MotorVehicular

New Site

2010-08-18T14:25:00.001+03:00

Its sad to say bye to blogger, its been my home since 2006, Motogari has moved to a new site!!

Go to http://motogari.co.ke to get the latest from your favourite car blog.

Stunning visuals, top notch support for access via mobile phone the site is a must visit!

Guest Post - Vehicle Import Duty

2010-07-27T13:06:00.004+03:00

Anthony Mwaura

View: PC | Mobile

One of the most common questions that potential customers ask me is how the duty and related taxes of an imported car is arrived at.

First, the year of manufacture of the vehicle you intend to import plays a major part in determining the duty. Another major influence is “The first date of registration” We will however get to that a little bit later.

The duty payable on the importation of a motor vehicle is arrived at as follows according to KRA’s FAQ Q3

􀂃 Import Duty: 25% of the CIF value of the vehicle

􀂃 Excise Duty: 20% of the (CIF value + Import Duty)

􀂃 VAT: 16% of the (CIF value + Import Duty + Excise Duty)

􀂃 IDF: 2.25% of the CIF value or Ksh. 5,000, whichever is higher, is payable.

CIF – This is the customs value of the vehicle i.e. the Cost, Insurance & Freight paid for the vehicle. The CIF value of the vehicle is also deduced from the Current Retail Selling Price (CRSP) of the vehicle

However, the KRA uses the CRSP rather than the CIF of a vehicle. For example if two of us import year 2008 BMW 318i with similar dates of first registration but different CIF, we pay the same duty.

This link leads you to an MS Excel sheet with the current CRSP list as given by the KRA. It has most common vehicle models imported into Kenya

This link gives you a duty calculator that does the donkey work for you. All you do is insert figures where appropriate. On Cell C15 of this calculator, labelled “depreciation” you insert the cost depreciation rate. For example, if the car is brand new, it has nil depreciation. A one year old car has a depreciation rate of 10%, 2 years old 20%, 3 has 30%, 4 has 40%, 5 has 50%, 6 has 60% while a 7 year old car has rate of 70%.

This is where the first date of registration plays part. For example, if one import’s a car manufactured in year 2003 first registered in the month of February, which make it 7 years old as at the date of this post and therefore 70% rate applies. If another person imports a similar unit, manufactured in 2003, first registered in December and it lands in Mombasa before December 2010, it’s considered as a 6 year old car and therefore 60% rate applies which in turn increases the duty considerably.

You will also notice cell D11 and D12 labelled CC. You insert the engine capacities are guided. The CC plays a part too. For example, Toyota Corolla NZE model, 1300cc, 1500cc, 1600cc, 1800cc and 2200cc diesel. However, the cost of the each of these models varies in the CRSP and therefore the engine capacity plays a small part.

Case study

Whenever I come across customers, I put all these considerations in place when identifying and giving quotations on any unit. For instance, early this month, a lady called Joan, called me and explained she had a budget of KES 900k and wanted to bring in a 2000cc Nissan Xtrail. I gave her my estimates for a 2003 unit registered between January and July of the same year. My quotation hit KES 1.2M with a CIF of US$9500 and she asked me how I had arrived at that figures while she had identified a number of units with CIF of US$8500 and US$7000 in one of the Japanese companies websites advertised in the Kenyan dailies. I asked for the web address and to her word, there were units going at that much. However, one unit, lets call it unit A US$8500 was a December (date of first registration) 2004. The second one (unit B) US$7000 was a September 2006 which makes it 5 years old. Using our calculator and KRA’s CRSP figure of KES 3,650,000 for a 2000cc Nissan Xtrail,

Unit A (US$8800): Yr 2004 Dec (5 years old) duty payable = KES 634,798

Unit B (US$7300): Yr 2006 July (4 years old) Duty payable = KES 762,758

My quote: 2003 July (7 years old) duty payable = KES 378,879

Had she not consulted, she would have imported unit B which appeared cheaper not knowing how much it would cost to clear. Such are the mistakes that people make and their units end up accumulating demurrage before they can raise the duty. At times people are unable to raise the duties or by the time they are able to, the demurrage is too much. Your vehicles could end up auctioned to pay off storage fees and to decongest the port.

The Author, Anthony Mwaura, heads the Imports Desk at Hilltop Junction Motors on Ngong Road, Opposite Kenya Science Teachers College.

e-mail: info@hilltopjunction.com

Motogari App - Now available from Nokia Ovi Store

2010-07-13T08:44:00.001+03:00

The hottest Kenyan motoring blog is now right at your fingertips!

The official Motogari App for Nokia is now available for download from the Ovi Store. Simply search for the term "Motorvehicular" in the Ovi store or click here or the banner above.

Mercedes-Benz S 63 AMG Showcar

2010-03-10T12:10:00.005+03:00

AMG has just developed a completely new AMG 5.5-litre V8 biturbo engine with a peak output of up to 420 kW (544 to 571 hp) and maximum torque of up to 900 newton metres will enter the lineup in summer 2010.

The new eight-cylinder unit known internally as the M 157 comes with a wealth of technological highlights such as direct petrol injection with spray-guided combustion and twin turbochargers, all hand built in line with AMGs famous one-man,one-engine policy

AMG was founded as a manufacturer of racing engines in 1967 by former Mercedes engineers Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher in Burgstall an der Murr, near Stuttgart. The letters "AMG" stand for Aufrecht, Melcher and Großaspach, Aufrecht's birthplace.

AMG started off by designing and testing racing engines. It expanded its business into building custom road cars based upon standard Mercedes cars.

In 1971, the company entered the spectacular 300 SEL 6.8 AMG at the 24-hour race in Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium). The car won a class victory and second place in the overall ranking for AMG - and made the company world-famous overnight.

To showcase the new engine, AMG placed it in a spectacular S 63 showcar it unveiled at the recent Geneva Motorshow. The car is decorated with sponsoring stickers identical to those on its historic predecessor.

Theres even exotic wood trim in the style of the original car in the interior!!

Naturally, the S 63 AMG delivers superior performance at sports car level: the high-performance saloon accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds, and has an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h. The 100 km/h mark is reached in just 4.4 seconds with the AMG Performance package, with the top speed increased to an electronically limited 300 km/h.

The 1800 - Part I

2009-10-27T16:36:00.001+03:00

Just for fun, I've decided to come up with a list of 10 Cars of the best cars I can think of with engines with a capacity of 1800CC or lower

Here are the first 5

Mercedes Benz E-Class

The daddy of government vehicles has a new model out, the 2009 W212 E-Class.
We would have seen it sooner if it wasn't for Uhuru Kenyatta's interesting decision. The new E-200 sports a 1796cc engine that puts out 180HP and does 0-100Kph in 8 Seconds (its big brother the E-63 AMG will do this in 4 seconds flat)
It boasts many new innovations and technologies like the ability to recognize and adhere to speed limits from the signs on the side of the road and an integrated Night Vision system. A rear seat package will have similar amenities to that of a rear seat in the S class. A key element for any "Mheshimiwa".

2. Alfa Romeo 159

You saw a couple of these sexy little Italians in the opening sequence of Casino Royale. Penned by the Legendary Giorgetto Giugaro in conjuction with Alfa Romeo Centro Stille,they are part of the reason there such a thing as an "Alfa Romeo owners club".

While the ones in the movie were probably the 3.2L V6 JTS models, the 2009 model year comes with a new variant, the 1.75 TBi, which does 8.1L/100km and 0-100Kmh in 7.7 Seconds with its 1.75 L petrol engine.

3.Volvo s40

Volvos have a famous reputation for safety, but clearly they didn't play it safe with their new models. The S40 was launched with a silly viral campaign in 2004, something about an entire village buying Volvos.
Bad marketing aside, its a beautiful looking car with stellar crash safety ratings. Its 1.8L variant does 9L/100Km and takes 10.9 seconds to get to 100Kmh

4. Mazda6

This second Generation Mazda6 debuted at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show, 1.8L models are only available in certain markets. An Optional 6 Speed Manual Gearbox spices things up.

Zoom-Zoom!!

5. Skoda Superb

This Czech member of the Volkwagen group shares the bulk of its mechanicals with the VW Passat and can be had in 1.4 and 1.8 Litre variants.

The difference, the Superb is 10cm Longer than the VW, allowing for greater legroom in the back for our Honourable Members of Parliament.

Optional features include Dual-Zone Air conditioning, Alcantara leather upholstery (usually seen in No. 1 above) and an 8 Speaker, Touch screen stereo with a 6 CD changer, an SD card slot and an Aux in socket for your favourite MP3 Player.

The Lamborghini Miura

2009-10-01T16:50:00.020+03:00

view : Mobile | PC

Yesterday, I was on my way home, smarting from an incident at a bank which just killed my day, when I suddenly thought about the Lamborghini Miura.

Just like that it pops into my mind and I remember how important it was for Lamborghini. It was the first time they dared to go against the Status Quo.

The tractor business was doing great, the oil crisis hadn’t hit, the economy was fine, then out jumps Ferrucio Lamborghini, with some new sportscar.

Lamborghini owes it existance to poor customer service.

As a wealthy agricultural machinery manufacturer, Ferruccio Lamborghini was able to take up some issues he was having with the clutch of his 250 GT directly with Enzo Ferarri.

Legend has it that Enzo was insulted that a man who made tractors could dare critique his fine motor cars. So like good Italians they got into a heated argument.

Lamborgini later had one of his mechanics fix the clutch. It turned out it was from the same manufacturer as some of the ones he used on his tractors.

So as a result of poor customer service, Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A was born.

