Land Rover Discovery to Discover the Indian Roads

Land Rover has taken the veil off the much-awaited Discovery Sport. This SUV will be a replacement for the Freelander. The Discovery Sport is expected to come to India sometime in 2016.

The Discovery Sport has been comprehensively redesigned and lengthened compared to the Freelander, with a new rear suspension and a seven-seat format. It will be packed with technology, including a new infotainment system that will be used across the range and a new kind of exterior pedestrian airbag on the bonnet. Land Rover believes that it will attract both the Freelander faithful and a new generation of buyers who wouldn’t have considered a Discovery before.

Skoda Rapid (new edition) to hit the Indian roads by end of September

We had reported way back in June this year that Skoda is readying a special edition Rapid sedan for our market.

 

Now, our sources tell us that the special edition we'd spied is, in fact, a variant of the updated Rapid sedan which will hit showrooms on September 30, 2014.

 

As seen in the spy photo, the new variant — called the Skoda Rapid Black Edition — is expected to get cosmetic tweaks on the exterior such as black inserts for the headlamps with projector units, black surrounds for the grille and also blackened wing mirrors. It will also get a black-roof which is not clear in this photograph. The Rapid Black Edition will also get special 16-inch Skoda Comet alloy wheels and blackened fog-lamp inserts.

The big news is that the updated Skoda Rapid sedan will come with an all-new 1.5-litre diesel engine good for 104 bhp and will also get the option of a DSG automatic gearbox. 

Earlier this year, Skoda had updated the interiors of the Rapid sedan with minor tweaks and adding equipment such as a new steering wheel with steering-mounted controls for some variants and a new gear knob, among other features. We expect these tweaks to be carried over to the updated car. 

The 2014 Skoda Rapid is available at a discount of around Rs 90,000 depending on the variant.

US gets Lexus RC F 2015

It’s the ultra-high-performance derivative of Lexus’s new RC 350 coupe.The RC F’s direct competition is obvious enough: The Audi RS5, the BMW M4 and the Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe (and perhaps soon, a Cadillac ATS V coupe). 

The RC F’s springs are firmer than those on an RC 350 with F-Sport upgrade. The adaptive shocks have a higher default dampening rate. The Brembo brakes are larger still, with six-piston aluminum mono-block calipers in front, four-piston in the rear. Michelin Pilot Sports come standard (235/40-19 front, 265/35-19 rear). There’s more driver-selectable adjustment for the eight-speed torque converter automatic (the only choice), the electrically boosted steering and the stability electronics, including all-off.

The F adds a triangular structural brace in the engine compartment and another behind the rear seat (which in turn eliminates the folding rear seat). It has an aluminum hood and bumper beams, a speed-activated rear wing and an optional carbon-fiber wing and roof panel. At 3,958 pounds, its curb weight slots below the all-wheel-drive RS5 and just above the C63. Its power-to-weight ratio is surpassed only by the much lighter M4.

And it looks the part. The F adds big intake grilles at the edges of the RC’s front valance for oil and transmission coolers. It has a vent in the center of its hood, and gill vents at trailing edge of its front fenders. Its exhaust tips are stacked at a 45-degree angle, and it does without the funny strakes at the corners of the RC 350’s rear bumper. The RC F grabs plenty of looks, in “what’s that?” more than “whoh, beauty!” fashion.

This car comes track ready, and as if to prove the point, Lexus will begin building FIA-spec GT-3 race cars for customers this fall. Yet the company insists it wanted more.

“The goal was a track-ready car for any driver, assessable to all skill levels,” say chief engineer Yukihiko Naguchi. “We wanted a car that can captivate experienced enthusiasts and create new ones from novice drivers”