Top 10 fastest cars in India

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   Without a doubt, the first car on this list has to be the Bugatti Veyron and it is. The Veyron is powered by a insanely huge 8000cc W16 engine which produces 1001 PS of peak power and 1250 Nm of torque. Top speed is 408 kmph.
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   1. Sitting close on the heels of the Veyron is the Koenigsegg Agera, which has a top speed of over 400 kmph. The Agera is powered by a 5-litre bi-turbo V8 engine which produces a massive 1115 BHP. 0 to 100 kmph comes up in 2.9 seconds.

   

   
   
   

   1. The mighty bull comes in third, the Lamborghini Aventador is powered by a 6.5-litre V12 engine which produces 690 BHP of power and 690 Nm of torque. 0 - 100 kmph comes up in 2.8 seconds, while top speed is 349 kmph.

   

   
   
   

   1. A four-seater sitting at number 4? Yes it is the Ferrari FF, which is powered by a 6.3-litre V12 engine which produces 660 PS of power and 683 Nm of torque. Top speed is 335 kmph.

   

   
   
   

   1. The Bentley Continental SuperSports is the fifth fastest car in India. It is powered by a 630 PS motor which results in a 0 - 100 kmph time of 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 329 kmph.

   

   
   
   

   1. Another Ferrari in the top ten, the 458 Italia is powered by a 4.5-litre V8 engine which produces 562 HP of power and 540 Nm of torque. 0 - 100 kmph comes up in 3.4 seconds while the top speed is 325 km/h.

   

   
   
   

   1. The seventh fastest car in India is a Mercedes. The SLS AMG is powered by a 6.2-litre V8 engine which produces 562 HP of power and 650 Nm of torque. The SLS AMG reaches 0 - 100 kmph in 3.8 seconds while the top speed is 317 kmph.

   

   
   
   

   1. The Porsche 911 Turbo S is powered by a 3.8-litre engine which produces 530 HP of power and an insane 700 Nm of torque, resulting in a 0-100 kmph time of 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 315 kmph.

   

   
   
   

   1. The Audi R8 Spyder is powered by a 5.2-litre V10 FSI engine which produces 525 BHP of power and 530 Nm of torque. 0 - 100 kmph comes up in 4.1 seconds, while top speed is 313 kmph.

   

   
   
   

   1. Aston Martin's V8 Vantage S completes the top ten list. It is powered by a 4.7-litre, 32 valve, all alloy engine and produces 430 BHP of power and 490 Nm of torque. Top speed is 305 kmph.

      
      

   

    

Road Test and Review: Nissan 370Z

Sports cars are not an everyday sight on Indian roads. The reason is simple - many of them aren’t ‘daily drivers.’ They are mostly taken out of the garage on the weekend for a romp on the highways or a blaze up the twisties. But the Nissan 370Z flies in the face of the conventional wisdom that sports cars are not practical machines. The 370Z offers not just performance, but everyday practicality along with the technological edge.

A bit of history

The Nissan 370Z didn’t come down in the last shower of rain; it boasts of a rich lineage that dates back to 1960s. The original Z was sold in October 1969 in Japan as the Nissan Fairlady Z and then exported to the US with the 240Z nameplate. It took the Americans by storm with its muscular straight-six engine and the sleek design. Six generations of Nissan Z-cars followed and the 370Z pulls mainly from the 350Z, the model it replaces, but with more 240Z into it. The 370Z got curvier, more fluidic with its redesign – seductive to some eyes, more swollen to others - however, it remains clearly a Z to everyone.

Design

Why does a sports car always stand out from the crowd of ordinary cars? It’s primarily because their design implies what they are actually capable of doing. The 370Z may look like a relatively small car in pictures, but in fact it’s a gargantuan of a machine that’s 4,240 mm long and 1,850 mm wide. Reading between the lines, 370Z has a lot in common with the GT-R, especially the long, aggressive bonnet, the air dam and the roofline. Its athletic proportions are further augmented by boomerang-shaped bi-xenon headlights and fishhook taillights. The Z-badged indicators on front fenders are a nice touch. And yes, the 19 inch alloys add to the sporty appeal. The Nissan 370Z is available in two trims – coupé and roadster – and the coupé inarguably has a sleeker presence than the roadster.

