Porsche Macan to debut at LA Auto Show

Auto Express reports Porsche will unveil the upcoming Macan SUV at this year's LA Auto Show. Citing an unnamed "insider," AE says that the five-door will bow with engines, suspension and interior architecture that will help differentiate it from its Audi Q5 chassis mate. Big shocker there. We've been hearing the same line since we first caught word of the Macan back when it was still rolling around under the Cajun name. The report does shed some light on the model's pricing, however. That same insider says the Porsche Macan will carry a price tag of 36,000 pounds.

What does that mean for American buyers? Do some quick math based on current conversion rates, and average UK and US prices, and we come up with a sticker of roughly $42,000 here in the land of the free. That fits in line with the rest of the company's stable, with the larger Cayenne starting at $49,600.

Still, we'll wait for more concrete word before jumping behind the AE report wholeheartedly. The 2013 LA Auto Show gets going in late November.

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Veyron and C7 Corvette join cast of Transformers 4

 

Like the Fast & Furious franchise, the Michael Bay-directed series of Transformers movies has become known as much for its bad acting as its impressive lineup of cars. As filming just started for Transformers 4, Bay's website has confirmed two new cars for the next installment as well as a makeover for everyone's favorite tractor trailer hero, Optimus Prime.

Joining the cast of T4 are a "race-inspired" Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse. While Bay's website did not supply names for either car, Bugatti is reporting on its Facebook page that the Veyron will join the Autobots. Speaking of the good guys, top Autobot Optimus Prime is getting an all-new body based on a Western Star with a gaudy appearance that was seemingly inspired by Trick My Truck – right down to the six smoke stacks and side pipes!

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2014 Mercedes E-Class Coupe

Though the S-Class is the profit-per-unit world champion, Mercedes' stalwart E-Class is still the company's most reliable producer of profits. The latter tends to represent the model that most humans on Earth think of when they think of Mercedes-Benz. The taxi version of the E-Class sedan used in Europe and elsewhere is the usual reason given for this familiarity we all have with the E, but c'mon, it also happens to be a pretty stunning piece of work in its market segment.

Today we're trying the upgraded and massaged fourth-generationMercedes E-Class Coupe (known internally as C207). Specifically we're driving the 329-horsepower E400 coupe that arrives in the US next summer (2014) to eventually replace – in all body variants – the current V8-powered E550. Starting price for a base E350 coupe should scare up $51,500 when it arrives a little later this year, while this E400 two-door will hit US soil at around $56,000 as a futuristic-sounding 2015 model.

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Aston Martin V12 Vantage S rings up 565 hp, 205 mph top speed

This is the "something very fast" that Aston Martin teased last week. With a brief to bring "race car performance and technology to the open road," the Gaydon firm introduces the new V12 Vantage S that makes changes throughout compared to the V12 Vantage it replaces.

The heart of the matter is the new AM28 engine, a more evolved species of the 6.0-liter V12 that incorporates features like CNC-machined combustion chambers and hollow camshafts. Power output is 565 horsepower, a healthy 50-horse bump over the outgoing coupe, and 475 pound-feet of torque, a boost of 37 lb-ft. Acceleration from 0-60 miles per hour is expected to come before the four-second mark (down from 4.2 seconds) and the top speed crosses the double-ton to 205 mph, up from 190. It spits out its note through an exhaust adapted from the One-77 and it is now the fastest car Aston Martin makes. In fact, save for the aforementioned One-77, it's the fastest road car in the company's history.

Shifting all that power to the wheels is a seven-speed automated manual transmission. Further honed from its current use in the V8 Vantage S (it's also the 'box from Aston Martin's FIA GT race cars), it gains a gear over the six-speed in the V12 Vantage yet is 55 pounds lighter.

Three-stage adaptive damping confers Normal, Sport and Track modes to the suspension settings and alters the amount of power-assist for the steering. A second, independent Sport setting controls gear selection, throttle response and exhaust note.

