First Electric Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Launch by 2020?

The announcement from Harley-Davidson comes at a time when its rival Victory Motorcycles is also focusing on electric bikes and it has already participated in events like Isle of Man TT and Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. In fact, Victory had applied to trademark the “Victory Charger” moniker hinting the fact that an electric bike is under works and could hit production soon. Victory brand purchased Brammo’s electric motorcycle business. During the acquisition it had announced that it would be building a new electric motorcycle at the company’s facilities in Spirit Lake, Iowa. Harley-Davidson officials had announced that the LiveWire wouldn’t go in production soon as the production cost for the bike comes to $50,000 (Rs 33.4 lakh) currently which is considerably higher than conventional internal combustion motorcycles.

Another bottleneck faced by the American bikemaker is the range of the battery which stands at 80km and they want to double it before the bike hits production. The Harley-Davidson LiveWire is powered by a three-phase induction motor producing 75PS of power and 71Nm of torque.

Hyundai reveals RM16 concept

Hyundai says its new RM16 concept offers a glimpse of the future of its N performance range, which will open with the i30N hot hatch next year.

The new RM16 is Hyundai’s third mid-enginedVeloster concept. It evolves the technical thinking of the RM14 and RM15 into a more potent form.

Behind the front seats of the RM16 sits a 2.0-litre, turbocharged engine that produces 300hp. This is about 36.5hp more than the predicted output of the i30N, which uses the same basic 2.0-litre motor. The RM16 indicates that the unit could produce close to 304hp in future N performance applications.

The concept uses a six-speed manual gearbox, like its concept predecessors. This emphasises Hyundai’s preference for a manual gearbox in its N cars. The i30N will also feature a manual ’box at launch, although an automatic transmission will be offered as an option in 2018.

The RM16 has an electronically controlled limited-slip differential (LSD) and electric supercharger, which are both said to preview the sort of technology that future N models will employ. The i30N will feature an LSD, but there’s no word yet on whether it could inherit the additional engine boost at a later stage.

The bodywork of the RM16 concept is visually striking. The exterior has been developed to create genuine downforce at speed and includes an activerear wing and carbonfibre-reinforced panels. Hyundai says this also previews what’s to come from the N brand, suggesting forthcoming N models could get track-focused aero and lighter bodywork.

In fact, insiders expect the i30N to be offered with a performance pack that will be focused on track driving and outright performance. The pack could be homologated for road use and applied to a model aimed at setting a Nürburgring lap record, much as Seat did with its Sub8 pack on the record-breaking Leon. This theory is backed by the extensive amount of testing Hyundai has been doing with its i30N at the ’Ring.

Aside from its RM concepts, Hyundai has produced the N 2025 Vision Gran Turismo concept to indicate its intentions for its new performance brand.

BMW to launch M2 Gran Coupé in 2019

BMW is to launch the M2 Gran Coupé and the 2-series Gran Coupé line-up in international markets by 2019.

As for the body style of the new BMW, until recently, senior BMW officials were undecided whether to follow a traditional four-door design as seen on the 4-series and 6-series Gran Coupés or to adopt a more radical five-door liftback proposal for the 2-series Gran Coupé. Insiders admit that the four-door option would be the best choice for structural rigidity. However, they have also confirmed that certain officials are holding out for a liftback format, suggesting it would provide the new BMW with greater practicality than its rivals.  

The wheelbase is set to be halfway between the 2,690mm span of the 2-series Coupé and the 2,810mm of the existing 3-series sedan, to accommodate two conventional front-hinged rear doors and sufficient rear-seat legroom. The 2-series Gran Coupé will also get a new interior that will be adopted by the successors to today’s 2-series Coupé and Cabriolet, which are due in international markets in 2020.

The M2 Gran Coupé will be powered by the same 370.06hp, 3.0-litre, turbocharged, in-line six-cylinder engine as the M2 Coupé. BMW will offer the car with either a standard six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

BMW is also reportedly planning a plug-in hybrid model of the 2-series Gran Coupé that will use its turbocharged 1.5-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine mated to an electric motor mounted within the forward section of a standard eight-speed automatic gearbox. This, in combination with a lithium-ion battery pack, is intended to provide the new 225e Gran Coupé with an electric range of up to 49.88km. 

Cheers To Finger Power!

Mind you, this is not a “Green” concept and neither does it claim to be “Eco Friendly”. It’s just a helpful solution for a tricky situation. The situation being: you running out of juice on your mobile phone. So what do you do? Remove the battery from the back of the phone; give it a few good turns around your index finger and its gathered enough power to last you a conversation or a safe trip to your charger and electric point.

Designers: Song Teaho & Hyejin Lee

Innovative concept Smartbook

And then I’m ready to go to Geek Heaven! One of the reasons why devices like iPad and other tablets exist is to satisfy this urge in us to stay connected to the web world. Latest touchscreen phone also carry the same incentive, but somehow both the devices have one flaw: tablets lack an external keyboard and phones lack the screen real estate. To bridge the gap we have the really innovative Smartbook; a Smartphone that flips open to become a QWRTY keyboard and syncs with its personalized PCTablet.

Skoda Superb to get Dynamic Chassis Control

The all-new Skoda Superb that was launched in February will soon come with DCC or Dynamic Chassis Control in India. The DCC adjusts the Superb's steering weight, its engine responsiveness and gearbox reaction time and also firms-up or softens the car's dampers to suit the desired driving situation. The system enables drivers to choose from three different driving modes – Comfort, Normal and Sport.

The Superb currently sold in India, has the three settings but applicable to the engine, gearbox and steering only. With the India car getting a ‘rough road’ suspension setup with a higher ground clearance, engineering and tuning the specific dampers for adaptive control is an added cost that Skoda had previously avoided. However, Skoda will now introduce the adaptive dampers to complete the DCC suite of controls for the Indian Superb. Fine tuning the suspension system will take some time and thus it may take until 2017 for the tech to roll out.

In India, 

Mercedes C 300 cabriolet India

Mercedes is working towards bringing the C-class cabriolet, which was recently unveiled at the Geneva motor show 2016, to India later this year. The India-bound model will be a fully imported unit.  The cabriolet borrows its styling and much of its dimensions from the C-class Coupe which is sold in international markets, but sits taller than its sibling. 

The C-class cabriolet will be a halo car for Mercedes in India and will rival the likes of the Audi A3 cabriolet. It comes fitted with a fabric roof that can be opened and closed at speeds of up to 50kph and folds into the boot when not in use. The car’s interior is almost akin to the C-class Coupe's, though it uses heat-reflecting leather and gets the addition of a button on the centre console to control the roof mechanism. 

The C-class cabriolet for India will come in the C 300 guise, powered by a 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine good for 245hp and 370Nm of torque. The cabriolet comes equipped with a nine-speed automatic gearbox as standard, with the option of Dynamic Select which allows the driver to choose from five transmission modes. The C-class cabriolet’s safety package includes an attention assist system, collision warning and autonomous emergency braking with add-on options including 360deg camera, lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control with steering assistance.

The C-class cabriolet is one of  the 12 launches Mercedes has planned for this year, from which a few have been launched already. In the wake of the recent ban on diesel cars in certain parts of the country, the carmaker has been pushing its petrol portfolio with the introduction of a number of petrol-engined models like the recently launched GLC 300.