Lotus CEO Denies Plans To Spin Lotus From Proton

Lotus impresario and well-coiffed CEO Dany Bahar has denied reports that he’s planning to divorce Lotus from its Malaysian parent company Proton—right after he mentioned that, well, he might.

During a recent interview, Bahar mentioned that he wanted to bring Lotus up to Porsche-killing standards, and in order to do so, he would have to leave Proton behind and shack up with a bigger sugar daddy, one capable of treating Lotus right. That company, he suggested, was Toyota: given Lotus’s now-tradition of using their engines, it only made sense.

But according to Bahar himself, “Proton has played, and continue to play, a crucial role in our development.” His vision for Lotus’s five-year plan includes Proton every step of the way, including Proton’s help in securing funding for Bahar’s next two-door/mid-engined/aluminum-spaceframe sedan/SUV/Cayman-killer GT/track-ready city car project.

“We have an incredibly strong relationship with Proton, they support us 100 per cent and frankly this is really important for a company like ours,” said Bahar.” Part of the business plan is the joint development of a global small car platform meaning that for the first time in the Proton Lotus history, the relationship will be mutually beneficial. This alone should demonstrate how close we are.”-autoguide.com

PROTON Eyeing Impactful Introduction In The Ukraine

Two of three Proton Satria Neo Super 2000 cars finished in the top 10 at the end of Leg 1 of the Prime Yalta Rally in the Ukraine, which is also round four of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC).

 

 

PROTON’s Giandomenico Basso was the highest placed in eighth position after the opening day’s two special stages and just 5.6 seconds adrift of current rally leader Belgian Thierry Neuville in the Peugeot 207 S2000. Team mate P-G Andersson was a further three seconds behind to round up the top 10 front runners which was dominated by a field of three Peugeot 207 S2000 and five Skoda Fabia S2000 cars.

Special stage 1 began in the outskirts of Yalta over a short 2.12km sprint before moving on to Livadija for the second special stage which was run over a distance of 5.49km.

PROTON’s third entry, piloted by Ukrainian rally star and former USSR rally champion Oleksandr Saliuk Sr meanwhile, rallied to a strong 18th overall from the total of 42 registered IRC competitors in his first time out in the Satria Neo S2000 and some 26.7 seconds down the order.

The three-day event sees PROTON fielding its strongest line-up to date in the IRC. Against the backdrop of the Crimea region’s Ai-Petri Mountains on the north coast of the Black Sea, the event, run in Mediterranean climate, consists of 14 special stages run entirely on asphalt over a combined distance of 721.61km. Leg 2 will consist of six special stages to be run on Friday while the third and final leg on Saturday will also be run over another six special stages.

“This is very important rally for significant two reasons. Firstly, as we get closer to midseason, we would like to secure as many valuable points as we can to improve our standings in the Manufacturer’s Championship. Secondly, this will also be the first time the PROTON brand will be seen in the Ukraine. I am sure the cars will attract plenty of curiosity, and a strong performance here will undoubtedly make for a very powerful and impactful introduction in what is essentially another potential market for PROTON given the level of enthusiasm and support the brand has received so far in the IRC,” said PROTON Holdings Berhad Group Managing Director Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.

PROTON is currently fifth in the IRC Manufacturer’s standings with 16 points after three rounds.

New to the IRC calendar, the Prime Yalta Rally has leveled the playing field in some respect with teams not having the benefit of previous technical data to rely on. The rally’s changing weather conditions has also made it even more challenging with the varying levels of grip.

"This is everyone’s first time in the Ukraine. No one has the benefit of earlier pace notes, technical data and practice on these new stages. It’s going to be very interesting and challenging and coupled with rain in the evening, has certainly made it a great challenge in terms of grip,” said Head of PROTON Motorsports Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood.

“The Satria Neo S2000s have been through some testing and the drivers are pleased with the improvements on the cars.”

Meanwhile, PROTON’s signing of Oleksandr Saliuk Sr and co-driver Evgen Chervonenko has also set the stage for what has been defined as Ukraine’s most famous rallying partnerships and a historic moment for the nation’s rallying history.

Saliuk Sr and Chervonenko had won the USSR Rally Championship 20 years ago and are recognised as being among the region’s fastest drivers in their era. Saliuk Sr’s son Alexander had earlier been scheduled to drive the third Satria Neo S2000 but suffered a broken arm. 