Aesthetically, aluminum grille vanes are swapped for carbon fiber or titanium silver mesh inside a grille shell inspired by the CC100 Speedster concept, there are new ten-spoke, 19-inch alloys, the roof goes black and this is the first time customers can spec black pedals.

Pricing hasn't been divulged, but something near $200,000 should get the dealer's attention when it goes on sale. Now that your piggy bank has a reason to die.

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2014 Chevy Corvette Stingray 6.2L LT1 rated at 460 hp, 465 lb-ft

Chevrolet has officially dropped power figures for the 2014 Corvette Stingray. The sports car's 6.2-liter V8 can crank out up to 460 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 465 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm. Most of the torque, up to 316 lb-ft, is available from just 1,000 rpm, and wide open the LT1 V8 produces just 5 lb-ft less than the outgoing LS7 in the Z06. Mercy.

Using the standard exhaust, the engine yields 455 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque. Chevrolet estimates that's good enough to get the 2014 Corvette to 60 miles per hour in under four seconds. Even with all that thrust on hand, Chevy says the LT1 is more efficient than ever. Active Fuel Management, direct injection and variable valve timing help cut emissions by 25 percent.

In addition, engineers threw a spate of advancements at the mill, including four-into-one exhaust manifolds, a new intake manifold design and an oil system with piston squirters to keep the cylinders cool under hard use. The system also allows for an available dry-sump oiling system.

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2013 BMW 135is Coupe

Every once in a while, I find myself, despite my solitary leanings and inherent modesty, working out in some kind of class setting. The tone and tenor of these classes ranges wildly – from the quiet, follow-the-leader variety, to those with a kind of Cult of Personality man or woman calling the shots, usually with idiom-laden shouting and theatrical hair. Despite their personal variation and range of professional effectiveness, there's one common concept that most instructors bring up at some point: working with intention.

The idea, as it relates to physical fitness, is that focusing your brain on the movement at hand ­– the rate of your own breathing, or the muscle groups being worked for instance – helps to perform the act efficiently and correctly. Having spent a happy majority of the last decade in an exercise-free near-debauch, I was a bit surprised to find out that this kind of mental game really works pretty well.

All of this is relevant to my current task at hand, telling all of you what it's like to drive the 2013 BMW 135is Coupe, because this is very clearly a car that rewards being driven with intention. Here, of course, I don't mean simply keeping both hands on the wheels, eyes on the road, and such, but actively judging your own inputs and the car's reactions to them. Good drivers (at least) are attentive most of the time, but it's rare that we have the patience for applying such purpose to this everyday act, unless, as is the case with the 135is, the car rewards us for it so fully.

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VW XL1 likely to be available for lease only

When we drove the Volkswagen XL1, the incredibly efficient plug-in diesel hybrid pod that gets something like 261 miles per gallon, we learned that Volkswagen is only going to make 250 of them.
We later heard it was unlikely to come to the US, which isn't all that surprising.

What VW hasn't been very vocal about is how the car will make it in to customer hands, whether it will be a lease or sale deal, except to say that an announcement would come this summer. So, when Wired recently had the chance to get behind the wheel, it made sense that VW officials were a little more open, and hinted they are leaning more towards leasing rather than selling. We asked a VW representative ourselves, and VW of America's manager of product and technology communications, Mark Gillies, told AutoblogGreen that "it will most likely be a lease scheme."

We thought the XL1 shared more than aerodynamic looks with the classic GM EV1.

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BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupé bows at Villa d'Este

The first collaboration between BMW and Pininfarina is this blunt-force two-door called the BMW Pininfarini Gran Lusso Coupe revealed at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. Said to be the "interpretation of a luxurious BMW Coupé as seen through the eyes of Pininfarina," once you get past all of the design-speak, you can focus on the full-bodied and keen-edged missile sitting on 21-inch wheels.

The long wheelbase makes for short overhangs. Up front, BMW's design language gets scraped across a whetstone, everything getting sharper, including the usually round cat's eye headlights that have gone dihedral. Under the hood is a V12, behind the twin-kidney grille in matte-sheen aluminium and high-gloss black. The same aluminum treatment also backs the taillights, the lenses designed to let air flow through them.

