Car of the future: Tesla P100D

Tesla is an American electric car company. In their early days they used to modify standard production cars and convert them into electric cars. In the year 2008 they launched the Tesla P85, which changed everything. Before this car people never used to associate electric cars with performance or mileage or even reliable. Tesla made it possible, under the expertise of Elon Musk. 

         

                                    

The P85 starts at 70 thousand pounds while the P100D starts at 130 thousand pounds. Which is a lot of money. The P100D has dual motors, hence the "D", which helps it to have 611 bhp over the standard 420. These are incredible numbers for an electric car. And because it's an electric car the throttle response is instant, because electric motors produce their maximum torque at zero rpm. This helps the P100D to hit 0-100 kmph in 2.5 seconds which is mind boggling, it is in supercar territory. It has the same 0-100 time as the 2 million dollar car, Buggati Veyron super sports. 

                                     

Inside the car has enough leather and wood to be worth 70 thousand pounds but 130 thousand, absolutely not. It falls short there. However the dashboard is very minimalist and there are no buttons on the centre console, everything is substituted by a huge iPad like display, which is very smooth and intuitive to operate. If you jump into the  back there is enough space for 3 adults because of its flat foot well however people above 6 feet might struggle for headroom. 

                                    

The P100D is again a great car from Tesla fast, practical, eco friendly and luxurious. The price might be a bit of a letdown but the car more than makes up for it. Tesla is still the car of the future that you can own now.

The Porsche 918 Spyder

The holy trinity, which includes the McLaren P1, the Ferrari Laferrari and the Porsche 918 Spyder. Costing millions of dollars to own. These cars are the future available right now, and the Porsche 918 is regarded as the best of the best. Jeremy Clarkson's show The grand tour showed that the 918 is the fastest around the race track and proved that Porsche's engineering is the best.

                                     

So how exactly did they pull this off? Porsche has a reputation of doing what's impossible, sticking to something that others might run from. Porsche did this with the 911 and now they have done same with the 918. The 918 has a 4.8 litre V8 and two electric motors producing a combined power of 875 Bhp and it weighs 1650 kgs, in both the cases the numbers are the worst among the three, still the Porsche manages to be the fastest among them.

                                     

The 918 is four when drive and has rear wheel steering which helps the car to be agile in the corners. It is the first production car in the world to lap the nurburgringring in less than 7 min, 6 minutes and 57 seconds to be precise, no other production car has ever managed to do that. And even after all this the Porsche can still just run on its electric motors and hit a top speed of 100 mph. It is supposed to be a race car but it has shown the world that the hyper cars are not necessarily harmful to the environment. It just gives out 90 gm/km of carbon dioxide, which is less than a family hatchback and can give nearly 90 miles to the gallon. These are unimaginable figures. 

                                  

Porsche hasn't just made a new, fast, expensive car it has showed us how the future would look like with cars getting electric power plants. It showed us that if used properly we can have fun as well as save the environment. What it has given us is HOPE. 

Mercedes Benz S class

Mercedes Benz S class, a car that has been used by many presidents all around the world as their daily drivers, choice of many movie stars, even princess Diana had one. The Mercedes Benz S class is a cult car. It has millions of loyalists all around the world. In India people know that any car carrying three pointed star is special and the S class is the big daddy. 

                                    

In year 2015 Mercedes launched the newest generation S class and it took the world by storm. It sold like hot cakes in India. In the United States the sales of the S class were more than Audi A8, BMW 7 series and Jaguar XJ sales combined. The S class is and always has been a very beautiful and a very well thought out car and it is the king of its class dominating it by large sales numbers. 

                                      

In India the S class is known for its presence and its magical ride quality. The new generation S class has a very familiar face to its older generation car, the main change is in the inside. The interior of this car is simply beautiful. Unmatched by its competitors in terms of its design, build quality and ambiance. The dash of the car is minimalist with each and every button in the car being unique to the S class. The S class has a 15 lakh option of having executive seats behind and it's worth every single penny. They are unbelievably comfortable with massaging and soft neck pillows. The ambient lighting which runs across the whole cabin has 72 different colors in it. The tech list of offer is huge as well including two 12 inch screens, night vision, emergency braking and the list goes on. The newest feature on the S class was the magic ride control. It has sensors and camera in front of the car which predicts the bumps intensity and adjusts the shock absorbers to deal with it. It works wonders. This car was also awarded the luxury car of the year by many international magazines fir being absolutely brilliant. 