But like most startups, after a while, things fell apart .

The thing is, he was trying to do it just like everyone else.

His first attempt at a sportscar, the 350 GTV wasn't warmly received by the motoring community. It looked exactly like any other Sportscar. Then he came up with the Miura.

The car was named after the Spanish Miura bull breeders, whose animals have a proverbial attack instinct. It was a complete departure from the design language of the day and its wedge shape can still be seen in most of todays sportscars.

At the time, sportcars basically looked like the Jaguar E-Type. They were curvy, they had long hoods and short rear overhangs. Today we look at the the E-types and Ferrari 250s and Mercedes 300SLs, and marvel at how graceful and elegant they look.

_{The Mercedes 300SL "Gullwing" the fastest production car at the time}

But make no mistake, at the time they were just as radical as the supercars of today. The 1966-72 period the Miura was produced was the time of the Peugeot 404!!

Truth be told the Miura really owes its radical styling cues to another Ferarri basher, the Ford GT40.

However what caught the attention of the motoring public was what lay inside.

The Miura was powered by a 3.9L V12 engine transversely mounted in the middle of the car, right behind the passenger cell.

This unusual engine layout led to incredible interest in the vehicle. In fact, at the 1965 Turin Motor Show, only the chassis was shown, but multiple orders for the car were placed!

The car was not a commercial success, only 764 were built. But it placed Lamborghini firmly in the spotlight as a serious contender, a spot it occupies to this day.

In 2006 , A retro Lamborghini Miura concept car was presented. It was the first design by the then new Lamborghini chief, Walter de'Silva, and it commemorated the 40th anniversary of the 1966 introduction of the original Miura in Geneva.

Lamborghini's president and CEO at the time, Stephan Winkelmann decided the concept would never be brought to production, saying

“The Miura was a celebration of our history, but Lamborghini is about the future. "

Those words ring true to this day.

Tyre Markings

2009-09-21T13:30:00.003+03:00

At the Total Kenya Motorshow I had a chat with some chaps at the Yana Stand who explained to me what the numbers on a tyre mean. Heres a summary

1.Tyre width
This three-digit number refers to the overall width of the tyre in millimeters.

2.Profile/Aspect ratio
The relationship between tyre height and tyre width. The higher the number, the taller the sidewall. The lower the number the smaller the sidewall, hence the term low-profile tyre

3.Radial
The letter R indicates radial-ply as opposed to bias-ply tyre construction.

4.Wheel diameter
This number indicates the size of wheel the tyre is designed to fit onto.

5.Load index
A relative scale that indicates how much weight the tyre is certified to carry at maximum inflation. It can range from zero to 279. The higher the number, the greater the load-carrying capacity.

6.Primary speed rating
This specifies the maximum speed at which a tyre is certified to carry its maximum load. Primary speed ratings range from A (lowest) to Z (highest). (Some tyres also carry more specific secondary ratings.)

Rolls Royce Ghost

2009-09-08T17:16:00.007+03:00

Rolls Royce Limited was created over a famous lunch brokered by Henry Edmunds in May 1904 at the Midlands Hotel in Manchester. Edmunds brought together Henry Royce, a successful engineer and Charles Rolls, the owner of one of the worlds first car dealerships.

The meeting led to an agreement that Rolls would exclusively sell as many cars as Royce could produce. The marque launched in 1904 following the verbal agreement made in May although a formal agreement was not signed between the two until December.

C.S. Rolls & Co were the sole agents for a series of two, three, four and six cylinder cars that broke the mould for engineering and craftsmanship. By 1907 Royce had created the first Silver Ghost, a car of legendary smoothness that completed a 14,371-mile virtually non-stop run that led a journalist at the prestigious publication Autocar to call it 'the best car in the world'.

Fast forward to the Paris motor show, 2006: Rolls-Royce announced that work had begun on a new model series. The new car would be in production and on sale by the turn of the decade. The only other facts confirmed at that stage were that it would be smaller than the Phantom saloon and priced somewhere between EUR200,000 and EUR300,000 before tax. Speculation about its style and specification began almost immediately...

Little was seen of the new car, codenamed RR4, until the spring of 2008, when Rolls-Royce released the first official sketches. As sightings of secret development models on the road increased, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars unveiled 200EX, the experimental forerunner to Ghost, at the Geneva motor show in March 2009. An instant hit, 200EX bore the trademark Rolls-Royce design cues but in altogether more compelling fashion. It was a clear statement of intent.

Inside, Ghost is refined and cosseting. Entering and exiting is both effortless and graceful - the low sill height means you step 'onto' rather than 'into' Ghost. The unique rear-hinged coach doors open to 83 degrees adding an extra sense of theatre for the rear passengers.

Once inside, you are greeted by a simple yet contemporary interior with large expanses of soft full grain leather, natural wood veneers and Blenheim wool carpets. The cashmere-blend roof lining adds to the sense of openness and space, enhanced by the optional Panorama sunroof.

"Ghost is one of the most revered names in automotive industry," said Chief Executive Officer, Tom Purves. "It evokes images of adventure and technical innovation. The first cars to bear the Ghost name were known not only for impressive dependability and refinement but also great flair and style."

All Rolls-Royce cars feature a Power in Reserve dial on the facia. It's a reminder that there is always power to spare in the V12 engines - at 70mph they use less than 10 percent of available power. Delivering 75% of torque at just 1,000rpm, working in perfect balance with the automatic gearbox, the acceleration is so smooth it feels like you are in an infinite first gear. This effortless power, combined with our unique dynamic chassis and cutting-edge suspension creates the famous Rolls-Royce 'magic carpet ride'.

Powered by a new twin turbo 6.6-litre V12 engine, it is virtually silent, with 80% of its torque available from idle. Coupled with the 8-speed ZF gearbox it accelerates from 0-62 mph in just 4.9 seconds and has a governed top-speed of 155 mph.

The V12 engine remains whisper-quiet even when accelerating - Ghost's occupants will only notice the scenery pass at a quicker rate. Engineered to grip the road at all times, it creates a more dynamic drive for the owner who occasionally takes the wheel.

You can hide, but you cant run...

2008-11-01T15:58:00.005+03:00

A private ceremony was held at the Viminale Palace where Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. donated a police version of the company’s newest super sports car, Gallardo LP560-4 Polizia, to the head of the Italian State Police, Prefect Antonio Manganelli.

The new Gallardo LP560-4 Polizia, which replaces the previous Gallardo in use by the Italian police force since 2004 has a 560 horsepower engine that can reach speeds of up to 326 Km/h. The car will begin service with the Lazio Highway Police Department in order to continue accident and crime prevention to sustain security on the Italian roads.

In addition to the clearly effective deterrent offered by the presence and visibility of a Lamborghini on the highway, the technological equipment on board these vehicles makes them highly effective in the control of hazardous behaviour on the roads (high speeds, driving in the emergency lane, dangerous over-taking); the automatic recognition of number plate tracking and real-time transmission of images to the control rooms.

The cabin of the super sports car is fitted with the latest advancements in police technology to immediately document the evidence of any transgression. The video system is positioned in the center of the cabin with a camera fitted next to the rear view mirror and a computer and recording equipment behind the seats. As soon as police officers discover a suspicious driver, they activate the ''Proof Video Data System.'' With the help of GPS data, the device can calculate the location, direction of movement and speed of the Lamborghini. This combined with the distance and time before intercept, accurately determines the speed of the vehicle being pursued.

Using radio data transmission, the video system in the Gallardo Polizia transfers its images in real time to the relevant police station. There, the videos are stored and used for automatic number plate retrieval. This information can be used for immediate identification of stolen vehicles.

In addition to its high tech equipment, the Gallardo is also fitted with the ''classic'' array of police equipment, such as a gun holster, police radio equipment and the ''Paletta,'' the traditional hand-held stop sign used to advise motorists and traffic offenders to pull over. Officers can then use a removable screen to show offenders their misdeeds immediately, complete with an overlay of all the associated data.

The Lamborghini is used regularly for urgent medical transportation too. Lamborghini's have never had loads of luggage space, howerver , the luggage compartment in the front of the vehicle is equipped with a specialized refrigeration system for safe transportation of donor organs. For extreme emergencies, there is also a tiny defibrillator stored in the car.

Only officers from traffic departments Special Operations Team, made up of arguably the luckiest police officers in the world, are permitted to drive the Gallardo. Each person on the team – which includes three women – has undertaken driver training with Lamborghini, under the leadership of the Lamborghini test drivers. They also receive special training in the use of the Gallardo’s medical equipment.

The Lamborghini wears its uniform with pride, painted in accordance with requirements in ''blu Polizia'' – whereby the white stripes and lettering follow the Gallardo’s dynamic design angles. Its main patrol beat be central and southern Italy, primarily on the motorway between Salerno and Reggio Calabria.

The police beacon on the roof of the Gallardo had to be aerodynamically optimized being that the new police car reaches a considerably higher top speed than regular service vehicles.. Despite the extremely flat construction of the signal lighting, blue LEDs are fitted round the base to ensure the visual signal cannot be missed. The roof-mounted lighting is supported by further blue LED signals on the front, sides and rear of the light’s aluminium shell.

Alongside its daily operational duties, the Gallardo also has regular public appearance obligations, such as its role as parade leader every year in Rome’s traditional ''Festa di Polizia,'' or its escort responsibilities at events with historical vehicles, like the Targa Florio and the Milan – San Remo Rally. Its predecessor even represented the Italian police in New York City at the 2005 ''Columbus Day'' parade.

This is a truly remarkable piece of police equipment, its no wonder the Italian police force is among the best motivated in the world.

