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To the younger generation, Aston Martin may seem like a newcomer to Formula 1, the brand was in the sport 60 years ago, entering the DBR4 and DBR5 in the 1959 and 1960 championship seasons. As it was not very successful, it focussed instead on sportscar racing which it was more successful in, with multiple class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

This year will see Aston Martin back in Formula 1 Grand Prix racing as its team will make its race debut on March 21 at the opening round in Melbourne, Australia. The racing cars will be revealed in February, but it is already known that the drivers will be 4-time Formula 1 World Champion, Sebastian Vettel and multiple Grand Prix podium finisher, Lance Stroll.

“Formula 1 is a hugely powerful platform that will play a key part in the overall Aston Martin strategy as we seek to take the company forward. It is a truly global sport with a huge audience that we believe can help reignite the brand and further increase its desirability all over the world. This is a brand that has already had huge success in top-level international motorsport such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans – and now we have an opportunity to write a new page in the history books. That’s a hugely exciting prospect for anyone who is a lover of the Aston Martin brand, for fans of Formula 1 and the sport itself,” said Lawrence Stroll, Aston Martin Lagonda Executive Chairman and also the father of Lance.

Brand awareness
Aston Martin understands the power of Formula 1 when it comes to brand awareness. Much work has already been done and achieved via the company’s title sponsorship of Red Bull Racing in previous seasons, Now the brand will go up a notch as it joins the F1 elite as a manufacturer.

Though it has been 60 years since Aston Martin raced in F1, its Wings have been on Red Bull Racing’s cars in recent years as title sponsor.

Otmar Szafnauer, who is the CEO & Team Principal, said: “We’ve had almost a year of preparation to reach this point and we’re really looking forward to seeing the reaction when we finally unveil our new identity as the Aston Martin Formula One Team.”

“Representing such an iconic brand is a huge privilege for every member of the team. We’ve earned a well-deserved reputation for punching above our weight, so we’re confident we can do the Aston Martin name proud right from the get-go. It’s the start of a new journey and I can sense an extra energy in the team, with a determination to push performance further than ever before. Combined with some of the most creative minds in the business, a true racers’ mentality and the can-do spirit that has served us so well through the years, we have every reason to be excited about the future,” he said.

11 years separate the ages of the two drivers for the team – Sebastian Vettel (33) and Lance Stroll (22).

A team with a 29-year history
The Aston Martin Formula 1 Team may be a new name on the starting grid of the 2021 F1 World Championship but the team itself has a history that goes back to the days of the Jordan Racing team in 1991. The team went through various owners until the end of 2007, when Indian businessman Vijay Mallya bought it over. It was then renamed Force India, a name it would use in the championship for 10 years that followed, until 2018. However, during 2018, Mallya had financial problems which led to him having to let go of the team and it was acquired by Racing Point UK. This was a consortium led by Canadian businessman Lawrence Stroll and its ownership of the racing team gave it entry to F1.

In earlier years, before it was the Racing Point Team, it was known as Force India.
The Aston Martin F1 Team is the new name for the BWT Racing Point Team which raced in the 2020 season, finishing fourth overall.

The team at first had SportPesa as a title sponsor in 2019 but then the East African company pulled out and in the following season, BWT (an Austrian company making water treatment systems) took over as title sponsor.

Stroll became Executive Chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda last year after leading a strong investment consortium to take a shareholding in the company. The consortium  made a £182 million investment and gained a 16.7% stake. Stroll is a Canadian billionaire, is well known in the fashion industry, with shares in Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors. He is a car-lover with a collection of vintage Ferraris and has been involved in F1 via brand sponsorships for many years.

Aston Martin’s F1 racing years
The 1950s were an exciting time for Aston Martin. Company owner Sir David Brown, who had acquired the business in 1947 before adding the Lagonda brand later that same year, was steadily creating finely styled British sportscars of growing appeal.

Sir David recognised the importance of motorsport to the brand’s commercial success and, in 1955, made plans to develop and enter cars that would take on the best competition in both the World Sportscar Championship and the still relatively new Formula 1 World Championship.

The history books focus on the famous achievements of the Le Mans-winning DBR1, and the DB3S that preceded it, but the initial venture into single seaters, DP155, could be seen as a valuable learning exercise for the brand. As a precursor to the later 1950s Grand Prix cars and alongside this project, Sir David initiated work on a new engine, and a new road car design that would become the DB4.

