About Cyrus Dhabhar
Cyrus DhabharConnect with this authorCyrus Dhabhar was born and brought up in a motorsport family and cars run deep in his blood. As a passionate founder and head of a classic car club in Mumbai and an avid part of the vintage and classic car scene in the country, Cyrus prefers his cars older and simpler. That said, he loves everything on four wheels and the occasional two-wheeler as well. Cyrus currently is the Assistant Editor - AUTO for the NDTV Group.
Articles of Cyrus Dhabhar
The PUBG And Mahindra Connection That Is Breaking The Internet
PUBG or Player Unknown's Battlegrounds is taking the world by storm is possibly the most famous game today. Available on PC, console and most popularly a mobile medium, the game basically is an online multiplayer first shooter which gives more importance to survival than the sheer number of kills. So how does Mahindra have anything to do with it? Well, in a rather surprising discovery as seen in the picture above, the tractors used in the game as a part of the general landscape in the popular map 'Erangel' actually has 'Mahindra 265 DI' markings on the side engine cover!
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Indian Cars Shine Bright At The 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is without a doubt the world's greatest classic and vintage car event. With cars from every part of the world participating in this fest of paint, chrome and lovely old leather, just being invited to be a part of the event is quite the honour. The 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance was won by an absolutely stunning 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta owned by David & Ginny Sydorick, Beverly Hills, California. But this year was extra special for us in India as there were two classes reserved exclusively for cars with an Indian history. The cars were divided into two categories, F1 - The Cars Of The Raj - Bentley and Rolls-Royce and F2 - The Cars Of The Raj.
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Exclusive: Mahindra Takes Fiat Chrysler To Court In The United States Over Breach Of Contract
As we reported a few weeks ago, FCA or Fiat Chrysler Automobiles approached the courts in the United States to stop the sales of the Mahindra Roxor off-road only vehicle that was launched in March 2018. The new SUV, which cannot be registered for on road use is based on the Mahindra Thar we get in India but bears a different grille as Mahindra does not have the rights to use the iconic seven slat grille in the United States. In a response to the FCA allegations, Mahindra has earlier released a statement that they were aware of the complaint filed with the International Trade Commission with regards to the Roxor and will be responding soon. And now, in a response to the complaint, Mahindra has filed its very own complaint in the United States District Court Eastern District Michigan against FCA for a breach of contract.
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Pininfarina History And Association With India Showcased At 2018 Pebble Beach
Pininfarina, one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) coachbuilder is usually known for its phenomenal Ferraris, Maseratis and Alfa Romeos. But strangely however, some of the earliest cars made by the coach builder and founder Batista 'Pinin' Farina actually have a connection with India! And one of these cars just won a Best In Class at the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance! And it isn't even Italian. In fact, surprise surprise, it is a Cadillac! The 1931 Cadillac 452A Pinin Farina Boattail Roadster used to belong to the Maharaja of Orchha, a town in Madhya Pradesh before it was exported out of the country. The car now belongs to Anne Brockinton Lee and Robert M. Lee's Automobile Collection in the city of Reno, Nevada and won the F2 Cars - Motor Cars Of The Raj class at the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
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Fuel Prices Set To Increase Every Day Again, Diesel Price Reaches Record High
Fuel prices are expected to crawl upwards once again with all major fuel providers announcing the fact that prices will be revised every morning, just like we saw a few months ago. Petrol and diesel prices have already increased substantially with diesel reaching record highs at Rs 69.46 a litre in Delhi and Rs 73.74 a litre in Mumbai. Petrol prices are also up once again at Rs 85.33 a litre in Mumbai and Rs 77.91 a litre in Delhi. The fuel companies have blamed the weakening of the rupee as compared to the dollar for the hike in prices.
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SRK And Hyundai Push For Better Road Safety In India
We chat with Shah Rukh Khan and speak to him about road safety in India.