Fact Check

2008-03-24T19:08:00.005+03:00

I've been very lazy when it comes to this blog. I cant help it, my new job is eating up all my time, plus they're strongly against unlimited internet access.

My love for cars stays strong, but rarely does it intersect with politics. Like almost every Kenyan right now I'm an armchair political analyst, so you can imagine the look on my face when The Standard wrote an article about what they think our Prime Minister Designate will be driving soon.

Now their speculation has been horribly wrong in the past (Ksh 40 Million Hummer H2) and the Government was uncharacteristically swift with its response so there may be some fire behind all the smoke.

Just in case they're right this time, here are the facts

The S-Guard is Merc's armoured S-Class, built from the ground up to protect world leaders - 90 governments worldwide use an S-Guard - and those who need defending from criminals and terrorists, while also whisking them around in supreme comfort.

Demand for special-protection vehicles is rising and is currently especially high in Latin America, Africa and Southern Europe, where most buyers opt for High-Protection vehicles that will withstand bullets from handguns up to the .44 Magnum. In Central Europe and the former Soviet states, however, Highest-Protection Guard models are more the norm, where they have to defend against military-grade rifles and high-velocity ammo. Then there's also demand from, surprisingly, Kenya.

The S-Guard is produced on a dedicated production line at Mercedes's factory in Sindelfingen, so, rather than retrofitting the protective elements in the doors, rear wall, side panels, roof lining and firewall etc of a finished vehicle, they are fully integrated into the bodyshell as the car is built. All the body-structure reinforcements, required due to the extra weight of the protective elements, can therefore be incorporated right from the start.

This means that all a car's potential weak spots - gaps in the body, at the doors or at the joins between metal and glass sections - are fully protected from attack, this overlapping system preventing bullets from getting through to the inside of the car. In fact, there are 250 points around the car that are tested ballistically, all of which are carried out with dummies inside.

The integration of the special protection elements also means that the body structure is reinforced, instead of having extra strain exerted on it by the additional weight. The necessary body-structure reinforcements, such as chassis suspension units or sturdier door hinges and window frames, can also be integrated right from the start.

So the reinforced steel plating and polycarbonate windows added to the shell of an S-Class not only make it a much more impenetrable proposition, but also a considerably heavier one, weighing in at 4,200kg. The doors themselves are 130kg each.

But how good is all this protection, really? Well the S-Guard is built to a standard called B6/B7, which means that the armour is designed to resist military-standard small-arms projectiles (including armour-piercing bullets), which have a velocity almost twice that of bullets fired from a revolver. It also offers protection against fragments from hand grenades and explosive charges.

Of course, it's all very well talking about all the protection the car offers, but what about ensuring that all the vehicles have the right materials to keep their principals intact? That's where DaimlerChrysler's resident sniper comes in.

Deep in the bowels of one of Sindelfingen's many buildings is the company's ballistic laboratory, home to a man with a large rifle, who spends his day shooting at random samples of the steel plates and polycarbonate glass fitted to the S-Guard. This process means that every batch of materials used is rigorously tested to ensure that every S-Guard that goes out can do its job if pressed into service.

Watching the sniper shooting at chunks of steel and polycarbonate-layered glass, it's possible to see how the materials used in building the S-Guard actually work. The energy of the bullet - which travels at a speed of 830 metres per second - is absorbed by the glass or steel and transferred back to the projectile, causing it to fragment. After shooting the glass, it's possible to see tiny bits of metal that previously made up the bullet in the layers.

When used against the steel, the fragments are scattered all around, with the steel left with no deformation to its structure, just a mark where the bullet struck.

All the extra protection means that the fully enclosed passenger cell is highly secure, safe and comfortable. However, it's not just the materials used in the car that keep the passengers safe: there's all the usual electronic control systems such as ESP, ABS, etc (although modified to take the extra weight into consideration) that ensure the S-Class's driving dynamics are maintained. Plus it comes fitted with S-Class safety features such as Pre-Safe brakes and Brake Assist.

There are also numerous additional features to make riding in the S-Guard safer than playing on a bouncy castle while dressed in an American football uniform. There's a reversing camera to monitor the rear of the car; run-flat tyres; a self-sealing fuel tank that uses the same material as military helicopters; a fire-extinguishing system; an emergency fresh-air system that counteracts dangerous gaseous substances; a pneumatic emergency control system for the power windows that operates independently of the on-board electronics; an emergency boot-opening facility that allows occupants to free themselves from the boot of the car using a switch on the inside of the boot lid (handy if you've been kidnapped in your own car); infrared lights and camera; and a Panic Alarm System that can be activated from anywhere in the vehicle, locking the doors to create a protected zone and alerting the outside world by means of visual and audible alarm signals, plus an intercom.

Perhaps the most cunning thing of all about the S-Guard though, is the fact that you can't tell the difference between it and a standard S-Class. From the outside, there is absolutely nothing to indicate that the car is in any way special.

The layers of ballistic glass that form the windows are held together with a sealant that has the same refractive properties of the glass it bonds. The result? Rays of light passing through the glass don't bend, they go straight through, so you don't get that "Bank Teller" look.

When you get behind the wheel, however, and start driving, it soon becomes apparent that you are, in fact, driving a tank. Starting up the engine and driving in straight line is fine: the S-Guard is equipped with the S 600 biturbo V12 engine, which generates 509bhp and 612lb-ft of torque, so there's plenty of power on tap to pull the car along.

However, when you start throwing it around a handling course, you realise that you have to start rethinking your concept of braking. You're steering a 4,200kg car - and that's a lot of weight to try to stop when you need to. The inertia generated by such as weight means that if you try braking where you normally would when approaching a corner, you find yourself running out of road, an act accompanied by tyre-squealing reminiscent of an airliner touching down. Despite the agility that exists in the car's S-Class DNA, brake too late and you find yourself doing some wrestling with the wheel.

After a few minutes, though, you begin to get the hang of the car and can start cornering with speed and precision, while still managing to make the car squeal like a pig.

Moving a four-tonne car through a series of cones at 50mph is no picnic at the best of times: so you'd think that doing it with a flat tyre would be verging on insanity. Not in the S-Guard. The Michelin PAX run-flats mean that you can still manage to steer the car through all the gaps as if on the usual complement of four fully inflated wheels, the car responding to steering inputs with barely discernable difference. Very impressive.

So if you've ever been careless enough to incur a fatwa, have to drive through Colombia while directing the war on drugs, or are just unfortunate enough to have so much money that you and your family a target for kidnappers, you should seriously consider an S-Guard. You'll be able to relax for two reasons: first, the peace of mind in knowing that you're virtually impregnable while in your car; plus you'll be sitting in a car seat that can give you a massage which will make all your cares just melt away.

2007 Total Kenya Motorshow

2007-09-10T14:57:00.000+03:00

This is an account of the action on the First day of the Total Kenya motor show, which ran from the 7^th to the 9^th of September 2007

The theme of this years Show was “Closer to the Customer”, in this respect, the Kenya Motor Industry Association (KMI) and Total did not disappoint.

The Show was held at the Ngong Racecourse, and according to Event Chairman Claude Mwende, ”The show has been successfully staged for many years at the KICC in the City Centre, but it is getting bigger and bigger every year and now it needs more space for and even wider range of displays and a new level of action”.

When the man says action he knows what he’s talking about, The Rhino Charge competitors brought a small piece of their action onto a purpose built off-road arena, which also doubled as a demonstration area for Earth moving equipment.

At any point in time, a bulldozer piling earth into a huge mound could stop for a moment and a member of the FourX Extreme 4WD Team, bored by the construction site simulation, would drive right over the mound on his way to the forested section for a display of off road madness.

All this while you waited for a display of defensive driving and motor vehicle stunts performed by graduates of the Glen Edmunds Performance Driving school, if you didn’t like the real stunts, Nyanza Petroleum was ready and willing to show you Uma Thurman playing with a Pirelli P-Zero wheeled Lamborghini in the Mini Theatre at its stand, that is of course if the Helicopter displays didn’t drown out the sound.

It was difficult to look to the sky with the H3 Hummer and the Renault Formula1 race car planted firmly on the ground, as well as the stunning AmbiPur Car Perfume girls who mingled freely with show goers, mingled as freely, I might add, as their Hot-Pants and Mini Skirts would allow.

If you could spare a moment to glance skywards, Gyrocopter pilots with freshly minted Pilots licenses may have led you to worry, but the Pitt Special Aircraft , piloted by a man just one step away from the highest aerobatic qualification in the world (according to KMI) would have your jaw dropping for a reason your significant other would approve of.

Now if you are the kind of guy who buys a Ksh 9 Million Jeep Commander on sight, you could be invited to the 9 Hole Golf Course smack dab in the middle if the racecourse, lesser mortals had to contend with the Hole-in-one Charity shootout .

The KMI and Total Kenya, ever mindful of the environment, had a tree planting campaign open to all, Total has a strong Environmental Conservation record and this is an effort that deserves much praise.

Now, with the gas guzzling H3 on display, GM suddenly went on a vegetarian diet with its sponsorship of a NGO engaged in the production of Bio-Diesel. Their intention is to grow or recycle enough vegetable oil to power farm equipment and perhaps blend Bio-Diesel with mineral diesel to fulfill emissions standards set by the Kenya Police which are still under discussion.

This is to be done in conjunction with local communities, although many a well heeled showgoer was heard saying things like “my farm”, “extra land” and “commercial viability” with dollar signs in their eyes.

