The 2013 Audi R8 Spyder
- Skoda has announced a price hike across its range effective August. The hike will be up to 1.8 per cent and is due to high input costs and an unfavourable exchange rate.
- Mahindra will launch facelift version of the Verito tomorrow. There won’t be any mechanical changes in the refreshed model; just a few design tweaks to keep the novelty factor along with few additional features.
- Ford Figo facelift has been caught testing once again (courtesy: Cardekho) and we are expecting the new model to be launched before end of September. The fresh set of photos reveal a new tail lamp cluster, along with a fresh bright yellow colour that looks nice on the B-segment hatchback.
- There are rumours that Sachin Tendulkar will be the brand ambassador for the new BMW 3-Series, which will be launched on this Friday – 27, July 2012. Stay tuned, as we get you more updates including the prices, specs, variants and features, straight from the launch ceremony in Mumbai.
- Eicher and Polaris have signed a JV that will see them enter the personal vehicle segment. Eicher makes commercial vehicles in India, and Polaris sells off-road vehicles, so an SUV might be a possibility from the JV. However, in the short term we expect Polaris to use Eicher's sister concern Royal Enfield's network to sell Victory motorcycles from its own stable.
- Pete's, the well-known name for performance enhancements for cars, has opened a new detailing and performance shop at the International Hotel on MG Road, Cochin.
- Audi has revealed the 2013 refresh of the R8. Among the changes are LED lamps for the entire range, a seven-speed dual clutch S-tronic transmission, a more powerful V10 engine and a new flagship V10 Plus model that offers bits of carbonfibre on the bodywork like the R8 GT.
- French car manufacturer Renault and Qualcomm Incorporated, one of the world's foremost companies in 3G and wireless technology, have announced an MoU that will see them co-operate on trials for wireless charging for electric vehicles in London, UK. Qualcomm's Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging system will be installed in a few Renault vehicles. Delta Motorsport's E-4 Coupe EV will also be part of the exercise and trials will commence sometime this year.
- Schneider electric and electric vehicle charging point operator Engenie have begun rolling out the UK's first rapid-charging network that will cover the entire country. These chargers aren't wireless like the ones described in the paragraph above, but will charge a car's depleted battery to full in as little as thirty minutes.
- Denso and Toyota are developing a vehicle-to-home power supply that can use plug-in hybrid vehicles to use electrical energy efficiently via a battery in the house. The car can charge the battery for the house if required, and the battery makes the need for a conventional quick-charger redundant, as it can help charge the vehicle for a 20km range in just 15 minutes - and without the extra load on the electric supply that a quick charger means.
- A world record 60 Ferrari F40s lined up at the Silverstone Circuit in the UK at this year's Silverstone Classic to commemorate its 25th anniversary. The F40 is the world's first 200mph/320kph car, and that still is the yardstick for supercars today.
- McLaren will shut down both its road car and F1 programme units for 14 days this summer - the latter is mandated by law, but the Woking company has chosen to shut down its road car operations simultaneously.
- There seems to be a 'dead zone' in the city of Yonkers, New York, USA where car remotes refuse to work. This isn't much of a problem as far as door unlocking is concerned, but with a lot of today's cars also depending on keyless ignition, owners have to resort to getting their cars towed out of the dead zone to restart their cars.
