RALLY DE NOUVELLE CALEDONIE PREVIEW

 

The third round of the APRC starts from the capital of New Caledonian, Noumea on Friday (June 17) afternoon. Scotsman McRae spearheads PROTON’s challenge, arriving on the south-west Pacific island second in the title race, with Atkinson (Australia) two places behind him.

PROTON dominated the opening APRC round of the series, at home in Malaysia, and looked like repeating that performance on the second event in Queensland, Australia, before dropping back from the front of the field. PROTON’s Satria Neo S2000 does, however, remain the class of this year’s APRC field with more fastest times than any other manufacturer.

The fast and flowing stages on next week’s rally will suit the PROTON’s ever-improving power and driveability, empowering McRae and Atkinson to carry the fight to their rivals on what has to be one of the most picturesque rallies in the world.

Sitting 750 miles east of Australia and 900 miles north-west of New Zealand, the action takes place on the Grande Terre, the largest island in the archipelago. The mountainous nature of this 6,300-square metre island mean rain is always a possibility. While the event takes place in the southern hemisphere’s winter, temperatures are still expected around 20 degrees.

The stages offer a stunning mix of inland roads through the forests and rich vegetation and the coastline roads, where one mistake could provide man and machine with a closer-than-expected glimpse of the South Pacific.

McRae and Atkinson will test their PROTONs in New Caledonia on Tuesday, when they will focus on finding the perfect set-up for the 19-stage event.

Quotes:

Chris Atkinson said: 
“We’ve led the first two – and won the first round – of the championship, so we know we’ve got the pace to be at the front of the field. I was really impressed with what the team had done with the car, just between Malaysia and Queensland, the engine was great, but then we had a few issues. The team have worked really hard to get those things sorted and you could see from the pace on the last intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) round how close the car is to the other factory S2000s; we’re very close with this car now. I’ve done the rally in New Caledonia once before and I remember fast and narrow roads which will suit our car. I’m really looking forward to getting back in the car and showing what PROTON can do again.”

Alister McRae said: 
“There’s always something really interesting about going to a new place and a new rally and that’s the case for me in New Caledonia. I’ve heard plenty about it, but I’m really looking forward to seeing the roads. I’ve heard it’s a mixture of Queensland and New Zealand, which should be good for us and the PROTON: both of those events suit the Super 2000 car. I’ve watched some in-car from previous years and it looks as though the surface is quite clay-like, which will get very slippery if it gets wet. We’re looking for a good result from this event; we’re looking for a win. The [Asia-Pacific Rally] Championship is still wide open and we really want a result to put the disappointment of Queensland behind us – and to get us to the top of the table. I think everybody can see the potential of the Satria Neo S2000 now, the pace is very impressive – and we’re out to demonstrate that pace in a new part of the world next week.”

Chris Mellors (team principal) said: 
“We know we’ve got the speed to win this rally. We have addressed the issues we had in Australia and we’re happy, very happy with the way the car’s running ahead of New Caledonia. The team has competed on this event before and we have a very good idea of where we’re going with the car set-up. We’re quietly confident of a good result – a repeat of the first and third we took in Malaysia would be nice.”-rallye-info.com

Event data: 
Round: 3/6, FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
Based: Noumea, New Caledonia
Stages: 19
Liaison distance: 387.41km
Competitive distance: 223.73km
Total distance: 611.14km
Shakedown: Noumea (Friday June 17, 0730-1030)
Pre-event press conference: Ramada Hotel, Noumea (Friday June 17, 1030)
Post-event press conference: Finish podium, Noumea (Sunday June 19, 1600)
Time difference: Malaysia is GMT+11hrs

Event timetable:

Friday June 17
SS1 Nouville 1 (2.67km) 1223
SS2 Plaine 1 (3.78km) 1236
SS3 Nouville 2 (2.67km) 1514
SS4 Plaine 2 (3.78km) 1527

Saturday June 18
SS5 Calmines Mkm 1 (24.10km) 0743
SS6 Champs de Bataille Almameto 1 (10.35km) 0836
SS7 Penamax Pierre Clavel 1 (8.55km) 0909
Service – Prony 0929
SS8 Calmines Mkm 2 (24.10km) 1052
SS9 Champs de Bataille Almameto 2 (10.35km) 1145
SS10 Penamax Pierre Clavel 2 (8.55km) 1218
Service – Prony 1238
SS11 Calmines Mkm 3 (24.10km) 1401
SS12 Champs de Bataille Almameto 3 (10.35km) 1454
SS13 Penamax Pierre Clavel 3 (8.55km) 1527
Service – Prony 1547

