India Yamaha Motor (IYM) Pvt. Ltd. has introduced another exciting edition to its Cygnus Ray ZR scooter series with the all new ‘Street Rally’ Edition in India today. The ‘Street Rally’ Edition draws design inspiration from globally reputed two wheeler models of Yamaha and offers a uniquely manoeuvred sporty imagery to the Cygnus Ray ZR design trend. The scooter will be priced at Rs.57,898 (ex-showroom Delhi) and will be available at all authorized Yamaha dealerships from last week of July 2018.

The new ‘Street Rally’ edition is available in two different colours – Rally Red and Racing Blue, and adopts a newly designed ‘Wing Style fairing’ (front fairing) inspired from Yamaha MT-09 which along with serving as the wind deflector, will also enhance the sporty look. The new ‘Knuckle Guard’ protects from windblasts on the handle grip and the movable front fender protects from mud splatter, while both adds up to its sporty appeal. The characterised ‘Rising Air Tail’ along with the sharp, sporty mirrors and fully digital meter comes along with ‘Roller Rocker Arm’ that reduces horsepower loss and ‘easy-to-use power’ settings in extremely low speed ranges.

The Cygnus Ray ZR ‘Street Rally’ Edition continues to draw power from an air-cooled, 4-stroke, SOHC, 2-valve, 113cc ‘Blue Core’ engine with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) unit, which provides both smooth initial acceleration and pickup. Presence of 170 mm diameter front disc brake and alloy wheels reduces the inertial moment of the steering assembly and thus, contributes to light, agile handling characteristics.

Speaking about the launch, Roy Kurian, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt Ltd. said, “Yamaha’s Cygnus Ray ZR ‘Street Rally’ Edition perfectly combines power and style that makes it an aspirational buy. Continuing with Yamaha’s legacy to provide technologically advanced, sporty and stylish products, ‘Street Rally’ will bring excitement to scooter customers who look for sporty scooters with easy manoeuvring along with smooth power delivery. The globally known ‘Unique style of Yamaha’ that outlines any product innovation including the ‘Street Rally’ edition will help the brand to keep up its incremental ascent in the Indian two wheeler market.”

A convoy of 70 rare and important Land Rovers stole the show at Goodwood Festival of Speed yesterday as part of a record parade up the famous Goodwood Hill, celebrating 70 years of Land Rover.

The largest ever batch of vehicles to drive up the famous hill were led by a recreation of the very first Land Rover – a Centre Steer prototype – and ‘HUE 166’, the first Series I pre-production prototype from 1948. The Series I was such a success that it spawned the Series II and Series III, an example of which became the millionth Land Rover sold just 28 years after the very first prototype. That millionth car also appeared in the parade, as part of a group of 25 early Series I, II and III vehicles including fire engines, SAS vehicles, aircraft crash rescue and African expedition heroes – demonstrating the breadth of versatility of Land Rover over the years.

All four generations of Range Rover featured in the convoy, including a Trans-Americas Expedition example which crossed the all-but-impassable Darien Gap in 1971 and a 2004 example used by Cheshire Police. Also present was Land Rover’s Discovery nameplate showcased with an example of each of the five generations, including a round-the-world expedition car, the first Discovery ever built and the millionth Discovery to roll off the line.

Representing Land Rover’s very latest crop of off-road vehicles was an example of each of the latest line-up; Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Velar, Discovery, Discovery Sport, Evoque and Evoque Convertible.

The new BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo Sport was launched in India with a price tag of Rs 46.60 lakhs (ex-showroom). The latest version of the highly successful premium sports tourer cuts a visibly sportier figure with a number of new and striking elements and features. Locally-produced at BMW Group Plant Chennai and now available at BMW dealerships across India, the new BMW 320d Gran Turismo Sport further diversifies the model’s diesel portfolio.

