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Dongfeng Motor unveils first product of Voyah sub-brand – the i-LAND

Like a number of automakers, China’s Dongfeng Motor has a constantly growing range of models and to provide more differentiation, sub-brands are created to cater for specific niches. In July this year, the company launched VOYAH, its new premium brand which is dedicated to EV products.

It aims to introduce a new model each year over the next 3 – 5 years, creating a line-up of at least 9 models in the various bodystyle segments. The first of these is the i-LAND, a sportscar that will go on sale in July 2021.

In collaboration with ItalDesign
The i-LAND prototype was unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show recently and the project is being undertaken with Italdesign. The Italian studio has been given the responsibility to develop the interior and exterior styling as well as the on-board human-machine interface. Additionally, it is also providing engineering development services and the concept construction.

The approach taken by the designers and engineers at Italdesign for the i-LAND is to combine ergonomics and cutting-edge technology with innovative aesthetic solutions, blending form and function.

GT styling
The i-LAND exterior styling follows the Italian tradition of Gran Turismo (GT) cars. For the prototype, there are typical exotic features such as large gull-wing doors with eye-catching front and rear light clusters and a LED-illuminated front grille. Viewed from above, the sculpted form of the bonnet can be seen to be coordinated with the design of the grille.

The front lights, referred to as ‘winged headlights’, provide a characteristic signature for the i-LAND, which makes it recognizable even in the dark. It generates directly from the centre of the grille where the Voyah logo, created by ItalDesign, is embedded.

The rear of the car also has a form inspired by GT models with a classic truncated tail that combines both aesthetic elements with aerodynamic functionality.

3-seater cabin
Sitting on an ESSA (Electric, Smart & Secure Architecture) electric platform developed by the company, the i-LAND has a 3-seat layout. One position at the rear right end is for relaxing or smart working, with the seat next to the driver replaced by an element that can become a table or footrest if necessary.

A series of floating screens provide infotainment services as well as driver assistance. Some aesthetic elements enhance the general feeling of luxury experienced within the i-LAND. Examples are the vanes positioned in the central tunnel, along with the start/stop button, gear selection and the air conditioning switches.

The platform is set on EIC technology and integrates the WindLink 4.0 intelligent network connection, L3 and higher-level intelligent driving and other core configurations. In terms of power and battery runtime, MVP (Multi-choice important power) solutions are said to be provided, according to Voyah.

McLaren celebrates 1995 victory at Le Mans with 5 exclusive Senna F1 GTRs

In the 1995 Le Mans 24-Hour race, two McLaren F1 GTRs finished 1^st and 2^nd, with three others finishing 4^th, 5^th and 13^th. 25 years later, the company celebrates that victorious occasion with 5 customer-commissioned examples of the Senna GTR model.

Each car is finished in a unique hand-painted livery completed in more than 800 hours of painstaking craftsmanship. Every painted detail on the 5 cars was finished by hand at McLaren Special Operations (MSO). Special permissions were granted by brand owners such as Gulf and Harrods and by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (the Le Mans organiser) to recreate logos and trademarks.

The roof of each car even features an authentically recreated scrutineering sticker, which is the only piece of vinyl in the livery. Each car also comes with a ‘1 of 1’ dedication plaque featuring the VIN number of the car, with provenance details of its 1995 Le Mans F1 GTR ‘twin’ etched on the carbonfibre sill.

There’s also a more powerful engine which develops 845 ps/800 Nm, an increase of 20 ps over the 4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine in the regular Senna GTR. Revised torque curve characteristics deliver more torque at lower revs and enable a redline set closer to 9,000 rpm than the ‘soft limit’ of 8,250 rpm.

OZ Racing, which supplied the wheels for the McLaren F1 GTR, created a bespoke, 5-spoke GTR LM wheel design. The brake calipers finished in satin gold are another nod to the F1 and the suspension wishbones are in an anodised version of the same colour.

