Camaro exterior designer leaves for Volkswagen

The Chevy Camaro is one of the most desirable (and well known) American cars on sale now, and the genius who penned its exterior design has left General Motors – to join Volkswagen. South Korean born Sangyup Lee has recently resigned from General Motors to be Chief Designer of Exterior at the Volkswagen/Audi Advanced studio in Santa Monica, California.

Lee leaves after 10 years at GM. Besides designing Bumblebee, his work also included the 50th Anniversary Stingray concept and had a hand in the C6 Corvette. Lee’s tenure included several international postings such as the Camaro production program for Holden Australia; a joint venture program for Subaru and GM in Japan; and a project between Bertone and GM in Italy where he developed the 2004 Buick Velite Concept car. The Velite project established the signature look of current Buick products.

With this, can we now expect bold, chunky and muscular designs to come out from VW/Audi’s US studio?

Source

JMW to lead Aston GT2 programme

Thursday, December 24th 2009, 10:06 GMT

Le Mans Series GT2 runner-up squad JMW Motorsport will switch from Ferrari to Aston Martin from the 2010 season.

JMW has completed a two-year deal to become the official development squad for the GT2 Aston, which was run by the LMP1-bound Drayson Racing in 2009.

In the team's first season of competition this year, JMW Ferrari duo Rob Bell and Gianmaria Bruni missed out on the LMS GT2 crown to Felbermayr-Proton Porsche drivers Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz by just one point.

Double LMS GT2 champion Bell will stay on with JMW - which has yet to announce the rest of its line-up - and is looking forward to racing the Aston.

"I am so excited about this new challenge, the only way I can describe it is I feel rejuvenated," he said. "As a driver, the opportunity not only to race the Aston Martin Vantage GT2 but to play such an integral part in the development of the car fires me up."

Aston Martin Racing boss George Howard-Chappell said his company knew it had to improve the GT2 Vantage's performance as the car had not yet been a frontrunner in the ultra-competitive class. But he believes the JMW partnership will bring a big step forward.

"We have focused considerable engineering resource on improving the performance of the Vantage GT2," he said.

"While we offer cars in every class from LMP1 to GT4, the GT2 car is probably the most important customer car and the one where we can make the most improvements.

"Working with a top professional team like JMW with their resources and commitment will mean we will be able to really challenge for GT2 honours in 2010."

Detroit Electric to offer affordable electric cars

By Samuel Ee

ELECTRIC vehicles (EVs) will start rolling silently into Singapore next year and among the most affordable could be those from Detroit Electric.

The American company makes pure electric vehicles and has partnered Malaysia's Proton to introduce more affordably priced electric cars.

Because of the technology involved, EVs are expensive to develop and produce. In recent times, prices have decreased but they are still not as competitive as those of conventional cars. It is estimated that there are only about 10,000 EVs being driven worldwide. These cars run purely on electricity, as opposed to petrol-electric hybrids like those from Toyota and Honda, which are powered by a combination of petrol engine and electric motor.

'Detroit Electric's pure electric vehicles will be introduced in Asia towards the end of 2010,' said Albert Lam, chairman and CEO of Detroit Electric. 'They will be priced between US$23,000 and US$26,000 for the city range model and between US$28,000 and US$33,000 for an extended range model.'

Mr Lam explained that the core strength of Detroit Electric's vehicle plan is its patented Magnetic Flux Motor Technology and Motor Controller Programme. This allows the vehicle to achieve a range of 180 km on a single charge for the city model and 320 km for the extended range model.

He added that the plan is to launch the vehicles in Singapore in Q3 or Q4 next year, with the first deliveries taking place in early 2011.

'We will supply 400 to 500 vehicles at this time, 30 of which will be the Lotus Elise SP1 and the rest evenly split between the two sedan models,' said Mr Lam. The former is a two-seater sports coupe based on the British marque's mid-engined model. Lotus is owned by Proton.

