Posts by author: Gill

Pagani Zonda R is the New Nurburgring God

by (RSS feed) July 5th, 2010 at 10:50 am

The Nurburgring is so amazing that it has become the epicenter of ‘ego battle’ between carmakers that aim at performance. A huge number of vehicles target to get ahead of the Nordschelife record lap time for their specific category. The German tarmac has a capacity to serve far more than its original testing and racing purposes. These vehicles and competitions have transformed as a great instrument for marketing. Sites like Nurburgring, even attract attention of spy photographers and have turned out to be one of their hot spots.

pagani zonda r smashes nurburgring record 21925 1 519x470 Pagani Zonda R is the New Nurburgring God

The main motive for a grand gamut of go-fast vehicles is not only to obliterate the ring record but to beat it significantly. Pagani Zonda R is one such latest car which has been able to achieve such a feat. According to reports by the Top Gear Italia, Pagani Zonda R has fired through the entire track in 6 m and 47 s. Still, this record is not the main record that most super powered car producers intend to beat. Instead of it, the car makers aim at targeting the best time in the category incorporating racing versions of the road legal machines. To be more precise about this category of super cars, it includes the most admired “la crème de le crème” of the automotive world, inaugurated by Ferrari F599XX, better known as the consumer racing program of Ferrari.

It is a fact that the Ferrari F599XX’s record time was easily beaten by the sports version of Pagani Zonda. The racing horse’s racer also achieved a Nordschelife lap time of 6.58 minutes.

There are merely 15 units of Zonda R in the whole word. It is a ‘super vehicle’ that weighs just 1070 kg and is propelled by 6 L V12 unit custom developed by AMG. The engine punishes the wheel at the rear with 750 hp and an earth shattering torque of 710 Nm. The car is priced at EUR 500,000 and manages to sprint from 0 to 62 miles per hour in mere 2.7 seconds.

Nicolas Hayek: A Legend Passes Away

by (RSS feed) July 5th, 2010 at 10:24 am

Nicolas Hayek, a renowned figure behind the success of ‘Smart’ car and Swiss Watch Company, has left the world. He has left behind all his fantastic creations as an inheritance to the humankind. An eminent engineer, he completed 82 years of age and left us on 28th June as a result of heart attack that hit him at his workplace in Switzerland.

hayek oddjob Nicolas Hayek: A Legend Passes Away

Nicolas Hayek

During the beginning of 80s, Nicolas Hayek came forward with an idea that proclaimed at offering swatch timepieces in various hues that too at low and affordable prices. For this target he used various marketing techniques that helped in promotion of the products giving the sales a commendable success. His similar creative approach for an automobile gave birth to the ‘Smart’ car.

The smart car was highly compact as it could give room to only two people. It even facilitated its users with body films that were interchangeable. It helped the users easily change its exterior colors. It even had diesel-electric solution which enabled the vehicle to provide stupendous mileage. Hayek was the sole inventor of this smart car and he needed to club himself with some automotive producer who would provide him ways to implement his concept in an effective manner. Hayek intended to partner with VW and ultimately ended up shaking hands with Mercedes as the former agreement did not bear fruit. With the passage of time he gave up the business since Mercedes-Benz refused to implement the diesel-electric solution invented by Hayek. The chapter of the smart car with this solution ended then and there. These hybrid solutions have not yet made it to the present market and are still a project lurking midway.

Now that Hayek is no more, both admired brands, ‘Swatch’ and ‘Smart’, serve as a tribute to him and his creative inventions. His brilliant concepts and invincible courage helped him to bring his dreams to life.

Mercedes-Benz ‘Designo’ to Include Matte Finish

by (RSS feed) July 3rd, 2010 at 12:08 pm

How many of you are fascinated by the matte finish? And would you choose it for your Mercedes-Benz? If yes, then you are not the only one who thinks this way. In an official announcement, the German car-maker said that matte paint finish will be offered as a standard option under its Designo program. The customization program aims to extend this service to a number of Mercedes-Benz models.

mercedes benz offering factory matte paint 21874 1 597x357 Mercedes Benz ‘Designo’ to Include Matte Finish

Lately, the matte paint finish for vehicles has become all the rage especially in the tuning realm. Mercedes-Benz wants to cash in on the latest trend by including the matte paint finish in the 2011 Designo program under the name called ‘Magno’. The company claims that unlike street matte paints, their finish creates a better-quality scratch resistance vehicular surface. The factory paint also hides trivial dust/dirt particles better as compared to the traditional finishes. Well, that claim has to be verified in the real world to be believed. So, let’s wait and see.

