Daytime LED Driving Lights Activated On The Porsche?
This is the last time my Porsche Boxster S will stay inside the Porsche Showroom with its older brothers. Today, I had instructed QAF staff that I would like to have my car sent back to my home while we are still waiting for the freaking "Bluecard" to be registered! Talk about efficency from the Land Transport Department! Hopefully it will be done tomorrow and I can get the car registered ASAP as my wedding are closing in! Today is the first time I actually drove my car! I am so speechless after driving it from QAF to my home. It's about 20 mins drive and let me tell you two main features of the car that really impressed me in my very first drive. First is the exhaust noise and secondly the short shifter! New license plate attached at front bumper! Daytime LED driving lights activated on the Porsche? Honestly, I was expecting the Boxster to be smaller then Skyline but I was wrong! Not too sure about the width yet but once I sat inside the car it feels as big as the Skyline ER34 too! One thing thats for sure is I felt very close to the ground sitting inside the driver seat, which is good! Check out the interior. Metropole Blue roof can be seen here. The Sea Blue interior still looks like black from here. You really have to see it in person as picture doesnt do it justice.
This new teaser image suggests Aston Martin鈥檚 Project 003, which called be called Valhalla, will adopt a mid-engined supercar layout, with high-exit exhausts and an active rear spoiler. Previous sketches and teaser images also hint that it will feature a jet-fighter-style canopy, with Aston Martin promising improved practicality over the Valkyrie. It鈥檚 likely that the British brand will debut a near-to-production version of the Project 003 at this year鈥檚 Geneva Motor Show. It will share the stage with new Valkyrie Pro and a new SUV from Aston Martin鈥檚 all-electric spin-off brand, Lagonda. Should Aston鈥檚 recent trademark applications be believed, its new supercar will be called the Valhalla, marking its position below the Valkyrie. Both cars鈥?names are borrowed from Norse mythology, and both are part of strict hierarchy. Supposedly, Valhalla is the resting place of souls deemed worthy of the god Odin鈥檚 company, while Valkyries are the warrior spirits who police it. Project 003 will be built around a lightweight structure and powered by an all-new turbocharged petrol-hybrid V6 engine. Aston Martin has previously confirmed that the hybrid powertrain will be a KERS system, rather than an efficiency-focused range-extending system, focusing on performance rather than economy. Speaking exclusively to Auto Express, Aston boss Andy Palmer revealed that car is an additional part of his seven-year plan. 鈥淚t falls into the category of a 鈥榮pecial鈥?鈥?Palmer told us. The 003 is the latest in a long line of new models being developed by Aston. The next big launch from the British firm is its first SUV, while the Project 003 will follow shortly after Aston鈥檚 AM9 Ferrari 488 competitor.
The updated version of Audi鈥檚 Q7 has been caught on camera during its winter testing programme. It appears to borrow a number of design cues from the Q8, the company鈥檚 recently-released flagship SUV. Exterior alterations to the new Q7 aren鈥檛 particularly dramatic. The front bumper has adopted the design of the larger Q8, with a shallower front grille and more defined side intakes. Also, the rear bumper now hides the exhaust tips under the body. Its LED headlights and tail-lights appear to have been borrowed from the current generation Audi Q8. As the Q7 and Q8 share the same MLB Evo platform, we expect more parts-sharing to occur between the models, with the smaller SUV borrowing the flagship鈥檚 dual 12.3-inch infotainment displays and driver convenience systems. A range of engines will likely be available, including a four-cylinder 2.0-litre petrol, a six-cylinder 3.0-litre petrol and a six-cylinder 3.0-litre diesel. A 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 diesel will sit at the top of the range in a new RS Q7 model, with around 430bhp and 900Nm of torque. Now read our review of the old Audi RS Q7.
It looks like the folk in Zuffenhausen are as confused as everyone else on the market and the new Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport is proof. Which brings us back to Zuffenhausen鈥?Why did Porsche bother with the smaller flat-four engine in the new 718 generation of mid-engined sports cars only to go back to the glorious old naturally aspirated flat-six? To be clear, the six is available exclusively in this new 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport and that last bit is your giveaway. This thing is destined fo the track and comes as a non-road-legal model only complete with everything you need to enter the next FIA gig in your neighbourhood. With the rest of the world smitten with SUVs - going as far as racing the things now - Porsche is sticking to what it knows best, namely great flat-sixes. So if like us you were left slightly nostalgic after experiencing the new 718 models, the GT4 Clubsport is there to remind you of where it went wrong. You get a 3.8-litre making 425 horsepower at 7,500rpm (the base four-pot peaks at 6,500rpm) with dry-sump lubrication and a six-speed PDK transmission. Although recent Porsches have moved on to a new eight-speed PDK, the final two ratios are cruising gears and top speed is achieved in sixth anyway. There鈥檚 no all-wheel steering or all-wheel drive here either, so everything goes to the slick rear Michelins. Depending on whether you order the Trackday or Competition specification, you can have air conditioning and a multifunctional steering wheel, or a quick-release item from the 911 GT3 R if you prefer. The rest is a full-house of FIA-certified bits like a welded-in roll-cage, a new roof with an integrated escape hatch, and an available 115-litre fuel cell. Up front you get a suspension set-up from the 911 GT3 Cup and the whole thing weighs in at 1,320kg which is actually 15 kilos lighter than a standard four-cylinder 718 Cayman.