Speaking of dollar signs, the banking sector with its aggressive sales campaigns could not miss this for the world. Their stands invited all and sundry, from those willing to finance the purchase of the Chinese vehicles on show to those buying fleets of Lorries and Randon trailers.

The bank staff were courteous and kind but the prize for the most courteous staff in my opinion went to the Subaru stand, which was showcasing the new B9 Tribeca. The usual losers in this category, Mashariki Motors were not in attendance on Friday.

The Subaru B9 Tribeca retailing for Ksh 6 Million, it features a 3.0 Litre Horizontally Opposed 6 Cylinder “Boxer” engine with an output of 245PS at 6600rpm, consuming 12.3 lit. /100Km

Standard features include 7 inch centre display; dashboard mounted 6CD changer with full MP3 Compatibility, with an Auxiliary jack for iPods and other MP3 players inside the centre armrest, away from prying eyes

Dual Zone Air Conditioning, a ProDrive ™ Sportshift gearbox and 16 Airbags are also standard; I must say at this point I got all this information from the pretty girls at the stand, a welcome change from last year when all they knew was that Subarus are fast and they sound really good

The DT Dobie Stand

featured a Renault F1 car

The Nissan Patrol Pickup

The Nissan Navara was also highlighted

The recently launched C-Class was also on display

Self Portrait in C200

In both trims
Yours for only EUR66500

The E200 Kompressor looking good with the latest facelift

The EUR 77300 GL 320 CDI

Badge Delete was clearly not an option

The Official DaimlerChrysler dealers have the German part in check, heres the American Element

The 300C

You can get this 3.5L V6 powered piece of Detroit for EUR 77000

The Jeep Brand had to be there, with its cousin the Hummer round the corner and all

This is the imposing 7 seater Jeep Commander 3.0L TurboDiesel , all EUR 92500 of it

The weird looking Nissan with the weird name was also here, It was the only car at DT Dobie with a price tag in KSH, 2.23Million

Elsewhere, does this man look like he's cleaning a Nissan Hardbody?

Actually, its a Foton 1 tonne Pick-Up from China, Powered by, get this, a Great Wall Engine

Yours for Ksh 1.8 Million

Other cars in this price range could be seen at the Marshalls stand

The Kia Rio is a pretty little thing with a 1.4L engine

Yours for Ksh 1.5 Million

The Peugeot 407 was in attendance

as well as the 207

thats an indicator under the side view mirror

At Simba Colt, theMitsubishi Dealers unleashed their entry into the popular Double cabin Market, the L200 Sportage

The Ksh 3.9 Million Evolution IX crouching

The New Pajero was here, Ksh 5.3 Million for the 3.2L version

A blast from the past from Simba Colt, for Ksh 2.8 Million

GM had 2 stands at the show, one featured trucks and the Isuzu D-Max with an interesting cover for the load bed for the double cabin

The other featured the newly introduced Hummer H3 which was one of the major attractions at the show

The 3.7L V6 power plant

Interior

The main selling point were its unique looks and all the attention you would likely receive driving one

Interior

In my view for Ksh 6Million you should get a lot more, if you wanted to attract attention driving down any road in Kenya here are some other 4WD vehicles you can do that with.

Riding on 38s should attract all the attention you need

But, they must have made an amazing impression. The Kenya Army now owns 41 examples of the military version, the Humvee, generously donated by the American Government.

The GM stand also featured a Cadillac SRX4 which they plan to introduce to the market based on interest generated at the motor show.

I must applaud GM for this, the only other people who used the show to determine which models they should introduce were Simba Colt with the L200 and DT Dobie with the Navara

However, Cadillac is a premium brand. It’s the Rolls- Royce of America. Captains of American Industry, Billionaire Entrepreneurs and Top US Government Officials hit the road in a Cadillac. In fact, the President of the United States is ferried about in a Cadillac DTS Limousine

For GM to imagine a Station Wagon is an adequate ambassador of the Cadillac brand was in my view downright irresponsible.

A SL500 parked outside Panari Sky Hotel

Sales of small planes in Kenya are at an all time high. On a bad day on Waiyaki way, one may encounter a Mercedes Benz E500, (i.e. an E-Class somebody bought with S-Class money), a BMW 750iL, one of two SL55 AMGs (Which by the way, have a two year waiting list) among many other luxury cars.

The market for premium brands is well developed, GM could have done better

Toyota Kenya

The showpiece of the Toyota Stand was the Camry

Which borrows some styling cues from the Lexus LFC Concept

Also in attendance was the Toyota Avensis

The Toyota landcruiser 75 series, that favorite of Somali Warlords, received a facelift

And is now called the 76

The current landcruiser also made an appearance

So did its baby brother, the Prado

The recently launched Fortuner was also around

Good old fashioned rally cars also made an appearance

All in all, the motor show was an exciting experience, cant wait for next year!

Bentley Continental GT Speed

2007-08-04T11:04:00.000+03:00

Bentley gets more power

Bentley has released a new, more powerful GT Speed version. As befits its name, this is the fastest Bentley ever. It gets a nice round 600bhp, along with 553lb ft to shift its substantial girth. It's enough to send the Bentley from 0-60mph in 4.3 seconds (4.6 for the regular Conti GT) and 0-100mph in 10.3sec. All that torque is put down by the four-wheel drive system, and the ESP stability control has been recalibrated to allow a little more slip for standing starts.

Theincreased use of aluminium in the suspension and revised steering are claimed to improve steering feel. Just don’t bet on it matching sports cars half its weight.

The new Bentley GT "Speed"coupe gets a wider and lower air intake, with a more upright radiator grille, which is the most obvious change. This feeds the unique twin-turbocharged W12 engine which has a new crankcase, camshafts, catalysts and exhausts. Combine this with a new ECU and you get a cut from 410 to 396g/km. Still enough to scare Greenpeace silly, though. But there’s no change in output for the regular car, with 552bhp and 479lb ft. Ample, as they say.

The baby Bentley has 405mm discs at the front – which Bentley claim are the largest on any production car – and 335mm discs at the back. Carbon discs are an option, at £10k, and save 20kg of unsprung mass. The standard Continental GT also gets a distinctive ‘B’ brake pedal

Despite the fact that the GT Speed’s name was apparently inspired by the racers of the 1920s, the road car will be very luxurious. It comes as standard with a Mulliner Driving interior with numerous exclusive trims and quilted-style seat options, plus drilled alloy pedals.

Prices have gone up. The regular Continental GT costs an extra £3k, so you’ll now need £120,500 to become a Bentley owner. Another £17k will get you a GT Speed, and you can order both from today.

How to spot the Speed? The grille is a darker tint than regular Contis, while the tailpipes are larger than normal. And despite having 20-inch wheels (19in on the standard car), air suspension is there to smoothe the ride; the GT Speed’s ride height is 10mm lower at the front, and 15mm at the back.

Theres a new Paj

2007-06-28T18:08:00.000+03:00

Comprehensive article coming soon

GT Aye yai yai!!!!!

2007-05-21T08:42:00.001+03:00

Some Crazy engineers at VW are tired of the fact that everyone seems to have forgotten that it was VW with its Golf GTI that started this Hot Hatchback business,

So while their serious counterparts at Audi were unveiling the TT speedster they showed off this monster at the renowned Wörthersee Tour, an Austrian celebration of hot-hatch madness

This particular expression of Teutonic might is powered by the VW Phaeton's 6.0-litre W12. mounted in the MIDDLE, behind the driver.

Yes, this is the maddest Golf you'll ever see. This particular Twin Turbo W12 puts out 641bhp and 553lb ft of torque, driving the rear wheels only

It's enough for a 3.7 second sprint to 62mph(100Km/H) and a top speed of 184mph(325 km/h) if you keep those custom made "Detroit" 19-inch wheels spinning long enough.

"Our greatest challenge'', says Klaus Bischoff, Director of Volkswagen Design, ''was to provide the six-liter mid-engine with sufficient air, without significantly changing how the GTi looked in comparison to the 'civilian' version. In addition, provisions had to be made for sufficient downforce at the rear axle on such a fast type of car. But for aesthetic reasons we did not want to put an enormous rear spoiler on the car.'' In both cases a trick helped.

To deal with air intake the design team simply made the rear windows turn inward. This created two ducts between the windows and the C pillars, on the left and right, through which air flows for engine cooling. The rest of the cooling air comes from the front via the gigantic radiators and the ducts connected to them, as well as on the sides via air inlets on the side skirts.

To create downforce on the rear wheels without a WRX type spoiler, they designed the roof as part of an enormous diffuser that supplies sufficient downforce.

You see a spoiler is actually a wing, it works just like a normal aircraft wing and manipulates the air flowing around it to create lift, which is what allows a plane to take off, turn it upside-down and the force pushes the object attached to the wing down instead of up, thus creating downforce. A car spoiler is just a wing turned upside-down, but most of the little pieces of metal added to boots are just for show, F1 and other High-Speed motorsports are where spoilers are really used

The roof of the GTi is made of carbon-fiber and it directs the air over and under the small rear spoiler in a way that allows it to achieve sufficient downforce without it being too big

Don't go expecting any Golf W12 on sale, though. This was strictly a one-off

Total Kenya Motorshow 2007

2007-05-14T11:04:00.000+03:00

Sources indicate that after a 1 year hiatus, the Total Motorshow will be held in September at the Nairobi Racecourse Grounds.

I will provide further details later.

