All you wanted to know about the 2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250R

Kawasaki's 250CC sports bike, the Ninja 250 R will be hitting the Indian showrooms in th next 3-4 months. Compact, lightweight and powerful, this is the right kind of bike for India. With a new full-fairing similar to the Ninja ZX-6R and -10R supersport bikes, a single kicked-up muffler, UNI-TRAK rear suspension, high-performance petal disc brakes and a dual seat, the Ninja rules its segment worldwide!
It’s the only 250cc sportbike sold in the U.S., so it hardly has any competition. The bike's 249cc parallel twin produces 30 PS of power and 22 Nm of torque. A six-speed transmission tops off the sportbike equipment list, enabling the 250R to exploit the engine's powerband well. It'll please beginners and seasoned riders alike.
The 250 R has a natural riding position and comfortable ergonomics combined with its lightweight handling. The front brake has 290mm rotor gripped by a powerful 2-piston caliper to provide strong stipping power. Like Kawasaki’s other sport models, the Ninja 250R is fitted with petal discs for efficient heat dissipation. Expect the new bike to take the market by storm when it hits the market.

SPECIFICATIONS
Engine Type Four-stroke, liquid-cooled, DOHC, parallel twin
Maximum power 30PS@10500rpm
Maximum Torque 22 Nm 9,500 rpm
Displacement 249 cc
Bore & Stroke 62.0 x 41.2mm
Comp Ratio 11.6:1
Transmission 6-Speed
Final Drive O-Ring Chain
Frame Semi-double cradle, high-tensile steel
Front Tire Size 110/70-17
Rear Tire Size 130/70-17
Front Brake Type Single 290mm hydraulic disc with two-piston caliper
Rear Brake Single 220mm petal disc with two-piston caliper
Fuel Tank Capacity 18-litre
Dry Weight 151kg
Color Lime Green, Ebony, Passion Red, Candy Plasma Blue

HERE ARE SOME NINJA 250 R COMMERCIALS - ENJOY!

Commercial 1


Commercial 2


Commercial 3

Audi A3 Clubsport features world's highest specific output diesel engine!

The Audi A3 Clubsport is no ordinary machine. It features the world's most power efficient diesel engine. The 1968cc turbocharged four-cylinder diesel unit produces a phenomenal 221bhp. Add to it 450Nm of turning force and the Audi A3 Clubsport starts looking really serious. Serious enough to reach 0-100km/h in 6.6 seconds - impressive for a small diesel mill!
On the cosmetic front, the A3 features DTM-inspired bodywork, 911 GT2-like bolt-on wheel arch extensions and 20-inch wheels. LED lights stay on job during the day. The track measurement is up by 33mm up front and 46mm at the rear! Audi Drive Select wizardry can tweak throttle response, exhaust sound, the level of assistance from the power steering, the threshold of the ESP system the magnetic dampening to suit your taste or mood at a mere push of a button!

This Audi R8 will race in Nürburgring 24 hrs

The Audi R8 was never an elegant looking machine, oozing muscle and attitude aplenty. But it'll probably look tame when compared to this Nürburgring 24-hour endurance racer Audi R8. Race version's engine capacity drops from 4.2 to 4.0 liters but the power output is a monstrous 530 bhp while peak torque figure is at 480Nm. The R8's stock front and rear bodywork is replaced by new, widebody carbon kevlar panels.
Additions include the front splitter, a huge rear wing, a rear diffuser, and alterations in the bodywork to aid engine cooling. The exhaust pipes now peep out from where the car used to have its number plates in the stock version. At about 1300 kg, the race car is light, and we're sure it'll go like stink. Whether it has it in it to win the race is yet to be seen though!

GG Quadster - part deux

Remember the GG Quad. The BMW R1150 boxer engined machine? Now there’s a new version, the GG Quadster, with the K1200S 4 cylinder engine powering it. Max power output is 167 bhp and all that power is put down through a 6-speed tranny. Weight is about 400kg. The claimed 0-100km/h sprint timing is 3.5 seconds the top speed is in excess of 200km/h.
The price starts at $65,500 ( or about Rs 25 lakh) and you are allowed to spend some more on some expensive options. Got money? Splurge it here!

New BMW 675 triple to complement the S1000?

BMW will probably introduce a 675cc, three-cylinder sportbike to complement the 1000cc four-cylinder S1000 superbike it announced a few weeks ago. Rumours are rife that some US bike dealers have also started taking bookings for the bike on their websites. We cannot located the web location though.
The Triumph Daytona is the other 675 triple available in the market apart from the crop of Japanese 600s. The rumored BMW 675, if it becomes a reality will see production in the next two years.

