Limited-edition flagship model to come with unique bronze paint and additional accessories; remains mechanically unchanged.

Tata Motors is gearing up to launch a special edition of its flagship Hexa in the coming days. The Hexa special edition will be based on the top-spec trim and will feature unique ‘Urban Bronze’ exterior paint shade which is similar to the one offered on the recently-launched Tigor compact sedan.

Additionally, the company will offer a long list of official Tata Motors accessories with the special-edition Hexa, which includes rear-seat entertainment, unique seat covers, a heads-up display, a tyre pressure monitoring system and a few more goodies. The Hexa special edition will not feature any mechanical changes.

The Hexa in higher trims comes with a 156hp 2.2-litre Varicor 400 diesel engine mated to either a six-speed manual or an automatic gearbox. Sources tell us that the Hexa special edition is likely to cost around Rs 85,000 over the cost of the standard top-spec Hexa XT variant.

Courtesy : Autocar

Royal Enfield fans would probably know about the fabled Carberry Enfield, a motorcycle with a 1,000cc engine that was created by fusing two existing Royal Enfield 500cc engines in a V-Twin format. After talks with Royal Enfield did not bear fruit, Paul Carberry, the man responsible for the Carberry V-Twin, tied up with Jaspreet Singh Bhatia from Bhilai, Chhattisgarh in India, and shifted operations here last year from Australia.

Priced at Rs 7.35 lakh, bookings for the Carberry Enfield are now open and deliveries are expected to commence within the next four to seven months. This new version fuses two 500cc blocks from the newer Royal Enfield UCE engine, as opposed to the original Carberry Enfield which utilised two of the older cast-iron engine blocks. The 55-degree V-Twin runs a dual carburettor setup. However, a fuel-injected version that will be BS-IV compliant is also under development in India. The engine is mated to a five-speed gearbox with a seven-plate clutch and high-strength primary chain. It also gets a heavy duty starter, while the lifters and oil pump run in their own housing that can protect the engine from wear and damage. The new 1,000cc Carberry V-Twin produces about 53hp and 82Nm of peak torque.

Currently, this engine cannot be fitted onto pre-owned bikes; the engine and bike will be sold as a complete package. Carberry already has test mules of a new bike, dubbed the Double Barrel 1000, running with this engine, in the process of homologation. Unlike the previous Carberry bike which used a heavily modified version of the existing Royal Enfield chassis to deal with the increased load and stresses, the Double Barrel has a brand new double-cradle frame. The bike will also feature front and rear disc brakes with ABS, as well as a two-into-one exhaust system.

Courtesy : Autocar

The Street Triple 765 is a highly impressive motorcycle, one that recently won our comparison review with the Kawasaki Z900. It also performed incredibly well at the 2017 Autocar Track Day, setting a lap time just 4s off a new-age litre-class sportbike. However, all of this is has been achieved by the entry spec Street Triple S model. Internationally, Triumph sells the Street Triple in three trims, but only the Street Triple S is currently available in India. That's about to change soon with the introduction of the range topping Street Triple 765 RS. 

The Street Triple 765 RS not only comes with significantly more kit than the base S model but it also gets a higher state of engine tune. Where the S produces a  healthy 113hp and 73Nm, the RS makes 123hp and 77Nm. Complementing the extra power is a set of range topping Brembo M50 brakes, commonly seen on high-spec, litre-class superbikes. Suspension sees a big upgrade as well, with Showa’s Big Piston forks up front and an Ohlins rear shock. Triumph is clear that the Street Triple 765 RS is as serious about track riding as road performance and proves it through the use of super-sticky, Pirelli Supercorsa tyres which are also usually reserved for the most high performance motorcycles.

Visually, the 765 RS gets a quite a few differentiators that go beyond the lovely frozen matt colour scheme. The first of these is a rear seat cowl, but the bigger upgrade comes in the rich, full colour LCD instrument screen facing the rider. The bike also offers five riding modes and multiple viewing modes for the digital display.

