Bentley Continental GT Coupe in Russia Takes a Field Trip

Supercar and ultra luxury car accidents happen all the around the world and Russia of course is no exception. While we have no idea how this Bentley Continental GT Coupe ended up in the fields we must acknowledge, first, that the British luxury coupe handled the impact with the two wooden poles remarkably well and second, that the driver should feel really lucky that he didn’t end up on the train rails. -More pics after the jump

Gold Plated Porsche 911 Cabriolet in Russia

So what happens when you don't get enough street cred - even with a Porsche 911 (996) Cabriolet? Well, you could go and buy a more expensive car like a Porsche Carrera GT for example, or you could opt for the Midas touch. Just like the owner of this Porsche 911 Cabriolet in Russia who meticulously covered his entire car with gold plates -more than 40 pounds or 18kg of gold to be exact. An atrocity to say the least. -More pics after the jump
 

Via: Autoblog.nl

Porsche Cayenne Modded by Russia's Status Design

Sometimes, in their attempt to create a proposal uniquely different, tuners go overboard, way overboard. Such seems to be the case with Russian tuner, Status Design and their Porsche Cayenne project that is still in the works. For now, we've only got a trio of renderings to go by, but the aesthetic result is not what we'd call promising. The Russian tuner proposes a 'Fast and Furious' style full bodykit with a completely new front nose, side skirts and even C-pillar wings rounded off by a new set of alloy wheels and two-tone paint schemes. Hit the jump to check out the rest of the pics.
 

Via: Carmod

New Hyundai Solaris: Russian-built Accent is Ready for the Ice Cold

What was shown as the Concept RB at Moscow's International Motor Show has become the Hyundai Solaris, a re-nosed Accent [Verna in South Korea] for our Cold War counterparts. Starting in January, the Solaris will be Hyundai's first model to be assembled at the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus plant.
 

The Solaris name comes from a competition held earlier this year. According to Hyundai, "Solaris", derived from the Latin Sol, "implies Hyundai Motor's strong will to expand its business in the Russian Federation".
 
Major differences deemed necessary for the Russian market include a new front end with boomerang fog lights, less swoopy headlights with bi-color bezels, and a more blunt hexagonal grille area with a less-pronounced chin. Inside, both the Solaris and Accent should be about the same, but differences may include some trim colors/options.
 
The top of the range Solaris features six airbags, and Hyundai will also provide models with electronic stability control.
 
The big South Korean auto monster says it will be making sure that Russian Solares will be prepped and ready to handle the harsh Russian environment, including as standard a rear heating duct, 4.0-liter washer fluid reservoir (with low level sensor), a 60Ah (ampere-hour) battery "for higher cold start performance", front and rear mudguards, and a set of enduro (1,500 hour) headlamps.
 
Optional add-ons for our deep-north Siberian readers include a wiper de-icer, heated driver/front passenger seats, heated mirrors, and an automatic "Emergency Stop Signal" that turns on should an accident occur.
 
Hyundai is hoping for 85,000 sales per year in Russia (including a 5-door hatchback that arrives later in 2011) once the Solaris goes on sale in 2011. Russian readers, this one goes out to you: is this a car you'd consider? And does the fact that it's Russian-built play a factor in your decision? Talk at me below.

This Ain't a Joke: Russia's Lada to Sponsor Renault F1 Racing Team

Remember all the classic Lada jokes of the 80s and 90s of the sort that one could crank out endlessly because the patterns are so reliable? Jokes like these: "What do you call a classic Skoda? A Lada" and "What do you call the shock absorbers on a Lada? Passengers".
 

Well, even though a partnership between Renault's F1 division and Lada sounds like a good foundation for a new joke, it isn't. Seriously now, Renault announced today a sponsorship deal with Russia's AvtoVAZ that will see branding from Lada on the chassis of the Renault F1 Team R30 race cars during the 2010 season.
 
The agreement, which was backed by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, is linked to the signing of 25-year-old Vitaly Petrov, who will make history this year as the first ever Russian F1 driver.
 
"We are proud to announce this new agreement, which marks another important step for the Renault F1 Team and Formula 1 in Russia," commented Renault F1 Team Chairman Gerard Lopez as he was checking out the bus and train schedules on the last pages of the Lada User's Manual.
 
Guess we all know the type of jokes sport fans will be making about Renault's F1 team this season...
And just to ease the concerns of the Renault F1 fans, there are no CURRENT plans to change the name of the team.

Nissan to Build Murano SUV in Russia from 2011

Nissan has announced plans to build the Murano SUV at its St Petersburg factory in Russia. The start of production is planned for the beginning of 2011 and these models are for the Russian market only and not for export. Since the start of sales in Russia in November 2005, about 9,000 Muranos have been sold in the country.
 

The Japanese automaker also said that due to the slight recovery of the automotive market and growth in customer demand, it will increase the St Petersburg plant's staff from 850 to 1,450 employees adding a second shift this June
 
It is expected that the St. Petersburg plant, which currently builds the Teana mid-size sedan and the X-Trail SUV, will churn out 50,000 cars per year once it reaches its full capacity.
 