More interestingly, Detroit Electric's list prices are significantly lower than that of the very first EV model bound for Singapore - the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. This electric version of the Mitsubishi i minicar has an open market value of about $85,000. The OMV does not include registration taxes or the distributor's profit margin.

The i-MiEV is part of a $20 million programme to support infrastructure development and test-bed EVs in Singapore. The project is being driven by the EV Taskforce, which is co-chaired by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

The first 10 units of the i-MiEV will arrive in July, with the rest of the 50 cars to follow by end-September. They will be sold to corporate customers and although tax incentive plans have not been firmed up yet, the electric Mitsubishis may not cost much more than the OMV if registered under a special scheme for the testing of new technologies.

As for the Detroit Electric EVs, they should be subject to the usual registration taxes although they will at least qualify for the green vehicle rebate of 40 per cent of OMV.

'The strength of our vehicle is that it will be a low cost and practical solution to zero emissions motoring,' said Detroit Electric EVP Ben Boycott. 'It will not require any compromises in driving style, load capacity or function.'

Mr Boycott said his company's vehicles will also be fun to drive 'with a light and dynamic chassis combined with a very accessible performance'.

'The electric motor has maximum torque available from zero rpm and there is no need for gear changes. This will make city driving relaxing yet fun,' he said.

This article was first published in The Business Times.

F1: Surprise deal as Petronas become title sponsor of Mercedes GP

The deal is a surprise: Petronas has been involved in motorsport for a long time: it even developed a superbike several years ago - and its name has spent the last season splashed across the, er, lower back of Valentino Rossi and his team.

And for a long time, it has been a major sponsor of the Sauber, then BMW-Sauber team. Under the earlier incarnation, Malaysians gained good work experience with the Sauber team.

But the general expectation was that now the BMW deal was dead, that Petronas would put its financial muscle behind its sister company Proton's efforts.

To be fair, Team Lotus F1 is not really a Proton company: it's run by a few well connected Malaysians and some serious talent amongst the hired help, but it's got the Lotus name and Proton own Lotus engineering and the road and sports car divisions. There were criticisms that state money may be being put into the Lotus team.

And so Petronas may have been scared off by the criticism.

Or it might have decided that it has, at last, the chance to put its name on a car that wins.

So, now the team that was once BrawnGP and had no stickers on their cars will go by the name "Mercedes GP PETRONAS Formula One Team"

The new livery will be formally unveiled in February at the Valencia test, which is when - in theory at least - all teams will roll out their new cars.

The hero of formula one in recent years, Ross Brawn, said "The collaboration of the premium automotive brand Mercedes-Benz and a company as prestigious as PETRONAS gives our team a fantastic base from which to achieve our ambitions of competing at the top level of Formula One and building on the success of 2009 which saw the team achieve the Constructors� and Drivers� Championships. Our plans for the new season are progressing well, as is the development of our 2010 challenger, and we look forward to seeing the car run in the new Silver Arrows and PETRONAS livery at the Valencia test in February.�

But for Petronas there might have been a specific reason for going to Mercedes rather than any other team: the German manufacturer has already made it clear that it has no intention of writing blank cheques and that one of the attractions of Brawn GP is that it had costs under control. For Petronas, that might mean that it got a somewhat better deal that it might have expected from some other leading teams.

And with its name on last year's MotoGP champion, it will be hoping for more of the same.

But there is another thing: there's an increasing buzz that Michael Schumacher has rebuilt his injured neck and is eyeing a return to F1. Ferrari have said they will not stand in his way if he joins another team, despite his extensive consulting role with them. Rumours say that Schumacher has personally told his former bosses at Ferrari that there is "a strong possibility" that he will be in a Mercedes F1 car next year."

Focus, a German magazine, reports that a deal has been done - for one year only and subject to an FIA medical.

With the guaranteed coverage that will provide, even if he's rubbish which isn't likely, Petronas might just have secured the sponsorship profile deal of the next decade.

