2018 Kia Stinger launched!

Source: Kia

Kia has finally taken the wraps off of their 4-door sports sedan, the 2018 Kia Stinger. It's loosely based on the Stinger GT4 concept displayed at the 2014 Detroit auto show with additional 2 doors.

Powering the Stinger are 2 choices of engine: 2 litre Theta II turbocharged 4 cylinder (255 hp at 6200 rpm and 353 Nm from 1400-4000 rpm) and the more powerful 3.3 litre Lambda II twin turbo V6 (365 hp at 6000 rpm and 510 Nm from 1300-4500 rpm). Power is sent to either the rear wheels with mechanical limited slip differential or rear-biased all wheel drive with Dynamic Torque Vectoring Control. 

If you're looking for a manual-equipped Stinger, don't read any further because the Stinger only comes with an 8 speed automatic transmission. I guess Kia only let the car do the heel toe downshift😅!   

On the handling front, the front axle will ride on MacPherson strut, while the rear axle will make do with more sophisticated multi link suspension. Also included is Kia's first Dynamic Stability Damping Control, an electronically adaptive damper. Interestingly, the chassis development is led by former BMW M man, Albert Biermann. Let's see if Kia's new sports sedan will outmuscle the BMWs around corner-galore Nordschleife (apparently Kia has been tuning the chassis around the legendary 'Green Hell'). 

As always, safety first! The Stinger is equipped with Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Keep Assist, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Blind Spot Monitoring System. Tyre sizes vary depending on engine choices: V6 (225/40R19 front, 255/35R19 rear); 4 cylinder (225/45R18 all-round). Also, if you choose the V6, the braking system is courtesy of vented Brembo disc with 4 piston caliper front and 2 piston caliper rear. 

Why a hybrid Ford Mustang is inevitable?

You opened your favourite automotive news portal to feed yourself with attention-worthy news pieces. You scrolled down the long list of articles and if you happen to be a diehard fan of Ford Mustang, your jaw dropped. Your heart sank. You feel like screaming 'SACRILEGIOUS!!!' at the Blue Oval thanks to the news headlines that sounds roughly like this: Ford Mustang to join the hybrid bandwagon by 2020. 

"Gasp! A muscle car brute joining the ranks of Prius?! You gotta be kidding me!", I heard you exclaiming. Well, as much it's disheartening the Mustang is going to zap its V8 with a good dose of electric power, this isn't necessarily a bad thing and in some way, necessary. Here are reasons why:

Even high-end sports car brand is going hybrid route

Hybrid technology is no longer exclusive to run-of-the-mill, fuel conscious family wagon. Ferrari is contemplating on hybridising their entire model lineup by 2019. BMW performance arm, the BMW M, is also looking to complement their M cars with hybrid technology.

If that's not enough, Mercedes and Aston Martin are dishing out their own street-legal hybrid hypercar. 

Starting with Mercedes, their performance division, AMG, has confirmed their hybrid Mercedes AMG hypercar with F1-based (yep, it's the same engine found on Lewis Hamilton and already-retired Nico Rosberg's F1 car) 1.6 litre turbocharged V6 hybrid, though reportedly it might be larger in capacity as it's not subjected to motorsport regulation.

Joining Mercedes in producing insane street-legal hybrid hypercar, Aston Martin has team up with their partner, Red Bull Racing F1 Team, to develop their own version of the Mercedes hypercar, the AM-RB 001. This monster hypercar will get its power from a naturally aspirated V12, with extra power boost from F1-derived hybrid system.

All these leads to my next point...

Hybrid tech actually improves performance potential

Combine the internal combustion engine with electric motor and you have a recipe for a potentially tyre-shredding performance. I am going to use Ferrari LaFerrari as an example. 

The Ferrari LaFerrari's 6.3 litre naturally aspirated V12 outputs around 789 bhp. Supplemented by the 161 bhp HY-KERS electric motor, the only hybrid Ferrari production supercar generates a whooping total output of 950 bhp, good for propelling it from 0-62 mph in less than 3 seconds. Thanks to the hybrid powertrain, the LaFerrari is the most powerful  road-going Ferrari the brand from Maranello has ever produced, surpassing the F12 Berlinetta (730 bhp) and F12 tdf (770 bhp).

With LaFerrari's staggering performance figure in mind, I can't think of a reason why Ford wouldn't hybridise their iconic Mustang muscle car. If hybrid has granted LaFerrari the most powerful Ferrari road car crown, surely adopting hybrid tech is going to make the Mustang even more potent than the previous iteration of the Ford's pony car.

