Limited edition FZ16 photos

As mentioned earlier about the Limited Edition Yamahas, we finally get our hands on the photos of the new limited edition FZ16!

Special thanks to our reader, Aditya Nath for the pictures!!

Scoop! VW Polo caught testing in India!

What you can see in the video below is the Volkswagen Polo on test in India. Volkswagen is in its final testing procedures for the Polo before it will be unveiled at the 2010 Auto Expo. To be manufactured at VW's new state-of-the-art Chakan plant, the Polo will set new benchmarks in terms of quality, fit and finish and refined engineering.

The Polo for India will come with three choices of engines - 3-cylinder 1.2-litre/70PS and 4-cylinder 1.4-litre/84PS petrol mills and a frugal 1.4-litre TDI diesel engine. While many would speculate these to be similar to the HTP and PD engines doing duty in the Polo's familial sibling, the Skoda Fabia, take our word for it, the Polo will house completely new engines. In fact, the Fabia in turn will have its powerplants replaced with the Polo's engines once the VW goes on sale.

The hatch is one of the most awaited small cars for India, primarily owing to its competitive target pricing. If our sources are to be believed, then VW is all set to price the Polo in the Rs. 4.25 to 6 lakh price bracket which will pitch this potent hatch against market leaders like the Swift/Ritz and other hot hatches like Grande Punto, Indica Vista and the i20. Expect the car to go on sale instantly after its unveiling at the Expo in January 2010.

Special thanks to Motoroids' eagle eyed reader Satyajeet Bhaskare for the video capture!

Scoop! Hyundai i40 for India

What you can see here are pictures of the new mid-size sedan from Hyundai which will go on sale early next year. This model is set to replace the current Sonata line-up, with an aggressive design which is now defining all the latest Hyundai's. And you guessed it right, the 'Sonata' badge might be dropped as well, to follow the Korean carmaker's new 'i' naming conventions.
This sedan will most likely be conferred with the 'i40' tag when it takes on the mid-size luxury sedan segment. The car will grace Hyundai's exhibit at the upcoming Auto Expo and is expected to go on sale in India by Q2 2010 at a price bracket ranging from Rs. 14-lakh to Rs. 19-lakh for the petrol and diesel variants. We speculate the India model to be powered by the same range of Theta-2 engines that do duty under the current model. As the photos show, the interiors will sport an upmarket feel as compared to the current model, and Hyundai are to be believed, will also sport high quality materials similar to the ones we have already witnessed in the i10/i20. At the price bracket mentioned above, we feel this car will be one helluva value offering and has the fire-power to break the jinx that has been plaguing the India Sonata all this while!

Stay tuned for more news and scoops...

World Exclusive Scoop! Chevy Beat caught undisguised!

We caught Chevy's new small car for India, completely undisguised! This car will be christened the 'Beat' for Chevrolet's global market and will essentially replace the Spark (M200 platfrom) the world over. For India however, this hatch will co-exist alongside the Spark as a more premium offering. The car will be powered by a 1.2-litre, 82bhp Chevrolet Family-B petrol engine to start off and will later be joined by a 3-cylinder 936cc, 57bhp Multijet oilburner from FIAT. With almost 140 Nm of torque, this would be one potent city slicker!

Design-wise, the Beat is radical as you can see in the video. Apart from the large sweeping headlights, the other bit we love are the new type of rear door handles which are now integrated behind the rear window. Its surely taken a toll on the window space, but adds a streak of sportiness to the car's overall appeal. The Beat will be manufactured in Chevy's new Talegaon factory and will be unveiled at the upcoming Auto Expo. Expect it to go on sale instantly afterward with a price tag in the range of its rivals - the i10 and the A-star.

2010 Maruti Suzuki Swift

The Swift has become a volume player for Suzuki not only in India, but across the entire globe! The Japanese giant has now decided to breath a hint of fresh air into this model by giving it its second facelift. Seen here are the spy shots of the new Swift on test. Expect the car to be a combination of rakish and curvaceous body lines in various sections of the design. The headlights and tailights will retain the same outer shape, however the internal arrangement of the bulbs and refelctor elements will be significantly different and will hint towards a sporty design. The new Swift will be shown in flesh at the upcoming 2010 Auto Expo.