In the cabin, the exclusive features include a racing steering wheel with anodised gold gearshift paddles and control buttons (in tribute to the McLaren F1’s gold-coloured gear linkage), and titanium nitride pedals with LM logos. The leather door-pull straps and lightweight carbonfibre racing seats are complemented by bespoke headrest embroidery and an MSO 6-point racing harness coloured black with body-colour pads.

“The incredible cars of the McLaren Senna GTR LM collection are an exceptionally fitting way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our Le Mans victory in 1995,” said Mike Flewitt, CEO of McLaren Automotive. “That achievement is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest endurance racing performances of all time, but for McLaren its importance was even greater because it demonstrated an immediate and undeniable connection between the racing DNA of our brand and the start of our road car journey.”

All five owners will have the opportunity in 2021 to participate in an unprecedented Le Mans circuit driving experience on the morning before the race starts, accompanied by the original F1 GTRs that competed in 1995.

Mclaren 765LT introduced to Malaysian market – Priced at RM1,488,000

PLUS urges highway users to observe SOPs at all times

With 1.5 million vehicles using PLUS highways each day, interaction between motorists and PLUS personnel is inevitable. As such, the highway concessionaire is reminding highway users that they must strictly follow the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) set by the National Security Council (MKN) and the Ministry of Health (KKM). These procedures include wearing of facemasks in public areas and social distancing in areas where there are a lot of people.

This reminder comes in light of the increase of COVID-19 cases in certain states where PLUS highway network operates. Its is especially critical at this time to adhere to the SOPs to prevent further spread of the coronavirus by protecting each other.

Kita Jaga Kita
“We urge our highway customers to please follow the established SOPs set by the government. In the spirit of ‘Kita Jaga Kita’, the onus is on us to take good care of each other every step of the way. Every single PLUS employee, from our CSA, PLUSRonda Officer to Toll supervisors are fully compliant to the SOP’s of facemasking in public and maintaining a safe 1-meter physical distance when interacting with you our customer, we ask the same of you. Please reciprocate by doing the same when we serve you on the highway,” implored Datuk Azman Ismail, Managing Director of PLUS.

Under the New Normal practices by many organisations that manage premises which are open to public, customers are denied entry/transactions if face masks are not worn. PLUS is also adopting the same. There must also be 1-metre physical distancing when at the R&R areas, lay-bys as well as interacting with PLUS personnel at the toll lanes and toll plazas.

*Remember to wear a facemask and stand 1-metre apart when visiting R&R areas along the highways.*

SOPs strictly observed at R&R areas
All PLUSRonda personnel are required to wear face masks and practice 1-metre physical distancing when attending to highway emergencies. From compulsory body temperature checks at each R&R and contact tracing via MySejahtera, PLUS prioritises food hygiene as well as the cleanliness at all the R&R premises as well as lay-bys and toll plazas via regular routine cleaning and periodical sanitisation.

PLUS customers now have PUTRI to help them with their enquiries

Honda to withdraw from Formula 1 after 2021 season

Honda has announced that it will not participate in the Formula One World Championship as a power unit supplier after the 2021 season ends. The carmaker, which was the first Japanese manufacturer to participate in Formula 1 in the 1960s and a regular name in the decades that followed, made the decision in order to concentrate corporate resources on research and development of new power units and energy technologies.

Why Honda is stopping
“At this time, Honda made a decision to further accelerate such initiatives and strive for the realization of carbon neutrality by 2050, in order to realize a sustainable society. To this end, our current goal of electrifying two-thirds of our global automobile unit sales in 2030 will become a checkpoint we must pass before we get to the 2050 goal, and therefore we must further accelerate the introduction of our carbon-free technologies,” said Takahiro Hachigo, President, Representative Director and CEO of Honda Motor Co.

“For the future realization of carbon neutrality, as a part of this change, we decided to allocate our energy management and fuel technologies as well as our human resources amassed through F1 activities to research and development of advanced power unit and energy technologies. Under such an enhanced R&D system and capability, Honda will focus on the creation of advanced power unit and energy technologies and the realization of carbon neutrality in the future,” he explained.