From this was born the DBR4 and although testing began as early as 1957, it was not until 1959 that the car made its competition debut at the BRDC International Trophy event, run to Formula 1 rules, at Silverstone in May of that year.

Two cars competed and car No. 1, driven by 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Roy Salvadori, came in a creditable second behind Jack Brabham in a Cooper-Climax T51. Powered by a 2493cc, dry sump, 6-cylinder RB250 engine, from the same basic design as the DBR1 sportscar engine, the DBR4/250 was a 256 bhp spaceframe single-seater which weighed 575 kgs.

Despite being driven by some of the star names of the era, Salvadori and Carroll Shelby among them, the front-engined DBR4 was out of step with the new mid-engined competition and failed to mirror in Formula 1 what its DBR1 cousin famously achieved in the sportscar arena. After a disappointing debut for its successor, the DBR5, Aston Martin withdrew from single seater motorsport in 1960 and gave its full attention to sportscar racing.

In spite of many weeks of forced shutdown during the first half of 2020, Perodua bounced back in the second half to not only make up for the lost period of sales but even managed to exceed its forecast of 210,000 units by 10,154 units for a total of 220,154 vehicles (registered nationwide).

The achievement was helped by the government’s PENJANA stimulus program which gave exemption of sales tax to the auto industry, and for Perodua customers, that meant saving the 10% normally imposed. As reported recently, the sales tax exemption has been extended and will be allowed up till the end of June 2021.

“We thank all Malaysians for choosing Perodua and the government for extending the sales tax exemption under PENJANA to sustain the sales momentum which the automotive industry is now enjoying,” said Perodua President & CEO, Dato’ Zainal Abidin Ahmad.

Measures to protect customers and employees are in place at all Perodua outlets in accordance with Standard Operating Procedures specified by the Health Ministry.

He added that Perodua manufactured 220,968 vehicles in 2020 despite temporarily halting production between March and May 2020 due to the Movement Control Order (MCO). “Despite this, the tax exemption introduced in June 2020 succeeded in spurring car buyers’ interest that was able to sustain the players as well as the local automotive ecosystem,” he said.

One million EEVs
“Perodua also hit the one million Energy-Efficient Vehicle (EEV) milestone in November 2020 – exactly two years after achieving the first half-million. This further solidifies our position as Malaysia’s largest EEV manufacturer,” said Dato’ Zainal.

Perodua
Besides being busy selling and delivering new vehicles, Perodua also upheld its role as a good corporate citizen by providing protective equipment and other necessities to hospitals, schools and government agencies during the year in support of the fight against COVID-19.

The better-than-expected sales achievement had a direct positive impact on the Malaysian automotive ecosystem, helping both independent parts suppliers and dealers weather the challenges in 2020. Perodua has always been mindful of the need to help its suppliers and dealers to maintain a healthy business position.

Dato’ Zainal said that for now, Perodua will continue to fulfil outstanding orders and push for higher sales in 2021. The target for the year will be announced later on.

To locate a showroom to view, test or buy a Perodua vehicle, visit www.perodua.com.my.

Like Volvo (and Saab), Polestar is a Swedish brand and ‘lives’ in a region with a lot of snow and ice as well as long periods of darkness in the winter months. As such, the cars that it has developed would have received a lot of extra attention relating to grip, stability and of course cabin insulation, among other things. After all, the engineers who go to work daily experience extremely cold and slippery conditions which they would want to ensure the cars they develop are safe in such conditions.

Lighting is also very important, not only to illuminate the road ahead but also make the car visible to others. Even in the daytime, the lighting levels may be low, reducing when it snows. So the designers also pay extra attention to the lighting systems and the Polestar 2 electric performance fastback gets highly advanced lighting technology.

Pixel LED Headlights
For example, the Polestar 2 ‘Launch Edition’ comes with standard Pixel LED headlights, an active high beam technology as well as a ‘welcome sequence’ that activates when the vehicle is unlocked. A total of 84 individual LED pixels form a matrix in each lamp; within this matrix, each LED is controlled individually.

In turn, this allows the headlights to shade out their light in the path of up to 5 leading or oncoming vehicles when in motion. The functionality allows the driver to leave their lights on high beam, enabling maximum forward visibility at all times without blinding other road users, and without having to think about switching between modes.