Some of the Cars expected to be launched into the Kenyan Market at the show include

The Range Rover Sport's Supercharged and TDV8 Models and the new Freelander (CMC Motors),
The Hummer H3 (GMEA)
The Renault Laguna, and the New C-Class Mercedes Benz, (DT Dobie)
The BMW 6-Series (Mashariki Motors)

BMW Concept CS

2007-04-23T08:54:00.000+03:00

This is the very latest offering from Munich's design studios - and it points to a bold new design

The landmark Concept CS show car is a luxury four-door GT primed to kickstart a new look for future BMWs.

BMWs of late have had controversial styling, much to the distaste of many. But there's not even a hint of the awkward angles of the current 7-series' ass or the lumpy, Mitsubishi Carisma-like rear of the 3-series here. The CS has a crisp, fresh look.

This four-seater coupe looks attractive, particularly next to the current BMW range. The angled, shark-nose grille is striking That's true. But I think the lights kinda looks like that "dodgy " Charger

It really is monumentally different. The language of the body and the lines are so much smoother. The classic kidney grille has ballooned to huge proportions; BMW claims this is to ensure of a plentiful supply of cold air to the engine, and is not simply a styling gimmick.

The arches wrap around the 21-inch, multi-spoke alloys. The designers say that future Biemers will have much attention paid to integrated arches, rather than the brashly flared items on some rival designs (e.g. current Fords).

The Concept CS is BMW's contribution to the Shanghai Motor Show, which is currently in full swing in the far east. This is in line with most Manufacturers recent focus on the Chinese Car market

Adrian von Hooydonk, the mdosi of BMW's design house, told CAR Online at the show that the shark-nose look of the Concept CS is something that customers can relate to from BMWs of old. He hinted that it would spread to future production cars.

The interior will be as sleek and slinky as the exterior of the car. Front passengers will be firmly tucked in to the curvy sports seats and surrounded by a high centre console, while BMW has paid much attention to raising the previously dour ambience of their dark interiors.

Clever surface treatments, different kinds of leather and double-dial pods all add to the fresher, more exciting cabin. BMW is making great play over the joints of the dashboard, hiding air vents and lights in the gaps between panels.

It's a hefty beast, too. At 5.1 metres long, it's longer even than the 7-series, as well as wider and sporting a longer wheelbase. So there's plenty of space for the four passengers.

The show car runs a V10 from the M5 and M6, although this car runs on a bespoke platform. Packing 500BHP will guarantee the CS goes as fast as it looks.

Production versions could use a variety of six-, eight- and 10-cylinder engines, were such a car to be commissioned. It's still too early to say if BMW will actually build this car ,there's not been any BMW like it before, but it is certainly considering a rival to the Porsche Panamera which I've mentioned in an earlier post ,the CLS ,the Bentley Flying Spur and the Aston Rapide which was given a greenlight for production by Astons new owners.

You could be forgiven for thinking that the Concept CS was a coupe by the lack of rear door handles. However, take a closer look and you may discover a distinct lack of front door handles as well. In an attempt to maintain the clean lines of the car BMW, has located the door handles on the sill in between the window and the body of the door.

So like the rivals I mentioned, it is a four-door saloon. There are only two rear seats but each one is separate, unlike the traditional bench approach, so you can bank on it being just as comfortable for the rear passengers as it is for those in the front.

Mercedes Benz S-Guard Pullman

2007-02-27T10:20:00.000+03:00

Mercedes-Benz engineers are currently developing a new, prestigious luxury limousine with integrated highest protection for governments, businesses, monarchs and heads of state. The armoured Pullman Limousine is based on the long version of the S 600 with a substantially extended wheelbase length. The Mercedes-Benz State Limousine therefore provides a level of roominess worthy of its high-ranking occupants, not to mention outstanding comfort and a fully equipped mobile office. The S 600 Guard Pullman sees the world's oldest car manufacturer continuing its long tradition of building large state carriages with factory-integrated special-protection features.

Tradition and innovation are part of Mercedes-Benz' corporate culture. Nowhere is this more evident than in the construction of large, armoured, prestigious limousines. The Stuttgart-based manufacturer is the only carmaker that develops and builds impressive Pullman limousines with special protection, primarily for the official engagements of heads of state and monarchs. And it has been doing so for some eight decades without interruption.

Originally, Pullman cars were railroad sleeping cars with luxurious appointments, produced by the American Pullman Palace Car Company; however, it was not long before the name ''Pullman'' also came to describe Mercedes-Benz cars with an extra-long wheelbase and an extremely large passenger compartment in the rear. Separated from the front compartment by a partition, the rear compartment housed four individual face-to-face seats, allowing four passengers to sit opposite each other in truly grand style.

The very first Mercedes-Benz car to be factory-fitted with special protection, in 1928, was a long Pullman version of the W 08/460 Nürburg model. This was followed first by the 770 K, which provided protection befitting the status of the Japanese Emperor Hirohito among others, and then by further Pullman Limousines. Eventually, the legendary Mercedes-Benz 600 assumed the mantle of state carriage, holding it for almost thirty years. As well as being used by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany for official business it was the preferred vehicle of governments from numerous other countries and many prominent dynasties. Further Pullman versions of the Mercedes-Benz S-Guard featuring special protection followed in these illustrious footsteps.

Governments, heads of state and royalty all over the world have always appreciated Mercedes-Benz' vast experience and pioneering technical achievements in the construction of prestigious limousines featuring special protection. The luxury limousine not only provides all the communications and entertainment equipment they need, it also offers them space for discreet meetings. So they have everything perfectly under control, whatever the situation, with the added bonus of highly comfortable, individually styled surroundings.

In terms of technology, the new Pullman Limousine is based on the flagship Mercedes Benz S 600 L Guard model. Power comes courtesy of a smooth twelve-cylinder biturbo engine with a displacement of 5513 cc, an output of 380kW/517 hp and an impressive peak torque of 830 Nm. Both the chassis and the body are new developments, since simply adding on an extension would not have ensured the required overall stability, given the extra-long wheelbase. These new developments also provide the solid design basis for the installation of the heavy special-protection components. In addition, the new State Limousine features a rear entrance with increased headroom. Behind the partition, there is space for four passengers in the rear compartment with luxurious face-to-face seats in the time-honoured Pullman tradition.

The Mercedes-Benz S 600 Guard Pullman also offers its discerning passengers the highest possible degree of protection against terrorist attacks. The Highest Protection specified for this car is equivalent to resistance level B6/B7, as tested and certified by state-approved organisations. Plus it meets further requirements that are not even stipulated by any standard, as tested by public and independent organisations. Its armour resists military-standard small-arms projectiles and provides protection against fragments from hand grenades and other explosive devices. Additional safety features include run-flat tyres, a self-sealing fuel tank and a fire-extinguishing system.

In order to achieve the highest possible degree of protection, specialists with many years of experience in security technology equip the Pullman Limousine in Sindelfingen, working on the principle of integrated special protection. In effect this means that, rather than retrofitting the protective elements in the doors, rear wall, side panels, roof lining and firewall, etc. of an already finished vehicle, they fully integrate them into the bodyshell. Hence the body structure is further reinforced. The resulting vehicles offer hallmark Mercedes-Benz build quality combined with comprehensive Highest Protection, including in those areas where retrofits would be all but impossible. The basis for this is long-standing, continuous and close cooperation with nationally and internationally recognised security authorities. Over a period of decades, this collaboration has ensured that the production and development expertise of the Mercedes specialists has continued to grow. Their vast experience in the fields of protection technology and ballistics enables them to react to changing requirements in the most effective way possible.

Thanks to seamless integration of the special-protection features, the paint quality and corrosion protection match the high standards of conventional Mercedes-Benz passenger cars. Furthermore, the Pullman Limousines can be serviced at any Mercedes-Benz service outlet world-wide – a key aspect of the comprehensive, uncomplicated high-level service concept. It goes without saying that every new Mercedes-Benz S 600 Guard Pullman will display its own unique brand of styling thanks to an extensive range of appointments options including a choice of paint finishes, leathers and woods. Even the most unusual of customer requests can be met.

The first editions of the new Mercedes-Benz State Limousine are due to be delivered in late 2008.

Four Door Porsche

2007-02-17T11:53:00.000+03:00

I'm not talking bout the Cayenne!!

CAR Online has snared the best spy photos yet of Porsche's new four-seater, the Panamera. Think of it as a four-door version of the 928 - a four-seater GT to bridge the gap between the hard-core 911 sports car range and the Cayenne 4x4.

We won't see the Panamera in showrooms before 2009, with prices stretching from £54,000-£84,000.

The Panamera uses a variety of different components plucked from across Porsche's product portfolio. They needed the strongest suspension and brakes around so they borrowed them from the Cayenne SUV. They needed a lightweight, sports car chassis so they used parts of the 911 Turbo

It'll be front-engined and rear-drive, at first at any rate; there's some talk of a four-wheel drive version in the pipeline. Porsche hopes to build 20,000 a year at first

The Panamera is Porsche's answer to the CLS; a geniune four-seater set in the GT mould. The front-engine packaging and long wheelbase are designed to free up lots of cabin room for the four deep-set passenger seats, while the hatchbacked boot will top 475 litres (more with the rear seats folded).

Don't think this Porsche will be a soft comfort-oriented four-door, though. Much of the body will be made from lightweight aluminium and engineers have told CAR Online that the weight will fall around 1800kg. With direct-injection V8 power and up to 500bhp, it's not going to be slow.

The New C-Class

2007-01-29T16:48:00.000+03:00

This is the the all-new C-class. Mercedes Benz hopes to bring the small salon up to date and give it an edge over the BMW 3-series

There's a sharp new look that's definitely stolen some design cues from the S-class , plusa whole range of new engines .