Inside is room for four, a cockpit canted toward the driver, Foglizzo leather in black and Tobacco Brown, 48,000-year-old kauri wood from New Zealand, deep pile carpet on the floors, a patterned virgin wool headliner and an "oblong aperture in the roof liner" set off by white LEDs.

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Infiniti luxury electric sedan needs more wireless charging

While we had been told it was coming in 2014, the exact release date of the production version of the Infiniti LE concept might just might hinge on something you can't see and that the Japanese automaker can't control: wireless charging infrastructure. That's the word from Autocar, which talked to Nissan executive vice president Andy Palmer, who admits that wireless charging "is this technology we want to shine a light on, so while there is no world standard on methods, the rollout will be dependent on region." In other words, if you want the latest luxury EV, you'd better hide those wires. They're so gauche.

There's a good chance Infiniti will be the first OEM to sell a production inductive charging vehicle (companies like Mitsubishi and Audi are also working on the technology), which is likely to be a double-edged sword. Yes, it'll have bragging rights, but the wired infrastructure is proving difficult enough to put into place, and having the coolest tech doesn't mean much if you can't put it into use. Thankfully, the LE (or whatever it will be called) is also expected to come with conventional wired charging capabilities. Also, Infiniti is, at this point, trying to get induction charging technology to be open source, which could help a lot of players in the industry.

The LE concept, based on the Nissan Leaf, has the same 24-kWh lithium-ion battery pack but a more powerful 100-kw electric motor good for 134 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque.

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Mansory Stallone makes a man out of Ferrari F12

The Mansory Stallone you see above isn't the first such transmogrification of a Prancing Horse. This one is based on the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, but the first honor, as far as we can tell, went to the Stallone based on the 599 GTB Fiorano. The F12 version was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show this year, but we missed out, and we were sure you wouldn't want to miss it.

As with its predecessor, this one gets a total makeover, from the new front clip and hood to the side skirts, new rear end, rear diffuser and rear wing. There is additional muscle for the 6.0-liter V12, too – a tweaked ECU and sports exhaust with a stainless steel muffler getting matters up from 740 horsepower to 775, and torque from 509 pound-feet to 535. Moving things forward is a set of bespoke, staggered, lightweight aluminum wheels, 21 inches up front, 22 in the back.

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2014 SSC Tuatara deliveries to start as soon as December

Word has it SSC will deliver its first Tuatara supercar beginning in either December of this year or January of next. The news comes courtesy of company CEO Alan Leverett, who also said that the machine will set buyers back $1.3 million. As GTSpirit.com points out, the revelation is somewhat surprising given that SSC hasn't even unveiled the production-specification car just yet. It would seem that little fact hasn't been enough to scare away potential buyers.

The last time we heard major news from SSC was nearly a year ago when the company officially changed its name from Shelby SuperCars to SSC and broke ground on a new 36,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Washington. Since then, the company has been largely mum about progress on its ludicrous Tuatara, although last month, it did disclose that powertrain testing had exceeded "all design specifications" during dyno testing, registering 1,350 horsepower and 1,280 pound-feet of torque. As you may recall, the car'sUltimate-Aero-based early prototype managed to bolt to 200 miles per hour in a scant 16 seconds thanks to a 6.8-liter V8 with the same power.

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Automobile Magazine names its 2013 All-Stars

Employing complex scientific formulas and methodologies probably best described as "Whatever we felt like choosing," Automobile has named its All-Stars for the 2013 model year. The 11 vehicles earned their trophies for being "the best and most significant" offerings to the mag's staff and contributors, and while we were surprised to see a couple of them on the list, none of them were shocking. In no particular order, they are:

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 (seen above)
Porsche Boxster
Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S
Audi A7
Ram 1500
Honda Accord
Mazda CX-5
Ford Focus
BMW 3 Series

Volkswagen GTI Random notes: The least expensive vehicle on the list was the Ford Focus at $16,995 however, it was the $24,495 Focus ST that was actually driven; the least expensive vehicle as-tested, when such indication was given, was the $28,265 BRZ; the most expensive vehicle as-tested was the $75,615 Porsche Boxster S, hurdling the price of the A7 by nearly $4,000; the greatest disparity between base and as-tested price was the Ram, from the $24,395 skin-and-bones truck to the $54,335 Laramie Longhorn Crew Cab; the GTI was viewed through the history of its birthplace, Wolfsburg.

