Porsche Macan ; made in Indonesia ??

Porsche is planning to introduce the Macan for the 2014 model year. It will be the smallest SUV built by Porsche but in some ways it will be closer to its roots than the larger models. 

Porsche, after all, is known for its sports car production. The company received a lot of criticism for widening its line with the four-door Panamera and the Cayenne SUV. But these models proved to be successful for Porsche as they broadened the customer base and even appealed to Porsche traditionalists who were seeking greater utility than the sports cars. Their success with the new models lies in their increased space, but also in the translation of the Porsche driving experience to the larger vehicles as well as their provocative design. So now comes the Macan.

The Macan will be a smaller SUV based off the Audi Q5 platform. This puts the size among the smaller of the SUVs, competitive to the Q5 but also the Volkswagen Tiguan, Range Rover Evoque, BMW X3, and Mercedes Benz GLK. Nobody will buy a small Porsche SUV for serious off-roading, so just who is the target market and how will the vehicle be used?

In the 1950’s, ‘60’s and into the ‘70s, moms with kids favored the old station wagons. Who can forget the fake contact paper “wood” on the sides of those smelly, gas-guzzling sleds? In the 1980’s and ‘90s, soccer moms moved to the ever-practical minivans pioneered first by Lee Iacocca at Chrysler. Minivans gave way to SUVs. Soccer moms loved their large Chevy Suburbans, GMC Yukon Denalis, Ford Expedition and Excursions, Cadillac Escalades, and in their most extreme form, the Hummer. And even dads liked these vehicles as they were comfortable, spacious, macho, and could handle the occasional off-road duty. But gas prices have largely killed this segment both economically and politically. So that paved the path for mid sized SUVs and crossovers. These vehicles have garnered the focus of manufacturers for their utility and relative fuel efficiency. But lately they have received more attention from automakers with more daring design and performance. People looking for more utility than sedans or sports cars but with performance and flair have flocked to this segment. The Porsche models fit into this category.

Not a lot is known about the Macan at this stage. Porsche has released a video teaser that shows active young men and women all engaged in outdoor activities, and even the obligatory soccer mom with two young boys. Expect the marketing and positioning for the vehicle to be lifestyle focused. It is doubtful that the Macan will be viewed as a serious utility vehicle. The Q5 is about eight inches shorter than the Cayenne so expect the Macan to be similarly reduced. The height likely will be three to four inches lower than the Cayenne and should sit lower to the ground. Front seats will be the focus with plentiful space and sport bolstering but the rear should be a kids-only domain with room for two and a half. Pity the half. Cargo space will be minimal with seats up but more utilitarian with seats down. But who seriously buys a Porsche to transport stuff?

The design sketches look like a raised and shortened version of the four-door Panamera. According to the sketches, the front and back ends are typically Porsche. The side views are dominated by ultra large wheels (likely to be right-sized for production), and a chopped greenhouse (likely to be raised for production). So the final design likely will look more like a baby Cayenne with a lower, shorter, and more raked profile.

Who will buy the Porsche Macan?

The target will be young people who need more than a sports car but can’t bear to move to a Ford Explorer or a Chevy Acacia and who can’t afford the Cayenne or a Range Rover. They would prefer to be driving a Cayman or Carrera but know they need space for the kids. With an expected price in the $45-50,000 range, this should limit buyers to active, wealthier 30-45 year old couples with young kids. How big is this market? Not huge, but it is a gap for Porsche and large enough to be worth spending a half a billion dollars to adapt a Q5. It’s something to look forward to.

Lamborghini Madura

The lamborghini Madura was brought to life by Slavche Tanevsky, a student at the University of Applied Sciences in Munich, Germany. The vehicle is a more eco-friendly concept car to be produced by the Italian supercar manufacturer Lamborghini in the year 2016. This environmentally sound vehicle, although not the first of its kind, maintains the speed and performance that Lamborghini has become known for.