Mercedes will launch the new saloon at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

The two pictures above show the Sport model, with its distinctive nose treatment; the big three-pointed star grille is based on the new CL coupe's - dominating the front view.

Lesser SE and Elegance models have a the good old fashioned "guiding star "standing proud on the bonnet.

On the inside there's a more advanced Voice Recognition system, Linguatronic II, which can understand whole sentences, plus a stereo with full MP3 compatibility and two USB ports.

Merc's take on BMWs iDrive is the COMAND controller. The "C" has an extra advanced one. It twists, pushes and tilts for full control over most functions. The headlights, meanwhile, share the E-class technology that adapts the beam to driving on motorways or country roads.

There are separate controls for the climate control available front and rear, and the system monitors the strength of the sun and air quality to make sure you get the perfect temperature.

The C-class chassis is naturally rear-drive, although 4Matic four-wheel drive will be available. Engineers have overhauled the rear suspension, while a new steering rack and tauter damping settings should also make this C-class far more dynamic to drive.

Adaptive Brake is another new development. This is based on the technology of the S-Class and provides additional support functions for even more safety and comfort. Examples include Start-Off Assist for uphill gradients, priming the braking system in critical situations and light contact to dry the brake discs in wet conditions.

The transmission choices are a six-speed manual on the entry-level four cylinders, while the V6 and V8 versions use the 7Gtronic seven-speed automatic. Some parts are shared with the E-class, although the C foregoes big brother's air suspension and roll-suppressing ABC active body control.

Benz is planning two hot models tuned by its AMG division. The "mild" C55 version continues with the current 388bhp, naturally aspirated V8. The red hot C63 version uses AMG's all-new, big bore V8, which kicks out 481bhp

Ever heard of a Bristol? Well its the most powerful prodution car in the world...

2006-11-14T09:31:00.000+03:00

Bristol Cars is a manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars, based at Filton, near Bristol, England. Bristol Cars has no distributors nor dealers and deals directly with customers; they have a showroom in Kensington in London. They claim to be the last wholly British-owned luxury car builder. The cars have only ever been made in very small numbers; about 150 per year, although the company has long refused to disclose production numbers and the current production (in 2004) is probably much less than this figure.

Bristol is an oddity because it builds expensive but, in the company's words, "nicely understated" cars. The Bristol values are those of tradition, understated quality, and practicality, rather than ostentation or excitement. Bristols built today are the same in major details as any from the past 30 years or more. Some would call this antiquated, but Bristol believes that no big changes are necessary. The cars are still totally handmade, taking four times the man-hours to complete than other luxury cars.

The cars are designed to be effective daily transportation rather than occasional indulgences. Comfort, driveability and ease of maintenance are paramount. With regular maintenance, the company expects a Bristol to outlast its owner, and Bristol Cars will maintain any car they ever built. The vast majority of parts are in stock, and they will remanufacture or hand-make any other required parts.

With their small production numbers, lack of glamour and no advertising, most even in the UK would not recognise a Bristol. This exclusive obscurity is very appealing to a certain class of buyer.

The car maker developed the Fighter T to satisfy customer demands for more performance. Not that the regular Fighter is a slouch At 3500 rpm the "standard" Fighter produces an impressive 525 lb.ft of torque and cracks 0-60mph in 4.0sec with a top speed that surpasses 200mph.

The T stands for turbocharged. Twin turbos almost double the peak power and whip up 1405 Nm / 1036 ft lbs of torque and a whopping 1012BHP @ 5600 rpm . Yet the power hike has not necessitated wholesale changes to the coupe. 'From the beginning we thought the Fighter would handle 750bhp fairly comfortably,' says Bristol boss Toby Silverton, 'But thanks to electronics [helping to deliver the power smoothly], we've been able to go further.'

The car uses the V10 from the Dodge Viper making this the hottest combination of a British car with an american Engine since the Shelby AC Cobra

The company claims the T could crack 270mph – some 20mph faster than the Bugatti Veyron – but electronics limit top speed to 225mph, It does 0-60mph in 3.5 Seconds

Bristol says it is delivering 20 Fighters a year. The T model will be available from September 2007, priced at £351,913.

Vehicle Specs
Year of introduction: 2007
Weight: 1475 kilo / 3251.8 lbs
Engine: Dodge Viper 90º V 10
Engine Location: Front , longitudinally mounted
Displacement: 7.994 liter / 487.8 cu in
Drivetrain
Valvetrain: 2 valves / cylinder, OHV
Fuel feed: Fuel injection
Aspiration: Twin Turbo
Gearbox: 6 speed Manual
Drive: Rear wheel drive

Performance figures
Power: 1012 bhp / 755 KW @ 5600 rpm
Torque: 1405 Nm / 1036 ft lbs @ 4500 rpm
BHP/Liter: 127 bhp / liter
Power to weight ratio: 0.69 bhp / kg
Top Speed: 362 km/h / 225 mph(limited)
0-60 mph Acceleration: 3.4 s

...Kumbe ni simba imeyeshewa

2006-08-16T10:14:00.000+03:00

Peugeot have never really, in the eyes of Kenyans, been associated with the high tech or ultra cool, Peugeots have always been revered and respected as everyday workhorses, capable of anything (other than having functional doors)

Lakini never since the days of Joginder in the 504 have I ever wanted a Peugeout so much. The brand which shares our "National" animal, the Lion, is roaring back to life with its new concept car, the 908RC

Luxury car design and a high-tech racing chassis collide in the 908 RC, Peugeot's concept for the upcoming Paris motor show. Part-limousine, part-Le Mans racer, the 186mph 908 is sure to be one of the most fascinating vehicles at Peugeot's hometown show in September.

The four-door, four-seat limousine has an unusual layout with an engine mounted behind the back seats. The 908's rear end is highly significant, because its 700bhp V12 diesel engine and the rear subframe supporting it will be adopted by Peugeot's 2007 Le Mans race car.

The Peugeot 2007 Le Mans race car.

And the highlights don't end there. The design also gives a sneak preview of Peugeot’s forthcoming executive car, the 608.

The imposing 908 RC is as long as a Mercedes S-class, The windscreen is drawn forward, and it arcs back over the front seats to create a vast glass bubble encircling the passenger cell.

The interior

The wheelbase is a whopping 3150mm-long, up there with a stretched S-class's, creating plenty of room for four in individual leather buckets. Luggage can be stored in the nose as well as a boot behind the engine.

Under its skin, the 908 RC shares much with Peugeot's contender for the 2007 Le Mans 24 Heures crown. The chassis is a mix of carbon composite and aluminium, to create an ultra-light, ultra-stiff platform suitable for endurance racing. The body is suspended via double wishbones front and rear. Hidden behind those flashy alloy rims are Brembo carbon composite brake discs, chosen for their light weight and ability to resist fade. The rims, clad in Michelin Pilot Sport rubber, measure 20 inches up front, 21 at the rear.

Audi won the 2006 Le Mans race with the R10, its V12 diesel racer. In 2007, it will have a Peugeot to contend with, running this twin-turbocharged V12 diesel. Peugeot claims the 5.5-litre unit is already kicking out more than 700bhp, at least 50bhp up on the Audi Racecar. Peak power is backed up by 885lb ft of torque. All this grunt is chanelled to the rear wheels via a six-speed sequential gearbox, mounted beneath the engine.

The Engine

By opting for a more economical diesel racer for Le Mans, Peugeot will have to pull in for less pit-stops than petrol rivals – which proved a huge advantage for Audi this year.

Peugeot's feline design theme is definitely visible on the 908 RC. The leading edge of the bonnet juts forward around a super-sized lion badge, inspired by a cat's nose and with the vents resembling its nostrils. And the LED headlamps are spookily reminiscent of cats' eyes, while Peugeot's trademark, wide grille is present and more pronounced than ever.

Hopefully the sculptured bonnet, headlamp shape and vents will influence the face of the 608 executive car, which arrives in 2008.

The powerful rear wheelarches resemble a crouching lion's hindquarters, and a cat's claw inspired the shape of that aluminium sliver in the rear lamp. Peugeot claims to have honed the 908's shape in the wind tunnel. The underbody diffuser – which sprouts four tailpipes – manages air flow, while a spoiler rises at speed to boost downforce. Rear vents feed air to the engine, and manage cooling.

The dashboard architecture gives strong hints to the 608's cabin. Today's Peugeots are the epitome of user-unfriendliness when it comes to the dashboard controls. The 908 RC's important audio, sat-nav and climate functions are controlled by the touch-screen area in the centre console. Hopefully, this will be put in the 608

Passengers in the back also have what Peugeot calls a 'man-machine interface' screen, .The plush cabin is trimmed in ‘amethyst grey’ leather; other materials include dark oak, aluminium inserts, chrome and a Bell&Ross analogue clock.

I just hope there'll be no problems with the doors

rK

Rolls vs a saved guy equals..

2006-08-11T12:00:00.000+03:00

The Gennadi phantom Black-Tie

The Gennadi Design Group is a Christian based company based in the US. Its owner Mark V.G. Gerisch and his team combine metered technology and old world craftsmanship to create individual dreams, art that can be driven.

The 2004 Rolls Royce Phantom brings to life a new level of driving experience and luxury. The newest Phantom has a fit and finish that are paralleled by no other. The modifications that we are currently working on are primarily two.

The Black Tie stretch in 15, 22, and 60 inch leaves seating room for six with the standard Phantom bench seats, or four with Maybach style reclining seats. Theatre sound and drop screens, divider wall for the driver compartment, hidden bars, bullet resistance and others are in the list of options.