                                   

The Mercedes S class always bring along innovation, new technology, great styling which always trickles down the line and helps the other cars in the company's car range. The S class truly is and always will be an icon

Bugatti Chiron

In the year 2005 Bugatti released a car that would change the car world forever. Bugatti had a been promising a car that would break all records, they unveiled it in the 2005 and it did break all the top speed production car records. It reached 253 mph, which made it the fastest production car, beating the McLaren F1. After a few year however it's record was broken by an American car called the SSC Ultimate Aero which reached a top speed of 256 Mph. 

                                  

Desperate to regain their title they went back to the drawing board and in the year 2009 they came out with the Bugatti very super sports. This car again broke all the records by every hyper car, it made more than 1200 bhp, which is insane. 

                                  

Its been 12 long years with the Bugatti Veryron and finally the replacement has arrived, it's called the Chiron. The design language is quite similar to the Veyron but the aerodynamic kit on the car is much more pronounced now. It sits lower to the ground than the Veryron. 

The Bugatti Chiron is made by exquisite materials such as magnesium, carbonfibre, titanium and diamonds. Yes, you heard that right, Diamonds. There are diamonds in the speaker system of the Chiron, to enhance the sound quality. The Chiron is powered by a quad turbo 8 litre 16 cylinder engine. If you drive the engine flat out it will consume all the fuel in just 8 minutes. It is a very powerful engine producing nearly 1500 bhp. Bugatti says it is limited to 261 mph, which means it won't be able to break the world record, however when de restricted it can easily hit 288 mph. The tyres can pull nearly 3000 g on the tyres, for reference a man can just pull 9, after that you are dead. 

                                       

Bugatti says it has received more than 200 orders and the average belongings of a person who has a ordered a Chiron is that he has 64 cars, 2 yachts, 2 helicopters. With a  price tag of 1 million pounds, it is not a car for everyone. But I'm sure that like the old Bugatti Veyron it will surely capture the hearts of many school boys and young people. So is this the new fastest car in the world ? ...... Time will tell.

The car that can handle it all

Audi is known for make safe, reliable and boring cars and one such car is the Audi A6, a beautiful car, beautifully made, great mileage, great build quality but a bit boring. This all changed with the introduction of the RS6, it is essentially a faster, tauter version of the A6 and boy this year the car was perfect. 

                                    

Audi first started by putting in the new 4 litre twin turbo charged V8 with the turbo's inside the bank of the V, which helps the turbo's to spool up faster hence removing lag. This engine produces 552 Bhp and 516 pounds feet of torque. This helps the car to hit 0-100 in 3.9 seconds and has a top speed of 189 Mph as if this was not enough Audi introduced a performance variant with 605 Bhp and 530 pounds feet of torque which helped the car to hit 0-100 in 3.6 seconds and go on to a top speed of nearly 200 mph. There is no doubt that the engine in this car is no short of a masterpiece and with the sports exhaust it sounds amazing as well. 

                                 

What differentiates this car from the others is not the speed but the fact that you can do this while carrying 4 more people inside the car as well as a dog boggles your mind. Underneath it's an A6 hence it is brilliant for carrying 5 people and it's an estate so it has a boot capacity of more than 550 litres and more than a 1000 litres with the seats folded. Inside it is covered with carbon fibre and leather and beautiful quilted seat covers, everything feels high quality to touch. And the security of having a Quattro system just makes the deal even sweeter.

  

                                    

The RS6 is a car that is perfect for every occasion, you can travel with your family in it, go to meetings in it, take a trip away in it and when the time is right you can demolish any super car you want. It is surely the car that can handle it all.

The all new Audi A4

Audi is on a roll, it has introduced 5 new models  this year and plans to introduce more 12 models this year. The first new model to arrive this year is the all new Audi A4. 

Like all Audi's you can instantly recognize it to be an Audi, with the help of its family face. The proportions haven't changed that much compared to the last generation car, however the wheelbase has been increased by 20 mm which helps increasing cabin space. The whole exterior design change of the car is more evolutionary than revolutionary, which is absolutely no bad thing because it's a very handsome looking car.