The 370Z features the same keyless entry system that we saw on Micra and Sunny; that means the key fob never needs to be pulled out of your pocket. Once inside the car, you will be surprised that there’s nothing exceptional about the cabin per se. Three small round dials on top of the dashboard and the regular instrument dials behind the steering wheel… that’s it. There are no complicated computers that call for special training, all you need is a driving license and confidence to control a wild horse, driving is fun and easy behind the 370Z’s wheel. There are, of course, some accoutrements - a Bose music system, satellite radio, Bluetooth, optional SatNav, to name a few.

Performance

The best thing about this car is definitely the 3.7-litre V6 dishing out a meaty 332 horsepower. Although maximum torque comes in at a high 5,200rpm, the V6 delivers plenty of thrust across a broad power band. With just 5.5-second 0-100 and 13.7-second quartermile times, it literally pushes you back in the seat and pulls in the horizon at a vehement rate. Power goes smoothly yet vigorously right up to the top speed of 250 km/h, sending shivers down your spine. But the big V6's vocalization fails to turn heads and only gets grumpier as you put your foot down. The Nissan 370Z has both manual and automatic transmission options and I drove the automatic one. However, the manual transmission is supposed to be more fun to drive, thanks to Nissan's unique Synchro Rev Match system that automatically blips the throttle to match engine and road speed, thus making downshifts incredibly smooth.

Ride, Handling and Comfort

Don’t expect this coupé to coddle you. The suspension is stiff, which means roll-free cornering but uncomfortable bumpy roads. Expansion joints on flyovers and bridges cause rhythmic bouncing and speeding on such roads is certainly a bad idea. However, the bolstered seats are comfortable and hold occupants tight while slicing through windy roads.

The car remains firmly planted to the tarmac even at insane speeds and strong brakes are definitely the 370Z’s forte. However, braking felt jittery above 200 km/h but I’m pinning this down to it being a test car for the media that has been around for more than two years.

On crazily crowded city roads, I never felt I was behind the wheel of a mighty sports car because the 370Z behaves much disciplined at low end. Ground clearance is decent that it never scraped at any speedbreakers. Nevertheless, driving it around was not so easy that there would always be a forest of camera phone holding hands around you or a couple of ‘exotic car aficionados’ stretching to the window, asking do the doors open sideways or upwards.

If you are a serious sports car fan willing to dole out half a crore, you should find lots to love about the Nissan 370Z coupé. There's more performance and dynamics here than you’d possibly ever need. After all, all automobile experts agree to one point – ‘you need to spend almost double its price on another car to get anywhere close to the 370Z’s capability.’

Photos: A motorcycle made of firewood

Hungarian Istvan Puskas poses with his wooden chopper in Tiszaors, 161km (100 miles) east of Budapest, June 14, 2012. Puskas, a 52-year-old tractor driver, built his bike in two years from firewood. 

















Hungarian Istvan Puskas rides his wooden chopper in Tiszaors, 161km (100 miles) east of Budapest, June 14, 2012. Puskas, a 52-year-old tractor driver, built his bike in two years from firewood.

Audi launches Q3 at Rs 26.21 lakh

Audi has announced the launch of its compact luxury SUV - the Audi Q3 in India. 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 Audi Q3 is priced at Rs 26,21,000 onwards (Ex-showroom Maharashtra) for the base grade and Rs 31,49,000 onwards (Ex-showroom Maharashtra) for the high grade, and will be available at all 19 Audi dealerships in India.

Audi e-bike: A bicycle that runs at 80 kmph

Audi unveiled an extremely emotion-inspiring sports machine, the Audi e-bike Wörthersee at Wörthersee in Carinthia, Austria. The prototype cycle combines an electric drive and muscle power. Head of Design Wolfgang Egger comments: “As a high-performance e-bike for sports and trick cycling, it features the Audi core competences of design, ultra, e-tron and connect.” The Audi e-bike Wörthersee puts in its first major appearance at this year’s Wörthersee Tour, the 31st meet for Audi, VW, Seat and Skoda fans; trial biker Julien Dupont and downhill specialist Petra Bernhard will demonstrate their stunts and streetbike skills. 