Of course, performance is not the only reason for going the hybrid route.

We have to go green yo! Coz tighter emission standard

This is by far the most crucial reason for sports cars to go hybrid. With emission standard getting tighter, this is becoming a necessity. More and more hybrid sports cars are hitting the roads, such as BMW i8, Koenigsegg Regera, second generation Honda NSX, out-of-production McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder. These hybrid sports cars exist to give enthusiasts the performance they crave without getting under the environmentalist's skin.  

So implementing hybrid should be a win-win for the much loved Mustang. You still get a Mustang with tyre-smoking performance with lower emission to boot. Despite the benefits hybrid technology offers, there are several challenges to overcome.

The Challenges

Weight

Obviously, adding electric motor and battery pack do add weight, a complete opposite in performance enhancement. When Porsche was developing the 918 Spyder, their test driver and legendary rally champion, Walter Rohrl, was initially sceptical of it being a hybrid, as such approach will add weight (the 918 Spyder won him over eventually). 

With the current S550 Mustang weighing around 1600-1720 kg, implementing hybrid is going to make Ford's pony car weigh even more unless if they think like Koenigsegg.

Complexity

More parts, more stuff to break, higher expanses. Indeed, hybrid is one heck a complete headache-inducing piece of contraption to reap the performance and emission benefits. 

According to Mark Fitzgerald, a senior automotive analyst from a market research firm, Strategy Analytics, hybrid cars require additional components that you won't find in conventional cars such as "electric motors, electric inverters and converters, high-voltage batteries, electronic control units, semiconductors and sensors". Well, this is not entirely surprising as hybrid needs extra bits of stuff to make them function.

Conclusion

The idea of hybrid Mustang is not entirely a bad thing. Yes, there are camps that will go up in arms at the idea, but given the challenges that automakers are facing (emission being one of them), the wave of hybridisation is more or less unavoidable. All I can say is welcome to the future folks! 

         

If I were Mini, this is how I propose the third gen Mini John Cooper Works GP powertrain be

So, Autocar reported that the third generation John Cooper Works GP is in Mini's bucket list. Hurrayy!! The catch is you may have to wait a little longer, as forecasted by Autocar, "closer to the end of the decade", which might probably be around 2020. This hot hatch has been historically known to be the end-of-chapter model to its regular hatch counterpart. 

Now let's cut to the chase. Befitting this post's headline, the powertrain will be the thing I am zooming into...with my own twist.

The 2013 Mini John Cooper Works GP is motivated by a 1.6 litre turbocharged direct injected 4 cylinder mill which, thanks to a bump in compression ratio, boosts output to 218 hp. Power goes to the pair of front wheels via the sole 6 speed manual transmission. 

Now, I would like to get a bit cheeky with the powertrain layout. It's common knowledge that Mini is owned by the BMW Group. If I were in Mini's shoes, here's what I would do to spice up the third gen John Cooper Works GP. I would dispose of the current 4 cylinder engine for BMW's 3 litre turbocharged inline 6 that makes around 330 hp and channel those power to the rear wheels through a stick shift without any fancy auto rev match feature (I would heel toe myself thank you). The result? Voila! An FR Mini John Cooper Works GP, along the lines of the 2015 BMW M135i. 

Yea...I am a bit cheeky with the power figure (330 vs 322 on M135i). Not that much difference, though I would figure the John Cooper Works 1179 kg (without factoring the extra weight from the extra 2 cylinders and propshaft) vs the M135i 1520 kg is more than enough to offset the minute power difference. This should give Munich a run for its money. 

How much would my hypothetical Mini John Cooper Works GP weigh once the 6 cylinders and propshaft's weight is counted? It's anyone's guess. Maybe still lighter than the M135i? Or close to M135i's figure?

What do you think of my hypothetical Mini? Do sound off in the comment section!

One-off Ferrari SP 275 RW Competizione-F12 Berlinetta Chassis; F12 tdf Engine and Gearbox

Source: 350z33 via wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0/ Cropped from original

One last hurrah before the arrival of 2017, Ferrari decided to roll out a homage model for their legendary 275 GTB model that left its mark from 1964 to 1968. Christened the SP 275 RW Competizione, you have to be one lucky chap to even stake your ownership claim because this homage model is limited to just...one unit. Yep, you heard it right. Only one up for grabs.

