Thanks to information in a photo caption from the LA Auto Show’s website, new detail of the 370Z has cropped up.
For starters the new Z will feature a short wheelbase and more use of light weight materials in body parts which would make it slightly shorter and lighter then its predecessors.
More importantly, the Z will have exactly 332HP out of its VQ37 engine which is a bit more than the InfinityG37 which uses the same power unit. Transmission wise, there’s a 7-speed auto and a 6-speed manual option with a rev-matching downshift system who those who always wanted to do some heel-toe cornerings.
Last Saturday saw Lancers convoying from the whole of Peninsula Malaysia headed towards Port Dickson for the annual gathering and official launching of the Lancer GT Club at Tiara Beach Resort.
This marks the largest ever gathering of the latest 9th generation Lancer ever in Malaysia with almost 80 cars from as far north as Kuala Terengganu and as far south as from Singapore. With this rare opportunity, all the cars were arranged in a formation of an arrow, lead by a single Evo X.
Many members who have since only met online on the Lancerzone forum, got their chance to meet their fellow members face to face for the first time.
The main agenda of the event was clearly the dinner where awards were handed out to selected members from the club according to categories that included Speed Demon, Mr./Mrs Friendly, Most Modded Car and Snail Driver.
With support and sponsors from Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia, Wingard, KL Auto, Quicksave, TL Mac Motorsport, Rainbow Accessories, to all that attended did not have to go home empty handed with activities such as Products Auctioning and Lucky Draws were the main highlights of the night.
Aston Martin’s first Lagonda branded car could be based on the next generation Mercedes S-class, if the proposed partnership goes through.
Estimated to arrive in 2012, the large saloon would be developed and produced right next to the next-gen Maybach which also utilized the W222 platform which the next Mercedes S-class also uses.
To decrease development cost and time, each manufacturer will be in charge of different sections of the car. Mercedes will be including a new advanced hybrid drive systems and new pre-scan suspension technology. The platform has been described as the German car maker’s most advanced system to date. Aston Martin on the other hand will be engineering the bodyshells for the new car.
Powering the car will be a development of a petrol-electric hybrid system from Mercedes recently shown in the new S400 Hybrid and probably a revised version of Maybach’s twin-turbocharged 6.0l V12 engine.
Porsche currently doesn’t offer anything less then six cylinders on its current lineup but that is about to change in the coming future.
Following the rumour about a baby Porsche that is positioned just below the Boxster running on a 4 cylinders engine, it seems Porsche may equipped to next generation Boxster with a 4 pot as well.
Losing 2 cylinders could mean much better emissions control what with the current 6 pot engine in the Boxster just won’t cut it when the new European emissions control come in to place.
Porsche hopes this will improve its poor emissions and fuel consumption figures but it will be a tricky situation as they would also need to keep their hardcore customers happy.
Feast your eyes on the most expensive Aston Martin ever, at a cool price tag of £1.2 or RM6.9mil.
The One-77 showcases a more muscular look – although the racy scoops, scallops and ducts might be disliked by some more used to previous Astons. It uses a carbon fiber chassis to keep weight down to 1,500kgs.
Powered by a 7.3l V12 producing some 700bhp, Aston martin claims the One-77 ‘work of art’ would be able to be tailored the customers exact requirements.
Sales won’t begin until 2009, but you can place a booking deposit of £200k now in case you’re interested. Mind you, Aston Martin claims to have already taken around 100 bookings for the One-77. Which means it has already sold out, since they only plans to build just 77 examples of it.
Nissan shows us the first look at its upcoming 370Z Coupe which will make its debut at the LA Auto Show on November 10th.
The all-new 2009 Nissan 370Z, the first full redesign of the iconic Z cars since its reintroduction in 2003, solidifies the strengths of its predecessor with an unmatched balance of performance, style and value.
The 370Z will go on sale at Nissan dealers in early 2009 in the US utilizing the same 3.7l V6 currently being employed in the 2008 Infinity G37 Coupe.
Subaru has just started selling a special limited edition Subaru Impreza WRX STI to celebrate its 20th year of 4WD boxer engine design for the Japan Domestic Market (JDM).
Power wise not much has changed but it does sport a new set of coilovers with retuned springs and shocks to offer a more planted ride with thicker front and rear anti-roll bars together with on a set of 18 inchers made from aluminium. Colour options are limited though, with only white being the only choice. Not much has been changed on the exterior as well, with only a black lip spoiler and rear wing.
No special edition would be complete, without a commemorative plaque on the center console highlithing its limited 300 unit production run. And how much will this set you back if you lucky enough to be living in Japan? Around 4,126,500 yen or about RM155,000.
Ferrari owners in Malaysia can now enjoy the highest levels of care and servicing for their vehicles through Naza Italia Sdn Bhd’s official Ferrari support and service facilities. The new service centre is situated at Naza Italia’s premises at the Naza Automall in Petaling Jaya.
Naza Italia was appointed as the official distributor for all things Ferrari in Malaysia and is also the first company to be officially appointed by Ferrari SpA for the Malaysian market on March 2008.
The service centre is a precursor to a brand new 45,000 square foot sales and service centre that will be operational early next year. The centre, one of the largest and most advanced outside of Ferrari’s own facilities in Italy, will offer Ferrari owners additional customisation, service and sup-port functions once operational.
The current service centre already has a staff of 7 Ferrari service specialists with a combined total of over 10 years of experience with the vehicles.
For more information, service bookings or queries on the service centre contact Naza Italia After Sales at 03-7956 8599. Operation hours are from 9am – 5.30pm for Monday – Friday and 9am – 1pm for Saturday.
November 12, 2008 by Terence 
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Terence