The Genaddi Design Group, as always, makes the vehicle custom fit to your needs. The other modification that they are working with is a two or four door convertible version.

http://www.maybach.ru/competitors/rolls-royce-phantom-gennadi/index_en.php?ind=9

East African Motorshow

2006-07-30T00:00:00.000+03:00

This weekend, The East African Motorshow will take place. Its touted not as a competition but a celebration of the culture of modifying vehicles to create a personal touch. In light of this I would like to pay homage to the pioneers in the field of vehicle modification

Back in the day, luxury car makers such as Rolls-Royce used to build a cars chassis and engine only, specially appointed coachbuilders built the body of the car,kinda like what happens with Matatus today, GMEA sells the Canter chassis then coachbuilders like Dodi, Sembi etc build the Matatus body to the specifications required

One such company, Pininfarina, was founded by Battista “Pinin” Farina on May 22nd 1930 in Turin. The company was designed to build special car bodies for individual customers or in small production runs. They are responsible for most of the designs of Ferraris, Alfa Romeos and the 406 coupe among others

By the way, theres a 406 Coupe in Kenya owned by some chap who works at Marshalls

Since I'm talking about personalization, let me talk abut the man before I deal with the Car

New York property magnate Peter S Kalikow is the chairman of the city's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (the western hemisphere's largest public transport provider, covering New York's buses, rail network and subway system),

He has amassed one of the world's finest collections of Ferraris. With badges like 330 America, 250 GT California Spider and 410 Superamerica, they're obscure, mostly from the Fifties and Sixties, and are worth tens of millions of dollars.

Now this seems like a man who has everything but NO!!! apparently Kalikow lacked a Ferrari built to his exact and very specialist requirements. To this end, he sought the involvement of Pininfarina, the result, The Ferrari 612 Kappa

First of all, the car is based on a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. This roughly £170,297 coupe has a 5.8 Litre V12 Engine with an output of 540HP which enables it move from a complete standstill to 100 Km/h in 4.2 seconds, a time slightly shorter than it will take you to read this paragraph. The car will then move on to its top speed of 320 Km/h (199mph) at the behest of its owner

This process is aided by the 6 speed manual transmission with F1 stlye paddle shifts on either side if the steering wheel

For rather obvious reasons, Kalikow did not feel the need to modify the engine

The body however has been reworked,its been done in such a fashion that you only begin to see the changes by staring at an adjacent standard car. In truth, only one panel remains unaltered - the rear bumper.

To reflect just how obsessive those modifications are, lets start with the front grille: now handcrafted from polished aluminium, recessed further back than the standard car's and with smaller vent holes. This sets the tone - a huge effort for a minimalist result.

Scaglietti

Kappa

Look across to the boot. Here you'll find a badge made up of crossed Ferrari and Pininfarina flags as on Fifties Ferraris, rather than a prancing horse.

Returning to the front of the car, the chrome-backed headlamps are a reminder of Ferraris of the same era, as is the deep scoop set into the bonnet.

"With this you'll find something nostalgic," says Paolo Garella, Pininfarina's Special Projects Manager. "We polished the very edge of it to reveal the aluminium beneath. The effect is known as a 'colpo di luce', or a ray of light."

Entry to the car is through personalized door handles.

These feature the owner's initials, psk, in the trademark Pininfarina font. These were not specified, but were added as a present by Pininfarina. If this is not enough to identify the car's initiator, there is a plaque in the door sill that explains the details even more clearly

Translated: Pininfarina Coachbuilders Special for Peter Kalikow, 2006

The car's most complex modification, and one of the hardest to pick out, resides at the rear. Thin buttresses now run down either side of the back windows, flowing towards the bootlid and providing a more hunched-forward, muscular stance.

The rear lights and their housings are altered, too, taken from an F430 and closer to those in early design sketches for the Scaglietti, but absent in the production car.

Kalikow was taken with the leather used in a 456 GT in his collection, officially unavailable from Ferrari since the early 90s, but unearthed to trim the interior of the car at his request. The extending seat bases and the pneumatically adjustable seat edges are unique features, as are three extra knurled aluminium switches that have appeared on the centre console.

The first switch swaps between a pianissimo 'town' horn and a fortissimo 'country' horn, a further retro Ferrari touch.

The second opens and closes blinds beneath the new, twin glass roof panels.

The third acts on liquid crystal elements set within the glass roof to give a variable degree of tinting. The glass' transparency can be changed from completely clear to pitch black.

The roof also houses a solar panel running up its centre,between the glass panels, which drives fans built below the parcel shelf to vent hot air out of the car when its parked in direct sunlight.

UPDATE
I recently discovered that The VW Group have been using this technology for some time now and a "solar sunroof" which even in very low sunlight, produces electricity to power the ventilator inside the vehicle using light-sensitive elements under the glass sunroof panel is available as an option on everything from an Audi A8 to a Skoda Superb

For all the discretion of Kalikow's Ferrari, a couple of CMB Prezzo type flossing stunts have sneaked in.

His signature appears on a dashboard plaque ,below the radio and there's the small matter of the car's name.

This is no longer a 612 Scaglietti, it's a 612 Kappa - Kappa being the letter in the Greek alphabet equivalent to a K; a K being the first letter on the licence plate of each of the cars in Kalikow's collection.

As mentioned before, the engine remained unaltered ,this explains why Ferrari was quick to sanction the car's existence. "Also, Mr Kalikow is a personal friend of Piero Ferrari" Garella points out. Ferrari also agreed not to copy any of the unique cues of the Kappa for future models.

As to the small matter of the, surely incredible, cost involved in the 612 Kappa's creation? "If you have to ask," Garella says, "you dont need to know"

SOURCES:
Basically pilfered from :-
-An article by Peter Grunert for www.topgear.com
-The images are from www.ultimatecarpage.com and www.topgear.com
NB:The Quote by Paolo Garella in the last paragraph is entirely a figment of my imagination
The actual exerpt from his interview with Peter Grunert was:
As to the small matter of the, surely incredible, cost involved in the 612 Kappa's creation? "You may ask," Garella says, "but this we can never disclose."

Land Rover Freelander 2

2006-07-04T09:03:00.000+03:00

The all-new Land Rover Freelander 2 redefines the compact premium 4x4 class. New from the ground up, Freelander 2 delivers outstanding on-road performance as well as the class-leading off-road ability of a true Land Rover. A dynamic design, purposeful stance, smart and spacious interior, and an abundance of advanced technologies complete the package.

The original Freelander (launched in 1997) is seen by many as having created a whole new class of vehicle: the compact premium 4x4. It was the top-selling 4x4 in Europe for five years and remained the UK’s best-selling 4x4 from launch until the end of 2005. The all-new Freelander 2 is improved in every way: better performance, more economical, more refined, higher quality and substantially roomier. It is more capable both off-road and on-road, with transformed handling, ride and comfort.

Freelander 2 is Land Rover’s fourth all-new vehicle in just over four years, and follows the new Range Rover (2002), Discovery 3 (2004) and Range Rover Sport (2005). Their highly successful introductions contributed to record Land Rover sales worldwide in 2005. Technical highlights of the Freelander 2 include two brand-new engines: a 3.2-litre straight-six petrol and a 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbocharged diesel. Both feature advanced technologies to deliver outstanding combinations of performance and economy.

The 233 PS (171 kW) i6 petrol engine provides a top speed of 124 mph (200 km/h) and 0-60 mph acceleration in 8.4 seconds (0-100 km/h in 8.9 seconds). Combined fuel economy is 25.2 mpg (11.2 litres/100 km). The engine is matched to a new six-speed automatic transmission, with Land Rover’s CommandShift offering manual sequential gear changes when required. There is also a driver-selectable sport mode, for livelier performance.

Straight-six engine configurations are ideal for delivering engine smoothness, and the very compact new unit in Freelander 2 is small enough to mount transversely, a first in the compact 4x4 sector and one of the vehicle’s many innovations. The benefits of transverse fitment include improved interior package and safety performance.

The diesel engine chosen for Freelander 2 is an all-new 2.2-litre four-cylinder. The 160 PS (118 kW) unit delivers peak torque of 400 Nm (295 lb ft), with over 200 Nm (148 lb ft) of torque from 1000 rpm all the way to 4500 rpm. The engine is easy and responsive to drive, as well as highly refined and economical, with a combined average fuel consumption of 37.7 mpg (7.5 l/100 km). An optional catalysed Diesel Particulate Filter (cDPF) is also available for even cleaner performance. Two transmissions are offered: a new six-speed manual gearbox and the same six-speed automatic used on the petrol engine (diesel auto available from spring 2007).

The interior package of Freelander 2 is a major improvement over the outgoing vehicle. Although only 50 mm longer, the Freelander 2 has more generous head, shoulder and legroom, in both the front and rear. Large glass areas emphasise the spacious feel and complement the elevated ‘command driving’ position – a Land Rover hallmark – and ‘stadium seating’, where rear passengers sit slightly higher than front occupants, for a clearer view of the world outside. Boot space is also among the best in class and 38 per cent larger than that of the outgoing Freelander (with rear seats up – 755 litres vs 546 litres).

The exterior and interior design of Freelander 2 is completely fresh, integrating the company’s unique design language with a form that is instantly recognisable as the latest Land Rover. The body is a five-door monocoque structure, with a high level of torsional rigidity which benefits refinement, comfort and handling on-road as well as ensuring the vehicle is fit for serious off-roading. The suspension is fully independent and uses the most modern stability control systems, including Roll Stability Control (RSC), a new and sophisticated technology that helps mitigate the risk of roll-over.

