V10 Plus drop-top R8 to be the last variant of the second-gen R8; V10 develops 610hp and 560Nm of torque.

Audi has revealed the R8 Spyder V10 Plus as the final addition to its R8 supercar range. Set to go on sale internationally in the coming months, the Plus has around 70hp and 20Nm more than the standard R8 Spyder V10, giving it a total of 610hp and 560Nm of torque.

It's also 25kg lighter, thanks to the use of carbon fibre-reinforced plastics on its interior and exterior. This means the Plus weighs 1,587kg, which is 167kg more than the Lamborghini Huracán Spyder and 83kg less than the Porsche 911 Turbo.

The Plus's increased power and decreased weight equate a 0.3sec improvement to 0-100kph time and a 10kph increase in top speed over the regular V10 Spyder, at 3.3sec and 332kph.

The Plus is marked out by carbon fibre trim across the exterior in place of the standard car's gloss black trim. Its trapezoidal exhausts are also split into four separate pipes, in place of two larger, undivided pipes. The Plus also gets standard bucket seats and ceramic brakes.

Audi confirmed that no further variants on the R8 will be added to the range after the R8 Spyder V10 Plus, quelling speculation of a lightweight variant akin to the Huracán Performante.

The second-gen R8 is currently available in India only as the R8 V10 Plus Coupe though the automaker could expand the line-up to include the drop-top models at a later stage.

Courtesy: Autocar

In the past few years, a whole bunch of motorcycle manufacturers have flocked to the Indian market, vying to grab some share of its 18-million-units-a-year-and-growing sales pie. That global biggies like BMW, Harley-Davidson, Ducati, the Japs and Triumph have set up shop here is not surprising; what is, though, is the interest shown by smaller, niche players like Moto Guzzi and UM. Well, this list is about to get a wee bit longer this year with the entrance of yet another player – Cleveland CycleWerks, an American motorcycle manufacturer based in Cleveland, Ohio.

You might be racking your memory at this point of time trying to remember the last time you heard of Cleveland CycleWerks (CCW). Don't beat yourself up if you cannot; it is unlikely you have been acquainted with this brand. In a world where brands like Indian and Harley-Davidson have been making bikes for more than a hundred years, CCW is just a fertilised egg, not even a newborn. Set up in 2009 by three Americans – Scott Colosimo, Jarrod Streng, and Curtis Ray, CCW debuted its first motorcycle, a hardtail bobber called 'tha Heist' in February 2010, and have added four other bikes to their line-up between then and now.

Most of the components of CCW's motorcycles are sourced from China, with the bikes sold in some 25 countries. CCW offers small displacement motorcycles, ranging from 125cc to 450cc. All of its motorcycles are powered by single-cylinder engines that are based on older Honda motors. CCW's principal founder Colosimo wanted to build cool motorcycles that were affordable, accessible and simple, and that is what he has done with CCW's line-up.

CCW will enter the Indian market through a joint-venture with Laish-Madison MotorWerks (LMMW), a company based in Hyderabad, Telangana. LMMW plans to assemble (or manufacture?) CCW bikes in India, probably out of a plant in Telangana itself; our sources tell us that work on setting up this plant has already begun.

CCW will offer three of its five models in India in its first year: Ace, a retro-classic commuter; Misfit, a café-racer; and FXr, a dirt bike. The first bike to be launched in India will be the Ace, and we are told that it has already completed component testing at ARAI and will finish final testing by July 2017. It plans on launching the two remaining bikes from its global line-up – the Heist, a hardtail bobber and the Hooligun, a dual-sport Enduro-style bike – perhaps in its second year.
CCW will officially launch its first bike, as well as its India operations in September 2017.

Below is a close look at the CCW's model line-up:

1. Heist

2. Ace
The Ace is a retro-classic commuter powered by the same 230cc engine as the Heist, sitting in a traditional single-cradle frame. The Ace's engine is in the same tune as the Heist's, putting out 14.8hp at 7,000rpm and 15.8Nm at 5,500rpm. The Ace is available in two variants – Standard and Deluxe. The Standard is a pretty basic motorcycle, while the Deluxe gets a few upgrades such as aluminium wheels, inverted forks, wider bars, dual surface tyres, rear disc brake and a flat seat. The Ace Standard has a wheelbase of 1,280mm, while the Deluxe gets 1,325mm. Both have a seat height of 785mm and weigh 136kg wet.

3. Misfit
The Misfit is a café-racer-style premium commuter. Powered by a 223cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled engine with an overhead camshaft and a power and torque output of 16.3hp at 7,500rpm and 18Nm at 5,500rpm, the Misfit is meant to be the sportiest bike of the range. It gets inverted front forks, a 315mm, four-piston disc brake up front and a 220mm, two-piston disc brake at the back. The bike has a wheelbase of 1,400mm and seat height of 775mm, along with a wet weight of 144kg.

4. FXx and FXr
The FXx and FXr are crosses between a mountain and a dirt bike, according to CCW. Powered by 124cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled engines that produce 8.3hp at 8,500rpm and 8.5Nm at 7,500rpm, these bikes look the part. The FXr is a street-legal version of the FXx, and comes with headlights, taillights and indicators. Both bikes get inverted forks up front and a monoshock round the back, along with front and rear disc brakes, and a wheelbase, ground clearance and seat height of 1,810mm, 360mm and 860mm, respectively.