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Bob Lutz and VL Automotive, Wanxiang trying to buy Fisker

Chinese company Wanxiang was in the news earlier this year, as it moved to acquire bankrupt automotive battery company A123. Turns out, while that was taking place in the public eye, Wanxiang was also working with VL Automotive – of Bob Lutz and Destino fame – to try and buy out Fisker Automotive.

According to unnamed sources speaking to Reuters, VL and Wanxiang made Fisker an offer earlier in May to buy the troubled plug-in hybrid automaker through a "prepackaged bankruptcy deal." The talks are apparently ongoing and could well fall through, but it certainly makes sense for both Wanxiang and VL to want Fisker to survive in some manner. A123 supplied the Karma's battery cells and VL needs Karma bodies if it's going to build more than a small number of V8-powered Destinos.

At the end of April, Lutz wrote an article about Fisker's DOE Loan in which he called the Karma, "quite possibly the most beautiful four-door sedan ever." In that article, he also wrote, "The green craze is, frankly, ebbing, and interest in conventional cars remains strong." He's also called his gasoline-powered Destino the Karma that people will actually want to buy.

Reuters also notes there is another deal in the works from European and Hong Kong investors that would buy Fisker's $171-million debt that it owes the US DOE.

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Aston Martin CC100 Speedster is a 180-mph centennial celebration

Generally speaking, today's Aston Martin is known more for its beauty and power than for its minimalism or lightness. But that could change if it decides to produce a version of this CC100 Speedster concept, designed to celebrate the company's centenary. The V12-powered roadster is being unveiled at the Nordschliefe today ahead of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, where it is expected to lap the circuit with Aston CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez at the wheel. The rakish concept is a nice surprise, and will be run around the circuit along with a 1959 DBR1 with racing royalty Sir Stirling Moss in the driver's seat. No surprise, then, that designers had the company's Nürburgring- and Le Mans-winning '59 racecars in mind when they conceived of this car.

Aston says that the two-seat CC100 Speedster came together in under six months time, carbon fiber bodywork and all. Powered by the British automaker's well-known naturally aspirated 6.0-liter V12 and six-speed sequential manual paddleshift gearbox, the company estimates 0-60 in four seconds and a top speed of 180 mph. Aston claims the butterfly-doored CC100 affords onlookers with "teasing glimpses of potential future design direction," suggesting a pugnacious new face is in store for the company.

Production hopes? None are mentioned, but even if today's Aston isn't known for its minimalism or lightness, it is known for turning concepts into production cars, and we wouldn't be surprised to learn in a few months that a handful of the company's best customers have managed to cajole it into building a handful of examples.

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Porsche 918 Spyder shows its production body

We've seen it (in concept form, in officially rendered form, in flat black, and in Martini Racing livery), we've heard all about its 4.6-liter V8 with 608 horsepower, buoyed as it is by twin electric motors, its sophisticated all-wheel-drive system and carbon fiber monocoque chassis. We've even taken a ride in one. What we haven't had, up until now at least, is had all of these details about the Porsche 918 Spyder in one convenient press blast. And we also now know that it will be a introduced as a 2015 model.

Along with the official specifications, Porsche has seen fit to release a new batch of images showing its production body from all angles. We get a good look at the car's interior bits and pieces, including a few shots showing how people fit underneath the removable hardtop panel.

Porsche sums up its baby with the following words: Maximum driving fun with minimal fuel consumption. We like the sound of that, and we think it's cool that the 918 can travel up to 18 miles on electricity alone, with performance statistics that aren't far off what we had from sports cars from a few short decades ago.