The Lamborghini Madura was created in collaboration with Audi as well as Lamborghini designers for Lamborghini's Raw Materials project.^[1] The project allows students at the University of Applied Sciences^] in Munich, Germany to design a car body and propose it to the major designers at Lamborghini. Slavche Tanevski, a student at the University, proposed this body style as well as hybrid concept to the designers, and his super-car idea has become a sensation among hybrid enthusiasts around the world. Aside from proposing the idea for a hybrid super-car, Tanevski has given other contributions to the Lamborghini company such as the Lamborghini Ankonian. The Madura body design was meticulously sculpted and manages to resemble other Lamborghini vehicles as the design will invoke aggressive body lines, a sleek interior, as well as a slightly more environmentally friendly engine. The drivetrain of this vehicle is placed in the front-mid section of the body of the car allowing Tanevski to create radical rear end body lines. The car's engine, as stated by Lamborghini officials, will maintain the same basic setup as other cars and will utilize 10-12 cylinders all while keeping a high amount of horsepower, as many Lamborghini vehicles have become known for.^[2] As for the body of the car, it utilizes large, slender headlights with bulky air intakes underneath, in order to accentuate the cars width.^[3]

As some car enthusiasts may be aware of, Lamborghini has always named their vehicles in the spirit of Spanish culture such as bulls, bull fights and famous places in time. This symbolic naming system was proposed by car company creator, as well as tractor manufacturer Ferruccio Lamborghini, due to his immense love of Spanish culture as well as heritage.^[4] In the spirit of his ideas, Lamborghini continues to name their vehicles in this way and has managed to come up with the name Madura for their concept vehicle. The name Madura arose from the island Madura in Indonesia which is famous for its large scale bull races and bull fights.^[5][6]

Lambo Aventador J is King

Everyone knows Rome wasn't built in a day, but did you know the Aventador J - Lamborghini's outrageous speedster that brought Geneva to its collective knees last week - was cooked up in just six weeks?

After scooping our mandibles from the floor after Lambo whipped the covers off the roofless, screenless J, Top Gear secured an exclusive interview with designer Filippo Perini for the full story behind the lowest Lambo in history. It's fair to say he looked a little rushed. This is why...

Though the Aventador J was widely reported to have been commissioned by a well-heeled customer, Perini reveals it was devised entirely in-house by the Lamborghini team after CEO Stephan Winkelmann asked them to come up with ‘something special' for the Geneva show. As is traditional at Lamborghini, this required some fairly rapid forward progress.

Gallery: the Lamborghini Aventador J

"It was the 14th of January that Mr Winkelmann asked us to do something for Geneva," says Perini. "A blank sheet. Do what you want. I drew up this car in a weekend..."

So that's just a month and a half to bring a car from drawing board to reality: most companies would take that long to decide on the level of damping on the stereo volume knob.

The timeframe is even more astonishing when you consider that the J is far more than an Aventador with the roof and windscreen lopped off. Only the front bonnet, front fender, rear fender and headlights remain from Lambo's big V12 coupe: every other panel is new.

A huge winglet-covered diffuser lurks at the front, while the rear diffuser has grown too, and sprouted a quad of evil exhausts (imagine the noise). The Aventador coupe's slatted rear deck is gone, replaced by a pair of sleek humps and a delicate carbon-fibre crossbrace over the engine. And just look at that ‘periscope' rear-view mirror.

Six weeks. And don't forget this is no concept: the J is road-legal, homologated in Italy (we're not sure how the single-car homologation procedure works in Italy, but we'd imagine it goes something along the lines of, "Yeah, it's a massive red Lamborghini with no roof. Any problems? No? Great...").

Even before its Geneva unveiling, the one-off J had already been sold, to an anonymous but presumably not-very-poor Lamborghini enthusiast.

"Mr Winkelmann knows our best customers personally," says Perini. "One of the first ones we presented the project to was interested. In a minute he had sent the money."

Well, what self-respecting businessman doesn't have £1.75m (plus taxes) sitting idly in his current account? And has our supercar value scale got a bit skewed recently, or does that not sound like such a ridiculous price for Lamborghini's most extreme one-off since 1970's Jota?

The common ‘J' is no coincidence. Though Lamborghini claims the Aventador J's suffix refers to the FIA's ‘Appendix J' regulations, the rulebook governing technical specifications of sports cars and their homologation requirements, this is a lie. It's short for Jota, the Miura-based racer that remains, even today, Lambo's most extreme, iconic creation.

"I have always wanted to do something with the ‘Jota' name," Perini says. "Inspiration comes from the past, and the Jota is the true heritage of our company."

A worthy successor? A snip at one-point-seven-five-million-plus-taxes? Or simply the most depraved piece of automotive smut this decade? For the full story behind the Aventador J - and a photoshoot we guarantee will make you feel a bit funny-in-a-good-way - make sure you pick up the April issue of Top Gear magazine, on sale 29 March...