Pics Source: Diablomotor

2010 Porsche Boxster and Cayman

Auto Week claims these photos to be the official 2010 Porsche Boxster and Porsche Cayman. They dont exactly look like a rendering and might just be the real studio shots. Upon global launch, expect a 6-month gap before these entry level Porsches come to India.

2010 Porsche Cayman:

2010 Posrche Boxster:

Leaked: Sketches of future Audis

The internet is definitely an unsafe place. Recently, the sketches of Audi's future models leaked onto the net and show the brief designs of the A5 Cabriolet, A7 four-door coupe and the 2010 A8 luxury sedan. Here you go:

New Toyotas coming your way....

A few ago, we scooped you on Toyota's plans for India with the new Yaris hatch, Yaris sedan and RAV4 softroader. Though there has been no further news on the RAV4, the Car India magazine has confirmed this month that the Yaris sedan is coming soon.

The other news though is Toyota's plan to finally get the Fortuner to India after a long internal debate. The SUV will be imported as a CKD and will be assembled locally. Since they are targeting the CR-V with the Fortuner, the RAV4 plans for India look a little meek now. The Fortuner will most probably hit showroom floors by mid-2009.

Also on the cards is the diesel variant of the Altis. Unfortunately though, the engine mountings for the 2.0-litre diesel mill that is already sold in the Altis in the UK are different than the petrol. Toyota hence is considering a tuned version of the 1.4-litre mill from the Yaris sedan in the diesel Altis. This will further help reduce costs due to the platform sharing.

The hottest news though, is that of two low-cost cars that Toyota are working on. 

An entry level sedan, which is said to be based on the Yaris platform again, is being developed with a $8000 (INR 4-lakh) figure in mind. The car is in its final stages of development and will be produced in India by 2010 and in Brazil by 2011. Both the countries will play as a mass production hub for this car to export to the rest of the world. Another low cost car is a hatch which is being targeted at $5000 (INR 2.5-lakh) to penetrate into the fast growing ultra-low-cost-city-car segment which will soon see TATA, Hyundai and Nissan-Relnault-Bajaj as the major players. The car though will be launched ages after the others come out into the market, with the most probable year being 2015. Since the two cars will be ultra cheap as compared to other Toyotas, it may harm their brand image, and hence the Jap firm is considering a new brand for these apart from its current siblings - Lexus and Dihatsu. 

French toast for India

PSA Peugeot Citroen are finalizing plans to enter the Indian market once again. The French carmaker had entered India more than a decade back but failed to capture the market. This time around the company plans to follow a similar route they followed earlier - that of importing the vehicles to the country and finding local partners for sales and service. They may also consider multi-brand car showroom chains like the upcoming 'Carnation' for setting up their Indian network. 

They plan to initally enter the market with low-cast fuel efficient small cars and then add mid-size sedans to the Indian portfolio. If things work out on par with their planned roadmap, PSA Peugeot Citroen should be in India by 2011.

Suzuki's 150.....

We scooped you on some more news regarding the upcoming Suzuki 150cc motorcycle a few posts back. Well, some of our sources have told us that the bike will be called the 'GS150' and not 'GSR'. 

Suzuki's 150 to be unwrapped soon...

Suzuki India will soon unwrap their 'new 150cc contender. The bike is said to be using the same 150cc enigne which revved under the Fiero F2. Since the licensing for the engine from TVS is now said to be expired, Suzuki will incorporate the mill in the new bike. And dont expect it to run for the R15 either, as the company is looking forward to a mass production commuter bike and not a performace machine. There is a word that the name 'Lanza' may also be dropped and 'GSR150' would be the new one - following Yamaha's footsteps for building on a known 'brand' like they did with the YZF series. The bike is said to be unveiled by the end of October (probably the 23rd) and will be slightly lesser in price than the TVS RTR carb.

Skoda Laura Facelift

Skoda has a new facelift coming for the Laura in India. The car will be officially unveiled soon, but here's a small preview of what you can expect.