Sunday June 19
SS14 Tabou Pierre Clavel 1 (8.57km) 0748
SS15 Touongo Almameto 1 (10.33km) 0811
SS16 Pirogues Mkm 1 (14.26km) 0844
Service – Prony 0942
SS17 Touongo Almameto 2 (10.33km) 1047
SS18 Pirogues Mkm 2 (14.26km) 1120
SS19 Plaine 3 (3.78km) 1343
Finish – Anse Kuendu 1358

The 2011 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally ChampionshipMalaysian Rally (April 1-3)
International Rally of Queensland (May 13-15)
Rally de Nouvelle Caledonie (June 17-19)
Rally of Whangarei (July 16-17)
Rally Hokkaido (September 30-October 2)
China Rally Longyou (November 4-6)

Videos: 2012 BMW 1 Series in Mineral Blue

2012 BMW 1 Series coverage continues with new videos. The recent footage shows the F20 1er in the beautiful Mineral Blue color.

Along with a variety of new options, the 2012 BMW 1Series comes with a large array of exterior colors: Black Sapphire, Alpine White, Crimson Red, Mineral Gray, Midnight Blue, Deep Sea blue, Glacier Silver, Mineral White, Liquid Blue, Valencia Orange. BMW will offer again the Estoril Blue paint with the M Sport package available in the fall.

The F20 1 Series goes on sale this fall preceded by a public debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The US market will most likely not going to receive the hatch variant and customers will have to wait for the redesigned coupe and convertible arriving in 2013.-bmwblog.com

Unimog 4WD Cabrio truck concept celebrates 60 years of Mercedes ownership

It may look like one of the most outrageous automotive concepts seen in many a year, but the Unimog 4WD Cabrio Truck concept created to celebrate 60 years of Mercedes Benz Unimog production actually has some basis in history - the very first Mercedes Unimog which rolled off the production line back on June 3, 1951 was also a cabrio, and it was also green, as has been almost every other Unimog in the intervening years. Based on the current Unimog U 5000 with its exceptional off-road capabilities, the Unimog Cabrio is apparently designed to bridge current and future Unimog design.

The concept is the work of the Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks Unit which produces the Unimog, Econic and Zetros truck ranges, and the design was presented at a ceremony celebrating 60 years of Mercedes-Benz Unimog production on June 3 at the Daimler plant in Wörth where Unimogs are made.

While not exactly a prototype for a future product range, the Cabrio's press blurb claims "some of its details will turn up in coming product ranges."

"We have taken the Unimog-DNA with its unique concept features to 100 percent into consideration when creating this design concept," said Bertrand Janssen from the Daimler department for commercial vehicle design. "Furthermore, this design concept gives the observer sufficient room for thought to interpret its technical innovations."-gizmag.com

Latest Lokatoo Map version 3.31 dated 9th June 2011

For your information, the latest map version 3.31 is now available for downloading from Lokatoo website for Navigation Software version 2.07, 3.10, 3.20 and ‘4.0 and above’. Majority of the road or POI updates in this version covers Klang Valley and Pahang, covering areas such as Ampang, Bangsar, Kelana Jaya, Bukit Tinggi, Jerantut and Kuantan.




Click HERE to download.

A Few More Details about Honda’s Upcoming Plug-in Hybrid

Honda announced at last year’s L.A. auto show that it make and sell an all-electric Honda Fit, as well as a full-size sedan using plug-in hybrid technology. The Fit should make a fantastic platform for a pure EV, but we haven’t had many details about what the plug-in hybrid will look like, or its features. This week’s Automotive News fills in a few of those blanks, while leaving lots of questions unanswered.

For all the promise of plug-in hybrid technology—offering a lot of electric driving capabilities, but still providing driving range on par with an ICE car—there are only two competing designs: the Chevy Volt with a relatively large battery pack, and a Prius Plug-in Hybrid with a smaller pack and a blended approach to using electric and gas. The Honda system bears more resemblance to Toyota’s approach.

Here are a few snippets about Honda’s entry into the plug-in hybrid market.

Platform – Honda is currently using an Accord as a test platform. The Accord was modified with an aluminum hood as well as other unspecified weight reductions. The plug-in hybrid still weighs 330 pounds more than the gas version of the Accord.

Battery & Range – Its 6 kWh lithium ion battery pack is placed behind the back seat, and encroaches upon the truck space. It’s about the size of a “suitcase,” and currently configured to run up to 62 mph in all-electric mode for about 15 miles, which Honda believes will “satisfy about 70 percent of its users.”

System – The large sedan plug-in hybrid will use a two motor system (unlike Honda’s current single motor hybrid system). The traction motor is 120 kilowatts (compared to Volt’s 111 kW). It’s combined with a 2-liter four-cylinder engine and a CVT transmission.

Sales Target - According to Automotive News, Honda’s new larger two-motor hybrid system—which comes out first as a plug-in hybrid but will also be used on conventional hybrids as well—will help the company expand hybrid sales from its current 5 percent take rate, to around 10 percent of global sales by 2015.-plugincars.com