Proton should name car after Dr M

Friday December 18, 2009 Proton should name car after Dr M

THE Malay proverb, �Harimau mati meninggalkan belang, manusia mati meninggalkan nama� conveys the meaning �One�s good deeds will never be forgotten.�

With this in mind, I would like to suggest that the new Proton model be named after Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the man who so brilliantly inspired the automotive industry in the country. I would like to mention some famous companies in the global automotive industry to emphasise my suggestion.

Henry Ford (1863-1947), the founder and manufacturer of the Ford motor car. He started the Ford production company in 1901, which was later known as the Ford Motor Company in 1903.

Sakichi Toyoda (1894-1952) started the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works Ltd company, and the first car was produced in 1935 by his son Kiichiro Toyoda. Eventually the company was named Toyota Motor Company in 1937.

Sachiro Honda (1906-1991) was a mechanic and mainly produced motorcycles at the beginning, and successfully launched the Honda Company in 1948. His first car, called a Honda, was made in 1948.

Michio Suzuki was the inventor of the Suzuki motor car, and founded the Suzuki Motor Company in 1954. It was later known as the Suzuki Motor Corporation. Suzuki is the ninth-biggest automotive company in the world and has 133 delivery companies in 192 countries.

Walter P. Chrysler changed the name from Maxwell Motor Company to Chrysler after he bought the corresponding companies� shares in 1925. Since then, the name Chrysler is being used in all his company products.

If all these companies named themselves and their cars after their founders, then it is only apt that we honour Dr M by using his name on our Proton cars. He was the backbone of the automotive industry in Malaysia, and without him we might not have achieved the brilliant success in this industry.

In light of this, I suggest that the Government organise a competition to name a future model after Dr M. It is important because by doing this, future generations will remember his contributions in the national automotive industry.

It has been 26 years since Proton was born, and it is time for us to honour Dr M�s contributions. Today we can hold our heads high that Proton is on par with other international names.

Dr M�s thoughts and actions have always been advanced, enabling us to �kaizen� (continuously improve and always learn to achieve). Hence we should always think positively and cultivate big ambitions for ourselves.

Dr M has done a lot for us and our country. As the father of modernisation, he is a most esteemed �engineer� and �architect� who has put Malaysia on the map.

We should not repeat the mistake with P. Ramlee. That is, honouring him with the Tan Sri title only after 17 years of his passing. Now is the time for us to take our hats off to honour Dr M.

A. MUTHU,

Alor Setar.

Anniversary turns tragic as couple and baby die in crash

Thursday December 24, 2009 Anniversary turns tragic as couple and baby die in crash Story and pic by G. C. TAN

JITRA: What was supposed to have been a happy first wedding anniversary celebration turned out to be a tragic outing for a family of three who died after the car they were travelling in collided with a lorry laden with sand and gravel.

Textile trader Benyamin Yaakub, 30, his wife Normah Isa, 29, and their six-month-old baby girl Ilnu Balkis Benyamin, were on the way to Jitra town from Normah’s mother’s house in Kampung Permatang Bongor about 20km away when the accident happened at about 5pm yesterday

Kubang Pasu OCPD Supt Sawaluddin Haminuddin said yesterday the couple and their baby girl were travelling in a Proton Wira and had stopped at the Jalan Kodiang-Jalan Jitra traffic lights. A Naza Sutera car was behind them.

“The lorry coming from the Jitra Hospital roundabout is believed to have encountered problems and rammed into several cars before jumping a divider and hitting both the cars waiting at the traffic lights junction.

“The Proton Wira was dragged for about 50m before both vehicles came to a halt after hitting the retaining wall of the Bazaar Mara Jitra building at Jalan Kodiang,” he said. The Proton Wira was a complete wreck.

The bazaar is a two-storey building with a coffee-shop located on the ground floor.

Supt Sawaluddin said the Naza Sutera, in which couple Othman Bakar, 50, and his wife Noor Zarena Bakar, 47, were travelling in had overturned near the traffic lights junction after being hit by the lorry.

“Othman, who was driving, is in coma at the Alor Star Hospital while his wife received treatment for minor injuries,” he said.

The 34-year-old lorry driver, who sustained minor injuries, has been detained for questioning.

