Autos

The Lotus Racing team and a young Malaysian have made it into Formula One’s history books. 16-year old Nabil Jeffri became the youngest ever F1 test driver when he stepped into the Lotus T127 at the Imperial War Museum runway in Duxford, England. Jeffri, an AirAsia ASEAN Driver Development programme member, conducted a day of aero testing and gave the team valuable pitstop practice.

“I have had an incredible day, one of the best days of my life, and I want to thank Lotus Racing, Tony Fernandes and Mike Gascoyne for giving me the chance to drive their car. I have to admit that the first time I went out it was pretty scary – everyone told me the acceleration would be unbelievable, and the braking would be so much greater than anything I’ve ever experienced, and it took a while to get used to that, but Heikki and Fairuz gave me some advice on how to settle in to it, and after a while I was more comfortable.

“It’s such an honour to have had this opportunity, and it’ll be a long time before the excitement wears off, but I’ll keep on working hard to one day join Heikki, Fairuz, Jarno and the rest of the F1 grid, and with the support of people like Tony and Lotus Racing, I’ve got a great chance of doing so,” Jeffri said.

Heikki Kovalainen, who was there to help the young man, had this to say: “It’s a great experience for Nabil and it’s really good to see how well he did. I told him to enjoy it, and not get stressed about trying to impress everyone too much. He did a great job today – he quickly picked up the correct procedures, and was working well with the whole team, which is pretty awesome when you think we’ve got the proper race team here today which could have been a bit daunting.”

“He completed the planned programme, gave clear and precise feedback, and we couldn’t ask any more of him than that. I’m sure this experience will help him take another step forward in his career, and we’ll be keeping a close eye on him to see if what he’s learnt today can help him take that next step up, in performance terms, in the Asian Formula BMW Championship,” said Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Thu, 09 Sep 10 22:52:20 +0000.

Renault has released pictures of the facelifted Laguna sedan and station wagon that will be making their public debut at the upcoming Paris Motor Show.

New within the line-up is the 1.5-litre dCi 110 hp, which has better green credentials, emitting only 120g/km of CO2. Renault will also introduce 4Control, which employs all four wheels when steering the car. This will be made available on the 130 hp dCi and 150 hp dCi diesel models.

Looks have also gone through a minor update as the front end now features a revised bumper, redesigned grille and slanted headlight design. Inside the interior receives a mild revision on the dash and central console.

The car will be showcased alongside the European version of the Renault Latitude in Paris, which would be a good opportunity to play spot the difference. Pictures are after the jump.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Thu, 09 Sep 10 22:52:20 +0000.

There’s a lot of 4X4/SUV talent at the Chrysler Group, and shortly after they unveiled the handsome new Jeep Grand Cherokee, comes this equally good looking 2011 Dodge Durango, which they call a “Performance SUV with a Soul”.

We won’t be betting on it against the Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5, although Dodge makes a lot of enthusiast noise – lines like “performance-tuned to thrill anyone who truly loves to drive” and “the Durango’s stiffened unibody structure is engineered with the driving enthusiast in mind” for instance. But from the looks of it, this black and blinged “rapper spec” car looks like its targetting the hip hop circle.

The big SUV has a monocoque body and three rows of seats for seven occupants. Dodge says that the Durango’s cabin is one of its main selling points – it’s a place where you’d want to “jump in, hunker down and thoroughly enjoy even the longest drive”. It’s flexible too, with a staggering 22 different seating configurations and “crossover versatility” for the family.

The Durango is powered by a 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 or a 5.7-litre HEMI V8 engine with fuel-saving, Multi-displacement system (MDS) four-cylinder mode. Both engines feature variable-valve timing and can be paired to AWD.

Towing capacity is important in the US and the V8 can pull 7,400 lbs while the V6 does a best in class 6,200 lbs. The example given is that the Durango V8 can tow more weight than a 24-foot boat plus trailer. Fuel efficiency must be factored in these days, even in this segment, and the Dodge can go past 800 km before needing a refill.

More pics after the jump.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Thu, 09 Sep 10 22:52:20 +0000.

Nissan has officially confirmed that it will be putting the Murano CrossCabriolet into production. No pictures were released with the announcement, thus its first public debut would be at the Los Angeles Auto Show this year.

Meant for the American market, it will be the world’s first “all wheel drive crossover convertible”, with space for four adults and luggage with the top down. There has been no mention of the car being available in any other markets apart from the US, which goes on sale next year.

Brian Carolin, Nissan North America Inc.’s senior vice president for Sales and Marketing said that the convertible is intended as an image vehicle for the Nissan brand. “It’s not going to be a volume car. But there’s a degree of bravery for us to bring out a car like that right now. It will surprise a lot of people.”

Nissan will also be unveiling the next generation Quest, expected to house a 3.7 litre V6 generating up to 300hp and the Nissan Ellure concept sedan. The production version of the Nissan Leaf will also be at the Nissan stands.

Even without pictures, the design will no doubt be slightly strange. When the car was shown to dealers in Las Vegas, some said that it looked better with the top down than up. Do you think this will work? Have you say.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Thu, 09 Sep 10 22:52:20 +0000.

This is the first sketch released of an upcoming new Hyundai model called the Hyundai ix20. Despite the x in its name which so far has been given to new Hyundai SUV models, the ix20 is actually a B-segment MPV, according to Hyundai at least. This could possibly be a replacement for the seriously aging Hyundai Matrix but I’m not totally sure, but what’s probably confirmed is that its a Hyundai counterpart to the Kia Venga. The Hyundai ix20 will be displayed at the Paris Motorshow 2010 on the 30th of September 2010 but I bet a few images will be released in between this sketch and the show debut.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Thu, 09 Sep 10 22:52:20 +0000.