Vikram Pawah, President, BMW Group India said, “The BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo established a new vehicle concept and has become a highly successful model in its segment. The new BMW 320d Gran Turismo exhibits striking sporty elements both inside as well as outside, and creates a perfect interplay of luxury and ‘Sheer Driving Pleasure’. With the introduction of this new sportier version, we are offering an attractive choice for our customers who want to elevate the feeling of dynamism and sporty aspirations in their vehicles.”

The exterior of the new BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo Sport is dynamic and eye-catching with the newly designed LED headlights coupled with LED rear lights. Typical BMW proportions, four doors with frameless windows, a coupe-style, gently downward-sloping roofline and a large automatically opening and closing tailgate define the distinctive exterior character of the BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo Sport while the L-shaped lights at the rear underline the broad shape of the vehicle. The new BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo Sport sets clear visual accents. Its striking design features in high-gloss black at front and rear reinforce its sporty look. The boldly designed kidney grille slats in high-gloss black produce an especially athletic effect for the front end.

The interior of the new Sport variant reflects the dynamic character. Sports seat guarantee supreme comfort. Interior trim in fine-wood trim Ash Grain and highlight trim finisher in Pearl Chrome provide a sophisticated flair. Red contrast stitching on the Sport Steering Wheel and Gear Shift Paddles expresses the typical BMW athleticism. The 205 Watt, 9 speaker Hi-Fi loudspeaker system offers highest quality of entertainment for the passengers.

Spaciousness is one of the outstanding qualities of the new BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo Sport and is further enhanced by the panoramic glass sunroof bringing in a sense of well-being. The space argument is particularly persuasive in the rear compartment, where three full-size seats and legroom more familiar from a luxury sedan – courtesy of a wheelbase of 2,920 mm. Practical standard features – such as the 40:20:40 split/folding rear seat bench with folding head restraints and tilt-adjustable backrests (cargo function), and the two-piece parcel shelf – underscore the impressive functionality of the BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo Sport.

The latest generation BMW TwinPower Turbo diesel engines from the BMW EfficientDynamics family offer considerably more spirited power delivery as well as spontaneous responsiveness even at low engine speeds. The two-litre four cylinder diesel engine of the BMW 320d Gran Turismo produces an output of 140 kW / 190 hp and produces a maximum torque of 400 Nm at 1,750-2,500 rpm. The car accelerates from 0 -100 kmph in just 7.7 seconds.

The eight-speed Steptronic Sport automatic transmission performs smooth, almost imperceptible gear shifts. At any time, in any gear, the transmission collaborates perfectly with the engine, enabling it to develop its full power and efficiency.  For even greater driving pleasure, the eight-speed Steptronic transmission is available with steering wheel paddle shifters. Furthermore, the BMW 320d Edition Sport comes with a Launch Control function as standard.

The new BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo provides cutting-edge safety technologies. BMW’s exemplary safety provides optimal support in any situation with six air bags, Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) with brake assist, Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) including Dynamic Traction Control (DTC), Cornering Brake Control (CBC), Side-impact Protection, Runflat tyres with reinforced sidewalls, emergency spare wheel, electronic vehicle immobiliser and crash sensor.

BMW EfficientDynamics measures make a key contribution to the excellent fuel efficiency of the new BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo. Aerodynamic excellence and the accompanying reduction in fuel consumption are guaranteed by details such as the side air blades on the tailgate and the air curtain integrated into the air inlets at the front. These measures are aided by additional features such as the 50:50 weight distribution, low centre of gravity, intelligent lightweight construction, automatic start/stop function, ECO PRO mode, brake energy regeneration, electric power steering and more.

BMW has been setting the standard for connectivity between human, car and the outside world for many years now. The new BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo Sport comes with BMW ConnectedDrive features such as BMW Navigation System Professional with 3D maps (integrated Global Positioning System-GPS), BMW Apps, Connectivity through Bluetooth and USB connectivity, Rear View Camera along with PDC Rear and Front. The Control Display depicts the menu in a tile arrangement with animated graphics. The iDrive touch controller with handwriting recognition and a 22.3 cms colour display, DVD drive and integrated hard drive (20GB) features in the Sport variant. In the new BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo Sport, the control display in conjunction with the Navigation system Professional now also has touch functionality and Apple Car Play with wireless integration.

Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team has announced that Aishwarya Pissay will be part of the four-member squad for the upcoming Baja Aragon. The rally is scheduled to kick-off on 20 July and conclude on 22 July in Teruel, Spain.  The team comprises of the French brother duo Adrien Metge and Michael Metge, Spaniard Lorenzo Santolino and Aishwarya Pissay from India. Aishwarya will be the first Indian woman factory racer to compete in a Baja World Rally and will be leaving to Spain later this week to train with the team. The squad will race on the Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team’s Dakar machine – RTR 450.

Aishwarya Pissay, Factory Racer, TVS Racing, says, “This will be my first international Rally and I am overwhelmed as well as grateful to TVS Racing for giving me this opportunity. The Baja Aragon is a good training ground for any racer who has their sights set on the Dakar, as it tests their mettle among international talent. I am excited to race alongside experienced International Champions from the Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team. The prospect of finally experiencing the RTR 450 is daunting but I look forward to packing time on the motorcycle and perfecting my technique. “

Commenting on the team’s participation, B. Selvaraj, Team Manager, TVS Racing, said, “We are thrilled to be a part of the 35^th edition of Baja Aragon and Aishwarya’s participation makes it special, as she will be the first Indian woman to participate in a Baja World Rally.  What makes this even more exciting is that this is a new team that we are fielding for the Rally and it will be interesting to see how the dynamics play out. Our technical team is also working around the clock on the performance of the bikes and I wish the team the very best for the Rally.”

Bengaluru’s 22-year-old Aishwarya Pissay is an ace female racer, a winner of Raid De Himalaya 2017, Dakshin Dare 2017, Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), 2017 and TVS Apache Ladies One Make Championship 2017.

Adrien Metge has been associated with Sherco TVS Rally Factory team since 2016. He has participated in Dakar for two consecutive years where he finished 11th in 2016 and 22nd in 2017.  Michael Metge, a recent entry into the Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team has proved his mettle in Dakar Rally six consecutive times.

Spanish racer Lorenzo Santolino comes on board with vast experience in the international racing circuit. He has participated in OiLibya Morocco Rally and Desert Storm, apart from being a position holder in World E1 Championship 2015 and 7-time Spanish Champion in Enduro and XC.

Isuzu Motors India has joined hands with Cougar Motorsport Pvt. Ltd. to promote the spirit of adventure by sponsoring the 2018 edition of RFC India. This is the 5^thedition of India’s toughest international off-road motorsport event, will be held in Goa between 21 July and 28 July, 2018.

RFC India was launched in the year 2014 by Delhi-based Cougar Motorsport as the India Chapter of the iconic Rainforest Challenge of Malaysia, which is counted among the top ten toughest motor races in the world. Today, RFC India is amongst the top three RFC Global events out of the 51 editions being held across 21 countries. The event enjoys a cult following in the Indian off-roading and adventure sports communities; thousands of off-roaders and adventure enthusiasts from across the country converge in Goa every year to witness this week-long battle amongst India’s best off-roaders.

Isuzu RFC India 2018 will witness participation from 41 teams from various parts of the country where they will undertake 26 Special Stages (SS) or challenges. The total benefits to the top Indian driver of Isuzu RFC India 2018 will amount to USD 10,000, including an automatic free entry worth USD 3,900 to the RFC Mother Event, to be held in Malaysia at the end of the year.

Commenting on the association, Ken Takashima, Deputy Managing Director, Isuzu Motors India, “We are happy to be associated with this edition of RFC India, as we see a right fit in terms of promoting the spirit of adventure in India. Our products are highly regarded for its tough-build, durability and reliability across the world. Our products are receiving tremendous response in India and to many adventure enthusiasts, the V-Cross is an aspirational vehicle. I wish the RFC India team and the participants the best.”

