car cameras showed some incredibly close action, just like last race in Chicago.
It’s hard to explain how the regular camera shots make the cars look like they are circling in a uniform pack, the incredible speed being completely lost in the process – but those in-car shots show how hectic the racing actually is. The bumpy track and the changing airflow as the cars pass each other make those Dallaras dart and dance so much that the cars are sometimes three feet apart and then instantly touching wheels. It’s the same effect you get watching the Blue Angels flying in formation.
With ten laps to go, it was Wheldon, Franchitti, Kanaan, Carpenter, Andretti, Dixon, Danica Patrick, Powrr, Castroneves and Tracy in the top ten…but it was looking increasingly likely that they would all have to stop one more time for a splash-and-go. The timing of the yellows and the scheduled stops had meant most of the field would fall about 4 laps short on fuel. Sure enough, with four to go, all of the leaders stopped – except Helio Castroneves. Helio had been slightly out of phase with the rest of the field and the driver who lost a tough decision earlier in the season was now having one handed to him. Helio took the win followed by Ed Carpenter, who was once again the bridesmaid in Kentucky.
Dario finished fourth, but more importantly a few spots ahead of Will Power, so the championship lead is now down to just 17 points as the IRL heads to Japan in two weeks for the Indy Japan 300 from Twin Ring Motegi. Join us then, and don’t forget to check out the full results and standings below.
According to The Wall Street Journal, members of the U.S. Treasury are worried about General Motors’ upcoming IPO. They aren’t concerned for the automaker’s stock price, or how even how many investors may decide to buy into the company – they’re concerned about what country the money is coming from.
The Journal suggests that government officials are considering whether to limit or select which non-U.S. investors would be invited to be so-called “cornerstone” investors in GM’s IPO. Cornerstone investors are sought out to purchase and hold sizable stakes in a given company at a set share price. Said price is often lower than what the general investing public can secure, the theory being that the cornerstone investors’ presence (and the stability it implies) serves to drive confidence in the company. The fear is that there could be considerable political fallout if, say, some of those cornerstone investors turned out to be from nations like China. Either way, GM will need to firm up its investment plan fairly quickly if it is to allow enough time to court the ‘right’ cornerstone buyers.
As GM readies its IPO pitch, another key element in the company’s talking points will be its long-term stability – including a chief executive officer who plans to stick around a while. New GM CEO Dan Akerson has reportedly told the board that he’ll stay at the helm for two to five years – or perhaps even longer. The manner in which his compensation agreement is structured will likely include incentives timed to take effect over a period of years as a way to show investors that he’s serious about making a longer-term commitment to the automaker’s recovery.
Occasionally, we find ourselves wondering why manufacturers continue to insist on testing their prototype vehicles at the infamous Nürburgring. Yes, the track is 13 miles of some of the most abusive variations in elevation and apex around, but it’s also flooded with legions of hungry spy photographers just waiting to publicize the carmakers’ latest efforts. You’d think they’d come up with a locale with a smidge more privacy.
But the truth is that the Nürburgring offers a unique combination of length, speed and legality that’s difficult to come across elsewhere in the world. Those three factors combine to allow engineers to push vehicles well past what the common buyer will ever experience, and sometimes, that means pushing a vehicle all the way to mechanical failure. We aren’t exactly sure what caused this particular BMW M5 mule to go lame, but we’re guessing that the testing was well worth what was bound to be the mountain of paperwork facing these guys when they get back to the office.
At least the X5 seems to be up to the task of pulling its sportier brother around.
Hyundai has officially produced one million vehicles in the United States. Last week the company celebrated the milestone as a white 2010 Sonata rolled off the assembly line at its only U.S. plant in Montgomery, Alabama.
The milestone was reached in a relatively quick fashion, as the plant has been open a mere four and a half years. Alabama production of the fifth-generation Sonata started in May of 2006, while the second-generation Santa Fe began in April of 2006. The Sonata thus far has makes up roughly 66 percent of production while the Santa Fe accounts for 34 percent.
The Montgomery plant employs some 2700 workers and affects the region annually by $420 million. The plant will produce the all-new 2011 Sonata seen last week at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
[Source: Hyundai]
PRESS RELEASE: ONE MILLIONTH VEHICLE ROLLS OFF HYUNDAI MOTOR MANUFACTURING ALABAMA ASSEMBLY LINE
Montgomery, Ala., November 30, 2009 – Today, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) President and CEO H.I. Kim, drove HMMA’s 1,000,000 vehicle – a 2010 Sonata – off the assembly line with Mayor Todd Strange, Hyo-Seung Kim, CEO and President of Sejong and HMMA Team Member Angela Collins joining him in Hyundai’s top-selling vehicle in North America.
“Our guests of honor today are without a doubt the team members wearing the Hyundai logo on their chest,” H.I. Kim proudly exclaimed to the crowd gathered for the ceremony. “We’ve over came many challenges since production began in 2005 and through it all our Team Members never turned away from those challenges. It is because of you that we were able to accomplish this tremendous milestone.”
In a little more than four and one-half years, HMMA reached the 1,000,000 vehicle mark. The plant has produced two different vehicles since 2006, the Sonata and Santa Fe.
A total of 655,496 Sonatas and 344,504 Santa Fes were built to reach this achievement in the plant’s short history.
“Most of you had never worked in automobile plant, but you embraced the opportunity to be trained to do a brand new job, with brand new equipment in a brand new manufacturing facility,” explained Rick Neal, HMMA vice president and general counsel. “You learned to build cars in a very short time. Your vehicles have won numerous awards because you worked together as one team to build world class, high quality Hyundai vehicles. Congratulations to each and every one of you.”
Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange, who helped bring Hyundai to Alabama during his tenure as director of the Alabama Development Office, congratulated Team Members for reaching 1,000,000 vehicles and helping to expand the automotive manufacturing sector in Alabama. Mayor Strange was one of the first representatives from Alabama to meet with Hyundai executives. More than eight years ago, on Thanksgiving Day, he flew to Seoul, South Korea to lure the global company to Montgomery.
Carver Senior High School’s Drum Line, under the direction of Stephen Langford, entertained everyone with a raucous performance as the 2010 Sonata traveled down the quality inspection line. Plus, team members enjoyed spraying confetti over the sedan as it exited the line.
HMMA started producing Sonatas in May 2005. Santa Fes were added to the assembly lines in April 2006. The plant is currently manufacturing the 2010 Santa Fe and will soon begin assembling the “all new” 2011 Sonata.
HMMA employs more than 2,700 team members and has an annual economic impact of $420 million on the River Region.