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Since it was inaugurated in 1953, the iF Product Design Award has been a trademark distinction bestowed on exceptional design. As an internationally recognised “seal of approval”, the iF label honours outstanding design achievements and as such provides a platform for companies to submit their products for a professional assessment of their design quality by an international panel of experts. The 2011 award attracted a total of 2,756 products submitted by 1,121 participants from 43 countries, all vying for the prestigious prize. In the Transportation Design category, the BMW 5 Series Sedan and BMW 5 Series Touring managed to sway the judges. This means that both models have qualified for the contest to win the iF Gold Award, which selects the 50 “best of the best”. The design of the new BMW 5 Series Sedan skillfully translates the car’s attributes into an authentic formal language. The sheer presence and elegance of its design express the Sedan’s premium quality and outstanding ride comfort, while its sporty driving characteristics are reflected in dynamic bodywork lines and the overall evocation of a distinctly athletic car. The superlative aesthetics of the new BMW 5 Series Sedan are further borne out by its perfectly harmonious proportions and meticulously finished details.

Happenings

BMW 5 Series Wins 2011 iF Product Design Award

IN BMW, 5 Series, Sedan, Touring, M5

The new BMW 5 Series continues its success story with the coveted award from the International Forum Design.

Happenings

AC Schnitzer Tunes The Electric MINI

IN AC Schnitzer, MINI, Cooper, EV

MINI Tuning Specialist supports the initiative: "TUNE IT! SAFE!" by the VDAT by kitting out the emission-free concept car.

It was Tomas Enge who held the lead from pole position as the 22 car grid thundered along the main straight into the first corner. Everyone made it around the Senna S with Peter Dumbreck in the No. 23 Sumo Power Nissan GT-R holding onto the rear of the leading Aston Martin, while Clivio Piccione in the No. 10 Hexis Aston Martin was being pressurised by the No. 2 Vitaphone Maserati of Enrique Bernoldi, with the Brazilian sweeping into third place on lap 2. Starting from the back of the grid, the No. 5 Matech Ford of Richard Westbrook was on the move early on, moving up four places in the first three laps and a further three places by lap 9 in his attempt to get ahead of the No. 1 Vitaphone Maserati of Andrea Bertolini. Bertolini was holding a points scoring position in ninth place, which became 10th when he was passed by the Triple H Team Hegersport Maserati of Daniel Serra.

Motorsports

2010 FIA GT1 Round 9 - Interlagos

IN FIA GT, GT1, Interlagos

Brazilians cheer home win for Bernoldi and Negrao!

Happenings

Volvo Air Motion

IN Volvo, Air Motion

Imagine a vehicle lighter than a F1 race car. Experiencing the adrenaline rush of carving through the canyons with up to three friends and not using a drop of gasoline...

In the frontal collision at a speed of up to 64 km/h, which forms part of the Euro NCAP crash test, the passenger cell of the MINI Countryman proved to be extremely stable. Irrespective of the size and sitting position of the passengers, only a slight risk of injury was detected. The MINI Countryman earned the maximum number of points for occupant protection in a side-on collision, while the testers also rated the risk of injury to the cervical vertebrae in a rear-end collision as low. The crash test results were just as positive when it came to the use of seat systems for three year old and 18 month old children. Both in the frontal and the side-on collision, a stable position and minimal head movements at the moment of impact were registered in each case.

Happenings

Five Stars For The MINI Countryman

IN MINI, Countryman, Cooper, S

The new MINI crossover earns top rating in Euro NCAP crash test.

The new Audi A1 completed the Audi hat-trick in this year’s “Auto Trophy” poll,
and scored a second notable success immediately afterwards: the “Golden Steering Wheel”. In the “Auto Trophy” it attracted 28.7 percent of the votes in the “Small cars” category.

Happenings

Three Auto Trophy Wins For Audi

IN Audi, A1, A5 Sportback, R8 Spyder

Success for Audi as the A1, Audi R8 Spyder and Audi A5 Sportback clinch three Auto Trophy awards.

Happenings

HSV 'I Just Want One' Driving Event

IN HSV, Harvest Automobiles, Muscle cars, GTS, Maloo, Drive, Event

We spent the day with a pair of Australian V8 muscle cars and even got a ride in a 600bhp T2 race car! Welcome to the world of Holden Special Vehicles (HSV).