                                       

The engines of offer are two diesels and one petrol. All the engines on offer are deadly silent, refined and you can hardly hear them inside the cabin. The petrol version is very smooth and gives a decent fuel economy. But the big sellers in India will be the diesels. The 140 Bhp version will be fast enough for most but the 185 Bhp version is brisk and returns excellent fuel economy and is the pick of the bunch. 

                                       

The main change is inside the cabin of the car where it blows its competition out of the water. The build quality is above everyone else, and the fit and finish is top notch. There are soft touch materials used throughout the cabin. The virtual cockpit, which is an optional extra works like a charm and is a must have option on this car. The interior of this car is the best in its class. Moving to the back seat we can see that there is more room than the outgoing generation and even more than any car in its class. The head room and leg room is also in abundance. This is the most comfortable back seat in its class, even the six footers will be comfortable here in the back seat. 

                                        

Audi has again pulled it off, bringing people a car that is technologically and mechanically much more advanced than its competitors. The new Audi A4 sure is the new class benchmark.

Carfection: Mercedes Benz SLS AMG

AMG is the tuning division of Mercedes, its is what M is for BMW. The SLS AMG was the first true AMG division sports car and what a car it was. It took the world by storm the year it was launched. Over the years many different versions were introduced which received great response. The SLS AMG was the defining car for the AMG brand as it strengthened it place in the supercar industry. 

                               

The design of the SLS AMG was a tribute the old and beautiful Mercedes Benz 300SL. The car has a great long bonnet, read wheel drive and the most important style feature, its gull wing doors. It's what made the original 300SL so famous and the gull wing doors gives the car its personality. The SLS is low, wide with a long bonnet and the driver nearly sitting on the rear axle. 

                                

Up front is a 6.3 V8 produced handmade by AMG. It is a 6208cc V8 with 563 bhp in the normal car, 590 bhp in the SLS GT and 622 bhp in the SLS black series. This makes it the most powerful naturally aspirated engine in the whole wide world. It is a gem of an engine with immediate throttle response and it also sounds amazing. It is the last naturally aspirated engine this company will ever make and what a shame. Thanks to that engine the car can hit 1-60mph in less than 4 seconds and in the black series the time was 3.4 seconds which is absolutely fantastic for what is actually a GT car. 

                                 

Inside the cockpit is laid with beautiful touches like the turbine style air vents, and beautiful gauges. The ride is quite firm but this car handles beautifully with its front engine rear wheel drive layout it drifts quite easily and is a very fun car to drive. It's been 3 years Mercedes has stopped making the SLS but its brilliance still blows our mind. We surely miss it.

The car that can beat the BMW M6 ?

Audi is known for make safe, reliable and boring cars and one such car is the Audi A7, a beautiful car, beautifully made, great mileage, great build quality and a beautiful slopping roof line. But Audi wanted a car to compete with the likes of BMW M6 and the Mercedes Benz CLS AMG, so they introduced the brilliant new RS7, it was essentially a faster, tauter version of the A7 and boy this year the car was perfect. 

                                   

Audi first started by putting in the new 4 litre twin turbo charged V8 with the turbo's inside the bank of the V, which helps the turbo's to spool up faster hence removing lag. This engine produces 552 Bhp and 516 pounds feet of torque. This helps the car to hit 0-100 in 3.8 seconds and has a top speed of 189 Mph as if this was not enough Audi introduced a performance variant with 605 Bhp and 530 pounds feet of torque which helped the car to hit 0-100 in 3.4 seconds and go on to a top speed of nearly 200 mph. There is no doubt that the engine in this car is no short of a masterpiece and with the sports exhaust it sounds amazing as well. 

                                     

What differentiates this car from the others is not the speed but the fact that you can do this while carrying 3 more people inside the car as well as a dog boggles your mind. Underneath it's an A7 hence it is a beautiful, reliable car which looks sexy. Inside it is covered with carbonfibre and leather and beautiful quilted seat covers, everything feels high quality to touch. And the security of having a Quattro system just makes the deal even sweeter.

The RS7 is a car that is perfect for every occasion, you can travel with your family in it, go to meetings in it, take a trip away in it and when the time is right you can demolish any super car you want. It is surely a car that can beat the BMW M6.