“When you drive Polestar 2, especially in the dark, you really understand how much this technology increases safety,” explained Polestar CEO, Thomas Ingenlath. “LED lighting also allows for creativity, and the light signatures we have designed are unmistakable. They are distinctive and people will know you are driving a Polestar.”

Front foglights with cornering support utilize energy efficient LED technology and activate automatically at low speeds according to steering or turn signal input, further enhancing visibility when maneuvering the vehicle.

Intelligent rear lighting technology
At the rear of the Polestar 2, the signature rear lighting has no less than 288 LEDs in a distinctive full-width wrap-around light bar, featuring unique welcome and farewell lighting sequences. The rear light bar includes adaptive lighting technology. In daylight, the brightness is increased to ensure optimal visibility of the light signature. At night, the LEDs automatically dim to prevent drivers behind from being dazzled.

Only if regulations permit
Pixel LED technology is available for all markets but only if regulations allow. At present, regulations in the USA do not allow such functionality so the cars sold there will not have it. However, should the regulations change in future, the feature can be activated with a software update. Owners won’t even have to bring their cars to a service centre for this as it can be transmitted over-the-air (OTA) free of charge. OTA updates for other systems can also be provided, ensuring that the car operates optimally all the time.

Polestar 2

The owl isn’t known for any speed records but there is one ‘owl’ that has an acceleration record. It’s the Aspark Owl and was recently confirmed as the quickest accelerating car in the world – 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 1.72 seconds, set at the Misano World Circuit in Italy. It is also the first Japanese all-electric hypercar to go into production for commercial sale.

“It’s a great honour for us to announce this achievement, reached in a record time,” said Aspark CEO Masanori Yoshida. “In 2015 when we decided to start this project, no one believed it could have been done”.

2021 Aspark Owl

From concept to production in 3 years
The Owl was first shown as a concept in 2017 and a production prototype was displayed at the 2019 Dubai Motor Show.  The original plan had been to start first deliveries in the second quarter of 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the schedule. Production is now underway with a limited series of 50 cars to be available worldwide, each one priced from 2,900,000 euros (about RM14.4 million). The Owl will be offered by selected dealers in North America, Europe and Japan, as well as the Middle East.

The hypercar is the product of Aspark, a Japanese company which ventured into car manufacturing in recent years. The company was founded in 2005 by Yoshida and has global operations providing engineering and R&D  services for the automotive industry, as well as for electronic, industrial and medical sectors. It has a Technology Development Centre in Japan and also carries out development and production of the Owl hypercar in Turin, Italy.

2021 Aspark Owl

2021 Aspark Owl

The Owl is the first of a series of extreme and disruptive automotive projects planned by the Osaka-based company.  It has the most powerful powertrain with 4 electric motors ever made. The rotational speed of each motor is 15,000 rpm, said to be the fastest in the world.

They produce a total output of 1,480 kW (2012 horsepower), with maximum torque of around 2,000 Nm. That’s 3 times more power than Formula E electric racing cars and 2 times more than today’s Formula 1 cars.

Unique Battery Monitoring System
The centrally mounted unique shape of the battery pack is specifically designed and developed for the Owl. The lithium-ion battery pack has a total capacity of 1,300 kW and can be charged within 80 minutes with 44 kW system.

2021 Aspark Owl

One of the strongest characteristics of the battery pack is the Battery Monitoring System, which continuously monitors the level of each cell and protects the battery from overcharge, over-discharge, overheat and more. This safety device keeps the battery system under automatic control.

Carbonfibre monocoque structure
The chassis of the Owl is a single piece carbonfibre monocoque structure. The overall weight of the chassis is only 120 kgs. Honeycomb features are used on the chassis in order to absorb the shock as much as possible and to increase the safety. The body of the Owl, weighing 180 kgs,  is completely made with the highest quality level of CFRP, which has high stiffness, an extreme level of lightness and a great beauty.

2021 Aspark Owl

Stainless steel frames under the carbonfibre roof and a combination of steel frames with high stiffness ensure maximum safety for the occupants in the cockpit in case the car rolls over. It is just 99 cm tall, but the ride height can be varied between 80 and 160 mm.

