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The 2013 SingTel Grid Girls in The Singapore Factor

Eight fresh-faced ladies aged 18 to 26, have been chosen as this year’s SingTel Grid Girl finalists. Since the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix in 2008, the SingTel Grid Girls have been a star attraction of the race, vying for top honour and a once-in-a-lifetime chance to hold the Singapore Formula One and Singapore GP flags at the Singapore Grand Prix.

This year, the public can choose their favourite via SMS and online voting to select the top three SingTel Grid Girls. The Singapore Factor, a series of webisodes hosted by Paul Foster, will put the girls’ knowledge of the Lion City to the test in a trio of uniquely Singaporean challenges. The top three SingTel Grid Girls will be crowned before thousands of Singaporeans at the Thursday Pit Lane Experience on 19 September 2013.

Happenings

SingTel Presents Formula 1 Singapore Style!

SingTel, Title Sponsor of the Singapore Grand Prix brings the F1 race experience even closer to the hearts of Singaporeans with Formula 1 Singapore Style.

On a separate note, the A250’s suspension system seems to have been set with the enthusiastic driver in mind. If you’re expecting C-Class level, the A250’s rather stiff setting might need some getting used to. It could just be yours truly, but when going over bumps, there’s that uncanny feeling the rear’s independent suspension has been mated to a stiffer pair of spring compared to the fronts.

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A+ For Effort | Mercedes-Benz A250 Sport

IN Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes, A-Class, A250, A250 Sport, Sport

So the A250 Sport is marketed as the sportiest A-Class, with promising on-paper digits — but overcoming the looks, does it fall into hot-hatch territory?

Every $30 nett spent gives customers a chance to try their luck with Caltex’s Lucky Star Promotion. Simply key your total expenditure and your vehicle’s registration number into the iPad mini at the service kiosks, and print out your lucky draw coupon and a set of 4 winning Lucky Numbers! If your slip has 4 Lucky Stars, or any permutation of your vehicle’s registration number, you win $100 and $500 Star Cash respectively. If you’re lucky enough, you might win $1,000 Star Cash, when your Lucky Numbers match up to those of your car.

Happenings

Count Your Lucky Stars With Caltex!

IN Caltex, Petrol, Fuel, Contest, Promotion

Stand a chance to drive off in a BMW 316i at any CaltexÂ® Station

The AVH-X8550BT is Pioneer's top-of-the-line system. It's a double DIN multimedia receiver that has a full touch screen 7-inch panel. It features a VGA display with LED backlighting for a sharp and bright playback. Like most modern systems, it plays a wide range of media formats and more! The list includes DVD, DVD-R/RW, CD-R/RW, MP3, WMA, AAC (iTunesÂ®), DivXÂ® and DolbyÂ® Digital Decoder.

The Pit

Pioneer Leads The Car Audio Game With Unparalleled Connectivity

IN Pioneer, Car audio, ICE, Multimedia receiver, MP3, IPhone, Mobile phone, Andriod, DVD, Bluetooth

It's been about 2 weeks since I've had the Pioneer AVH-X8550BT multimedia receiver in my car, and all I can say is that it's a pretty amazing piece of kit.

What makes it even more significant locally is that the E-class is the bread-and-butter of a range that’s topping the charts of a shrinking new car market. That success isn’t likely to stop soon, based on what we’ve seen of this new, facelifted version.

Happenings

E Stands For Evolution

IN Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes, E-class, Wagon, Launch, E200, E250

It's a strange country we live in, where Mercedes is the best-selling brand, ahead of all the ordinary car makers. And this, the E-class is its most important model.

Happenings

What The F?

IN Lexus, GS, F-SPORT, Kirk Edmondson, Borneo Motors, LFA, IS-F

We sit down with Kirk Edmondson, General Manager - Brand Management for Lexus Asia Pacific Division, and chat about what Lexus is doing with their F-SPORT range.

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Mercedes-Benz CLS350 Shooting Brake

IN Mercedes, CLS, Mercedes-Benz, Daimler Chrysler

Mercedes may have launched this stylish looker here under the radar. But in our opinion, it should have been the star of the CLS range.

GM hasn’t announced prices yet but has said that the Z/28 will be more expensive than the ZL1. My opinion? Get one, rip out the rear seats, install a half-cage and straight-through exhaust, then store it at the upcoming Iskandar race track in Johor and you’d have the most badass brute on the track.

Happenings

Return Of A Legend

IN Chevrolet, Chevy, Camaro, GM, Z/28, V8, LS7, Trackday, Muscle

Due to its large size and heavy gross weight, the current Camaro has always been seen as more of a cruiser than a bruiser. Until now.

Built near Milano where the company is based, the quality in the manufacturing and finish is nothing short of staggering. From the A-pillar backwards, the new exterior body panels are hand-shaped in steel — including the roof, new wider rear wings, and the internal reinforcements of the complete rear section of the car.

Happenings

Eurosports Auto Unveils Bespoke Bentley Continental Flying Star

IN Bentley, Eurosports Auto, GTC, Bentley Motors Limited, Touring Superleggera, Flying Star

It will roughly cost the price of three Bentleys and only 19 will be made. This Bentley built by italian coach builder Touring Superleggera is indeed reserved for the discerning few.

Ok, so we've driven it on curvy italian sweepers, but how does it fare on our local roads. We grab the keys to a Golf Sport which packs 140 bhp and 250 Nm of torque. The 1.4 TSI turbocharged engine will enable the Golf Sport to hit 100 km/h in 8.4 seconds from standstill, and onto an impressive 212 km/h, where roads allow.