                                 

                                     

Top 3 best everyday sports cars

Everyday sports car a term that can't be used for many sports cars around, for example Ferrari's are famous for making cars that can't be used every single day. The first everyday usable sports car was the Honda NSX, it showed that sports cars can be used every day as well. It was a reliable, fast, great handling and a comfortable sports car and now there are a few sports cars that fit into this category, they are:- 

At third place is the all Mercedes Benz AMG GT. The newest entrance in this category and has quickly become one of the best car in its class. It has front engine rear wheel drive chassis, which helps it to be one of the most entertaining cars to drive, it was set to replace the brilliant SLS AMG so it had to be brilliant and it was. With a four litre bi-turbo engine developing 510BHP, it has enough oomph to call itself a sports car and the suspension can deal with potholes quite effectively and Mercedes legendary quality helps it to be quite reliable as well. 

                                     

At second place is the beautiful Audi R8 now recently updated. The R8 was launched in the year 2007, and it changed everything. It changed the perception of people about Audi's, it changed the sports car industry, it changed everything. It was first introduced with a V8 and then with a Lamborghini derived V10. This car is now a cult classic, loved by many people and many people across the globe use it as a daily driver.

                                     

And in the first place is the brilliant And iconic Porsche 911. Famously know to have its engine in the wrong place, a physics marvel. This car has everything right. The styling, the engines, the ride, the handling, the interior, the fuel economy, emissions, everything. It is the most perfect a car can get and there are various different versions for you to choose from like the carrera, targa, turbo, gt3, gt2, gt3RS and the list goes on. There is a 911 to suit everyone and that's why it is the best everyday sports car money can buy

The Audi S8 plus

The Audi A8 was introduced in the year 2011 and was instantly a hit among it customer base. Then after two years it got its first high performance version called as the Audi S8. It was one of the best performance sedan in its class and it was for a year or two and then the Mercedes S65 AMG arrived, it changed everything. 

                                       

To tackle this Audi released a faster version of the S8 called as the S8 plus. It had a four litre twin turbo charged V8 with the turbo's inside the bank of the V, which helps the turbo's to spool up faster hence removing lag. This engine produces 520 Bhp and 510 pounds feet of torque but in the plus variant it produced a whopping 605 bhp a 85 Bhp increase in power and 530 pounds feet of torque. This helps the car to hit 0-100 in 3.5 seconds instead of 3.9 seconds and has a top speed of 189 Mph.

                                         

Inside its still the usual business high quality interior with option of beautiful wood or carbon

 fibre obviously as optional extras. It also offers a beautiful wood with aluminium strips which looks very cool. There is also night vision on offer and writing pad for your inputs. A tech loving person would be really happy sitting up front. While people sitting in the back would be more than happy to be there, cocooned in lap of alcantara and leather. The legroom is at a premium because it is not a long wheelbase version. The S8 is only available in the short wheelbase version to improve agility. 

                                   

The new S8 is a much better car than the older S8, its faster, meaner, handles better and rides well too. It is a much more rounded package than its predecessor. 

So the S8 is not the most practical choice anymore, it's the more faster, better handling and better alternatives than anyone else in its category.

Top 3 entry level sedans in India

This sector didn't exist about a decade ago. However it's in demand now and rightly so, due to increasing congestion and fuel costs. People demand fuel efficient and spacious family cars. 

The top 3 entry level family sedans are:-

At number 3 is the Hyundai Xcent, it had the biggest boot in this class and has good ride and handling characteristics. The maintenance cost too is quite low. Hyundai did a good job here converting the i10 into a sedan. It doesn't look awkward and it's size helps it to be in the under 4m range, which helps it to avoid taxes and keep the costs low. It has the third highest sales in its category, it is however let down buy its engine, its reliability and high running costs.

                                     

At number 2 comes the brilliant Honda Amaze, Honda hit a home run with this one, it is the near perfect entry level sedan having the best interior, the best specifications, being the most spacious, having a decent boot and still being under 4m of length. The diesel and petrol engines on offer are fuel efficient and are peppy to drive. It is currently Honda's bestselling car in India. The Honda Amaze has a lot to offer but it still falls short of being the number one in this sector.