The newest member of the mid-engined Cayman family features the highly efficient 3.4-litre, flat six-cylinder Direct Fuel Injection (DFI) boxer engine found in the Cayman S, but it has been tuned to produce an additional 10 hp. With a six-speed manual transmission, the Porsche Cayman R sprints from a stand-still to 62 mph in 5.0 seconds, two-tenths of a second faster than the Cayman S.

Happenings

Porsche Cayman R

IN Porsche, Cayman, Cayman S, Cayman R, R, 911, PDK

Porsche introduces the Cayman R. With a reduction in weight, increased horsepower and raised agility and handling, it joins the range as the edgiest Cayman to date! Yummy!

Happenings

The New Audi A8

IN Audi, A8, Luxury

A perfect synthesis of progressiveness, craftsmanship and quality, the new Audi A8 is the epitome of Vorsprung durch Technik.

In the standing start, the two machines on the front line, the No. 43 ARTA Garaiya (Morio Nitta) and the No. 5 MACH GOGOGO SHAKEN408R (Haruki Kurosawa), both made flying starts. They were both given drive-through penalties that took them out of contention for the lead. On the first corner just after the start, the No. 31 MAGICAL CARBON apr Axio (Koki Saga) ran off the track. It appeared to be the result of a collision with another car and Saga was unable to restart and thus retired. The car that emerged unscathed by all these mishaps and confusion to lead the race was the UP START MOLA Z (Naoki Yokomizo). Following in second position was the No. 3 TOMICA Z (Masataka Yanagida). This gave the Fairlady Z machines a 1-2 lead in the early stages of the race. Behind them came two FIA GT machines, the No. 25 ZENT PORSCHE RSR (Takeshi Tsuchiya) and the No.11 JIMGAINER DIXCEL DUNLOP F430 (Tetsuya Tanaka).

Motorsports

Super GT 2010 - Fuji Sprint Cup 2

IN Super GT 2010, Fuji Sprint Cup

ENEOS SC430 team's Daisuke Ito scores first win to secure the JAF Grand Prix title since moving to Toyota!

The GT300 class Race 1 began at 14:00. There was no confusion at the start, despite it being a standing start instead of the usual SUPER GT rolling start. The first car into corner one was the pole-starting No. 43 ARTA Garaiya (Shinichi Takagi). Following in second was the No. 74 COROLLA Axio apr GT (Yuji Kunimoto), but the third-place grid starter, the No. 11 JIMGAINER DIXCEL DUNLOP F430 (Katsuyuki Hiranaka), lost ground badly at the start. Among the leaders, the Hiroki Yoshimoto in the No. 66 triple a Vantage GT2 got an especially good start, jumping up from fifth position on the grid to be the third one into the first corner. From there, Takagi (No. 43) had trouble holding pace and was soon passed by No.74 (Kunimoto) and No. 66 (Yoshimoto). On lap 11, Yoshimoto (No. 66) accelerated past No. 74 (Kunimoto) to finally move into the lead.

Motorsports

Super GT 2010 - Fuji Sprint Cup 1

IN Super GT 2010, Fuji Sprint Cup

Lyons (ZENT CERUMO SC430) scores runaway victory from pole while the GT300 class sees a come-from-behind win by Hiranaka (JIMGAINER F430).

The MPV’s new styling sharpens the character of the new generation Touran. Except for the four doors, every other body part of the MPV was restyled.

Happenings

VW Singapore Launches The New Touran

IN Volkswagen, Touran, Launch, Singapore, DSG, TSI

Volkswagen Singapore has launched Germany's best-selling MPV, the New Touran. Packed with a punchy turbocharged engine and more than 500 creative space configurations, it's sure to be a hit.

In summary, apart from the limited storage space, relatively spartan interior and the hype that this car generates in public, the Tesla Roadster Sport with its exotic look and super car slaying acceleration is truly one amazing car to drive. And best of all, this car does not require any visit to the petrol station or service and maintenance associated with internal combustion engines (I.C.E), all one needs to do is just plug the car to any conventional electrical outlet when the ‘juice’ needs topping up, and he or she is good to go once the car is recharged. Plus you also get to do your part in saving the earth!