Diamond studded helmets for Hamilton and Kovalinen

The two main Mercedes-McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen will race with two very special helmets. Both helmets have a Forevermark diamond encrusted Steinmetz (the Geneva Switzerland base diamond company) logo. The drivers signature on top of the helmet are lined with hundreds of handcrafted diamonds.

Audi TT Clubsport - we want this one!

The first three pictures are those of the Audi TT Clubsport concept shown at the Essen show. Audi was tight lipped about making this concept a production reality. But now, Car magazine (www.carmagazine.co.uk) has shot some spy pictures of a functional car in South Germany. The white coloured car above is not an illustration, it's an actual, spied car!
According to the magazine's website, the Audi officials are making ambiguous statements about the production possibility of the new car. But the spy pictures suggest a strong possibility of the car making it to the production line. The car, if ever it becomes a production reality, will an ultra-low volume exclusive.
The Clubsport looks squat and aggressive. The track is 80mm wider and is accommodated by flared wheelarches. The original Clubsport had the 2.0-litre TFSI producing 300bhp. The power is sent to all four wheels via a six-speed S-tronic gearbox. There's is no roof on the speedster, so save for the second car as well - for a rainy day!

Jorge Lorenzo crashes in Le Mans before the race

Jorge Lorenzo suffered a second practice crash on Saturday morning at Le Mans, but is still expected to take part in qualifying. Having injured himself a fortnight ago in China, where he suffered fractures in both ankles, Lorenzo has taken another battering this weekend with a crash yesterday afternoon, followed by this latest accident, midway through the second lap of a run during FP3.
Lorenzo suffered a high-speed lowside at the end of the back straight approaching turn nine, which is one of the hardest braking points on the French track, with the riders hitting the brakes around 200 meters before the apex of the turn.
An immediate medical check at Clinica Mobile revealed that he had escaped any serious injury, despite taking a heavy blow to his already damaged right leg – and he will continue to immobilise his ankle by use of a wheelchair to get about when he is not onboard his Yamaha M1.

Aprilia planning a comeback in MotoGP?

Aprilia are testing traction control for a possible MotoGP return. 250cc riders Alex Debon and Roberto Locatelli have been working with a new Aprilia traction control system, which may see the light of day in MotoGP form.
`We are using traction control with Alex Debon and Roberto Locatelli only in practice, as we don´t want to take risks on safety in the race,´ said Gigi Dall´Igna from Aprilia. `We tested with Roberto at Estoril, and most recently with Alex in Shanghai. We are trying it with this bike because it the machine with which we feel most comfortable, but we are using it also to help the Superbike and possible MotoGP bike development.´
Aprilia´s 1000cc machine has recently been tested by ex-MotoGP rider Alex Hofmann, with a view to entering production championship competition in 2009. As for any MotoGP bike seeing the light of day, Dall´Igna is refusing to mark a timeline.
`I can´t say whether it will be definitely in 2010 or 2011, but we are looking at developing a MotoGP machine,´ he confirmed.

Nissan 370Z - pictures, video and info

This is a slide show video of the artist's impressions of the Nissan 370Z, due to be launched in the next six months. The company has kept the car under wraps, while officially releasing some teaser pictures too at the same time. The artist's impression in the slideshow suggests a more compact, more sporty car than the current 350Z. The front sports a futuristics headlamp cluster featuring LED lights and forms a diagonal V facing the sky.
Power for the new car will be produced through the 3.7-litre, 330PS V6 borrowed from the Infiniti G35. The stubbier, sportier car will be more appealing than the 350, while still managing to be fairly priced for a major chunk of performance car fans.

Car magazine reveals the new Audi A6

This is the image released by www.carmagazine.co.uk of the new Audi A6, due to be released in the year 2010. The magazine says they've talked with the insiders at Audi and made this artist's impression after having a discussion with he techies at the Ingolstadt based company. Even though the car has the trademark Audi classy lines and stateliness, it's not probably different or dynamic enough to excite us much. People want change, but Audi seems to refuse to agree to the theory. The German brand has retained the goatee grille for the car, but headlamps are new, and probably the only new bits that adds a bit of excitement to the package.
The car will be the first to be produced through a new construction technique developed by Audi to cut down weight while not compromising rigidity. The new car will feature aluminium and alloy construction along with some new welding and bonding techniques. The weight of the frame with the new technique will be 50% less than an all-steel construction while still having 50% more torsional rigidity.
The second generation of Aluminium Space Frame or ASF as Audi calls the tech, will be introduced to the A6, A8 and the A7 first. The list of probable engines for the new car is as under