Mercedes-Benz’s official customization program called ‘Designo’ offers exclusive paint finishes and an assortment of custom-made interior features. Some of these features include hand-stitched leather seat/dash finishes and tailored interior trim elements utilizing exotic finishes like deep black piano, glossy, natural stone, wood and lacquer. Some new colors added to the design program include Cashmere white, Allanite Grey, and Platinum.

In 2011, more standard models will be covered under the designo program which includes the S-Klasse, E-Klasse, SLS AMG, CL-Klasse, M-Klasse, SL-Klasse, and G-Klasse.

President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Canada, Marcus Breitschwerdt, said, “Owning a Mercedes-Benz vehicle is an extension of personal style. The designo program empowers customers to select from a myriad of exclusive trims, distinctive colors and top quality materials to design a vehicle that reflects their own discerning tastes and individual preferences. The elegant and graceful lines of our sedans, the aggressive styling of our coupes and cabriolet models and the ergonomic and luxurious interiors for all our vehicles provide an ideal starting point for customers to build their own, bespoke masterpiece.”

The New and Improved: Mercedes-Benz Vito

by (RSS feed) July 3rd, 2010 at 6:08 am

Alongside the new CL Class, Mercedes-Benz has another surprise waiting for its customers, albeit a more practical one. The new generation of Vito vans has been launched. The move is a part of Mercedes-Benz’s efforts to refresh company’s commercial vehicles range since the news came right after the company launched an updated Viano.

mercedes benz presents new generation vito 22013 1 597x339 The New and Improved: Mercedes Benz Vito

The most obvious changes to the exterior are signified by the redesigned headlights, bestowing a white collar look to the commercial vehicle. The new bumpers, both front and rear, mark other significant exterior updates. As far as interiors are concerned, the newer version offers improved overall cabin quality, a new color combination and easy-to-use ergonomic controls. The cabin noise levels have also been lowered considerably due to improved sound-proofing.

The technology section is where the most key changes have taken place. New generation Vito has made crucial strides towards the efficiency path. The engine now meets the tougher Euro VI emission regulations. Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions have been lowered by up to 15 %. The engine lineup of the New Vito boasts of units 95 to 258 hp engine units all mated to six speed transmissions. Major technological updates include the sophisticated BlueEFFICIENCY features such as a engine stop/start system and low resistance tires.

The workhorse capabilities of Vito have also been improved. Its payload capacity has been enhanced by installing an improved suspension and improving chassis dynamics. Customers can choose from different suspension configuration to meet the requirements of a crew-bus model or high payload van.

Officially, the company sums up the new Vito in four points, namely:

  • Drive system: extremely economical and clean
  • Optional BlueEFFICIENCY technology
  • Robust and resilient: payload capacity increased, suspension renewed
  • Improved comfort; noise levels considerably reduced

New GLK Boasts of an Entry Level 2.1 L Diesel Engine

by (RSS feed) July 3rd, 2010 at 4:32 am

Mercedes-Benz has launched a new engine for the GLK series of cars. The new diesel engine is a gem displacing 2.1-liters to produce a decent 136 hp. This latest 220 CDI BlueEfficiency configuration will serve the purpose of an entry level engine in the entire GLK lineup.

Mercedes-Benz has released some impressive figures to go with the new GLK engine lineup. The 2.1 liter engine runs on diesel and manages a remarkable fuel consumption figure of 40.5 mpg (5.8l/100km) in the new GLK lineup. These figures are for a combined cycle when a manual transmission was fitted in the new GLK. The fuel consumption figures after installing an automatic transmission rose a little to 37.9 mpg (6.2l/100km).

2010 mercedes benz glk class 1 588x441 New GLK Boasts of an Entry Level 2.1 L Diesel Engine
The Mercedes-Benz GLK series of cars run in direct competition with the Acura RDX, Infinity EX, Audi Q5 and BMW X3. The current range boasts of four engines consisting of two petrols and two diesels, namely:  350 4Matic and 280 4Matic, and 320 CD 4Matic and 220 CD 4Matic, respectively.

Out of these, the top of the line engine sits under the bonnet of 350 4Matic developing an impressive 272 hp and a torque of 350 Nm. This performance variant propels the car from zero to sixty in flash 6.7 seconds on to a top speed of 143 mph (230 km/h).Despite such performance figures, it returns a remarkable 22.6 mpg for the combined cycle.

Codenamed X204, the GLK range is manufactured in Germany (Bremen), Brazil and Mexico. Current C-Klasse platform forms the basis of GLK range, though, the design of the car continues the GL-Klasse legacy.



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