English Archives

Piston.my

English

F1 / Round 17: 2022 Singapore Grand Prix Highlights And Results

It’s Singapore, so rain was not unexpected and in the hours before the F1 race started, commentators were saying things like ‘buckets’ and ‘dumped with enough water to sail a small boat’. Due to the heavy rain, the scheduled 8 pm start was delayed for an hour to 9:05 pm. Even though the rain eased about 20 minutes before the start time, at least 24 mm of water had fallen on the track.

Heavy rain notwithstanding, the fans turned up in the biggest number in the 13-year history of the event, with attendance of 302,000 spectators. That was 2,000 more than the first F1 race in 2008 and according to Singapore’s Transport minister, about 50% were from overseas.

(more…)

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s Rovanpera Wins Rally New Zealand To Become Youngest WRC Champ

Kalle Rovanpera, 22 years old, has become the youngest ever winner of a World Rally Championship (WRC) title after winning Rally New Zealand. Driving for the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team with co-driver Jonne Halttunen, Rovanpera is only in his third season of rallying at the top tier of the sport.

The Finnish driver, who father also took part in the WRC before, is more than 5 years younger than the previous record-holder, Colin McRae, when he won the championship in 1995.

(more…)

F1/Round 17: 2022 Singapore Grand Prix Preview And Starting Grid

*Race starts at 8 pm Singapore/Malaysia time*

After being unable to run in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Singapore F1 Grand Prix is on again this weekend as Round 17 of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship. Singapore has never had a permanent racing circuit and created one in 2008 for its first ever Formula 1 event. It was also the first ever night race in Formula 1 history, to be followed by Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and more recently, Jeddah. Next year, the Las Vegas GP will also be run at night.

(more…)

Lamborghini Urus S Gets Performante Power For Update

Since going on sale in 2018, the Lamborghini Urus has been a great successor for the Italian sportscar company. Up to June this year, over 20,000 units have been delivered worldwide, making it Lamborghini’s bestselling model in the shortest time ever.

The impressive high performance of the Urus inspired Lamborghini to coin the term ‘Super SUV’ for its model. And in the four years that the Urus has been around, other carmakers like Aston Martin, Audi and BMW M have also launched their Super SUVs.

So Lamborghini has decided it’s time to update its original Super SUV with enhanced performance. The new Urus S replaces the standard Urus and gets the same performance level as the Urus Performante which debuted in August. However, where the Performante is performance-focussed, the Urus S is more oriented towards luxury.

(more…)

BMW M Joins The Super SUV Crowd With New XM PHEV

When BMW decided to start offering SUVs, it first made sure that the new models would have the driving dynamics that made people buy their ‘ultimate driving machines’. Engineered to be true BMWs, their vehicles are instead called Sport Activity Vehicles or SAVs.

It’s the same for BMW M, the high-performance division, when it made the decision to electrify. For a company like BMW M, which has built up a reputation producing cars with superlative performance, going electric meant that they had also to be able to offer the same kind of performance.

The first BMW M automobile designed for purely electric mobility from the outset was the new iX M60, launched at the beginning of this year. But that was just a start and now the company has come out with another electrified model – the XM.

(more…)

FLUX Offers A Tesla EV Experience For 3 Years

While Teslas, which are all battery electric vehicles, are sold in many countries, they are still not officially sold in Malaysia. PEKEMA, the association of Bumiputera dealers, is however taking orders for Tesla models which it is importing in large numbers this year to be sold through its members’ dealerships. Pricing indicated by some dealers shows the cars (imported from the UK) to cost between RM342,800 and RM418,800.

PEKEMA has indicated that they will offer owners aftersales support, but without an official representative of the brand owner supporting the business, they will still rely on obtaining assistance from other parties.

However, if you are keen to find out what it’s like owning a Tesla – and not having the aftersales worries – FLUX is offering the Model 3 and Model Y on a subscription basis. The company says it will also give subscribers a 4-year warranty for peace of mind. Additionally, a concierge service is also for maintenance and document renewals along with nationwide roadside assistance and car theft recovery.

(more…)

Citroen oli Concept Proposes Lighter, Simpler Approaches To EVs

French concept cars have often been taken to extremes in trying to be avant garde, generating controversy but also spurring discussion. The latest one presented by Citroen yesterday certainly is as radical as they come, with polarizing views on whether it is an intelligent design or something outrageous as usual.

The Citroen oli concept is a vehicle intended to have multiple roles in mobility, with a major effort to make it affordable and simple. The carmaker feels that the industry is stuck with offering heavier, more complex and expensive zero emission vehicles and wants to buck that trend.

(more…)

Ferrari SP51 – Only One In The World

Ferrari is an exclusive brand and owning one is already something special. But for those who must have ultra exclusivity, the company’s Special Projects programme will create a ‘One-Off’ model that is literally one-of-a-kind in the world. Each of these unique Ferraris will take around 2 years from start to finish and the latest example is the SP51.

Commissioned for a customer in Taiwan, this latest addition to Ferrari’s One-Off series was designed by the Ferrari Styling Centre and sits on the 812 GTS platform. The front-engined V12 spider’s most striking characteristic is its total absence of a roof, making it an authentic roadster in every respect.

(more…)

Tata Motors Launches Tiago.Ev Priced Under RM50,000

Back in 2008, Tata Motors introduced what was then the cheapest car in the world – the Nano, which cost around U$S2,200 then. It was intended to enable more people in India, especially families, to travel in a safer 4-wheeler than a 2-wheeler. Unfortunately, despite being cheap, it did not catch on and sales were poor so it was discontinued after 10 years.

Nevertheless, the company’s founder has long wanted to help his countrymen and does so in various ways and Tata Motors has again come up with a low-priced electric car. Tata Motors, having been a pioneer in EVs in India, has used its expertise to produce an EV at a cost low enough to price it from 8.49 lakh (about RM48,000). However, this is an introductory price for the first 10,000 buyers from October 10 when the car – known as the Tiago.ev – goes on sale.

(more…)

More Hardcore Ford Ranger Raptor Launching Next Month

Following the preview of the new Ford Ranger, Sime Darby Auto ConneXion (SDAC) will soon present the next-generation Ranger Raptor to the Malaysian public. The high-performance pick-up truck – only one of its type in the country – will be officially launched soon.

As already demonstrated with the previous generation, the Ranger Raptor sets the benchmark as Asia Pacific’s only purpose-built high-speed off-road performance pick-up truck. Developed with input from Ford Performance, the high-performance division of Ford, the new Ranger Raptor promises to raise the performance bar yet again,

“With its significantly enhanced performance, modern technologies and best-in-class capabilities, the next-gen Ranger Raptor is the definitive king of pickups. Bolder, faster and edgier, this is the ultimate lifestyle enabler for customers to work hard and play harder. Yet it’s safe and comfortable enough with an upscale and roomy interior for family,” said Turse Zuhair, Managing Director, Sime Darby Auto ConneXion-Ford.

(more…)