Its not a spelling error, its Style! Vulcano.

The Vulcano embodies the best in Italian design and engineering. Reaching up to 950 horsepower through an ingenious combination of combustion engine and electric motors, all encased in a beautiful design featuring voluptuous and harmonious shapes, this is the car which brings together the Beauty and the Beast. The Icona Vulcano was designed by Icona Director of Design, Samuel Chuffart. 

Those lines, and men die for curves, Bleh!

The Icona Vulcano is a front engine V12 two-door two-seater car; the top speed will be around 350 km/h, and 0-200 km/h will be well under ten seconds. The powertrain of the Icona Vulcano is the work of well-known Claudio Lombardi, former powertrain technical director of Ferrari and mastermind of numerous world champion cars. Claudio Lombardi has engineered two available configurations for the Icona Vulcano. The first is an impressive rear wheel drive V12 associated to an advanced technology gearbox that includes a hybrid system: its electric motor synchronises the single clutch for fast gear change and balances the torque for smooth and optimal acceleration while its additional power increases the total power of the car to 950 HP. 

Those taillights, and those gills near the doors, SEXY!

Based on further development of this advanced technology, the Vulcano will also be available in a four wheel drive alternative: this time a twin turbo V6 engine coupled with two electric motors for front traction will deliver a total power of 870 HP, and in an overall set up made to be a record beating Nürburgring champion. This masterful combination was successfully tested only a few months ago at San Marino with the Lancia 037 (Ex World Champion Rally) transformed by Beppe Volta into a 4WD hybrid. Made by ACTUA together with Italtecnica, the Lancia 037 4WD-H beat its previous record in every way. 

I think after the Alfa Romeo 4C, this is the best plan view of any car!

The wheels of the Vulcano are forged aluminium, 20 x 10” in the front and 21 x 12.5” in the rear. These wheels started life as T6-6061 aerospace grade forged aluminum. To handle this power, Icona has selected Pirelli P Zero ultra high performance tyres. With a 355mm section in the rear and 285mm section in the front, these tyres have been developed using a new high-grip compound with nano-composites and an innovative racing tread. The Icona Vulcano braking system has been supplied by Brembo. The GT-R brakes are the finest high-performance aftermarket braking system ever engineered for production. Lighter and stiffer with excellent heat rejection, the 6 piston calipers are machined entirely from billet. Lightweight carbon ceramic discs of 380mm all round reduce inertia while dissipating heat exceptionally fast.

I, I want that interior in my life. I am in love!

Fancy a Hatchback? A Fancy Hatchback?

Yeah that was some wordplay. If you thought that the Volkswagen Polo GT 1.2 TSI is an expensive Hatch, think again. BMW and Mercedes have thought of beating that and that too by a very long margin. Although if you look the other way round, you are now going to get the 'BRAND' and the awesome 'GERMAN ENGINEERING' for a few less of that hard earned buck of yours.

BMW, who also own Mini, and launched the Cooper in India only last year, have now though of launching its 1-series by September. The car which is available in many parts of the world is known for its handling and awesome drive. The car is a hot hatch, and is available in Rear-Wheel Drive, which as we all know means Doughnuts, Drifts etc. But then, will you do that in your expensive Beemer? Hell yeah, else who will I buy it? And at a price tag of anywhere between 21-24 lakhs, it’s an expensive Hatch, but a cheaper BMW. I would buy it for its Engineering, but in India, many will judge you and say- You just own a Hatch. There you go, sales won’t be that good. But the car will feature Airbags, Leather seats, Cruise Control, ABS and even a banging stereo. So if you are a young rich brat, why look somewhere else?

Might not be a thing of beauty, but it will be Rear-wheel Drive

Well, you might want to look at the Mercedes stable. They have the B-Class in the Indian Market, and now they will launch a Diesel and the Awesome A-Class. A-Class will be launched by 30th May, and trust me, the car is going to be both a Looker and an Awesome Drive. With features and price similar to the 1-Series BMW, its early launch will give the most successful Mercedes launch a boost in the Indian Market. Hell, I can't wait to drive it.

Awesome looks, and add to that an awesome car to drive. Rich brats, Rejoice!

The B-Class I mentioned earlier, Launched at a price tag of 27 lakhs found buyers in the Indian Market and was a contributor in Mercedes regaining the 2nd spot in the Luxury car market. So this Sports Tourer, well, it must be having something.

Looks dicey, but it sure is a luxury Hatch! Sorry, Sports Tourer.

Mind you, the cars mentioned here are no bigger than our standard Toyota Etios that we get to see almost every day. Strange but true!

Anyway, I hope to at least see them on the roads, because I will be going to see them in the Showrooms, and you have my word, they will be awesome to drive. Let’s see if the Indian Market gets a dramatic change, or not!

Thanks to IBN Live, Zigwheels and NetCarShow for the pics.

Whatever happened, BMW? Audi takes the top spot!

Now waking up is not an easy job. I mean you have to get up from your sleep, sigh. And top that with the news of Real Madrid FC getting knocked out of the Champions League in a thrilling match adds to you woes. And guess what you see when you open up the newspaper (yeah I read the newspaper, it has some interesting news too)? You see your Favorite Automotive Company drop 2 places in the Luxury Car Segment to 3^rd. I am talking about BMW. Times of India reports that its German rival, Audi, overtook it in the Jan-Mar 2013 sales figure to take the No. 1 position. And what can be worse, even Mercedes overtook BMW to become 2^nd.

Audi, BMW and Mercedes have been in a close battle for the last 5-6 years. People have stopped thinking about the Mercedes name and have started taking the Cars seriously. BMW and Audi, in my opinion, are better than the Merc, with BMW being a tad better than the Audi.

Now Audi makes the most awesome looking cars in the market, but BMW makes both good looking and ultimate driving machines. BMW has the 3-series, which is a dream to drive. And the 5-series has the Best-Close-To-Perfect-Car title in my opinion. The car is awesome. Audi has the A4, which is a good rival to the BMW's 3, and A6 gives the 5-series a run for its money. I have rarely seen the new C-Class on road, and the E is getting a bit old now. So how was this possible? Was it the S-Class vs. 7-Series?

Now I don't hate the Mercedes, but the cars I love are the SLS AMG, C63 AMG and cars like that, which don't find buyers in India that easily. Even the E-class is a looker, and the new launches they have lined up look promising.

Well, the Merc people launched the B-class in India. It is a clear indication of Mercedes' future plans. Although, I haven't driven the car but I have seen many on the road. Also, the Audi has the Q3, which people are buying like crazy. Also the new R8 has seen quite a lot of buyers in India. BMW went without a new recent launch, although the launch of the new ULTIMAT3 3-series did give its sales a boost.

Now BMW are riding on the success of the new 7-series they launched, which hopefully will bag them their King position. Until then, I did like Audi becoming no.1, but BMW on 3rd, overtaken by Mercedes, a little hard to digest. Hopefully, BMW will at least overtake them, because their cars can do that easily.