Supt Sawaluddin said a total of five cars were involved in the accident.

Jitra Fire and Rescue Services Department chief Lee Ah Hing said the department received a call about the accident at 5.20pm and it took firemen 30 minutes to extricate the bodies from the wreckage.

An eye-witness Nur Azelin Mansor, 42, who was having tea at the bazaar, said she heard two loud crashes.

“I ran out and was shocked to see what looked like half a car stuck to the front of a lorry at the bazaar’s retaining wall,” she said.

Normah’s mother Siti Bedah Huzin, 48, who rushed to the hospital mortuary after being informed of the accident by a relative, said she last spoke to her daughter at about 4pm yesterday.

“I advised both my daughter and son-in-law not to take their baby girl out because it was too hot but they insisted on going out,” she sobbed.

Siti Bedah said the couple who were staying in Cherating, Pahang, had come to her house a few days ago for a holiday.

Porsche Motorsport newsletter 2009-11-10

Porsche Motorsport newsletter 2009-11-10 Racing series   FIA-GT GT PCC PSC ALMS ENDURANCE Date 2009-11-10

Porsche Motorsport around the world

FIA GT Championship: Richard Westbrook clinches title with 911 GT3 RSR

With victory at the eighth and final round in Zolder (Oct. 25), Richard Westbrook from Great Britain secured the GT2 drivers' title of the FIA GT Championship. Westbrook and Porsche works driver Emmanuel Collard had won the first two races in their 911 GT3 RSR fielded by the Belgian Prospeed team and held the lead until the seventh round. At the finale, the Briton shared the cockpit with Porsche-Junior Marco Holzer, who impressed with his faultless drive. Collard shared the 911 with Porsche-Junior Martin Ragginger, saw the chequered flag in sixth, and concluded his season in third.

Italian GT Championship: Francisco Cruz-Martins is the new champion

The fight for the title of the Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo went on until the final race weekend. Fifth position at race one of two in Monza (Oct. 17 - 18) was enough for Portugal's Francisco Cruz-Martins to win the championship's top class with Autorlando Sport's 911 GT3 RSR. Team honours went to Autorlando Sport. Cruz-Martins shared the cockpit with Porsche works driver Sascha Maassen at all rounds with the exception of one race at Mugello.

International GT Open: Autorlando Sport team champion with Lietz and Roda

Triumph for Porsche teams at the finale of the International GT Open on the Circuito do Algarve (Nov. 8) in Portugal. IMSA Performance Matmut pilots Patrick Pilet and Raymond Narac won ahead of their teammates Richard Balandras and Jean-Philippe Beloc, with Richard Lietz and Gianluca Roda finishing third in an Autorlando Sport 911 GT3 RSR. The Italian squad wrapped up the Super GT title. Lietz and Roda took the drivers' vice-championship ahead of Pilet/Narac.

Spanish GT Championship: Jesus Diez and Antonio Castro GTS champions

Four wins and five further podium results from twelve races: Jesus Diez and Antonio Castro (911 GT3 Cup S) topped off this performance in the Campeonato de Espana GT on the Circuito do Algarve (Nov. 7 - 8) with the GTS championship. In the Super GT category, the highest class, Miguel Angel de Castro narrowly missed out on the title to conclude the season as runner-up with Drivex's 911 GT3 RSR.

Belgian GT Championship: First Motorsport wins team classification

Final spurt yields title: Francois Verbist and Bert Longin secured their second win of the season at the penultimate race (24 Oct.) and claimed the final podium spot the following day at the eleventh and last race of the Belgian GT Championship in Zolder with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S run by First Motorsport. With this, First Motorsport claimed the team title. Longin and Verbist concluded their successful season ranking third in the drivers' classification.