Commenting on this partnership, Cougar Motorsport’s Founder & Director Ashish Gupta said, “Our association with Isuzu Motors India started a couple of years ago with the India 4X4 Week, where they not only participated as an exhibitor but also sponsored some of the sessions. I am happy to renew our association with them and have them as the Title Sponsor for RFC India 2018. ISUZU D-Max V-Cross is India’s first Adventure Utility Vehicle and has some superlative features, which make it the perfect vehicle for off-roaders and adventure enthusiasts. I am sure that this partnership will be mutually beneficial and the brand will get to showcase all the major highlights of this amazing vehicle to a substantial section of the Indian off-roading community that would be attending the event.”

At this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, luxury British sportscar and supercar maker McLaren Automotive has announced its ambitious, wide-ranging business plan that will take the company to its fifteenth anniversary.

Track25 is an evolution of the Track22 plan that was first launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 2016 and the updated plan now includes significant new milestones.

Track25 sets out a clear roadmap for future vehicles, production and technology that will allow the brand to continue to position itself as a major global player in the sportscar and supercar market.

McLaren is committed to ensuring that its sportscar and supercar range will be hybrid within seven years. True to the spirit of pushing the boundaries of technology to benefit drivers, McLaren will also evaluate new augmented driving features and help develop a lighter, superfast-charging, high-power battery system for performance applications that is expected to have over 30 minutes of electric range around a race track.

The company will also continue its drive to win the new supercar ‘weight race’ by ensuring, as it does today, that each of its products is the lightest in their segment. This complements a £50m investment in developing and manufacturing the future of lightweighting technology with the soon to-open McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC). Once fully operational, the MCTC will mean around 57 percent of vehicle content by value will be UK sourced.

Having launched the world’s first ever petrol-electric hybrid-hypercar five years ago with the iconic McLaren P1TM, fittingly McLaren plan to unleash its successor as part of the Track25 plan.

While staying faithful to the core idea of creating and hand-assembling the world’s best drivers’ cars, McLaren will remain focussed on crafting mid-engined sportscars and sportscars.

Investment in 18 new models or derivatives will help lift production by almost 75 percent over current levels to around 6,000 cars a year by the middle of the next decade. As now, all will be hand-assembled at the McLaren Production Centre in Woking, England.

Alongside a focus on the on-track and on-road experience, McLaren will introduce technologies designed to improve the owning experience. Cars will feature enhanced cyber protection, improved vehicle tracking and over-the-air (OTA) software updates, allowing McLaren customers to benefit from new features without the need for inconvenient downtime at retailers.

Currently retailed in 31 markets around the world through an 86-strong retailer network, McLaren Automotive is looking at both expanding in existing markets as well as evaluating several major new markets including Russia, India and Central/Eastern Europe. Rising demand means the aim will be to reach 100 retailers within the life of the Track25 plan.

Mike Flewitt, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive, said: “Everyone at McLaren Automotive remains constant in their focus of designing and crafting the world’s best drivers’ cars. True to McLaren’s spirit, however, our ambitions, continue to grow and our £1.2bn Track25 business plan which covers 18 new models, including a new McLaren P1TM,, is clear proof of that. We are a luxury brand that is committed to investing in innovation, whether that’s in the development and manufacture of our own carbon fibre tubs as part of a new £50m British-based production centre, new powertrains with our entire range due to be hybrid by 2025 or the deployment of technology to enhance the driving and owning experience.

“As a global brand we are set to add more retailers in both existing and exciting new markets as demand for our products continues to grow. While our plan sets the direction for the next seven years to take us through to the middle of the next decade, we need to also pause and acknowledge the great effort, ingenuity and competitive spirit of all of our incredible people on which our success, both now and in the future, rests.”

