New Cars Garage

The next generation E-Class will make its world debut at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show and sales will begin in early 2010. This latest spy shots came from the Arlanda International Airport.

Mercedes will abandon SBC in favour of conventional brakes, although they will boast features such as wet-weather disc wiping and wheel-selective cornering brake control. The 2009 E-Class will be powered by the usual V6- and V8-engines, plus a normally aspirated, 500-plus-bhp 6.3-litreV8 for the E63 AMG model.

Proton Saga BLM, another car by Malaysia brand, Proton. The Proton BLM will have a wheelbase of 2465mm, which is 70mm longer than the Proton Savvy’s because of the extended platform. The car is 4257mm long. Width has also been increased to 1680mm not inclusive of wing mirrors, compared to the Perodua Myvi’s 1665mm and the Viva’s 1475mm. Front and rear track is 1446mm, 26mm wider than the Savvy’s.

We also got to see the new 1.3 liter Campro engine with the IAFM module in the engine bay of the frame - in this car it was mated to a 5-speed manual transmission, but the driveshafts were not connected to the front wheels. The IAFM module is essentially a variable intake geometry system.

No official specs on the engine at the moment, but Proton managing director Syed Zainal himself noted that he had personally test driven the car and throttle response was quite spritely, unlike the lethargic feeling you get at low revs with the original Campro engine.

With all the leaked information, photos and spyshots of the Proton BLM all over the internet, how the new IAFM-equipped Campro engine drives is perhaps the car’s best guarded secret, and one of the most important things about the car.

Proton also aims to sell between 4,500 to 5,000 units of the new Proton BLM every month. The Proton BLM will be launched on the 18th of January 2007. 3,000 bookings for the car have been made since bookings opened on the 1st this month.

Mechanical
Lancer Ralliart is powered by the new 4B11 2.0-liter DOHC MIVEC intercooled and turbocharged engine (also used in the Lancer Evolution) that develops an estimated 235 horsepower. The engine is mated to Mitsubishi’s efficient Twin Clutch-SST gearbox that helps enhance the sporty nature of the vehicle by allowing the driver to execute lightning-quick, silky-smooth, paddle-actuated shifts. The TC-SST transmission also operates in fully automatic modes for Normal and Sport driving conditions.

The Lancer Ralliart’s full-time 4WD driveline features Mitsubishi’s Active Center Differential (ACD). The ACD unit employs an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch center differential, vectoring drive torque to the front and rear according to different driving conditions to realize the best balance between steering response and traction characteristics on Tarmac, Gravel, or Snow surfaces.
Lancer Ralliart is also equipped with front helical limited slip differential and a rear differential mechanical limited slip differential.

Design
Elaborating on the basic sporty design and proportions of the Lancer, the Lancer Ralliart exterior is distinguished by its more aggressively styled front bumper design, rear bumper cover, dual outlet muffler and a lightweight aluminum, ducted hood that delivers cooling air to the turbocharger.

The interior design places greater emphasis on function and vehicle control. Lancer Ralliart is equipped with FAST key, Bluetooth® hands-free telephone interface, the same Twin Clutch-SST shifter used on Lancer Evolution, and easily accessible steering column mounted paddle shifters.

Available equipment and options to include: Recaro seats, HID headlights, 650-watt Rockford Fosgate 9-speaker audio system, Sirius satellite radio, power sunroof, and a 30-gigabyte hard drive navigation system with digital music server.

The V12 TDI is closely related to the engine in the Audi R10, the two-time Le Mans winner – so it catapults the Audi R8 into supercar terrain concerning performance too. It sprints from zero to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in just 4.2 seconds and its top speed is well over 300 km/h (186.41 mph). The peak torque, reached at only 1,750 rpm, paves the way for effortless acceleration that is unrivaled even at this level.

The new V12 TDI belongs to Audi’s family of V engines but has the ideal included angle for this engine type of 60 degrees between cylinder banks. Its highlights include the new chain drive layout that includes the two newly developed high-pressure pumps for the common rail injection system. Its sound is as thrilling as you’d expect in a sports car of this caliber. For all the subtle smoothness that typifies this design principle, the twelve-cylinder unit is full-bodied and equipped with energetic overtones that make no secret of its performance potential.