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Of course, Dubai Police add Bugatti Veyron to fleet

Well, now it's official: Nobody in Dubai is going to be able to outrun the police. You see, in addition to the Aston Martin One-77, Ferrari FF and Lamborghini Aventador that were already part of its stable of police cars, the constabulary in Dubai have most recently procured a Bugatti Veyron to add to the force. And, since the Veyron is the fastest production vehicle in the world, it'd take something truly special to evade the long arm of the law.

The image you see above was tweeted by Dubai's Chief of Police, and as you can see, it's painted up in the green and white hues we've come to expect from its ilk. We do have to wonder, though, if they drilled holes in the Bugatti's roof for the light bar or if it'

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Face to giant face with the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Mercedes-Benz isn't a brand afraid to put on a show for any old reason at all – like, just because it's Tuesday – but the premiere of the 2014 S-Class, even by the standards we're used to, was Broadway-theater intense. Held at a purpose-built venue inside a hanger at the Airbus factory in Hamburg, the hours-long extravaganza was hosted by two German newscasters and guest-starred Alicia Keyes, an A380, fireworks, every model in the lineup in a choreographed driving routine while The Stig did donuts in an SLS AMG in the rain, and at the very end, burlesque. That's how much the S-Class means to this brand.

What's it going to mean to the razor's edge of the mass-market large luxury sedan market? The exterior, that's ripe for debate. But the interior – well, it just hung a sign on the segment that read, "Achtung! This,meine Damen und Herren, is how it's done."

Truth be told, we were concerned about meeting the latest conveyance of kings. We couldn't get a handle on its proportions in the photos – the homogenized face gave us pause, and the sloping rear end had us genuinely concerned that this was about to get ugly.

Turns out the car is fine. Some other introductions of late have had us worried that Mercedes is designing cars like it knows people will buy them no matter what, even if they're unattractive (SL anyone?). And they're right - the new SL will not have a problem finding new owners to please, and it is a terrific car for its class, but to our eyes the current convertible is an aesthetic step sideways and down compared to the last one. And those headlight eyebrows that are going on everything, well, let's just not get into that.

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Lexus LFA owner gets town to remove speed bump

What do you do if you have enough money to buy a Lexus LFA but can't get the car safely to your house? Get local government involved, of course. Rune Berge Vik, of Stavanger, Norway, did just that after he bought a Lexus LFA (the only LFA in the Nordic region according to tv2.no) last year only to find out that it could not clear a speed bump in his neighborhood.

To remedy the situation, Vik got in touch with his city, which had the speed bump removed. Talk about your tax dollars hard at work. On the other hand, it's commendable that the man actually uses his supercar as a daily driver, and besides, doesn't a street-legal car have the right to access said public streets?

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BMW 2 Series caught uncovered during shoot

Before we know it, the BMW 1 Series will be no more in the United States. Well, sort of. The current six-year-old coupe and convertible will be replaced by the fancy new 2 Series you see here, spotted completely uncovered during a photo shoot, with the 1 Series nomenclature being reserved for the hatchback and GT models that might not ever make it Stateside.

The roofline of the new 2 Series doesn't appear to have to changed all that much from the current 1 Series coupe, but the front and rear fascias have indeed been smoothed out. (Truth time: As much as your author adores the 1 Series, he's always found its rear end to be, well, weird.) It looks good, seen here in M235i guise, with large wheels, slimmer headlamps and large air intakes on either side of the front fascia.

The 2 Series is expected to come to the States, likely in M235i and 228i variants, though rumors suggest that we won't get a non-M 235i model. The M235i is expected to be powered by the N55 turbocharged inline-six that we currently enjoy in the 335i sedan, producing something like 320 horsepower. The 228i, unsurprisingly, should use the 2.0-liter turbo-four from the 328i, making around 240 hp. Both engines will almost certainly employ eight-speed automatic transmissions and six-speed manuals.

Look for the new coupe to make its official debut in the coming months, with production scheduled to start in November.