Since it's based on the V12-powered 275 GTB, it's fitting to have a V12 behemoth plonked under the hood. It's not just any V12 though, because the engine is directly taken from the lairy F12 tdf rather than from the F12 Berlinetta the chassis is based on. The upshot is a tasteful 770 hp and 705 Nm worth of naturally aspirated goodness. Sitting between the V12 and the rear wheels is the prancing horse proprietary F1 7 speed dual clutch transmission.

The yellow paint is reminiscent to the 275 GTB Ecurie Francorchamps that famously won the 1965 Le Mans GT Class. What sets apart the modern day adaptation from the Ecurie Francorchamps is the headlight and front fascia.

If you have the cash and appreciate its historic racing success, better grab your one and only chance to have your name written all over this car before someone else beat you to it! 

  

Lamborghini Aventador S-more powerful, 4 wheel steering, new Ego driving mode

Source: http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/2017-lamborghini-aventador-s-revealed-730bhp

So, you own a base Lamborghini Aventador, but you believe it needs some additional tweaking to bring out its best potential. Well, the raging bull has the answer-meet the Lamborghini Aventador S! The more potent Aventador iteration now comes with new features that previously didn't exist on the base model-more power, 4 wheel steering and Ego driving mode. 

Let's start with power shall we? If you're wary of the current trend in downsizing and turbocharging, then good news for you. Lamborghini refrains from resorting to turbo and reducing the engine capacity (phew). The good ol' 6.5 litre naturally aspirated V12 soldiers on, now outputting 740 hp (+40 hp from the base model) to Haldex Generation IV all wheel drive via the firm's 7 speed Independent Shifting Rod (ISR) transmission. The extra power comes from the adjustment made to the engine's Variable Valve Timing and Variable Intake System, plus boosting maximum rev from 8350 rpm to 8500 rpm.

If your Aventador has made you feel like pulling your hair while searching for parking space or it's downright scary at speed, the Aventador S adds the first ever 4 wheel steering on a production Lamborghini. The system works by slightly turning the rear wheels in the opposite direction of the front wheels at low speed (the car will turn tighter) and in the same direction as the front wheels at high speed (stabilises the car). 

Next up is the new driving mode dubbed as Ego. Adding to the already existing Strada, Sport and Corsa mode, Ego basically allows you to personalise the car's suspension and engine settings to suit your preferences. Great for strutting your 'machoness'.

If you're a type who craves power, razor sharp handling and a more personalised driving experience, the new Aventador S is a perfect bull for you!

2017 Dodge Challenger GT AWD-all wheel drive, V6, 8 speed auto

Rear wheel drive. The mainstay of American muscle cars for decades. Now Dodge decides to go against the grain with their latest Challenger model-2017 Dodge Challenger GT AWD. Yep, it's all wheel drive now. Is Dodge proving a point with the snowy picture?

I heard you exclaiming 'What?! All wheel drive??'. No worries. In normal condition it's purely rear wheel drive. The active transfer case will engage the front axle only when traction-limited.

There's no V8 nor manual for this beast. Only a 3.6 litre Pentastar V6 is hiding under the bonnet, good for 305 hp and 363 Nm of torque. An 8 speed TorqueFlite automatic with paddle shifters is your only transmission option.

Mazda says no RX-9; rotary engine to be used as range extender

Source: J. Lyon via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0

Wait a minute?? No RX-9? No rotary engine goodness?? This has to be a heartbreaking moment for rotary's diehard. Though I've never driven a Mazda-powered 'dorito' engine, I can see the appeal of its crisp, smooth, high-revving nature. 

With RX-9 out of the picture, don't expect rotary engine to solely power you down the highway. The good news is you don't have to give up on your dorito yet...but with a twist.  

Masamichi Kogai, Mazda CEO, told Automotive News in an interview that rotary engine will still be around, but as a range extender for their hybrid cars. To be blamed: emission and fuel efficiency.

"Considering regulations such as the zero-emissions vehicle mandate, electrification is a technology we need to introduce in the near future. The range extender would be the first." Kogai told Automotive News.

When asked by Automotive News if there's any plan for a future RX-8 successor with range extender, Kogai suggested that the MX-5 (Miata in the US) already offers an "exhilarating experience". I guess this means if you want the thrill of Mazda's sports car, the MX-5 should be in your shopping list.

So, with RX-9 not in the bucket list and you still crave for the rotary's screaming high rev to get you down the road, get a used RX-8, or if you still own one, cherish it till the end!