PETROLS 2.8 V6 FSI, 190bhp, 2.8 V6 FSI, 224bhp, 3.2 V6 FSI, 265bhp, 4.2 V8 FSI, 350bhp, 5.2 V10 FSI, 420bhp (S6), 5.0 V10 FSI Biturbo, 580bhp (RS7)

DIESELS 2.7 V6 TDI, 185bhp, 3.0 V6 TDI, 238bhp

Is this the new Ferrari F430

The Ferrari F430 has seen quite a few special editions ever since it was launched in the year 2004 as a replacement to the Ferrari 360. The car is due for a replacement or a design revamp soon. Here are a few rendered images by Italian designer Luca Serafini who's let his imagination loose on how the new Ferrari F430 replacement may look like. Even though a lot of thought has gone into making sure that the images are as close to the replacement car as the Ferrari designers could ever think of, it's better we don't get serious and just relish Luca's brilliant imagination and execution.
Picture Courtesy : www.worldcarfans.com

Mazda 1 city concept to debut in Paris Show

The Mazda 1 City Car Concept will be shown in the Paris Motor Show. The Mazda 2 has been a great success for the Japanese company which is planning to go completely crazy with its design philosophy in the coming years. We saw the stunning Taiki and Furai concepts in the past few shows and there's no holding back Mazda. While the size and the financial clout of the company isn't enough right now to go experimenting crazily like Chris Bangle did with BMW a few years ago, the future definitely looks wacky. We're not complaining, for we love all those those breathtakingly futuristic concepts shown by the Japanese car maker.

Schumacher to compete in German Superbike Championship??

Schumacher has allegedly registered to enter a superbike championship with an alias. German newspaper Bild reports that seven times F1 World Champion Michael Schumacher has renamed himself falsely as Marcel Hiederhausen to race in the series' next round at Oschersleben. The ace driver (now rider) will probably compete for Holzhauer Racing team. No matter how many time Schumi denies the possibility, we would still love to see him riding that bright red Ducati Desmosedici in MotoGP.

People's Bike? Is VW getting into bikes

If rumors were to be believed, this is the bike that Volkswagen may soon be building with a little help from KTM. The German company helped the Austrian bike maker with its 2.0-litre Audi engines and know-how in cars. KTM may return favor by helping the German car maker develop its first motorcycle. The only question we have to ask is, why enter the business when most current players are shying away from it. Isn't the goal of becoming the No.3 car maker in the world big enough?

Nissan GT-R VS Porsche 911 Turbo 997 VS BMW M3

For all you GT-R fans, here are the two videos of a performance test conducted by the famous Autocar magazine of the UK. Sit back and enjoy the thrill, and if you're feeling too happy for the GT-R, wait till the new NSX arrives :)


Here's another video of the GT-R vs the 911 Turbo 997. Porsche haters rejoice!

New Honda Accord - What's the deal

Honda says that new Accord is a new design altogether. It's got a larger wheel-base, new exterior styling and a retuned 2.4 litre i-VTEC engine. The interior space has increased substantially, and so has the quality of the cabin and the equipment levels. Honda claims that the fuel efficiency has increased by 8%, and we agree to that after having driven the car and getting some really min-boggling efficiency figures for an engine so big. The 2.4-litre engine produces 180 PS of power.

Honda says that they have benchmarked the new Accord against the likes of the BMW 3-series for handling and they tried to keep the quality of the interior as close as possible to Audi cars. While Honda may not have succeeded in completely achieving what they were gunning for, the new car still is a great improvement over the outgoing Accord, which itself was the best car in its segment by a good margin. Now, the day Honda plonks in the 2.2 I-DTEC engine into the car, we can expect all the exec car makers in the country press the panic button

Skoda Fabia 1.2 petrol launched in India

Skoda India has launchred the petrol version of its Fabia without making much noise. The 1198cc gasoline engine produces 70PS of power and a very healthy 108 Nm of torque, making the car the leader in its segment in terms of pulling power. The characteristic solid build quality of Skoda remains, and so does the superb fit-finish and equipment levels witnessed earlier on the 1.4 TDI PD version of the car. We know the machine handles brilliantly, if only Skoda could plonk in a 2.0 lite petrol, we'll have a proper hatch rocketship for our country!

Ferrari California - The new Ferrari GT

Ferrari California is the new 2+2 Ferrari GT. It features the world's first seven-speed twin-clutch transmission and a 454bhp 4.3-litre V8 with direct injection (again a Ferrari first).

The 4300cc V8 block is borrowed from the F430. Needless to say it'll be a fast car and will blast from 0-100km/h in less than 4 seconds.

the weight of the car is estimated to be under 1700kg. We think it could have managed to be lighter with some carbon fibre bits slipped in. But it's a Ferrari, so it's bound to make news, and bound to sell!