Racing is in Honda’s DNA
Declaring that ‘racing is in Honda’s DNA’, Mr. Hachigo said that the company will continue to be passionate about taking on challenges and striving to become No. 1 in all categories of racing in which Honda participates.

“Ever since our founding, Honda has been advancing its technologies, developing its engineers and nurturing its strong passion for victory through challenges we have taken in motorsports,” he said. “We still have 7 more races this season, and we are introducing a new power unit with improved performance for the next season. In order to fulfil expectations our fans place on Honda, we will work together with Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri to continue competing with our utmost effort and strive for more victories all the way to the end.”

Honda had resumed its involvement in F1 in 2015 after a 9-year absence, but it did not enjoy the sort of great successes as it did in earlier years. In 2019, it scored three wins last season and has had two wins so far in the 2020 season. The victory of Scuderia AlphaTauri at this year’s Italian Grand Prix was the first time a power unit manufacturer had won with two different teams since the start of Formula One’s hybrid era in 2014.

Commenting on the announcement, Red Bull Racing’s Team Principal, Christian Horner, said: “As a team, we understand how difficult it has been for Honda Motor Company to reach the decision to step back from Formula One at the end of the 2021 season. The shifting focus within the automotive industry has led to Honda’s decision to re-deploy their resources and we understand and respect the reasoning behind this. Their decision presents obvious challenges for us as a team, but we have been here before and with our strength in depth, we are well prepared and equipped to respond effectively, as we have proven in the past.”

“Scuderia AlphaTauri and Honda have built up a very good and professional relationship since we started to cooperate in 2018,” said Team Principal, Franz Tost. “We enjoyed great success together in the last few years, winning a race and finishing on the podium twice, with one second and one third place. It’s unfortunate that Honda has decided to stop their commitment in Formula One, because their Power Unit’s performance has been improving constantly and dramatically to become one of the best engines on the grid in a short period of time, since they returned to the sport.”

Fuel Price Updates For October 3 – 9, 2020

Trade-Up campaign from Volkswagen Das WeltAuto

Das WeltAuto, Volkswagen’s global used car programme, has started a campaign for Volkswagen owners in Malaysia. The Trade-Up campaign offers Volkswagen owners the opportunity to trade-in their current vehicles with extra support for the purchase of a brand new Volkswagen model.

The campaign is targeted at existing owners of the Touran, Cross Touran, Sharan, Passat CC and Passat B7. With this campaign, owners will receive an additional RM3,000 trade-in support for all models, including the all-new Arteon R-Line, Tiguan Allspace variants (R-Line and Highline), and the Passat Elegance.

2020 VW Tiguan Allspace Highline — *The latest Tiguan Allspace which was introduced to the Malaysian market in August this year.*

Campaign inspired by response to R-Line
“From all the positive feedback we received, we understood the need to provide our loyal customers with the possibility of upgrading while remaining in the Volkswagen family. With the support of Das WeltAuto, owning a new Volkswagen is even more convenient as all processes are handled and managed at our dealerships. We are confident that this campaign will entice owners of some of our older models to upgrade to our latest products,” said Erik Winter, MD of Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM), adding that that the campaign has been initiated due to the overwhelming response on the new R-Line range.

Das WeltAuto is available at 8 authorised Volkswagen dealerships in Peninsular Malaysia. All models are accepted for trade-in and will undergo a strict and thorough 133-point check by Volkswagen technicians to determine their condition.

*Some of the models available at Das WeltAuto.*

Benefits of buying from Das WeltAuto
Customers who purchase a vehicle from Das WeltAuto enjoy a 1-year extended warranty and 1-year roadside assistance and peace of mind as the vehicles are fitted with genuine parts. They are also accident-free and come with complete proof of service at authorized Volkswagen service centres.

Visit Das WeltAuto for more information and to get the location of a nearby Volkswagen dealership.