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Ferrari Launches Its 50th Convertible, the 488 Pista Spyder
The new Ferrari 488 Pista Spyder uses the same 3.9-litre V8 engine that has won the 'Engine Of The Year' award three times in a row. The twin-turbo V8 makes 720 bhp of peak power and 770 Nm of peak torque, enough to take it from 0-100 kmph in just 2.85 seconds. The Ferrari 488 Pista Spyder has the same top whack as the coupe, 340 kmph! However, due to the face that the drop top roof changes aero, the 0-200 kmph time is slightly slower at 8-seconds as compared to the coupe's 7.6-seconds.
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This New Invention Can Protect Your Car From Floods
The flood guard bad is water proof and completely water tight and is designed to protect your vehicle against flash flooding, a common occurrence in some south east Asian countries. And it is quite simple and straight forward to use too. Just lay it out, drive your car into the bag, cover your car, zip it up and it forms a water tight cocoon over the car that saves it from the water. The bag even comes with ropes so one can anchor the car to a certain spot in case there is fear of the car floating away, which as we have seen from recent pictures from Kerala, can happen.
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New 2019 BMW Z4 Revealed
After several months of teasers and of course, the reveal of the concept Z4 last year, BMW has finally taken the wraps off the brand new 3rd generation Z4 Roadster at the Monterey Car Week in California. The new BMW Z4 will be a conventional roadster with a soft top unlike the last generation Z4 that featured a metal folding roof - like the SLK. The new Z4 will hark back to the original Z3 and Z4 but with a modern and very futuristic styling language that apes the one that was seen on the concept last year. The new Z4 in its launch spec is the Z4 M40i First Edition and we will eventually see a slightly less glamorous version of the car with smaller engine options too.
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The Bugatti Divo Is Finally Here, Costs 5 Million Euros But You Can't Buy One!
After being teased for well over a few weeks now, Bugatti has finally taken the wraps off its latest car - the Bugatti Divo! The new Divo will be limited to just 40 units globally and will cost a whopping "5 Million or upwards of Rs 40 Crore each! Only those owners who currently own a Chiron are eligible to get their hands on the Divo and as expected, even at "5 Million, all 40 units have already been sold out even before launch. But forget the price tag and just look at that glorious body! While the Chiron is a work of art in itself, Bugatti, in my personal opinion, has truly outdone itself with the sheer attention to detail and design of the new Divo.
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Maruti Suzuki To Open 100 Nexa Exclusive Service Outlets Soon
Maruti Suzuki launched the Nexa chain of premium sales outlets a few years ago for its more premium offerings, starting off with the S-Cross, Baleno and then the Ignis and Ciaz. In July last year, Maruti Suzuki also launched a premium Nexa service outlet for these Nexa cars and their customers. These service outlets exclusively service the more premium offerings from India's largest automaker. And now, Maruti Suzuki will soon be opening its 100th dedicated Nexa service centre very soon. As of now, Maruti Suzuki also has over 320 dedicated Nexa sales outlets across the country catering to its more premium customers.
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Maruti Suzuki Launches 'Quick Response Team' Initiative For Road Assistance
The new service from Maruti Suzuki India will be a 24x7 assistance service and will be available across 251 cities and will have 250 motorcycle to begin with.
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Makers Of AK-47 Showcases New Electric Car 'CV-1', Plans To Take On Tesla
Kalashnikov, the makers of the famous (or infamous) AK-47 Assault Rifle has just showcased a new electric car. Yes, you read that right. Called the CV-1, the 'supercar' as claimed by the machine gun maker was unveiled in Moscow yesterday. Based on the body of the IZh 21252 Kombi, a Soviet era station wagon from the 1970s, the new CV-1 plans to take on the gold standard in electric cars today - Tesla. But while the Model 3, the most affordable vehicle in Tesla range gets from 0-100 kmph in 3.5-seconds, the CV-1 takes a more relaxed 6-seconds to get the job done.
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Ford Issues Recalls For Over 50,000 Electric Vehicles, Plug-In Hybrids In North America
In two separate recalls issued at the same time, Ford has recalled over 50,000 electric and plug in hybrid vehicles over the risk of faulty components that may cause a fire. The first recall, affecting select 2012-15 Ford Focus Electric, 2013-15 Ford Fusion Energi and 2013-15 Ford C-MAX Energi vehicles is for 120-volt convenience charge cords. A total of 50,524 vehicles will be recalled due to a faulty 120-volt charge cable. The cable, when charging from a non-standard plug that has been installed specifically to charge an electric car can lead to overheating and can cause the plug area to go up in flames. The new cable will be equipped with a thermistor that can identify over-temperature conditions at the plug or outlet interface and will discontinue charging the car until the temperature stabilises again.
