Koenigsegg to drive superfast cars in India

India’s will soon see another supercar maker. Swedish super carmaker Koenigsegg Automotive AB to roll its wheels on the Indian roads. The company, known for its superfast hand-made dream machines has tied-up with InterGlobe Enterprises, which runs low- cost carrier Indigo.

Koenigsegg, a relatively new company (formed in 1994) that was started by Christian von Koenigsegg, produces hand-crafted supercars at its factory in Sweden. The cars could be priced in the Rs 10 crore range (need to be billionaires to get one) . In 2005,the company had produced one of the fastest cars in the world in its CCR model beating the nine-year-old Guinness World Record of the McLaren – Bugatti.

Koenigsegg unveiled its latest model-the Agera R at the Geneva Motor Show in February that has a five-litre V8 bi-turbo engine-which boasts of a pulsating 1115 horse power (depending on the fuel type). German brand Porsche is already selling its sports cars in India for the last many years. Following Buggatti,that made an entry to India at a price tag of 16 crores,Ferrari and Maserati from Fiat’s stable as well as Aston Martin models are will soon scrotch the  Indian roads.

Audi launches R8 Spyder in India

Audi,German Luxury car maker has recently unveiled its two-seater sports car R8 Spyder after its R8 V10 launching in January. Audi has announced its price around Rs.1.47 crore (ex-showroom Maharashtra) and will be available at all the Audi dealership outlets in India from April 2011.

The Audi R8 Spyder comes with a 5.2 FSI engine which beats out 525bhp of power at 8000rpm along with R Tronic six-speed sequential transmission option.  Its soft top weighs a meagre 42kg which doesn’t affect the centre of gravity of the car.Even after driving at a speed of 50 km/hr,the top of the car opens with the standard electro hydraulic motor and automatically closes within 19 seconds.Its total weight is just 1.7 tonnes and has a top speed of 313 kmph.

Audi now offers all the variants of the R8 in the Indian market following the launch of R8 Spyder. At the launching ceremony of R8 Spyder,Head of Audi India,Mr.Michael Perschke quoted that he is confident that this high performance sports car will allow them to further build upon their leadership position in the super sports car segment in India and to maintain the iconic position of the R8 in India.

Harley Davidson not to hike prices of CKD bikes

Harley Davidson – the cult bike maker of US today revealed that the price of CKD bikes is not impacted due to the increased cess on CKD.  The company has announced that it is evaluating options for the rise of the new CKD norms that has resulted in higher import duty. Harley-Davidson India Managing Director Anoop Prakash said that they are firm in honouring their commitment to their dealers, customers and enthusiasts across India, and are delighted to announce that they will maintain their current prices on their CKD models, the Iron 883 and SuperLow, for this calendar year.In December, the company had announced that the SuperLow and Iron 883 will be the first two models to be rolled out of the CKD assembly facility in Bawal in Haryana. The bikes are priced at Rs 5.5 lakh and Rs 6.50 lakh (ex-showroom), respectively.

These models will be available across the five Harley Davidson dealerships, in addition to the existing model line-up in 2011. Its other 12 fully imported bikes in India are priced between Rs 7.50 lakh and Rs 34.95 lakh. Anoop Prakash also revealed that Regardless, they remain committed to the Indian market for the long-term and will now evaluate whether they invest in adapting their operations to the new CKD standards or manage their business to the higher duty rate.He also mentioned that in the Budget 2011-12, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee introduced a new definition regarding CKD kits imports that excluded pre-assembled engine, gear box, transmission and chassis from its purview.

This resulted in increased customs duty to 60 per cent for these critical components. It was later revised to 30 per cent.We respect the government’s decision, even while we had shared our view that the increase in duties at this time may affect the development of the leisure motorcycling segment,” Prakash said.Harley Davidson had announced that it will start assembling bikes in India from November 2010 but however it has started selling its imported bikes in India only from this year.

Hyundai accent 2011 edition

Hyundai today refurbished its decade old accent sedan. The facelift changes are minimal with chrome inserts here and there.  Hyundai accent executive edition 2011 gets a chrome grille. 2011 accent also gets new body side moulding with chrome inserts. The number plate of 2011 accent gets distinct chrome treatment. “The Accent 2011 edition comes with elegant styling which makes it more sophisticated and desirable. It is our continuous effort to gauge changing customer preferences and keep introducing new features in our products.We are confident that with the new styling the Accent 2011 edition will become even more popular”, Hyundai Motor India Director Sales and Marketing Arvind Saxena said.  The new edition Accent Executive is priced at Rs 5.01 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi), it said.

Hyundai currently sells accent with many fuel options – petrol, CNG and LPG.

Honda CBR 250 price list

Finally the Honda CBR 250 is out. Honda today makes a soft launch for its much expected bike CBR 250. Due to the Japanese tsunami and earthquake, Honda seems to have chosen the low-profile route. Honda today officially launches the CBR 250 in Mumbai. However the deliveries will begin by the end of May.

Price list of Honda CBR 250

Honda CBR 250 non-ABS version – Rs1,51,000

Honda CBR 250 ABS – Rs1,77,000

Honda has given cbr 250 an aggressive price tag which is set to fire the  250cc segment in India for sure.

Hindustan to revamp ambassador

Hindustan motors plans to give the ambassador a complete makeover. Ambassador’s familiar rounded rear squab and curvaceous sloping hood will give way to an aerodynamic bonnet with straight lines and a new boot with integrated tail lights. The new ambassador will also have new engine calibrations to suit the BSIV norms, safety features such as  anti-lock brake systems.

New ambassador will also get alloy wheels and leather seas. There will also be an integrated music system and instrument cluster catering to the needs of the new generation.  “There are a whole lot of plans for the Ambassador. We are working on several options and the changes are part of the plan. While some smaller changes will be introduced soon, larger macro variations will be incorporated in due course,” says Jha Manoj Jha, managing director, Hindustan Motors.

source: ET