“It means a great deal to Evgen and I to be competing together 20 years after we first won the title in the USSR. This is a very important rally in the Ukraine and one which will attract the IRC’s fastest drivers. We are very excited about competing in front of the home crowd,” said Saliuk Sr.

Andersson meanwhile, is encouraged by the new improvements that have gone into the Satria Neo S2000. 

“The handling of the car feels better and the engine is also improved. I can’t say where we might finish the event, but I am pretty sure we will be closer than we have ever been to the other competitors.”

Brabus & Smart Teaser Reveals a Mystery Car (Video)

Looks like the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show is up for some serious surprise! A teaser video filmed in the Brabus factory in Bottrop, Germany, hints that we may be viewing the fastest Smart in the world.

The car looks like it is based on the ForTwo model, but we can’t confirm that as of now. The answers to many queries have its chances to be revealed by the end of September.

Brabus, along with the mystery model, will showcase  the 2003 Roadster V6 bi-turbo, which has 210 PS and a horse power of 207. The car can hit a top speed of approximately 240 km/h – thanks to the 300Nm of torque. We also got a peak at the 2006 ForFour race concept which car.-carblog.co.za

Hit play to watch the video.

Video Find: BMW Shows off 328 Hommage Concept, Original 328 Roadster (video)

BMW toasted the 75th anniversary of its iconic 328 roadster with the 328 Hommage, a concept car that debuted at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Italy. For those of us who weren’t able to make the trek out to Italy, BMW has released a video offering a more in-depth look at the concept car’s design, as well as a rundown of elements that were directly inspired by the 328 from the 1930s.

The video highlights some of the 328 Hommage’s neatest design features, including the carbon-fiber reinforced plastic body, lightweight wheels, and conspicuous lack of doors. We’re also granted a closer look at the sleekly integrated fuel filler cap, as well as unique dashboard-mounted Apple iPhone cases that give a retro-stopwatch appearance to Cupertino’s smartphone. Plus, the video has running footage of an original BMW 328, a rare treat for fans of roundel-badged sports cars from the past.

In true BMW fashion, the open-top 328 Hommage features an inline-six engine. Unfortunately the retro-inspired styling and high-tech design will remain off-limits to BMW faithful, as the Hommage is purely a one-off show car. The company also debuted a different take on a modernized 328, the Concept Coupé Mille Miglia, for the 328’s 70th birthday in 2006.-wot.motortrend.com

ASUS announces glasses-free Eee Pad MeMO 3D tablet

Alongside the Padfone, ASUS announced yet another tablet at Computex 2011 to join its previously announced Eee Pad Transformer, Eee Pad Slider and Eee Slate. The company first unveiled its Eee Pad MeMO 7-inch tablet at CES in January and the company has now unveiled a glasses-free 3D model dubbed the Eee Pad MeMO 3D. While the device sports a 1280 x 800 IPS LCD panel for wider viewing angles, this presumably won't apply to viewing 3D as - like the Nintendo 3DS - the MeMO 3D uses a parallax-barrier 3D overlay to create the 3D effect.

Aside from the addition of 3D, the MeMO 3D is pretty much identical to its non-3D counterpart. It runs Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) and is powered by a Qualcomm 1.2 GHz dual core processor with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage. Connectivity-wise the device includes micro-USB for charging, 3.5mm audio out, a MicroSD card slot, SIM card slot and a mini-HDMI port for outputting Full HD 1080p video. Up front there is 1.2MP camera while a 5MP camera with LED flash can be found on the rear.

The MeMO 3D also comes with a capacitive stylus that slides from a silo below the display as well as a MeMIC Bluetooth handset featuring a transparent LCD display that can be used as a media remote or for taking phone calls using the tablet.

The inclusion of a capacitive stylus that slides from a silo below the display signals ASUS's aim of the device being used as a digital notepad in portrait form. However, again due to the parallax barrier technology employed, 3D viewing is limited to landscape mode.

ASUS hasn't announced pricing or a specific release date for the Eee Pad MeMO 3D, only signaling a Q4 2011 release. However, back in January it said the non-3D Eee Pad MeMO would be priced around US$499-$699 at its June 2011 release. When the 3D model is released, it will be interesting to see exactly how much extra the addition of 3D brings to such a device.-gizmag.com