New

Together In Electric Dreams | Tesla Roadster Sport 2.5

IN Tesla, Roadster Sports, 2.5, Electric, EV, Green

The Tesla Roadster Sport literally smokes the competition in the zero to 100 stakes. Then again, I stand corrected - Electric Vehicles (EVs) have zero emissions after all…

Happenings

FAB-Design Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

IN FAB-Design, Mercedes-Benz, SLS, AMG,

Swiss tuner FAB-Design has taken the SLS AMG to a new level. True to the company's philosophy of creating something more exclusive than the factory vehicle, the FAB-Design SLS is the result.

In terms of performance, Volvo claims that the all-new S60 is the most dynamically gifted car they have made thus far, even more so in the range topping T6 variant. Equipped with a twin-scroll turbocharger, Volvo's 2,953cc inline-six churns out 304 bhp at 5,600 rpm and peak torque of 440 Nm. Throw in a relatively quick shifting Geartronic automatic transmission (Volvo's version of a Tiptronic), the S60 T6 hurtles from zero to 100 in an impressive 6.5 seconds. In the handling department, the T6 comes with the Continuously Controlled Chassis Concept (Four-C) offering Comfort, Sport and Advanced modes as standard. Couple the chassis enhancement to an all-wheel-drive drive train with torque-vectoring, the S60 T6 is one great car to drive round bends, with the car's nose responding neatly and directly to nicely-weighted steering inputs. In fact we had so much fun with it, we took the car down the same twisty route over and over again just to explore the car's dynamic potential.

New

Hitting The Swede Spot | Volvo S60 T6

IN Volvo, S60, T6

Dubbed as the sportiest Volvo ever, the all-new Volvo S60 is Volvo's answer to a dynamic performance sedan.

Happenings

BMW World Singapore Opens!

IN BMW, BMW World, Singapore, M3 GTS

Asia’s largest showcase of BMW innovation, design and heritage will be open to the public from 9 to 14 November 2010 in Hall B of Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands.

In Class B, Francis Tjia took his second series victory of the weekend and his career, with Pauian Archiland Team’s Jeffrey Lee of Chinese Taipei and Team Kangshun’s Ringo Chong of Singapore following him across the line. Chong was a man on a mission, and he managed to keep up in second position behind Tjia by the end of the opening lap. But alas, Jeffrey Lee was hot on Chong's trail, and the Taipei driver got by the Singaporean and held on to second until the flag. Having wrapped up its most successful season since its debut in 2003, with record grids and the signature on-track excitement which has earned it an unrivalled reputation, the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia is already planning to build on its phenomenal success in 2011.

Motorsports

Porsche Carrera Cup Asia - Rounds 11 & 12

IN Porsche, Carrera, PCCA

Menzel clinches 2010 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia title in Zhuhai!

The stock 3.6-liter engine is rebuilt to displace 3.82 liters. The engine has been recreated with premium components successfully developed and proven through Ninemeister’s racing exploits. The Singer 911’s engine achieves its displacement with Ninemeister 103mm pistons and cylinders, the 76.4mm crankshaft of the 997 GT3, and the 132mm lightweight titanium connecting rods. The large bore, short stroke combination can spin to 8000 rpm, but offers a broad, flexible torque curve.

Classics

A Modern Vintage | Singer 911

IN Singer, Porsche, 911, Orange, Original, Modern

Earlier this year, American company Singer Vehicle Design restored, reimagined and rebirth-ed a Porsche classic - putting new technology into an all-time favourite. This is the Singer 911.

Happenings

BRABUS Launches Singapore Showroom

IN BRABUS, Mercedes-Benz, B25, Singapore, Black, AutoVox, First Automobile Premium

BRABUS, one of the world's most elite and prestigious automotive tuner companies has opened their doors here on our sunny island, unleashing a range of bespoke luxury tarmac bruisers.

Although the clouds stayed away during the race, the track was still wet from rain earlier in the morning. Starting from pole, Menzel pulled away, with O’Young behind him. Starting from fifth on the grid, Baird leapt into third place at the start, passing Avila and Lee. On the third corner Lee got by Avila, setting the final order for the top five.

Motorsports

Porsche Carrera Cup Asia - Rounds 9 & 10

IN Porsche, Carrera, PCCA

Menzel does a Shanghai double!