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Mercedes unveils the 2014 S-Class in Germany

Mercedes has finally unveiled the new S-Class and it’s done so in very apt location –at the Airbus A380 delivery hanger in the German city of Hamburg. The S-Class of course is quite easily the land based counterpart to one of the largest and most luxurious aircraft in the world. Here are the details

The design is far more dynamic with a larger front grille and A-Class-esque headlamps. The side profile has bolder creases while the roof slopes nicely into the muscular looking rear end. LEDs have been used all around and Mercedes claims that not a single bulb has been used with this car. And it’s an incredibly slippery shape with a drag coefficient of just 0.24 – a segment benchmark

The interiors like we mentioned last month are beautifully crafted in some of the finest materials. The long wheelbase model gets five different seat packages, with a maximum recline of 43.5 degrees. The seats themselves are 20kgs lighter than before. Six massage programs are on offer with heating and cooling functions. The aircon can even diffuse air into the cabin in three different modes. The top end Burmester audio system has woofers installed in the body shell to use 40 litres of air in the cross members for ultimate bass. It uses 24 speakers for an overall 1540watts of what promises to be glorious sound. The car gets a built in atomizer that which diffuses scents into the cabin. 5 specially developed scents are available and the company claims that the scents don’t linger on your clothes after you’ve left the car.

Merc's optional ‘Magic Body Control’ uses stereo cameras to monitor the road surface ahead and keep the suspension ready for any imperfections. Standard suspension includes the Adaptive Damping System and also an updated version of the Airmatic air suspension. The body itself is lighter than before thanks to extensive use of aluminium but boats 50 per cent more torsional rigidity. In typical Merc fashion the S features such an extensive list of safety features that this could quite easily be one of the safest cars on the planet. It even gets a special airbag under the rear seat that holds you in the reclined position in a crash!

Four powertrain are available for the first year – a 3-litre V6 diesel in the S350 BlueTec which should make for the bulk of sales in India, a 4.7-litre V8 biturbo petrol for the S500 and a 3.5-litre V6 hybrid petrol in the S400 Hybrid and a 2.2-litre four cylinder diesel electric hybrid for the S300 Hybrid. The more powerful AMGs should follow suit. The best car in the world is back.

By Team Overdrive
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After Lamborghini, Ferrari, Dubai cops to have Bentley, Mercedes

DUBAI: Cash-rich Dubai police has added Aston Martin, Bentley and Mercedes to its existing fleet of luxurious supercars which includes Ferrari and Lamborghini, making it the most stylish security force in the world.

 Following recent unveilings of a Ferrari FF and a Lamborghini, the force has shown off new cars from luxury UK auto maker Aston Martin, Bentley and Mercedes.

 The Aston Martin One-77, Bentley Continental GT and Mercedes SLS have been launched at the Arabian Travel Market, ArabianBusiness reported.

 Last month, Dubai's police chief said that a number of Ferraris to be introduced to the force will be driven by female officers.

 Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan had tweeted that he expected to see Dubai Police's female recruits getting behind the wheels of the Ferrari FF supercar, which costs about USD 500,000 and has a top speed of 335 kmph.

 Last month, the department made the announcement via Twitter, "Ferrari joins # Dubai_Police patrol fleet," the police tweeted. The twitter page also had an online link to the picture of the car.

 "Ferrari cars will be equipped with the latest technology needed by the police to control road movement and ensure safety and security on Dubai roads," Lt-General Khalfan had said.

 Earlier, Dubai Police also revealed its new AED2m (USD 500,000) Lamborghini which can reach speeds of up to 350 kmph. Dubai Police's fleet also includes the Toyota Land Cruiser and the Kia Mohave.

 Meanwhile, an environment-friendly car from S S Lootah has also been introduced to the Dubai Police fleet as it will improve safety works.

 Lt-Gen Khalfan said the new vehicle would help support the polices' efforts in preserving the security of the UAE residents and will provide fast service when required, especially at events when early intervention and protection of life and properties is needed.

New Mercedes S-Class interiors teased

Almost every new generation of the S- Class has been wildly impressive at launch. Based on these images of the interior we’re inclined to believe the new S is all that. There’s no word on tech specifications yet but get this. The long wheelbase model gets five different seat packages, with a maximum recline of 43.5 degrees. The seat offers six massage programs and comes with a special airbag that holds you in the reclined position in a crash. The aircon can even perfume in three modes. The base Burmester audio system has woofers installed in the body shell to use 40 litres of air in the cross members for the ultimate bass.

