Photographer credits: Mathieu Damiens
Showing posts with label UK. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UK. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
VW's Anniversary Golf GTI Edition 35 with 235HP Arrives in the UK
For those looking for a bit more muscle in their GTI, Volkswagen has launched the special anniversary edition of its hot hatch in Britain. Created to celebrate the Golf GTI's 35th birthday and first shown at the at the Worthersee Festival in Austria this past June, the Golf GTI Edition comes with a tuned 2.0 TFSI delivering 235HP.
The 25HP increase over the standard model allows the Golf Edition 35 to complete the 0-62mph (100km/h) sprint in 6.6 seconds and reach a top speed of 153mph (246km/h).
VW says it returns 34.9 mpg UK on the combined economy cycle (35.3mpg for the DSG) and emits 189 g/km of CO2 (185 for the DSG model).
Special features include a sportier bodykit with new side skirts and a revised front bumper, standard LED daytime running lights, bespoke 18-inch alloys, gloss black door mirror casings, ‘golf ball’ gearknob and Edition 35 badges inside and out.
In the UK, prices for the GTI Edition 35 start at £27,525 (RRP OTR) for the manual gearbox, three-door model, with VW charging a £1,295 premium for the DSG gearbox and £585 for five doors.
Even though VW describes the new car as a special edition model, the German company said that there isn't a specific restriction on the number available. VW dealers will begin accepting orders now with first deliveries due next month.
Nissan Replaces 150HP 2.0L Diesel with New 130HP 1.6L Diesel in Qashqai
A new and more fuel-efficient but also less powerful 1.6-liter turbo diesel engine is taking the place of the 2.0-liter diesel in the European lineup of the Qashqai and its longer, seven-seat sibling, the Qashqai+2.
The new 1.6-liter diesel delivers 130-horsepower and 320Nm (236 lb-ft) of torque from 2,000rpm to only 1,750rpm, compared to 150HP and 320Nm at 2,000 rpm of the outgoing 2.0 dCi engine.
Nissan says the downsized engine delivers better fuel economy and lower emissions but has the same levels of torque and top speed as the 2.0-litre dCi engine it replaces.
However, aside from announcing a 6.29-second time for the acceleration from 30 to 50mph (50-80km/h) which is faster than the 2.0 dCi, the Japanese company did not release any other performance figures.
In the combined cycle, the Qashqai 1.6 dCi returns 4.9lt/100km (57.7mpg UK or 48mpg US), an improvement of 1.0lt or +9.8mpg UK over the 2.0 dCi (2WD, manual) with CO2 emissions of 129g/km (2.0 dCi: 155 g/km).
Early next year, Nissan will launch a version of the model fitted with a Stop / Start System, which will help further reduce CO2 emissions to 119 g/km and reduce fuel consumption to or 4.5lt/100km (62.8mpg UK).
"This is a remarkable engine, best in class in so many respects. It provides the dynamic driving performance which matches that of the outgoing 2.0-litre dCi yet produces fuel consumption and emission figures equal to or better than our existing 1.5-litre dCi unit," said Paul Willcox, Senior Vice President, Nissan Europe.
Sales of the new Qashqai and Qashqai+2 1.6 dCi will start in October.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
New MINI Celebrates 2 Million Units, British PM Joins the Party
One Mini is born every minute - or one minute and eight seconds to be exact. That’s not a joke, but a fact. And that’s how 10 years after production of the new model began in 2001, the two millionth MINI, a White Silver Convertible with a denim roof, rolled off the Oxford Plant production line with British Prime Minister David Cameron sitting behind the wheel.
“It’s a real privilege to drive this true British icon off the production line today,” said Cameron. “It is a fantastic symbol of the UK’s strength in the global automotive industry and a great British manufacturing success story”.
Never mind that the British automotive industry is now either dead and buried or owned by Indians, Chinese or, in MINI's case, Germans: a true politician knows that you must never let the truth ruin a good story.
BMW board member responsible for production Frank-Peter Arndt said: “Production of the two millionth MINI comes on the back of strong demand worldwide. Our recent announcement of an additional £500 million investment in our UK facilities demonstrates the important role that Oxford plays in our global production network.”
Of the two million units produced in the past decade, more than 1.5 million have been exported to over 90 countries worldwide. The Oxford plant, in which BMW has invested more than £1.5 billion ($2.4 million) since 2000, produces as many as 900 MINIs a day, with an annual capacity of over 200,000 units.
Everything you ever wanted to know about the MINI but were afraid to ask:
- The top five export markets for MINI in 2010 were the US, Germany, France, China and Italy.
- 2 million MINIs placed bumper-to-bumper would reach 4,626.7 miles, or 7,446 km, which is enough to stretch from Oxford to the Grand Canyon and go round the circumference of the planet Pluto.
- Stacked on top of each other, 2 million MINIs would be 318 times the height of the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest, and 3,398 times higher than the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
- Of the 2 million MINIs built in Oxford, you’d struggle to find two the same. With 14 body colors, 4 hard top roof colors, 3 convertible roof options, bonnet stripes and several wheel and interior trims, MINI twins are statistically rare.
- A MINI is born every 68 seconds.
- Each and every MINI consists of around 2,100 components. A total of 500 different robots and 3,700 associates join forces to create it, with 4,000 spot welds required to build each bodyshell. Every robot works to a tolerance of 0.05 mm –half the width of a human hair
- The most popular MINI color is Pepper White, followed by Midnight Black and Chili Red
Monday, August 29, 2011
Privé London Dining Club Receives a Splash of Bentley Style
Mosimann’s, an exclusive dining club located in the heart of Belgravia in central London, has opened the doors to a new privé room inspired by, and dedicated to, luxury British carmaker Bentley.
The dining room for the rich but not necessarily famous, blends traditional British styling with unique Bentley accents. It is the work of Caulder Moore, which also designed the Bentley Living Room at the company’s headquarters in Crewe, in 2010, and can seat 14 people with standing room for 28.
Highlights include the decorated walls with pictures of old and new Bentleys, a centrepiece table finished in Bentley burr oak, burr walnut, and stained burr walnut veneers, surrounded by classic green leather dining chairs, handcrafted along the original designs for a 1926 Bentley.
Other accents inspired by Bentley include a new wall unit that employs dark stained burr walnut veneer with Mulsanne handles for drawers and Bentley leather lined shelves, and a door panel is finished in Burnt Oak Bentley hide with shortbread stitching, with Bentley logo embroidery.
Mark Mosimann, Managing Director, Mosimann’s, comments: “We are delighted that Bentley will have a new room at Mosimann’s; it is a relationship that has been established over nearly a decade and the synergy between the two Royal Warrant Holding organisations is based on achieving perfection in all the finest details."
“Bentley is at the heart of Mosimann’s and the room reflects what members enjoy about their private dining club in Belgravia. It is warm, cosseted and positively oozes with charm,” Mosimann added.
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