When we first rode the Street Triple 765 RS in Spain earlier this year (LINK) Triumph suggested that all three models would eventually make it to India. However, it now appears that Triumph will only bring in the RS as it currently doesn't see the space for the mid-spec R model. Considering all the top shelf components on offer, expect the Street Triple 765 RS to cost significantly more than the S, which retails at Rs 8.7 lakh ex-showroom Mumbai. An ex-showroom price at around the Rs 10.5-11 lakh mark is fair to expect. 

The Audi A5 Cabriolet and A5 Sportback are powered by a 190hp, 2.0-litre diesel while the S5 Sportback gets a 354hp, 3.0-litre, turbo-petrol, V6.

Audi has expanded its India line-up with the launch of the new A5 Sportback, A5 Cabriolet and S5 Sportback at Rs 54.02 lakh, Rs 67.51 lakh and Rs 70.60 lakh, respectively (ex-showroom, Delhi).

The previous-gen S5 Sportback was sold in India, as was the range-topping RS5 Coupe. This is the first time that Audi has brought the drop-top version of the A5 to the market.

The A5 Sportback and Cabriolet are both powered by the same 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-diesel mill that produces 190hp and 400Nm of peak torque. Both body styles also get the same seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, thought the Sportback only comes with front-wheel-drive while the Cabriolet gets Audi’s Quattro all-wheel-drive system.

Unlike the previous-gen S5 sold in India that came with a supercharged engine, the new range-topping S5 Sportback gets a 3.0-litre, turbo-petrol, V6 motor putting out 354hp and 500Nm of twisting force, mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox that sends power to all four wheels.

The 2.0-litre diesel and the 3.0-litre petrol motors, both get an engine start-stop system as standard.

A fair amount of the A5’s interiors are shared with the A4 sedan, though the new model gets a new sporty three spoke steering wheel, black wood-trim in the cabin (faux aluminium in the S5), the MMI Touch infotainment system and the Virtual Cockpit digital instrument cluster. A 755W Bang and Olufsen sound system and Audi’s smartphone integration suite with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are optional extras along with a sunroof for the Sportback version.

The A5 Cabriolet rivals the Mercedes-Benz C 300 Cabriolet, while the A5 Sportback will be a more stylish take on the A4, without any direct rivals at this price point.

The S5 Sportback will face competition from Volvo’s S60 Polestar and Mercedes-AMG’s C 43 Coupe.

Courtesy : Autocar

From November 1, 2017, Triumph enthusiasts from around the world have the opportunity to tour a factory visitor centre located at the company’s headquarters in Leicestershire, UK. The centre will allow visitors to see a collection of rare and distinctive exhibits “centred around the design, engineering and manufacture of Triumph’s most iconic models” as the company puts it, all at no cost. And visitors can even book a 90-minute tour of the factory to see how these motorcycles are put together for a fee of 15 GBP.

Some of the exhibits on display at the visitor centre will include famous movie bikes such as the painstakingly restored Bonneville used by Steve McQueen in The Great Escape, as well as Tom Cruise’s Speed Triple from the heart-pounding chase sequence in Mission Impossible 2. Apart from this, also open to visitors is the very first Triumph No1 built in 1902 as well as the prototype of the race engine the company has built to power the 2019 Moto2 World Championship.

Apart from these, the display pieces include some rather unique models such as the 1919 Triumph ‘Trusty’ Model H from World War 1, the 1959 Bonneville that took the world by storm, along with legendary motorcycles such as the Hurricane X75, T595 Trident and original '94 Speed Triple. Race bikes on display include the original 1920s TT racer, alongside legends from the American and British competitions of the 1950s and '60s, as well as Gary Johnson’s 2014 Isle of Man Supersports TT winning Triumph Daytona 675.

Speaking at the launch, Paul Stroud, Chief Commercial Officer at Triumph, commented, “We are very proud and excited to be able to invite Triumph and motorcycling fans from around the world to come and experience our brand first-hand, here at the factory where every Triumph starts its life. With so many important and rare bikes on display, the Visitor Experience will be a must for motorcycle and movie fans alike, but also an opportunity to help us celebrate our proud heritage and our passion for building great motorcycles. We hope this will reward and inspire every fan of the brand, and ignite a love for Triumph in a whole new generation.’’

When done checking out all the exhibits, visitors can relax at the Triumph 1902 café or even purchase some branded merchandise, clothing and some limited-edition Visitor Experience souvenirs.