The Genes of the Winner
Thanks to their high performance and pulling power, all Audi TDI engines are ultra-dynamic sources of power. The brand has often enough demonstrated its sporty character in its production cars, especially the six- and eight-cylinder 3.0 TDI and 4.2 TDI. Audi has also been writing a new chapter in its success story on the racetrack since 2006. The diesel engine in the R10 sports prototype won its very first endurance race at Sebring, Florida, when it was pitted against an entire field of gasoline-engined challengers. But its most crucial victories were surely in 2006 and 2007 in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, when it simply outclassed the international elite.

The V12 TDI race engine in the R10 produces over 650 hp from a displacement of 5.5 liters, giving it the potential for a top speed as high as 330 km/h (205.05 mph) depending on the gear ratios. Its power and sturdiness immediately impressed both fans and experts, who were impressed by its restrained noise level. Unusual for a race engine, this powerful Audi diesel makes barely more than a whisper.

Long traditions of motor racing and production technology complement each other at Audi. The FSI engine of the R10’s predecessor, the R8, captured five wins at Le Mans with a direct gasoline injection system. Audi is also looking to maximize the advantage by using the race-tested FSI principle in its production models. The latest examples of this are the V8 with high-revving concept in the RS 4 and the production version of the Audi R8.

The New Berlingo will go on sale in second-half 2008. It will be sold alongside the current Berlingo model, which will be available in some countries as an entry-level offering called “Berlingo First”. This strategy will enable the Marque to better meet the highly diverse needs of its customers.

New Citroën Berlingo car: The comfort of a saloon and the practicality of an MPV

Adapting to all situations, the Berlingo meets customers’ growing needs for freedom and versatility in use.

The New Berlingo retains the ultra-functional, family-friendly character of the original and strengthens its personality with dynamic, upmarket styling that also identifies it immediately as a Citroën. It boasts saloon-like levels of comfort – acoustics in particular – and MPV-style practicality (tailgate with opening window, three independent removable seats in row two, a redesigned Modutop® and an overhead storage rack). It is also a great car to drive, thanks to a longer wheelbase and C4 Picasso running gear.

And with its 110 bhp HDi diesel engine fitted with a particulate filter (DPFS), the New Berlingo carries the Airdream environmental signature that denotes the greenest models in Citroën’s range.

New Citroën Berlingo LCV: Practical and functional, yet strong on styling and comfort

The compact van version of the New Berlingo is big on load volume, payload and versatility, which are key features for professionals. It has a huge loading area (3.3 m3, up to 850 kg of payload and 1.8 m of useful length) that can take two Europallets width-wise, and is available with an Extenso® modular cabin, able to transport loads up to 3 metres long and increase useful load to 3.7 m3 or seat three people at the front.

The New Berlingo also offers passengers saloon-like levels of equipment for comfort and driving pleasure, including hill start assist, a height- and reach-adjustable steering wheel, C4 Picasso running gear and ESP. The New Berlingo is a modern working tool that confers prestige on its owners through its robust and dynamic styling.

The launch of the New Berlingo follows those of new Jumper, new Jumpy and Citroën’s latest compact van, Nemo. Citroën thus offers professionals the largest and most complete line-up of light commercial vehicles in its history, covering a wide range of needs, from 2.5 m3 to 17 m3 of load volume and up to two tonnes of payload.

The company says that it has yet to experience any impact from the credit squeeze. Ian Robertson, Rolls-Royce’s managing director, said that the danger is not so much in the spending power of its customers, who are generally very wealthy, but in sentiment. “In the Florida region, we didn’t sell a car for six or seven weeks after Hurricane Katrina. I think people didn’t feel it was right,” Mr Robertson said.

JD Power, the automotive analysis company, is tipping the top-end luxury market to be weaker next year because of the credit crunch, while 2009 is predicted to be flat and 2010 a year of modest growth. It adds, however, that the market is hugely swayed by new products, because there are relatively few models to buy, so the baby Rolls is expected to be very influential in shaping the market.