5. Hooligun
The Hooligun is a dual-sport, Endure-style motorcycle, the largest-capacity bike in the CCW line-up. It is powered by a 449cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine with an output of 43.5hp at 7,000rpm and 42.5Nm at 6,500rpm. The engine sits in an aluminium twin-spar mainframe with an aluminium sub-frame. The suspension setup consists of inverted forks up front and a monoshock at the back, while braking is handled by 240mm discs front and back. The 120kg bike has a wheelbase of 1,500mm, ground clearance of 330mm and seat height of 960mm. It is available in two variants – R and X – with the former sporting on/off tyres for road riding and the latter knobbies for more serious off-roading.

Courtesy: Autocar 

Volkswagen has unveiled the new sixth-generation Polo at a media reception held at its Wolfsburg headquarters in Germany. The all-new hatchback is an outwardly larger, significantly roomier and more technically sophisticated model than today’s eight-year-old car.

Set to make its public debut at the upcoming Frankfurt motor show, the new Polo will be produced in five-door hatchback form only, with buyers offered the choice of up to six engines – the most powerful being a range-topping 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol unit good for 200hp powering the GTi model.

Based around the German carmaker’s MQB A0 platform – the old car was underpinned by VW’s PQ25 platform, the new Volkswagen has grown quite significantly. Measuring in at 4,053mm in length, 1,7511mm in width and 1,446mm in height, it is 81mm longer, 63mm wider and 7mm lower than its predecessor. The wheelbase too is now 94mm longer at 2,564mm.

Despite being immediately recognisable as a Volkswagen, VW designers have incorporated a number of new design elements on the new car, including a distinctive swage line graphic that provides additional structure to the bodywork in an area above the door handles.

The new Polo will be sold in six different trim lines. Included are the familiar Trendline, Comfortline and Highline trims, a special Beats edition with an upgraded sound system and an R-line trim featuring re-profiled bumpers, standard 16-inch alloy wheels and darkened exterior elements among other unique touches.

At the top of the line-up is the GTi. It receives a number of traditional cues, including uniquely-styled bumpers, a honeycomb grille insert, red highlights within the headlamps, 17-inch alloy wheels, a rear spoiler atop the tailgate, LED tail lamps and dual-chromed tailpipes.

The decision to dispense with the three-door bodystyle, which has traditionally accounted for over 30 per cent of worldwide sales, comes on the back of slowing sales and follows similar moves from rival automakers.  

The increase in external dimensions combines with the improved packaging offered by the new MQB A0 platform to provide the new Polo with a larger interior boasting a claimed 15mm increase in headroom up front and 30mm increase in headroom in the rear. Volkswagen also quotes a significant 71-litre improvement in luggage capacity at 351 litres.

The interior has been thoroughly redesigned, with a newly styled dashboard featuring a new steering wheel and more contemporary switchgear at the centre of the changes. Analogue instruments remain standard, though Volkswagen’s Active Info Display digital instruments along with a wide number of connectivity functions, including a wireless smartphone charging pad and keyless access are offered as options.

Volkswagen has confirmed that the 2017 model year Polo will be sold with the choice of four petrol engines and a sole diesel one in varying states of tune, although not all will be available at the time of launch. Each receives a standard stop/start function and brake energy recuperation for improved efficiency.

Gearboxes include either a standard five- or six-speed manual, with a seven-speed dual clutch unit available as an option in combination with the more powerful engines on offer. Despite developing the smaller version of the MQB platform to accept four-wheel drive, Volkswagen says the sixth-generation Polo models will be sold exclusively with front-wheel drive.

Among the petrol engines is a naturally-aspirated, 1.0-litre, three-cylinder multi-point injected unit offered in two states of tune – 65hp or 75hp. It is joined from the outset by a more sophisticated turbocharged 1.0-litre, three-cylinder direct-injection engine developing either 95hp or 115hp.

Further up is a new 1.5 TSI running Volkswagen’s newly developed turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder direct injection petrol engine with 150hp.

Topping the line-up is the new GTI. It eschews the turbocharged 1.8-litre, four-cylinder direct injection engine of its predecessor for a larger turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine which bumps up power by about 8hp to 200hp.

On the diesel front, Volkswagen will launch the new Polo with just one engine option – a 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel unit delivering either 81hp or 96hp.

Also available in selected markets will be a natural-gas-propelled 1.0 TGI model running a specially adapted version of Volkswagen’s turbocharged 1.0-litre four-cylinder direct injection petrol engine developing 90hp.

The all-new Polo will go on sale internationally by the end of the year with production expected to start shortly. For India, Volkswagen recently signed an MoU with Tata Motors to use the latter’s AMP platform to develop models for the country. So, while a Polo replacement could be on the cards, it is yet unknown if VW will bring in a reengineered version of the all-new international model shown here or launch an indigenously developed alternative.

