Specially crafted for Middle-Eastern customers, the Nissan Patrol Desert Edition made its global debut at the 13th Dubai International Motor Show

World over the Nissan Patrol is renowned for its ruggedness and off road capability. But for those who still want more, the Japanese car maker has now unveiled the Patrol Desert Edition at the 2015 Dubai International Motor Show. Designed with help from former Middle-East Rally Champion Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the Patrol Desert Edition will be sold specifically in the Middle-Eastern countries. 

Managing Director of Nissan Middle East, Samir Cherfan, said: “The development of the Nissan Patrol Desert Edition followed a research study that we conducted in the GCC, which outlined that our consumers wanted an ultimate off-roading version of the Patrol tailored to the region. The Nissan Patrol already occupies a unique place in the hearts and minds of off-road enthusiasts in the Middle East, teamed with the survey results we believed it was fitting for us to offer a special Desert Edition for its fans here.

How’s this Desert Edition different from the standard Patrol you ask? This Patrol Desert Edition gets special skid plates for underbody protection. The car gets an on-board tyre inflator for your drive back home after some dune bashing. It also sports ‘Bead-lock’ wheels that enable those tyres to be used at extremely low pressures, without the risk of the tyres coming off. To make your off-road expeditions simpler, the Nissan Patrol Desert Edition also gets a navigation system with front and rear cameras. To add to all of this, the car also gets special over fenders to make it look even more visually appealing. 

The Nissan Patrol Desert Edition will go on sale only in UAE and is priced at 2,55,000 DHS (Rs 45 lakh approx). 

Courtesy : Zigwheels

In a deal worth €45.6 million, Apollo Tyres has acquired Reifencom GmbH, one of the largest tyre distributors in Germany. Reifencom GmbH has an online presence in 6 countries - Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Denmark. Additionally, it operates 37 stores and service centres across Germany.

The acquisition is a strategic move by Apollo Tyres to expand its reach in European markets by increasing the visibility of Apollo and Vredestein tyres in the offline and online retail space.

Neeraj Kanwar, Vice Chairman and MD, Apollo Tyres Ltd, says one of the reasons why Reifencom was chosen is because the company has an efficient logistics system in place, making tyre and wheel purchases easier for customers, particularly during peak periods like spring and autumn.

Courtesy : Team BHP

After months of speculation and uncertainty, the Mahindra buyout of legendary design house Pininfarina has been confirmed. Pininfarina are best known for designing a whole range of Ferrari cars until recently.

The Mahindra Pininfarina deal has been on the cards for a while now. After both sides denying the fact, sources now say that the deal will finally go through very soon. The Italian car designing firm has announced that they will likely sign the papers in the next few weeks making the buyout public. Currently, the controlling shareholder in Pininfarina is Pincar.

The delay in making the announcement pubic was due to the fact that Pininfarina was in a huge 87 million euro debt and that the creditors were not pleased that the deal entitled erasing half of the debt figures. Pininfarina has been allegedly hemorrhaging money for the last decade and in the first half of 2015 they have posted a net debt of 52.7 million euros. According to sources, the investors in Pininfarina, the cash inflow from Mahindra will rejuvenate the famed automotive designer.

One of the reasons why Pininfarina is in such a bad shape has to do with the fact that many automakers prefer to hire more in-house designers rather than externalize the design process. The last car to wear Pininfarina’s signature is the South East Motor (SEM) DX7, a Chinese SUV that made its debut earlier this year at Auto Shanghai. Expect a radical redesign in all future Mahindra products as soon as the Indian auto giant completely acquires Pininfarina. 

Courtesy : Zigwheels

16,444 units of the Ford Ecosport made between November 2013 and April 2014 have been recalled in India to rectify a faulty rear suspension component.

Ford India have started a recall procedure for the popular Ecosport compact SUV to inspect and sort out an issue that is related to a component in the rear suspension. The component in question is a bolt that is on the rear twist beam assembly of cars made between November 2013 and April 2014 at the Ford plant in Chennai.

Ford says that there could be a possibility that the said bolt may not have been tightened to its specification which could have affected certain vehicles. In the worst case scenario, the bolt could pivot and break off completely which could in turn affect the car’s drivability and cause an accident. That said, Ford claims that no accidents have occurred due to the issue yet.

According to Ford India’s official statement, ‘Ford India is contacting select customers to voluntarily inspect their EcoSport vehicles, made at the company’s Chennai plant between November 2013 and April 2014, for a potential concern related to Rear Twist Beam (RTB) bolt...In some of the affected vehicles, there is a possibility that the RTB bolt may not be tightened to specification, which may cause the pivot bolt to break. This condition can potentially compromise vehicle handling and thereby increase the risk of an accident.’

Ford dealers will reach out to customers directly and inspect the vehicles. The replacement if any will be done free of cost by the company. According to Ford, the dealers have already started to contact individuals who have selective models of the Ecosport. Ford had also recalled over 1.66 lakh units of the Figo and Fiesta Classic in September 2013 to rectify a similar rear suspension issue along with a faulty power steering hose. That said, the newly launched facelifted version of the Ford Ecosport has not been affected in any way. 

Courtesy : Zigwheels

Urban Enduro, the fourth bike in the Scrambler series, was launched at the inauguration of Ducati’s Bangalore showroom.

Besides the wild-green paint scheme on the Urban Enduro Scrambler, the bike’s ribbed seats, front fork protectors, high front mud-guard, and the headlamp protector distinguishes it from the other Scrambler bikes. A more subtle change comes in the form of 18-inch front wheels and smaller 17-inch rear wheels, unlike the 18-inchers that other Scramblers get both up front and at the rear.
The underpinnings and powertrain of the bike, namely the USD front forks, the adjustable rear monoshock and the 73.8 bhp, 803cc, L-twin cylinder, air-cooled engine mated to a six-speed manual gearbox respectively are carried over from the current Scrambler range. The Urban Enduro also comes with ABS equipped front and rear disc brakes and Pirelli dual sport tyres.

As earlier reported, Ducati is working on a smaller 400cc version of the Scrambler, based on its bigger sibling, which could be revealed at the EICMA 2015. Besides the Scrambler range, Ducati’s line-up for India includes the Diavel, Hypermotard, Monster, Multistrada and the Panigale superbike.

Courtesy : Autocar