The Japanese company added that it will be opening 20 more dealerships throughout Russia as part of its plans to boost sales to more than 70,000 units this year, up from around 62,000 in 2009.

TopCar Targets Russia's New Money with Porsche Panamera Stingray

Russia's newly formed high society will soon be able to turn to one of its own tuners to make their Porsche Panamera stand out from the crowd as TopCar has officially revealed its Stingray program for Stuttgart's four-door sports saloon.
Developed in cooperation with domestic tuner Cardi (bodykit design) and Germany's 9ff (performance upgrades and build), TopCar's Panamera Stingray comes with a full bodykit made from carboxylic fiber that includes newly designed front and rear bumpers, side skirts, rear diffuser, new bonnet and a twin rear spoiler.
The sport saloon's exterior looks are rounded off with a new set of 21-inch multispoke alloy wheels.
The carbon-fiber theme is continued in the not-suitable-for-epileptics interior with the dashboard, steering wheel, door panel and center console all finished in "authentic carbon", while TopCar also upholstered the seats and other parts of the interior with high-quality quilted nappa leather.
Performance-wise, TopCar said that the Stingray's package includes a new sport suspension that brings the Panamera a little closer to the road and an engine kit comprising of a new exhaust system and reconfigured ECU, without however, getting into any more details.
TopCar will display the Porsche Panamera Stingray for the first time in Russia at the Moscow Dream Car Show on April 2 while the international jet-set will get a chance to see the car in the flesh at the star-studded Top Marques exhibition in Monaco on the 15th of April.

Russia's Met-R Creates the BMW X6 Interceptor

Here are some photos of a BMW X6 wide-body kit designed by Zaur Khalilov of Zaoor Design. Created for Met-R, a Moscow-based tuning shop, it's called the Interceptor. As with any X6-based work, the actual work has to be evaluated (not the car). The Interceptor's nose is nice and aggressive, and those vertical driving lights just add to it. Even the matte black helps, but that's about as far as it goes.
A really interesting detail is the kidney eyebrows derived from the 6-Series, which help it stand out from the rest of the fender-extension tuner pack.
The rendering is nice-looking overall; unfortunately the car it's based on is not.

Toyota India unveils the Etios & the Liva

Finally the much awaited Toyota's made for India Sedan ETIOS is launched. Work of 4000 engineers for last 4 years being showcased to the world, for the first time.

Mr Yoshinori, Chief Engineer behind ETIOS explained how an extensive market research which lead to the design of the new sedan. The research revealed that India is a very cost conscious but image conscious also. Mileage, Price and Style the 3 important factor for the Indian buyer. Toyota decided to leverage on their strong point of Quality and then attack the cliche of being a premium market product company, that Toyota is associated with.

ETIOS stands for Spirit and Principle.

All new design for India and then for the world, its a true Sedan design not a hatch redesigned to be a sedan. Spacious inside and compact outside, smiling front, flat rear floor pan, side skirts, smooth C pillars, chrome boot guard etc

Dash design inspired from aircraft design. Interesting to note that the design won the Good design award in Japan in 2010.
 

ARAI rating of 17.6 KMPL should be music to ears for the Indian customer.

Specific for Indian conditions, points to note are the: anti corrosion steel, Rocker mould (thats the ruff thingie on the running board), protection for fuel and brake lines.  

• Dealership increased from 97 in Dec 09 To 150 by Dec 2010
• Brand ambassador AR Rahman
• USP Premium product at affordable price
• Hatchback planned for launch in April 2011. LIVA depicting Full Of Life.
• TV commercial being aired starting tomorrow
• Booking open today @ 50k and delivery by Jan 2011.

The 1.5-liter gasoline-powered Etios sedan will cost Rs. 496,000 ($10,870) for the base variant at showrooms in New Delhi. The top-end version will cost 686,500 rupees. Suzuki's Swift Dzire sedan costs 488,558 rupees for the base model, while Tata Motors Ltd.'s Manza sedan is priced at 512,732 rupees.

Toyota's decision to make the global launch of the Etios in India, where rising incomes of the country's estimated 300 million middle class is fueling demand for new vehicles, reflects the importance of the world's second-fastest growing major economy for auto makers.

The Toyota team posing with the car.

70% of parts for the Etios are sourced from vendors in India.

Toyota will also introduce the Liva, a hatchback version of its Etios sedan, in India next April.

The hatchback will help Toyota tap small-car buyers, the biggest segment of India's auto market, and compete with Suzuki, which controls about half of the country's car market with its eight small car models.

Nearly two-thirds of the cars sold annually in India are small cars, which has encouraged other auto makers such as Ford, Volkswagen and Nissan to start selling their small cars in the country.

Honda, which currently sells the Jazz hatchback, is expected to introduce its newly-developed Brio hatchback model in India in 2011.

Huge boot 590 liters