Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 2012 was held Sunday, August 19th at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. More than 200 automotive treasures lined the 18th hole of the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links for the 62nd annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, with a total of 28 classes including feature and special classes. Early morning fog and anxious entrants quickly gave way to sunshine and enormous crowds jostling about the wonderful selection of cars and motorcycles.

The Saoutchik Coachwork, Cars of the Maharajas and Mercer featured classes enjoyed premier show field placement set against the Pacific Ocean. And if the scenery wasn’t enough, the astounding paint and interesting bodywork of the Saoutchiks and Maharajas ensured the crowds would gather. Nonetheless, the crowds were also wowed by the other honored classes, including the cars of AC and Shelby Cobra, Sport Customs Hot Rods, Fiat and German Motorcycles.

Best of Show at the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance was awarded to the 1928 Mercedes-Benz 680S Saoutchik Torpedo owned by Paul and Judy Andrews. The winning car, powered by a 6.8-liter supercharged engine, is one of seven Torpedo bodies designed by Jacques Saoutchik for the Mercedes-Benz 680S chassis. It was originally shown at the 1928 New York Auto Show. Other nominees for Best of Show included the 1935 Duesenberg J Gurney-Nutting Speedster entered by the William Lyon Family, the 1931 Duesenberg J Derham Tourster owned by Joseph and Margie Cassini III and David and Adele Cohen’s 1933 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport Figoni Coupe.

Shriji’s 1924 Rolls-Royce wins trophy at Pebble Beach

At the recently concluded 62nd annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance event, Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar of Udaipur’s Rolls-Royce GLK 21 won the Lucius Beebe trophy. It is the only Indian entry to have a won a trophy at the prestigious event where only rare and exquisite cars are invited.

On this occasion, a 194-page coffee table book dedicated to the history and restoration of the Rolls-Royce GLK 21 was released by the House of Mewar. It also outlines the family’s association with Rolls-Royce over seven generations. The car was reported to have been brought by the family and was used by them for a long time. However, there came a time when it was going to be cannibalized for its spare parts and Shriji spotted the car. Having a passion for restoring classic cars, Shriji resurrected it to its former glory, a process which took seven to eight years and involved Rolls-Royce restoration expert 

Suzuki Intruder M1800R

The Suzuki Intruder is a series of cruiser type motorcycles also called as a super bike. The chopper motorcycle is leave’s a unique style statement in the heart of bike lovers. Suzuki Intruder, the sports cruiser has height of 1185mm, width 875mm and the length is 2480mm with fuel tank capacity of 19.5 liters. The Awesome super bike has 1783cc engine and it is looks like a competitor of the big boy Harley Davidson, one of the coolest bike.

Priced (Ex-showroom Delhi) at Rs.13.25 lacs

World's oldest Ferrari, worth $ 8 million, unveiled

London: The world's oldest Ferrari which won the 1947 Turin Grand Prix has been unveiled for the first time after restoration and is now believed to be worth a whopping $8 million.

The 166 Spyder Corsa built by manufacturer Enzo Ferrari just after the World War II is believed to be world's oldest Ferrari and was restored for $5,00,000 by its owner Jim Glickenhaus from California, the Daily Mail reported.

Capable of speeds of up to 160 kilometres-per-hour, which was enough to win the model the 1947 Turin Grand Prix, this 12-cylinder classic car is a one-of-a-kind.

"I bought the car at auction in 2004 for around $770,000," Glickenhaus, 62, said.

The motor — numbered 002 — was the first sold by Enzo Ferrari in December 1947, after his first build crashed.

In 2006, the owner of a Ferrari marked 001C came forward claiming his vehicle was the world's oldest.

Maruti Suzuki to launch MUVs and SUVs in 2012

Maruti Suzuki has witnessed its market share declined towards south after many auto manufactures kept launching new cars in the entry level segments including different variants and giving the No 1 car company in India a stiff competition. To regain its 50% market share, Maruti Suzuki is planning to launch new models on the MUV and SUV segment.

Maruti Suzuki designed its new vehicle by both India and Japanese engineers and would be launched in 2012. These cars will be displayed at the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo and one could witness all these. The MUV from Maruti Suzuki named Ertiga will be priced at Rs 7-8 lakhs range and their compact SUV should be costing around Rs 10 lakh. These cars will be powered from its existing engines which will be will be tuned to meet the car specifications.

“There is a vast chunk of market, almost 18% of the passenger vehicles sold in India where we don’t have any presence. So, as we aim to regain our market share and take it to beyond 50%, we will introduce vehicles in the new segment that are not in our current portfolio,” S Nakanishi, MD, Maruti Suzuki said.

Audi Q3 SUV launched at a starting price of Rs 26.21 lakh

NEW DELHI: German automaker Audi introduced its compact luxury SUV Audi Q3 in India on Wednesday, taking BMW's X1 head on. Mercedes-Benz, the third German luxury player does not have a competing product in this segment that is expected to generate good volumes.

Introducing the soft roader that is targetted at urban customers who desire a vehicle that has a stance of an SUV stance without matching the latter's off-road capabilities, Audi officials said the 2.0 TDI quattro version will be priced Rs 26,21,000, similar to that of its entry-level sedan A4. Though there is tremendous interest in the market, Audi India will be able to take in only 500 bookings due to production constraints at the European plant.

This youngest member of the Audi Q family was unveiled at the Auto Expo in January 2012, and is one of the most awaited vehicles to hit the Indian roads in recent times. Equipped with a powerful and efficient 2.0 TDI quattro engine. The base variant is priced at Rs 26,21,000 and the top variant Rs 31,49,000.

"The launch of the Audi Q3 is in line with our top-down strategy for India. The Q3 is immediately recognizable as the youngest member of the Audi Q family. Now we are starting the next chapter of our success story: As a true luxury SUV, the Audi Q3 leads the way for the Four Rings to enter a new segment in India, with ever increasing customer groups demanding for luxury mobility in a compact form.

Every aspect of the Q3 showcases Audi technology - the body, the drivetrain, the chassis and the assistance and multimedia systems. Many of these elements come directly from the luxury class. At present, only 500 Audi Q3's will be available for initial booking. We are confident that Audi Q3 will repeat the success of Audi Q5 and Audi Q7 and further consolidate our leadership position in the luxury SUV segment", said Michael Perschke, Head, Audi India.

Audi sold 450 cars in May 2012 - a growth of 10 percent over the same period last year (May 2011: 408 cars). The brand with the four rings grew by 37 percent during January to May 2012, delivering 3281 vehicles as compared to 2394 vehicles delivered during the same period last year. Audi India plans to expand its network to 25 dealerships by the end of 2012 from its existing 19 centres.

Factfile:

Engines: 2-litre turbo-petrol, 2-litre diesel

Power/Torque: 211bhp/30kgm,176bhp 38.7kgm

Kerb weight: 1565-1585kg

L/W/H: 4385/1831/1590mm

Expected: Mid-2012

Price: Rs 25-35 lakh