Courtesy: Autocar

The riders trained by Honda’s Ten 10 Racing academy have scored double podiums in both supersport and pro-stock 165cc categories

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The 2017 Indian National Motorcycle Championship’s first round was conducted at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore under the governance of Federation of Motor Sports Club of India (FMSCI) this weekend. The races were held in different categories depending upon the engine capacity of the motorcycle, the organizing body and the type of modifications made on the motorcycle. It was split into two major classes – National Championship and Honda One Make Championship.  

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The National Championship was divided in two segments – the supersport 165cc class and pro-stock 165cc class. Two races were conducted in both the segments. Supersports is a segment where the bikes are heavily modified and many world-class performance components are used to make them quicker, faster, lightweight and light-footed. Pro-stock bikes, on the other hand, are slightly tamer on the track as there are some restrictions towards the modification of these bikes and only locally sourced performance parts can be used compared to the supersports bikes.

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In the supersport category, race 1 finished with the 1st and 2nd position riders separated by milliseconds. Rajiv S secured first position with a total lap time of 07:53:41, with Mathan Kumar trailing at 07:53:94. Both the Honda riders continued their successful reign in race 2 with Rajiv and Mathana securing first and second position respectively. In the pro-stock category, race 1 concluded with Mithun Kumar and B Aravind securing 1st and 2nd positions, clocking lap times of 20:07:186 and 20:09:278 respectively. Race 2 was again dominated by Mithun securing 1st position with a total lap time of 08:17:120, and Soorya P M securing second position with total lap time of 08:19:870.

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The Honda One Make series was divided into CBR250R open championship, CBR 150R novice championship and Honda all-ladies race. Rajiv S, who also participated in this race along with the above mentioned national races, secured 1st position in race 1 and race 2 while the second position was secured by Amit Richard Topno and Abhishek V in race 1 and race 2 respectively. The CBR 150R race saw the most number of participants racing on the track. With 40 competitors racing, pole position was secured by Satya Narayana in race 1 and race 2. The second position was secured by Syed Nawas and Amala Jerald in race 1 and race 2 respectively.

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An all-girls race was also conducted by Honda in which 8 woman riders competed with the race-pepped CBR 150R motorcycles. Rehana Reya was the quickest rider on the track and completed the race in 1st position while Shruthi N came in second. It was a good sight to see the girls competing on the track and Honda does have a big hand in nurturing their talent.  

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Congratulating the winners, Mr Prabhu Nagaraj, Vice President, Customer Service - Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, said, “What an epic start to the 10th year of Honda’s motorsports in India! Backed by the phenomenal performance of our young riders, Honda is leading the tally at the start of 2017 season. My heartiest congratulations to Rajiv, Mathana, Mithun and Aravind for their podium wins. 2017 season will witness intense racing action. The international learning’s of Honda riders gained through Asia Road Racing Championship is giving them an edge. We at Honda are confident of more such stellar performances throughout this racing season."

Courtesy : Zigwheels

All-electric Honda NSX under considerationThe next-gen NSX could use four electric motors that would be able to potentially carry from 0-100kph in 2.5secs.Honda is looking at bringing technology from its 1,014hp Pikes Peak race car, 4-Motor Acura EV Concept, to production in the form of a fully battery-powered next-generation NSX.The revelation that a potential all-electric NSX is under consideration was made by Sekino Yosuke, Honda's head of research and development, during a demonstration of the Acura EV concept. Given the acceleration figures of that car and the NSX’s famed handling prowess, the electric drivetrain would have the potential to give the NSX hypercar-beating levels of performance. Although, the competition car’s top speed is a relatively low 249kph and a production car would likely weigh more.

“The technology used on the Pikes Peak car could be interesting,” said Yosuke. “It's not just a competition car; I would like to make such a car in production, and there are some studies around that. We want our electric cars to be joyful to drive, and it is clear that this proposal, with around 1,014hp, is both joyful and uses technology that could one day reach production. We are evaluating what is possible now.”This means that the next-generation NSX could potentially use four electric motors to generate acceleration that would be able to carry from 0-100kph in 2.5secs and 0-200kph in 6.2secs, making it more potent than a Porsche 918 Spyder.The 4-Motor Acura EV Concept, which weighs 1.5 tonne, finished third overall in last year’s Pikes Peak Hill Climb event in Colorado, USA. It has a modified version of the SH-AWD powertrain in the production Honda NSX. With an electric motor powering each wheel, the concept is claimed to be the “world’s first supercar with four-wheel independent torque allocation”.

As such, each wheel can accelerate or decelerate at any time, offering maximum grip and the potential for handling-improving torque vectoring.Although it's only required to run at full speed for around 32km at Pikes Peak, insiders say that it carries sufficient battery capacity to drive for 322km if driven at modest speeds. A production car is likely to require a broader range of talents, and the main barriers to a road car matching the competition car’s performance are said to be the weight (for safety), additional battery systems and the need for more cooling.However, the current NSX has only been on sale in international markets since last year, with Type R and convertible variants still in the pipeline. As such, an all-new NSX is unlikely to be launched before 2023, when battery technology is expected to have progressed significantly.

Courtesy : Autocar