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Lamborghini Aventador SVJ First Official Image Leaks
The SVJ is the final swan song of the V12 powered Aventador model lineup and will be unveiled officially in the next couple of days. And as with almost all major reveals in recent times, an official image showcasing the car's epic aerodynamic styling has been leaked courtesy of the Lamborghini Unica App, which is exclusively for Lambo owners. And while the Aventador in its standard avatar - or even the S and SV - are quite bonkers to look at, with the SVJ, things have been taken to an all new level. In what is most certainly a proper hark back to the crazy wide body and massive winged Countach models of the late 80s, the new SVJ will no wonder be a poster car for an all new generation!
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Volvo To Debut New 1.5-litre Petrol Engine In Europe
Volvo will soon launch its smallest ever engine, a 1.5-litre 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine. The new engine will first be available on the XC40 and will form the base model of the SUV in the United Kingdom. The new engine will make 156 bhp of peak power and 265 Nm of peak torque and will be mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox for now. With this engine, the Volvo XC40 is set to do the 0-100 kmph sprint in 9.4-seconds. That said, even with such a small engine, the rated towing capacity of the XC40 (which is a very important feature in the UK), is set to be 1600 kg.
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Maruti Suzuki Jimny And Swift Sport Not Coming To India
While the likes of the Baleno RS offer a bit of performance to the average Maruti Suzuki buyers and the Swift offers great driving dynamics in general, there is no real vehicle for the automotive enthusiast in the automaker's vast range of affordable cars. One might argue that there isn't a market for performance or enthusiast driven cars in India but we think one with a Maruti Suzuki badge would certainly have the potential of being a great seller. And while we were hoping eagerly for India's automaker to bring two of its latest enthusiast products - the Swift Sport and the Jimny to India, according to recent reports, that will not be happening anytime soon.
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Honda Amaze Crosses 30,000 Units In Just Three Months
The new Honda Amaze, which was launched three months ago has already crossed a sales milestone of 30000 units, becoming the fastest selling Honda car in India in Honda's 20 year history in the country. The new Amaze, now in its second generation, was launched three months ago after being first showcased at the 2018 Indian Auto expo and for the first time got both a petrol and diesel engine mated to an automatic gearbox. The earlier (first gen Amaze) got only a petrol automatic. Of course, both cars also get a manual gearbox option. The new Amaze also gets a brand new design language with a more aggressive approach and a new flatter rear end with large boomerang tail lamps.
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Mid-Engined Chevrolet Corvette Could Be Called 'Zora'
Chevrolet's not-so-secret mid-engined version of the popular Corvette supercar could most likely take on the name 'Zora'. While the name might look casual to most, it is actually a very very important name in Chevy's history. Zora Arkus-Duntov was the first ever chief engineer for the Corvette project and the man responsible for the now legendary two seater sports car that is currently in its 7th generation. And to make things even more interesting, Zora Arkus-Duntov was actually the first person to propose the mid-engined Corvette concept and even make a prototype, the famous XP-819 way back in 1964 that showcased what the corvette could evolve into. That said, the Vette stayed front engined despite several rumours and concepts until in the near future where we will see the first ever production mid-engined corvette to hit the market.
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Skoda Makes Its One Millionth SUV
Skoda Auto has rolled out its millionth SUV ever made. The SUV, a brand new Karoq, was rolled out from the Kvasiny plant in the Czech Republic. The SUV will be delivered to a customer in Spain. The Karoq is one of three SUVs Skoda currently makes across the world, the others being the Kodiaq, which is also available in India and the Kamiq, which is available exclusively in China. Skoda started making SUVs in 2009 with the introduction of the Yeti, which was discontinued in 2016 and replaced by the Karoq a year later. The Karoq is based on the MQB platform, which also underpins the larger Kodiaq and other cars like the Octavia and the Superb.
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