“By accelerating the final stage of the Owl project in Italy and establishing a new legal subsidiary in Switzerland (Aspark Promotion AG) dedicated to the hypercar business, Aspark reinforces its international presence outside Japan,” said Head of Sales and Communication, “We are not only delivering the premium-level hypercars to our customers, but we also take the full responsibility for aftersales, right level of warranty and full product liability.”

COVID-19 Facemask

The first member of the Bentley Mulliner Coachbuilt portfolio – the Bacalar – is now undergoing final test, development and durability work ahead of the start of build next year of 12 pre-sold customer cars. The on-car validation programmes have been condensed into an extremely busy schedule covering 20 weeks, which started this month.

So far, the car – designated Bacalar Car Zero – has completed wind tunnel-based aerodynamic assessment, high speed stability and top speed testing, handling and dynamics evaluations, appraisal of noise and vibration, and careful thermal measurements. It now enters a period of ongoing customer-focused mileage accumulation and durability work, before a phase of climate cycle testing up to 80°C and an intensive electrical system validation.

Bentley Mulliner Bacalar Car Zero

The purpose-built engineering prototype and the first barchetta-style Bentley of the modern era is already accumulating mileage and passing crucial quality tests at a variety of locations around Europe.

All of this work is vital to sign-off the new and bespoke nature of the Bacalar. It incorporates a total of more than 750 new components, all of which have to pass Bentley’s exceptionally stringent quality, functionality and durability standards. More than 40 of those parts are crafted in carbonfibre, while a complement of nearly 100 are produced using rapid additive manufacture techniques.

2021 Bentley Mulliner Bacalar

“Very much like Blower Car Zero that we unveiled earlier, Bacalar Car Zero is the crucial prototype that we’re using to sign-off the design, engineering and craftsmanship of this ground-breaking part of Bentley Mulliner’s future. The Bacalar is a thoroughly modern iteration of the coachbuilt Bentleys of the past – extremely rare, entirely handcrafted, totally bespoke to each customer and exquisite in its details. The whole team behind the car is thrilled to see the prototype shrugging off every test we throw at it, and we’re really looking forward to starting the build of the 12 customer cars,” said Bentley’s Director of Mulliner, Paul Williams.

2021 Bentley Mulliner Bacalar
Each of the 12 cars (already sold) will be uniquely personalised to the requirements of the customer.

Just 12 examples of this striking, limited edition model are being created, guaranteeing rarity and  exclusivity. The Bacalar looks to the future of bespoke luxury motoring as each model will be handcrafted according to the individual customer’s personal tastes.

This exceptionally rare car is appropriately named after Laguna Bacalar in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, a lake renowned for its breathtaking natural beauty, continuing Bentley’s strategy of naming cars after remarkable landmarks which started with Bentayga in 2015.

Bentley Mulliner will personalise a car in any way specified by the customer… even with this rainbow finish.

The Bacalar brought to life by Bentley Mulliner is a roofless Barchetta design with all-new and highly muscular coachwork. Embracing a myriad of options and materials, each Bacalar will be truly unique, the result of direct interaction between the Bentley Mulliner design team and the individual customer.

2021 Bentley Mulliner Bacalar

The Bacalar features an enhanced version of Bentley’s 6-litre, W12 TSI engine. Claimed to be the most advanced 12-cylinder engine in the world, it produces 659 ps/900 Nm, delivered to the wheels through an advanced Active All-Wheel-Drive System. The system allows the Bacalar to use rear-wheel drive as much as possible during normal driving for optimum efficiency and dynamic performance.

The Bacalar shares no body panel with any other car in the Bentley model line-up and derives inspiration from the dramatic EXP 100 GT concept car conceived to mark the company’s centenary last year. Indeed, it only shares one exterior component with a Continental GT – the door handle, simply because it contains the keyless entry system.

EXP 100 GT concept

The rear clamshell, wings and top deck of the Bacalar are crafted from carbonfibre, while the doors are lightweight aluminium. Combined with the use of three-dimensional printing, it has allowed designers to create an even more distinctive car.

The exterior look of each model is completed in collaboration with individual customers, who have been able to further personalise their car, choosing from rare paint options, exterior treatments and design themes. The Bacalar represents a return to the exciting early years of Bentley, allowing owners to help shape the car of their dreams.

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