The Peugeot 208 Gti Concept... An Iconic Legend Returns?

As a man who has owned a sporty Peugeot in the past I am delighted to hear the French are hitting back with the return of their Legendry GTi badge, Peugeot and GTi is a name that echoes to days of T16 205 in group B-Rallying, a motor sport that had no rules....or very few anyway....

Enough of the history, Peugeot is hinting at the return of an iconic legend with the reveal of
the Peugeot 208 GTi Concept car. The GTi Concept is powered by the same 6-speed manual 1.6 THP 200bhp petrol engine seen in the award-winning Peugeot RCZ. Saluting it illustrious predecessor, the legendary 205 GTi, a brushed aluminium GTi Concept logo is placed on the rear quarter panels and within the grille.

Distinctive exterior features found on the GTi Concept include Peugeot's now signature LED headlamps, double chromed exhaust tailpipes, lower bodywork spoilers and lower sill skirt extensions.

On the inside, the passenger compartment reveals a red perforated leather steering wheel, leather head restraints and leather gear lever. The instrument panel is enhanced with LED backlighting. The sports seats are trimmed with Nappa leather on the outer section, whilst the cloth seating is embossed with a tartan motif. The fascia is dressed in Alcantara velour with grey stitching and the roof lining is entirely black.

To complete the sports look and feel, the driver is greeted with a small sports steering wheel, the pedals are aluminium and a raised instrument panel in line of the driver's sight houses brushed aluminium dials.

The GTi Concept takes full advantage of its compactness and lightness, promising road-holding that is both excellent and precise. A rear roof spoiler generates down force at speed. For optimum braking performance, the GTi Concept is equipped with disc brakes all around; 302mm diameter
at the front and 249mm at the rear, set off by red-painted brake callipers.

With the promise of the above we should be seeing good things from the manufacture with the Lion badge

Sporty Suzuki’s normal conjure up images of the two wheeled kind but Suzuki are hitting the ground with four wheels running this year at the Frankfurt Motor show this September (13th – 25th)with the new Swift Sport.


I have always Liked the Japanese approach to the small car market, Simple and best of all they actually work. Maybe it’s because they come from a land where space is at a premium. The New Suzuki Swift Sport is quoted by Suzuki as being a “refined sport compact” and compact it surely is, with overall length and width 3.89m & 1.69m respectively. Styling from the original Swift Sport has been stepped up with an aggressive but dignified exterior, all evoking a sporty performance feel.

From the moment you open the door and sit inside you get the feeling of high quality and sportiness through-out and in true Japanese form everything is well laid out. Safety features on this Swift have not been scrimped on either, in total there are SEVEN airbags inside, which nearly seems impossible when you consider the size of this little car, but the entire body has been designed with impact-absorbing in mind, and I think this is a great thing considering that this little car is aimed at young drivers.


I am not sure how these companies keep doing this with engines, I think it is magic or supernatural work but power has been upped and fuel consumption has been lowered with CO2 emissions of 150g/km which converts to a road tax bill of 302 Euro per year. The engine fitted to this Suzuki is a 1.6 16v, which Suzuki say has been developed exclusively for the Suzuki Swift Sport developing 134hp @ 6900rpm and 160N-m @4400Rpm with this power plant mated to a six-speed manual transmission.

No stone has been left unturned here as the suspension seems to have under gone a refit too. More responsive handling thanks to the struts with internal rebound springs and an exclusive rear-suspension design, the words “Stability and Brisker” are the words used to describe the work carried out by Suzuki, with all of this it promises a great drive with performance to match the looks. Let’s get behind this little Suzuki Swift Sport and ensure it gets imported into Ireland by Suzuki themselves.

Ok so this is not exactly motoring related but the final flight of NASA's space shuttle is well worthy of mention, and it does have an engine, so its good enough for me!

Atlantis prepares to dock at the International Space Station 

When it was launched just over three years ago, the Nissan GT-R was heralded as a benchmark offering supercar performance at an affordable price. It won award after award and unstinting praise from everyone lucky enough to drive it. According to Andy Palmer, Senior Vice President at Nissan "It would have been easy to sit back and rest on our laurels... but we don't do that at Nissan. Welcome the 2011 GT-R, the best GTR yet." Extra power, downforce, grip and more thrills - that's the promise from the 2011 Nissan GT-R!

While the original multi-award winning GT-R offered breathtaking performance and outstanding handling that we have seen from the very beginning of the every GT-R to date ever since this the 1971 Hokosuka GT-R, the new GTR hasn't stopped Nissan engineers and designers from making the best to date even better. Every aspect of the car has been stripped down enhanced and improved, no page has been unturned. Performance from the 3.8-litre twin turbocharged V6 engine has been boosted by tricking with valve timing, air/fuel ratio mixture, upping boost pressure along with larger inlet pipes and the redesigned exhaust system, All of this has upped the performance by 45hp to a healthy 530HP & to 612Nm, Although Nissan has stayed green too by also improving emissions (279 g/km) and fuel consumption now at 12 l/100km on the combined cycle.

"We didn't want a nice elegant shape - we wanted an original and efficient shape. Some people who buy this car will also have a Ferrari and a Porsche. This car must be different from all others. I see it as a car influenced not by feminine beauty, like Italian cars, but by masculine beauty” says design director Shiro Nakamura.

Overt styling touches include the kink in the rear pillar. "It's highly distinctive and helps rear airflow," says Nakamura, "and it also gives the GT-R a really unusual roof line." He also explains that the car's deep flat sides are highly functional. So functional it has improved downforce by about 10 per cent while the co-efficient of drag has been lowered to just 0.26Cd.

Inside a number of changes have been made to enhance the sports luxury feel. There are two interior versions of the standard car available: Premium or Recaro Black. Both are comprehensively equipped, but the Premium exhibits a more luxurious style while the Recaro Black comes with Recaro embossed racing seats which accentuates the car's performance potential. "A new raft of superlatives is needed to describe the 2011 Nissan GT-R. Every aspect of the car has been enhanced to the point where the high standards set by the original have been surpassed at every level. The GT-R is a truly remarkable machine," said Andy Palmer.

 

A series of subtle but significant changes to the chassis have sharpened the already impressive handling, while new tyres, wheels and bigger brakes also enhance the driving experience.
The 2011 Nissan GT-R is now available to order from Nissan High Performance Centres across Europe.
At a glance

• 9% increase in power - from 485 to 530PS
• 4% increase in torque - from 588 to 612Nm 
• 0-62mph in a breathtaking 3.0 seconds 
• Improved fuel consumption and emissions reduced by 3.5% 
• Improved aerodynamics with 10% greater downforce
• Suspension changes for even better handling
• Revised electronics for greater control
• Bigger brakes and new bespoke tyres
• Revised interior with greater comfort
• One comprehensively equipped grade; two trim options
• Improved cooling
• Revised styling