JAGUAR LAUNCHES XJ SENTINEL ; "THE ULTIMATE ARMOURED LUXURY SPORTS SALOON"

“The XJ Sentinel was designed and developed in partnership with industry leaders, and incorporates the very latest armoured vehicle systems to deliver extremely impressive levels of protection, while maintaining a very discreet appearance,” said Mike O’Driscoll, Managing Director, Jaguar Cars.

“The XJ Sentinel is the ultimate armoured luxury limousine. It offers governments, security organisations and private individuals, the highest level of security, with advanced design, refined performance and a beautifully-crafted cabin. The XJ Sentinel will be the vehicle of choice for the most discerning," he added.

COMPREHENSIVE ARMOURING SYSTEM

The XJ Sentinel is equipped with a purpose-built armouring system which has been specially developed to ensure that the vehicle offers outstanding occupant protection, while being almost impossible to detect from outside the car.

Constructed from specialised high strength steels with Kevlar backing, the armoured inner cell was engineered in partnership with Centigon, a leading global specialist in vehicle armouring.  The XJ Sentinel offers ballistic protection up to B7 level (BS EN 1522 level FB7 and BS EN 1063 BR7-), blast protection against 15kg TNT equivalent detonated within close proximity of the vehicle, and substantial under floor grenade protection.

To ensure that the armouring meets the latest national and international standards, the protection offered was certified by QinetiQ, a globally recognised independent blast and ballistic testing organisation.

ENGINEERED WITHOUT COMPRIMISE

Just like the other models in the highly-acclaimed XJ range, the Sentinel has been engineered without compromise to deliver sophisticated performance, peerless vehicle dynamics and reassuring levels of active and passive safety.

The Sentinel is based on the long wheelbase XJ saloon powered by the refined and responsive 5.0-litre 385PS AJ-V8 Gen III naturally aspirated direct-injection V8 petrol engine, which is paired with a six-speed automatic transmission.

This powerful and sophisticated powertrain ensures that the XJ Sentinel is capable of swift and agile performance, accelerating from 0-100 km/h in 9.7 seconds (0-60mph in 9.4 seconds), and achieving a top speed of 195km/h (121 mph).

The Sentinel’s chassis, which features the advanced Adaptive Dynamics system with continuously variable dampers, has been comprehensively uprated to cope with its increased body weight.  Jaguar’s dynamics specialists have tuned the suspension and steering to ensure that the armoured model offers the same qualities of poise and agility found in the standard XJ.

Impressive stopping power is provided by a new high performance braking system which has been sourced from the formidable 510PS Supercharged non-armoured XJ model, while active safety is further improved by the XJ’s full array of advanced traction and stability systems.

To enhance passive safety, the Sentinel retains full functionality of the standard XJ restraint system, including dual-stage driver and front passenger airbags, side thorax airbags and side curtain airbags.

TOTAL LUXURY AND REAL-WORLD USABILITY

The comprehensive occupant protection offered by the XJ Sentinel has not been achieved at the expense of comfort or practicality.  Jaguar engineers have ensured that the armoured model retains the supreme luxury and real-world usability which are core features of the standard car.

The design of the armoured inner cell has been optimised to maintain the extremely spacious interior package of the long wheelbase XJ, which provides rear seat passengers with a full metre of legroom.

With its elegant and contemporary style, the cabin surrounds occupants with beautifully-crafted leather and veneer surfaces, creating a supremely relaxing, comfortable and luxurious environment.

A generous 500kg payload – maximised by the XJ’s lightweight aluminium body structure – means that the Sentinel is comfortably able to accommodate four occupants along with their luggage and additional security equipment.

This day-to-day practicality provides government organisations, security forces, businesses or high net worth individuals with a discreet yet highly desirable form of armoured transportation.

COMPLETE SUPPORT PACKAGE

XJ Sentinel customers benefit from a comprehensive support programme, both before and after purchase.

A dedicated security consultant works closely with the customer during the sales process, to ensure their full requirements are met.  A wide range of specialised optional security and vehicle features are available and can be tailored to meet individual requirements.

Once the vehicle is in service, the customer has access to a full support package including driver training and on-site servicing from dedicated specialists when required.

The XJ Sentinel has been carefully developed to allow regular servicing and repair to be carried out at Jaguar dealers, using standard diagnostic equipment, and is covered by a full three-year 50,000 mile factory warranty.