The largest part of the McLaren Group, McLaren Automotive has a global workforce of around 2,300 people with headcount expected to remain broadly stable until 2025 across offices in the UK, US, Bahrain, China, Singapore, Japan and Spain.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars will close the doors to its head office and manufacturing plant early to enable its skilled craftsmen and women the opportunity to watch England’s crucial game. In an unprecedented move, and for one evening only, all production will be suspended at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood, which is the marque’s sole global manufacturing facility.

“The Rolls-Royce family is incredibly diverse and cosmopolitan: we have almost 50 nationalities represented at the Home of Rolls-Royce,” said Torsten Muller-Otvos, Chief Executive Officer for Rolls‑Royce Motor Cars. “But as a proudly British company, based in West Sussex, we felt it was right, and important, to honour England’s success. Closing our doors early means a large group of people, who would otherwise have been working, have the chance to watch the game and share in the sense of national pride that comes with this great occasion.”

Vauxhall today revealed a first glimpse of a brand concept for the mid-2020s that will embrace its core brand values and provide a template for the future design of its production cars.

Clues to the final car’s appearance may come from cues seen in Vauxhall’s 2016 GT Concept, which was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show that year. “Design will be at the heart of everything that we do in future,” said Mark Adams, Vauxhall’s Vice President Design. “It will truly differentiate the Vauxhall brand, and make it sharper and more relevant to our core values. We are a proud British brand and design inspiration is all around us in the UK – from the bold ingenuity of James Dyson to the pure designs of Jonathan Ive – and this concept will embody that.”

Redefining the brand is an integral part of Vauxhall’s PACE! strategy, which will drive the company to a more efficient and profitable future. Based on this, Adams has revisited Vauxhall’s design philosophy and how it relates to the company’s core values.

One key element of the concept, revealed Adams, is the ‘compass’: “It presents a confident identity, by putting the Griffin emblem in focus by the centre-crease line. This line is an integral part of all our designs, along with the daytime running light signature that we will further emphasise on future vehicles.”

Stephen Norman, Group Managing Director, Vauxhall Motors summarised the importance of this feature: “Customers are our compass, too, so for them to instantly relate to our vehicles at an emotional level is vital. The Vauxhall brand is an integral part of British motoring life, and has been since 1903, so this concept has a huge responsibility to sustain its success into the future.”

Honda Cars India Ltd. (HCIL) has announced a proposed price hike on its models in the range of Rs 10,000 – Rs 35,000 and the revised prices will be effective from 1 August 2018.

Rajesh Goel, Sr. Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Honda Cars India Ltd. said, “Due to the increasing pressure on input costs, impact of custom duty hike over past few months and higher freight rates, we are forced to consider increasing the prices of our cars. The increased price will be effective from 1 August 2018.” “The introductory price of the recently launched All New Amaze will also be revised from August,” he added.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. today announced availability of 2018 CD 110 Dream DX. The 2018 CD 110 Dream DX traces its legacy to Honda’s first mass motorcycle Dream D which was launched in Japan in 1949.

The 2018 edition of CD 110 Dream DX gets new gold graphics and chrome muffler protector. The CD 110 Dream DX gets a rear carrier which adds practicality and versatility. The long seat and wheelbase promises a comfortable ride while the strong and durable suspension promises a stress free commute.

Commenting on the new version, Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Senior Vice President – Sales and Marketing, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said,“The iconic CD brand has been winning the trust of millions of customers globally since 1966. Taking forward its legacy, 2018 CD 110 Dream DX offers the same level of trust and reliability. We are confident that the new edition too will garner good response from our customers especially when there are sentiments in rural demand.”

2018 CD 110 Dream DX is now available in four attractive colours – Black with Cabin Gold / Black with Green Metallic / Black with Grey Silver Metallic / Black with Red / Black with Blue Metallic. The 2018 edition of CD 110 Dream DX is priced starting at Rs. 48,641 (ex-showroom, Delhi).