The Freelander 2 is packed with new technologies to improve both on-road and off-road performance, many new to the class. Land Rover’s unique Terrain Response is standard on all but the entry-level model, to make off-roading easier. Other interesting technologies include a new full-time intelligent 4x4 system for superior traction and better on-road fuel economy, and the patented Gradient Release Control, which improves driver confidence and control when releasing the brakes on steep and slippery slopes.

Other features and options rare in this class include: keyless starter button, bi-xenon headlamps, adaptive front lighting, rain-sensing wipers and park distance control (front and rear). A two-part panoramic sunroof increases the cabin’s airiness: air-conditioning is standard on all models and a full colour touch-screen DVD satellite navigation system is also available. The choice of top-level audio systems includes DAB digital radio and 12-speaker Dolby Prologic IIx Surround Sound with fibre-optic interconnects. An auxiliary audio connection (for iPods and MP3 players) is standard on all vehicles

SOURCE: www.ultimatecarpage.com

New S-Class

2006-04-05T08:42:00.000+03:00

For more than five decades, the letter "S" in the model designation of Mercedes cars has signified a special aura, intelligent technology and the highest quality. The new S-Class not only continues this tradition, but lends a new meaning to it. It is a technological pacemaker with its pioneering innovations for more safety, comfort and practicality, and like its predecessors it will influence the automotive development of the future. The saloon exudes this poise and assurance even at first glance. Its design emphasises the confident, powerful and elegant character of the new S-Class, which makes every journey an experience.

Achieving even more technological highlights was a challenge for the engineers in Stuttgart and Sindelfingen, for the bar was set very high: the previous S-Class, which had been repeatedly voted the "Best Car in the World" since its presentation in 1998, was a hard act to follow. The progress Mercedes-Benz has made with the new saloon is based on this already high level. A dozen technical innovations are entering series production for the first time on board the new S-Class – from Brake Assist PLUS with radar sensors to seats with an extended massage function, from the night view assist system with the latest infra-red technology to the new COMAND system, and from preventive PRE-SAFE® occupant protection with additional functions to Parking Assist.

Safety: Brake Assist with radar and latest-generation PRE-SAFE®

This system registers vehicles ahead by radar and gives a warning if the gap is too small or the closing speed is too high. If a collision threatens, Brake Assist PLUS calculates the ideal braking assistance in fractions of a second and makes this available immediately – even if the driver applies too little pressure to the brake pedal. This significantly reduces the incidence of rear-end collisions. The adaptive brake light, which warns following traffic by flashing during emergency braking, also makes a major contribution.

PRE-SAFE® recognises potential accident situations as they arise: if braking deceleration exceeds a certain level or a skid is imminent, the system tensions the front seat belts as a precaution and inflates air cushions in the multicontour seats to envelop and support the driver, front passenger and rear seat occupants. For the first time Mercedes-Benz has also integrated the side windows into this preventive protection system; they are automatically closed when an accident threatens.

DISTRONIC PLUS and the new night view assist

The Proximity control system DISTRONIC PLUS is a radar-supported system that now operates at all speeds between zero and 200 km/h, and ensures even greater driver comfort. In stop-and-go traffic DISTRONIC PLUS keeps the new S-Class at the right distance from the vehicle ahead, automatically brakes the saloon to a standstill if necessary and accelerates it back to the required speed when the traffic starts moving again.

The equipment package with Brake Assist PLUS and DISTRONIC PLUS also includes a new Parking Assist system which likewise uses radar sensors. These have a longer range than ultrasonic signals, therefore the driver receives earlier warning of an impending collision when reversing into a parking space.

With the innovative night view assist system which is premiered in the new S-Class, Mercedes-Benz has made a further, major contribution to reducing the risk of accidents during the hours of darkness. This system is based on infra-red light, which is invisible to the human eye and will therefore not dazzle oncoming traffic. Two infra-red headlamps illuminate the road, extending the driver’s range of vision to more than 150 metres when on low beam. Night view assist therefore makes pedestrians, cyclists, parked cars and other obstacles visible very much sooner. An infra-red camera mounted on the inside of the windscreen records the reflected image of the road ahead and displays this in the instrument cluster.

This car is currently available at DT Dobie

SOURCE: Modified from www.worldcarfans.com

Lotus Exige S

2006-04-05T08:22:00.000+03:00

The Lotus Exige S is the latest addition to the Exige range and is a real sportscar that redefines the term ''Extreme Performance''. With 90.5 kW / litre (121.4 hp / litre, 123 PS / litre), it is one of most powerful production cars in the world for its engine size but most importantly it has full type approval for all the markets in which it will be sold. The Lotus Exige S is not a limited edition, nor is it an aftermarket special – it is manufactured from start to finish in the world leading and award winning Lotus Manufacturing facility at Hethel, Norfolk.

Because the basic car is so immensely strong but lightweight (935 kg, 2057 lbs), giving a power to weight ratio of 173.8 kW/tonne (233.2 hp/tonne, 236.4 PS/tonne), performance is phenomenal, with 100 km/h being reached from a standing start in 4.3 seconds (0 – 60 mph in 4.1 seconds) and 160 km/h (100 mph) being reached in 9.98 seconds (estimate) before topping out at 238 km/h (148 mph). Inspite of this phenomenal performance the fuel economy is impressive with an official combined figure of 9.1 litres / 100 km (31.0 mpg) - extra urban is an impressive 7.2 litres / 100 km (39.2 mpg). Lotus believes that there is no car on sale anywhere in the world that has such good performance combined with such good fuel economy! Not that many customers will be buying this car principally for its fuel economy!

Being a Lotus, straight-line performance is not the most important factor, but every day driving on normal roads, or around a circuit is. There are very few cars on sale today that can match the speed, agility and safety of the Exige S in both day to day and track or circuit driving. However the Exige S is not just a track day warrior. It is a sportscar that would be at home on the back roads, freeways and autobahns, as well as on city streets. With an extremely ''torquey'' engine and the classic Lotus suspension set-up of soft compliant springs and firm controllable dampers, the driving experience is an uncanny combination of telepathic-like handling with a taught and comfortable ride. There is really no car that handles quite like a Lotus.

SOURCE: www.ultimatecarpage.com

Natalia

1990-08-01T14:34:00.000+03:00

When Maybach is just passé and a Rolls-Royce Phantom much too common, you'll be the sort of person looking for a DiMora Natalia SLS2.

The co-founder of Starbridge Systems Inc. a very high tech computer company ( www.starbridgesystems.com ) and creator of the Clenet Sportster, and one of the finest American Luxury automobiles ever produced, is back in the design studio. When he emerges, he will be at the wheel of the first Natalia SL2, a $2 million technological marvel that will set the standard for 21st Century automotive excellence.

Sporting DiMora Motorcar’s 14 Litre V-16 Volcano engine rated at 1,200 horsepower and delivering variable torque to each of its four steerable wheels, you know NATALIA™ SLS2 will be ready for the most challenging driving conditions. And, she will have brains as well as brawn. There will be over 60 computer systems spread throughout this luxurious 5-passenger touring sedan.

The new car will sense the emotional state and behavior of the driver when he/she is at the wheel, including their stress level, heart rate, temperature, and even if they are happy, sad, angry, etc. This information will be fed into the onboard computers so NATALIA™ can interact with the driver in many ways, including setting the mood of the interior lighting, the color of the dash, the type of music being played, the brake and accelerator pedal response to foot pressure, the cockpit temperature, and more. She will even tell you if you are falling asleep at the wheel. If you do not listen, more drastic actions will be taken!

DiMora Motorcar Company will be the first to use many of these technologies and will be the first to combine them all into one integrated vehicle—NATALIA™ will define state-of-the-art in the automotive world.

The car will use electronic controls and software to operate high-brightness LEDs. By tiling the entire interior ceiling of the car with a sheet of these LEDs, the driver and passengers can create light directly over their seats only, illuminate the entire car, dial up an infinite number of ceiling colors to suit their mood, again over each seat, or trigger an infinite number of computer-controlled soothing or entertaining lighting shows and effects including gently pulsing star-like effects.

Patented hi-tech safety lights that will be built into the doors of car will throw a gentle glow onto the pavement when you open the door. NATALIA will also be able to project whatever graphics or customized image the owner desires. Imagine, for example, the NATALIA™ logo being projected onto the pavement as a safety light each time the door is opened. Each client will have the opportunity to have their family crest or monogram projected instead. At the flip of a switch from the driver compartment, the projected image will remain onto the pavement while you are driving, gliding silently alongside the car and just under the driver and passenger front doors (or all four doors if you wish).

The car will hold its interior at a comfortable temperature regardless of outside temperature while you are parked and the engine is turned off. This is a solid state system that utilizes its own power source. It causes cold or hot air (without any air conditioning system or fluids of any kind) to fill the interior and keep it cool during the summer or warm during the winter. When you return to your car, it is perfectly comfortable to get into yet it has not used any fuel or energy from your main battery. This also means that you and your pets can stay in your car with the engine off and the windows closed and still have climate control. Now that is luxury!

DiMora is making the car so exclusive that it comes with its own private two-way, hands-free phone for exclusive use among the owners of NATALIA™. When an owner drives near someone with the same discriminating taste, the two can greet each other and socialize while on the road, privately, intimately, and securely thanks to the built-in encoding system which prevents anyone from intercepting the conversation. Of course, the new state-of-the-art GPS navigation system will tell you how re-route to avoid congested traffic conditions ahead.

>>> www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/news/auto_und_produkte/dimora_natalia_neuer_massstab.119708.htm
Photo www.topgear.com