Volvo has developed a system where the car will brake by itself if it realises that the driver will not stop in time to avoid hitting the car in front. Interesting system, but it is scary to think what tailgaters will use something like this for.
A world-record speed of 330.6 kph was set on the high-speed test track in Nardo, Italy with a Maybach 57 powered by a 720 hp Brabus-tuned SV12 S Biturbo engine, making it the world’s fastest ultra-luxury large sedan. The Brabus engineers and test drivers bested their own record set in 2005 when a Maybach 57 powered by a Brabus SV 12 Biturbo engine with 631 hp was clocked at 314 kph.
We were invited to the launch of four new Ford models yesterday. These included the Ford Mondeo and the Lincoln MKZ, with a relaunch of the Mercury Milan. Also launched were the Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego twins, but these cars were not displayed at the dinner event.
Volvo has created a new entity in India to sell their top-spec cars in the country. Volvo Car India is opening its sales programme with the Volvo S80 luxury sedan and the Volvo XC90 Sports Utility Vehicle. Both models will be offered with three different engine alternatives: the 4.4 litre petrol V8, the 3.2 litre petrol in-line six-cylinder and the 2.4 litre turbocharged diesel in-line five-cylinder, the D5.
The Middle East Motor Show in Dubai will have its first ever world premiere of a model not shown anywhere else. Announced earlier by Mercedes-Benz as a mystery Maybach concept car, some British rag leaked that the unknown car is indeed a four-door convertible called the Maybach 62 Landaulet.
Yep, Dubai Police has taken delivery of 101 BMW 5-Series cars, half of which will be used as patrol cars. They are a good step up from the Mercedes-Benz C-classes, Toyota Fortuners and Nissan Pathfinders the cops keep trolling around in already.
The Jaguar X-Type was always considered a joke since the day it was released. It drives well enough, it looks great, and it even improved its reliability record over the years. But its price combined with the fact that it is simply a reworked Ford Mondeo was enough to spell disaster for what was supposed to be Jag’s volume model. Unlike the S-Type-to-XF transformation, the X-Type gets a minor refresh to keep it going until it is killed eventually.
Whoever handles the marketing for Peugeot in this country is doing a really good job of keeping secrets. We went about town to look at a used 206 GTI (for use as a benchmark car), and the owner told us he had already ordered a 207 RC last month. So we go to Peugeot’s UAE dealer website and, amazingly enough, the whole 207 model range and prices are posted.
Already revealed as a coupe, the BMW M3 was known to have a sedan and convertible bodystyle in the works too. And now, the 414 hp M3 sedan has just been unveiled.
A soft-top convertible version of the 2008 BMW 1-Series has been unveiled in Europe, even before the coupe version has gone on worldwide sale. Like the coupe, the convertible will also be available in a top-of-the-range 135i variant, among others.