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Hole-In-One | Volkswagen Golf Sport 1.4 TSI

IN Volkswagen Group Singapore, Volkswagen, VW, Golf, 1.4 TSI, TDI, DSG, Mk 7, 7, 1.6 TDI

Volkswagen scores a hole-in-one with the new Golf. We drive it, only to find out that it has just bagged the coveted Car of the Year award. We couldn't agree with the judges more.

The Audi A6 is one such car that has really impressed me. With a powertrain that is made up on a combination of the 211 bhp, 2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder mated with a 54 bhp electric motor, it pushes a total output of 245 bhp. Pretty decent for this sedan, and more than what you would need on a daily basis.

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Clean Performance | Audi A6 Hybrid

IN Audi A6, Audi Singapore, Premium Automobiles, Hybrid

Audi's A6 Hybrid packs a combined power of 245 bhp and will save you some money too (if you drove it like it had 120 bhp)! But for the price, wouldn't a 3.0 TFSI make more sense?

After passing through the checkpoints, the cars regrouped and blasted up the North-South Highway in unison. Sheldon and myself made a good effort to do our best in this challenge and kept throttle-discipline during the drive up, keeping in mind the only rule for the challenge; that the last car had to be no more than 5 minutes away from the first car, upon arrival at the end-point. Sheldon being the more experienced 'eco' driver, made use of both the cruise control and optimal rev count to keep the consumption as low as possible.

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Don't Just Speed, Feed!

IN Volkswagen Group Singapore, Volkswagen, VW, TDI, DSG, Diesel, CEVS

To Malacca and back. Over two days. With less than a tank of diesel. We join Volkswagen on an epic trip up north to sample good food and great cars.

Our test-car was finished in black and matched with glossy black wheels. Racing stripes, wing mirrors and brake calipers were peppered in red, and the result is a rather mean looking supermini that looks ready to take on cars twice its size.

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MINI In Name Only | MINI John Cooper Works Hatch

IN MINI, MINI Habitat, Cooper S, BMW Asia, John Cooper Works

In the past, if you wanted the hottest MINI, you could only get it with three pedals. Now the John Cooper Works range comes paired with an autobox that works (pardon the pun) surprisingly well!

Happenings

Lexus Flagship LS Lands On our Shores

IN Lexus, LS, V8, 460, 600 Hybrid, Borneo Motors

The new Lexus LS model range, now in its fourth generation and spanning across 23 years, includes the LS 460, LS Hybrid and for the first-time, an all new LS 460 F SPORT.

AMG is going all out for the styling; the car has a very aggressive appearance to tell all the bystanders that this is no businessman’s bog-stock E-Class, but a performance car capable of scarsely believable performance figures. The front and rear bumpers, headlights and the side skirts have been modified. The headlights come in the form of a one-piece unit with LEDs and bi-xenon, as compared to the two-piece unit on the outgoing car. The side skirts are more pronounced and features trim that runs goes along the length of the car.

Happenings

New Mercedes E63 AMG Already?

IN Mercedes E63 AMG, E Class, AMG, V8

AMG’s family-friendly 5-seater gets a new face, new drivetrain and even more power!

But I have a feeling BMW is thinking more 'mean' than 'green' here. You see, manufacturers have also found that slapping a battery does produce a useful dose of extra power and torque for the car, which almost always ends up with them marketing the car as a bit of a performance car as well. Which has always been our slant here at Burnpavement.com anyway. Well, we're happy to say that the ActiveHybrid 7 is a rather enjoyable 'barge' to drive, BMWs in general tend to be.

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Seventh Heaven? | BMW ActiveHybrid 7

IN BMW, 7 Series, Performance Motors, Hybrid, Active Hybrid, 740i

BMW's answer to Lexus' LS600hL is the ActiveHybrid 7, a large premium hybrid that offers both luxury and performance. From our time with the car, it seems to have succeeded in fulfilling both claims.

Plus it's not all about the looks, the S5 (like your perfect date) is versatile and smart. It can play a wide variety of roles, from highway cruiser to back road bruiser. Powered by a 333 bhp 3.0-litre V6 supercharged power-plant with 440 Nm of torque, this new engine replaces the old characterful 4.2-litre naturally aspirated V8.

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Perfect Date | Audi S5 Coupe 3.0T

IN Audi S5, Audi Singapore, Premium Automobiles

The Audi S5 got a refresh recently, we take one out on a date and remember why this is one of our favorite Audis.

Motorsports

Clearwater Racing To Compete In McLaren 12C GT3

IN McLaren Singapore, McLaren Automotive, Singapore, MP4-12C, GT3, 12C, Clearwater Racing

Racing Team Clearwater Racing has acquired a McLaren 12C GT3 to to defend their titles in the GT Asia Championship.

A hefty 100 kg has been shaven off the new car. The weight savings were taken off from various parts of the car, making it a total re-look at the car's performance and weight distribution.

Happenings

Singapore First to Get Golf Outside Of Europe

IN Volkswagen Group Singapore, Volkswagen, VW, Golf, 1.4 TSI, TDI, DSG, Mk 7, 7, 1.6 TDI

Singapore is the first market to get the new Volkswagen Golf outside of Europe since its first appearance in September. We tee-off with a quick look at some important facts of this all-new model.

With a wheelbase that measures 50 mm longer than that of the existing 3-Series Coupe, (45 mm has been added to the front track and 80 mm to the rear track), the car looks substantially longer in the photos already. At 1,826 mm wide, the BMW 4-Series Coupe Concept is 44 mm broader than its predecessor, its roof line is also 16 mm lower - all this results in a more low-slung stance and sportier proportions.

Happenings

BMW Unveils 4-Series Coupe Concept

IN BMW, 4 Series, Concept

Marking the start of a new cycle for BMW, the 4 Series will represent aesthetic and dynamic appeal for the brand. Question is, will superstitious asians frown upon the dreaded number?