Long Distance Championship Nurburgring: Ten races, nine Porsche wins

Top results for Porsche on the world's toughest race track: Christian Mamerow and Dirk Werner won the ninth as well as the tenth and final race of the BF Goodrich Long Distance Championship Nurburgring (Oct. 17 and Oct. 31 respectively) with Mamerow Racing's 911 GT3 Cup S. Mamerow Racing clinched four overall wins in 2009. However, the team to take the most overall victories at the long distance races on the 24.4 kilometre combination of the Nordschleife and Grand Prix circuit was Manthey Racing. Supported by Porsche works drivers Timo Bernhard, Emmanuel Collard and Romain Dumas, the Manthey squad secured five wins with a 911 GT3 RSR. Since 1983, Porsche has reeled off 150 wins at the long distance championship - more than all other manufacturers combined.

24 hour slot-car race Nurburgring: Porsche-Juniors pushing it hard

On Nov. 7 - 8, Porsche-Juniors Martin Ragginger and Marco Holzer took part in arguably their craziest 24 hour race to now. On a six-track model autobahn at the Nurburgring they piloted a Porsche Cayman. The two juniors' talent impressed the slot-car professionals. However, repairs after an electrical problem took an hour and robbed the team of all hopes.

Asian Le Mans Series: Two podiums for Porsche

Strong Porsche showing at the premiere race of the Asian Le Mans Series in Japan's Okayama (Oct. 31 - Nov. 1). Marc Lieb turned the quickest GT2 qualifying lap in the Felbermayr-Proton 911 GT3 RSR to yield second place from the first 500 kilometre race with Wolf Henzler - three-tenths of a second behind the winner. At the second 500 kilometre race, Christian Ried and Porsche-Junior Marco Holzer saw the flag in second at the wheel of the sister Felbermayr-Proton Porsche.

Porsche Mobil1 Supercup: Jeroen Bleekemolen defends championship

Enthralling premiere of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup on the Grand Prix circuit of Abu Dhabi: At the twelfth race of the series (Oct. 31), Jeroen Bleekemolen defended his title with third place in the 911 GT3 Cup of Konrad Motorsport. His arch rival Rene Rast brought home his sixth win. At the final race the following day, Bleekemolen notched up win number five, with Rast running a close second. New Zealander Matt Halliday won the Rookie Classification.

Carrera Cup Deutschland: Thomas Jager takes title at final

The fight for championship honours of the Carrera Cup Deutschland between two former DTM pilots, Thomas Jager and Jeroen Bleekemolen, raged until the ninth and final race on the Hockenheimring (Oct. 25). Finishing fourth, Jager (MS Racing PZ Hamburg Nord-West) pocketed the trophy after three wins and three more podium results in 2009. Bleekemolen claimed his fourth win to become runner-up.

Porsche Matmut Carrera Cup France: Renaud Derlot is the champion

Consistency and four victories gave Renaud Derlot (Graff Racing) the championship title of the Carrera Cup France. Derlot was celebrated as the new champion after the 13th of 14 races on the final weekend in Ledenon (Oct. 17 - 18). Triple champion Anthony Beltoise was narrowly beaten to the title by six points.

Carrera Cup Great Britain: Two come out on top

Porsche Cars Great Britain gave six young hopefuls the chance to fight for two 50,000 GBP race scholarships towards the 2010 Carrera Cup at a rigorous evaluation process in Silverstone. After two days packed with track tests, media training, interviews and physicals, 22-year-old Euan Hankey and 21-year-old Michael Meadows were confirmed as the winners of the Carrera Cup Great Britain Scholarship Programme.

Race notes: Notching up his fifth and sixth wins of the season, Christian Menzel defended his points' lead in Shanghai (Nov. 7 - 8) against Tim Sugden. Title decision pending at the finale in Sepang (5/6 Dec.). +++ Season start of the GT3 Cup Challenge New Zealand in Pukekohe Park south of Auckland. Title defender Craig Baird won the 100 kilometre race on Saturday (Nov. 7) as well as Sprint 1 on Sunday. Sprint 2 went to Matt Halliday. +++ Miguel Paludo is the old and new champion of the GT3 Cup Challenge Brasil. Vice-championship honours - like in 2008 - went to Constantino Junior.

-credit: porsche

 

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