                                 

At number 1 is the fantastic Mazruti Suzuki swift Dzire. It's been 6-7 years that the swift dzire was launched in India and it is still selling like hot caked in the market. Everyone such as families, private drivers, taxi drivers nearly everyone uses a Mariti Suzuki Swift Dzire. The Dzire has a lot going for it such as its near perfect engines, near perfect build quality, small turning radius which makes it especially good in city and city traffic and the maintenance service given by Maruti Suzuki is second to none. There are few problems with it such as the space in the car as well as the boot and the petrol engines are not that fuel efficient. However still the Dzire sells like hot cupcakes in the market and still hold the spot for the best entry level sedan in India

                                         

Audi R8 2017

The Audi R8 was first launched in the year 2007 where it shook Audi's conventional image of being a sensible, family car making company. The R8 took the title of being the everyday super car away from the Porsche 911. Which had it for more than 30 years. The R8 was a big sales success, because of which it appeared in movies such as The iron man. However it's been 10 years now and it was starting to fall short of the new 911. 

                                      

So here comes the new 2017 Audi R8 which is faster, lighter, safer and more engaging to drive. The new car looks quite similar to the old one. The iconic side blades are now in two
parts and the car has the new family face now. The design is more of an evolution than a revolution. It is 10 mm lower and 20 mm longer than the outgoing model and has magnetic shock absorbers as standard for superior ride and handling capabilities. There is also a good among of luggage space under the front bonnet to carry small suitcases or bags.

                                 

Inside the car the interiors have changed considerably, there is the new virtual cockpit which is absolutely fantastic. The seats are finished in quilted leather and it feels quite plush inside. In the driving department the steering is now electric than hydraulic and there is no manual option now. However the R8 still remains a very accomplished drivers car. The 610 Bhp Lamborghini derived engine sounds amazing and it works wonders with the new dual clutch transmission. 

                                      

There is no doubt in saying that the new R8 will give the Porsche 911 a run for its money. Audi have remained true to their company motto of improvement through technology and have given us a car which is a near perfect everyday sports car. With its beautiful interior, aggressive exterior, exceptional build quality and fanatics engines the new Audi R8 is sure to be a hit among the people.

Top premium hatchbacks in india

Top 5 premium hatchbacks in India:-

Premium hatchbacks was a concept that was nonexistent 15 years ago. This concept was brought to Indian shores by Hyundai in the form of i20. Hyundai expected the sales of i20 to be around 3000 in the first year but they sold twice of that. The category has grown in number since then and the i20 faces a stiff competition now.

At number 5 is the Ford Figo. It has what other cars in this class and above struggle with, space. It has various features that are added especially for Indian audiences such as a brown dash, extra fast cooling and no transmission tunnel in the back. Figo has decent power plants but not the best in class.

                                         

At number 4 comes the Volkswagen polo. Germany's take on small premium hatch was a hit and a miss. It was a bit too expensive, the engines on offer were not as fuel efficient or as refined compared to its competitors. But it had the build quality, the brand name and hassle free maintenance what customers wanted.

                                             

At number 3 comes the Maruti Suzuki Baleno. A rebranded car which was earlier introduced 20 years ago as a sedan is now in a premium hatchback form. Selling like hot cakes, the Baleno is a great example of a near perfect premium hatch. Good interiors, decent space, refined engines and low maintenance makes Baleno a sensible buy in this segment.

                                              

At number 2 comes the car that started it all the i20. A striking looking car now, this car has a cult following now. Loved and owned by many people, this car had good fuel efficient engines, great building quality, good ride and handling and a pleasant interior helps it to become one of the most loved premium hatchback in India.

At number one comes the youthful new Maruti Suzuki Swift. This car might not be the best in every sector but where it outshines the others is the low maintenance cost, great service by Maruti, good build quality, the best car to drive in its class and the best and the most fuel efficient engines in its class helps it to beat others and come on top of this list. 

2016 was a great year for premium hatch backs and the sales in 2017 are expected to go even higher. 

                                          

At number one comes the youthful new Maruti Suzuki Swift. This car might not be the best in every sector but where it outshines the others is the low maintenance cost, great service by Maruti, good build quality, the best car to drive in its class and the best and the most fuel efficient engines in its class helps it to beat others and come on top of this list. 

2016 was a great year for premium hatch backs and the sales in 2017 are expected to go even higher.