The facelifted A-class is the carmaker's final launch for 2015; updates on the car will be entirely cosmetic.

Mercedes-Benz is set to launch the facelifted A-class in India on December 8, 2015. Revealed globally earlier this year, the facelifted A-class for international markets got a host of styling and mechanical changes. However, the car headed to India will only receive styling tweaks. This is the last model to be launched as per the carmaker's '15 in 15' strategy which was planned for the year.

The facelifted A-class gets restyled bumpers, optional LED headlamps, tweaked tail-lamps and a new integrated ASME BPVC Code Download
  exhaust. Mercedes' diamond grille will also be offered on the facelifted model.

Inside, the new A-class gets a large 8.0-inch touchscreen with Apple Carplay and Mirrorlink software for smartphone integration along with a revised steering and instrument cluster. The cabin also sees the use of new materials and gets interior colour choices. 

When launched in India, the facelifted A-class is likely to get features such as climate control and reverse parking camera as standard, while mood lighting is expected to be an option. Internationally, the new A-class is equipped with Mercedes' Dynamic Select system with three drive modes – Eco, Sport and Comfort. This could be offered on the model headed to India.

The engine line-up for the facelifted A-class will be the same as the previous model's with a choice of a petrol and a diesel engine mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

The A-class facelift will rival the likes of the BMW 1-series and Volvo V40 when it is launched in India.

Courtesy : Autocar

A hardcore version of the GT S; power increased to around 542bhp and is lighter by 80-100kg.

Mercedes-AMG's more track-focussed and hardcore version of its current flagship sportscar GT S will be called the GT R. The name being similar to the legendary Nissan GT-R, shouldn't be an issue given Daimler’s merger with Nissan.

The new car is rumoured to feature a slightly more powerful engine with AMG CEO Tobias Moers hinting at 542bhp from the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine. The GT R will also be lighter than the GT S by 80 -100kg. The weight shed and power bump will help the GT R sprint from 0-100kph in shorter time than the GT S.

The body will feature a sharper look and will get aerodynamic changes on the outside. Other modifications include stiffer suspension, bigger brakes, larger wheels and subtle changes to the interior differentiating it from the GT S. The GT R will be positioned above the GT S, but will not be the most hardcore GT for long as there is most likely going to be a ‘Black Series’ version in the works for 2018.

Courtesy : Zigwheels

Remember the tasty Yamaha Sports Ride 2-seater sports car concept that Yamaha showed off at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show? Well, rejoice, for it is happening for real.

The Yamaha Sports Ride concept stole some of Mazda’s RX-Vision rotary sports coupe’s thunder at the Tokyo Motor Show last month, and with good reason too. The follow-up to the MOTIV.e concept, albeit in a whole different mould, the Sports Ride is a two-seater sports concept designed to “offer a driver-machine relationship similar to a motorcycle.”

Like the MOTIV.e, the Sports Ride concept was also created with the help of legendary F1 mastermind Gordon Murray, also the man almost single-handedly responsible for the peerless McLaren F1. Although Murray is not behind the car's design, which was led by ex-Toyota designer Dezi Nagaya, the Sports Ride employs a new manufacturing system derived from Gordon Murray Design’s iStream manufacturing process, but replacing the glassfibre content with carbon-fibre. It has been developed in conjunction with Japanese firm Toray, for whom Murray designed the Teewave sports car in 2011, and sandwiches a honeycomb paper core with two carbonfibre skins.

And now there are reports that Yamaha is indeed going ahead and building the Sports Ride. The motorcycle manufacturer isn’t exactly unfamiliar to the four-wheeled world, having been responsible for tuning and/or developing engines for various established manufacturers like Volvo, Toyota, Lexus, and Ford, and even supplying engines for Formula 1 cars for a short while.

And, as befitting a car with Murray’s name attached to it, the Sports Ride will be light, extremely light. The whole shebang, measuring 3,900 mm long, 1,720 mm wide and 1,170 mm tall, weighs in at a paltry 780kgs. That is less than even the Lotus Elise. Much of the concept’s interior could also carry over to production, including a mix of high-quality metal, leather, carbon-fibre and technology borrowed from Yamaha’s music division. A speaker box behind the driver’s head restraint features woodgrain trim and sunburst paint employed by Yamaha’s guitars.

Yamaha is still tight-lipped about powertrain details, but we expect a turbocharged 1.5-litre engine for the production version instead of the MOTIV.e’s 1.0-litre three-cylinder mill.  That would be likely to give the car a power-to-weight ratio in excess of 140 PS per tonne, which, again, is around that of an Elise.

Expect the Yamaha Sports Ride to debut in pre-production form at the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show, with a sticker price of $70,000 in foreign markets.

Courtesy : Zigwheels