The new design follows the aggressive theme of the new Superb and the Fabia with completely restyled front end and a significantly redesigned headlight unit. The tail end gets minor updates to the lights and the bumper. Interiors will get new colors and redesigned air-con vents, integrated audio and multi-info display. Customers will also get new alloy design options to match their taste. With minor testing and ARAI proceedings to follow, the new Laura should be available across the showrooms by mid-2009. Technically the car will remain the same for India.

2009 Wagon R and variant

Suzuki has unveiled the 2009 range of Wagon R models in Japan. The cars follow the same K-car philosophy as the earlier models, but with a longer wheelbase and new fascia. The car is expected to hit India too with the same engine options as the current model. Expect the new Wagon R to hit India by mid-2009.
The Stingray (above) variant is targeted towards the male audience and may also make it to India.

Lamborghini to unwrap THE Italian car

With the Paris motor show around the corner, a lot of exciting manufacturers are throwing sneak peeks at the enthusiasts. The buzz however right now are the two teaser images of the new Lamborghini sport/super car that will make a debut at the 2008 Paris Motor Show.

From what we see, the car is loaded with carbonfibre, proudly wears the Italian flag on the side air scoop and is all set to provide us with a wonderful soundtrack through those trapezoidal twin-pipes. The trademark yellow Lambo brake calipers now seem to traded for gloss black ones.

The car will be unveiled on the 2nd of October at the Paris Motor Show. So if you aint out of your senses on the 'dry-day', then come back and check 100octane of the images!

Till then, click on the images for a larger view of the teasers...

FIAT Linea spied again...

We scooped the Linea some time back. Our 'spies' have got into the act again. Pics attached..

India Bound: Toyota Yaris Sedan

We told you some time back about Toyota's plans to launch the Yaris hatch in India. From our sources we have also learnt that apart from the hatch, even the sedan version of the Yaris is being tested for India. The car should be launched closer to the Yaris hatch's launch. More info will come as our sources feed us in...

2008 Honda City

While most magazines are busy creating artist impressions of what the new Honda City may look like, here are some actual photos that have leaked onto the internet.

**UPDATE: Found more images on the team bhp forum. Heres a link:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/40346-scoop-all-new-3rd-gen-honda-city-caught-testing-edit-interior-pics-pg-39-a-39.html

India Bound: Toyota Rav4

Toyota India has big plans for the local market with some serious launches lined up for 2009. While the company is set to make waves int he small car segment soon with the Yaris hatch, Toyota is also planning to take its battle with Honda a step further. By Q3 2009, Toyota is expected to launch the Rav4 compact crossover SUV between a wide price bracket of 17 lakhs to 24 lakhs.

The variants that are most like to make it to the Indian market are the 2.0-litre front wheel drive model that produces a 165PS of power and a 2.5-litre 180PS variant with a 4WD. To heat up the battle further, the 2.2-litre four cylinder diesel will also be a lucrative option for the Indian market. With such a wide variety of options, the Rav4 will single handedly take on the CR-V/diesel, Captiva and the Endeavor.

2009 Honda Civic

The facelifted version of the Honda Civic is expected to hit global showrooms soon. But the people at '8th Civic' forum have got their hands on the Showroom Brochure which will go into printing before the launch of the car.

The Indian version too is expected to undergo the facelift in order to stay up-to-date with the new Accord and the upcoming City. However, the headlights will be more or less the same as the current model and wont resemble the ones seen in the brochure images. The tail light though is expected to be an exact replica of the 2009 model shown in the images below. The engine options wont change and the same 1.8-litre petrol and the 1.3-litre hybrid will run under the new body. The facelift is expected to hit Indian showrooms by Q1 2009.



SOURCE: 8th Civic

For more images and discussions, follow this LINK

SCOOP!: FIAT Linea

Here are a couple of shots of the FIAT Linea caught on test. The sedan is about to be launched in India in competition with cars like the Aveo, Ikon, Dezire and Accent. The car will be powered by a 1.4-litre FIRE engine with a power output of 76bhp. There will also be a diesel variant in the form of a 1.3-litre Multijet producing 90 bhp.