The uncompromising dynamism of the bike prototype is fully visible at first sight. “When developing the Audi e-bike Wörthersee we drew on motor racing design principles for inspiration,” explains Hendrik Schaefers, one of the designers at Concept Design Studio Munich. “The e-bike appears incredibly precise, highly emotional and strictly functional. Indeed, the design effort focused on its function as a sports machine. All design elements are thus firmly aligned to the technical features.” 

The airy frame boasts a low center of gravity and a compact overall volume. In this way, the e- bike is superbly agile at the sporty handling limits. The lithium-ion battery is incorporated into the frame and needs 2.5 hours to freuteully charge. On long trial tours, only a few simple steps are required to remove the battery and replace it with a charged one.

The frame and the swinging arm that holds the back wheel are made of carbon fiber- reinforced polymer (CFRP). The same material is used for the 26” wheels, which feature an innovative “Audi ultra blade” design with broad flat spokes for an optimized transmission of pedal power. “We were able to demonstrate with the choice of materials just how closely design goes hand in hand with expertise in ultra lightweight construction,” Hendrik Schaefers comments.

Homogeneous LED light strips round out the frame and create the immediately recognizable Audi light signature. For extreme tricks and stunts the seat can be lowered to run flush with the frame itself. At the press of a button, the seat then rises up and the biker can adopt a comfortable position.

Cycling modes and countless other functions can be set using the touchscreen on-bike computer. The cyclist's smartphone hooks up by WLAN to the computer – when you start cycling, for example, the immobilizer is deactivated. Video images of the trial drive or of a trick, as recorded via the in-helmet camera, are uploaded to the Internet in real time via your smartphone.

Each trick performed successfully is then awarded success points, and as the number of points awarded grows, the cyclist receives awards and the challenge level rises, too. The rankings table in the Internet means you can measure yourself against other bikers and your friends. And where they happen to be comes to you via Facebook status reports that pop up on the Audi e-bike Wörthersee display.

The cyclist can choose between a total of five cycling modes – pure muscle power, the electric motor alone, or pedaling supported by the electric motor. In the “Pure” mode, the drive power is purely the product of the cyclist’s legs, while in “Pedelec” mode you are supported by the electric motor that then makes speeds of up to 80 km/h (50 mph) possible and gives you a range of 50-70 kilometers (31-44 miles).

If you select “eGrip”, the Audi e-bike Wörthersee runs solely on the electric motor and can reach a top speed of 50 km/h (31 mph). The cyclist then controls forward momentum using a gripshift and can configure the power as desired using the computer.

When performing wheelies, an electronic control system supports the rider when performing tricks and back-wheel biking. Different modes can be set using a smartphone or directly on the e-bike – either “Power Wheelie” mode, with adjustable wheelie angle for less skilled bikers or “Balanced Wheelie” mode for sporting challenges.

In "Balanced Wheelie" mode, the electronic control system maintains the rider’s balance, by compensating the biker’s movements forwards or backwards via the electric motor.

This means the rider can influence the bike’s speed by shifting weight: if you lean forwards the bike picks up speed, and if you lean back it slows. You select “Training” mode if you want to keep your performance constant for training purposes.

The electric motor is located at the lowest point on the frame and drives the bottom bracket shaft directly. The maximum torque delivered to the rear wheel is 250 Nm (184.39 lb-ft).

The Audi e-bike Worthersee

The electric motor generates a maximum output of 2.3 kW, a new world best for e-bikes. The complete bike excluding electrical components weighs in at 11 kg (24.25 lb), equivalent to a power-to-weight ratio of 9 kg (19.84 lb) per kilowatt, or 7 kg (15.43 lb) per horsepower – another record-breaking value.