By Team Overdrive
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2013 Range Rover SDV8 Autobiography in India road test

In the last six months we haven’t received a single enquiry about the Range Rover. On the selector section of the OVERDRIVE show, no one wants to know anything about the Range Rover, probably, because it’s so expensive it will only be accessible to extremely limited people. With the hike in excise and import duties, prices of this flagship SUV have gone up by nearly ` 20 lakhs to around ` 1.9crore. For obvious reasons then the enquiries are non-existent.

Why is the Range Rover that expensive then? I’d assume it started off with environment issues, the Range Rover was just too heavy for its existing engines to keep it relevant amidst increasingly stricter and tighter emission norms. The way around that was to lose weight and the only way for that to happen would be to use lighter materials in the overall construction. Being an SUV with probably the best off-road credentials in the world meant that carbon fibre as an option for external body parts would not be sensible especially if owners went trampling through Borneo’s jungles or leaping off sand dunes in the Middle East.

The next best thing would be to employ aluminum, lots and lots of it. Now aluminum is a tricky metal, it’s light enough to give you the desired results, has the required torsional strength and can provide the stiffness required in more premium cars. It’s less expensive as a material compared to carbon fibre, but, it’s still nearly five times more expensive than conventional steel. And so it is that even the Range Rover is nearly five times more expensive than the average luxury SUV available in the market. That’s simply because almost everything that you can touch and feel as metal in the Range Rover is made of aluminum. There is even more aluminum in places that aren’t easily visible such as the frame, which is entirely made of that material. The Range Rover is the first SUV in the world to have an entirely aluminum frame but don’t expect it to start off a trend.

Jaguar Land Rover opens new engineering test centre in Dubai

Jaguar Land Rover has followed up on its Middle East expansion intent by opening a new engineering test centre in Dubai. With this, JLR now has four global test facilities including the ones at Arjeplog in Sweden, Nurburgring in Germany, Phoenix, International Falls in USA and the one now in Dubai, UAE. There will be development, hot weather vehicle research and testing done at the new test centre. The engineering team at the 11,120sq ft facility in Al Barsha area of Dubai will also overlook the testing of powertrain, ventilation systems and chassis. Tests on the off-road and sand tackling capabilities of the company’s Terrain Response System will also be tested here. JLR also is currently studying feasibility tests for setting up an automotive manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia, the country being rich in aluminium, one of the key components in the new-age cars made by the company.

Jaguar Land Rover Director of Engineering Technical Services Martyn Hollingsworth said: “Jaguar Land Rover has ambitious plans for growth, and since 2008 we have been investing to enhance our engineering capability to help us deliver an unprecedented number of new and refreshed Jaguar and Land Rover models. Our new facility in Dubai is four times the size of the previous test centre and will enable us to enhance our testing of future products and technologies. The engineering team is focused on the quality and durability of our products and an important part of this is rigorous environmental testing of our vehicles to ensure they can withstand even the harshest conditions.”

By Team Overdrive
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Lamborghini Urus confirmed for production in 2017

Lamborghini is having a gala party for its 50th anniversary and in the process has divulged fresh information about its upcoming and eagerly anticipated product the Urus. Apparently the concept SUV unveiled last year at the Beijing Auto Show has gathered much interest amongst the enthusiasts and is scheduled to be put into production in 2017. There were also patents for its technology filed in China earlier this year and a few months after that, there were hints that the Urus is slated to hit the roads by 2017. The Urus shares its MQB platform with the current Porsche Cayenne, VW Touareg and Audi Q7, all of which will see a new look by 2017. Lamborghini will also be looking at the Urus as its number raker in the Chinese markets and in the developing regions. Prices are expected to be around the Rs 90 lakh mark when it hits the market. Will definitely be a worthy successor to that LM002.

By Team Overdrive
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