To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boxer Engine, Subaru has announced a special Edition Forester.

To further celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of the Subaru Boxer engine, Subaru are pleased to announce the introduction of the Forester Special Edition. On sale from the 1^st September, 100 units will be produced and will be priced at £29,995 for the petrol Lineartronic and £31,495 for the diesel Lineartronic. 

Based on the XC Premium model, the Special Edition model comes with £1,500 of additional equipment at no extra cost. Both models come with Subaru’s comprehensive five-year, 100,000-mile warranty.

Unique equipment for the Forester Special Edition includes Hunter Green Metallic Paint, front, side and rear under guards, wheel arch extensions and stainless steel cargo step panel as well as Special Edition brown leather seats with brown leather interior door grips, centre armrest and centre panel uprights. 

Other equipment on the Forester Special Edition includes Subaru Starlink; a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment, connectivity and navigation system, Hill Descent Control (HDC), X-Mode system, which intelligently manages the car’s power and torque, brakes and drivetrain to maintain traction on even the most slippery surfaces.

New generation Hyundai i10, bigger, better and more luxurious

“New Generation i10 is a significant step forward for the brand and will ensure Hyundai Motor remains a leader in the highly-competitive A-segment by introducing more customers to what Hyundai Motor is all about: delivering ‘true value’.” – Allan Rushforth, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Hyundai Motor Europe

• Hyundai Motor’s first A-segment to be designed, developed and built in Europe
• Longer, wider and lower, with class-leading space and practicality
• Levels of comfort and safety from the segment above
• Sophisticated exterior and interior styling
• High levels of perceived quality and Five Year Unlimited Mileage Warranty

Hyundai Motor is set to build on its success achieved in the A-segment with the New Generation i10, a model designed, engineered and manufactured in Europe, for European buyers.

The new model both enhances Hyundai Motor’s ‘made-for-Europe‘ product line-up and introduces new standards to the region’s A-segment, bringing class-leading space, levels of comfort and safety from the segment above, and sophisticated exterior and interior design.

As well as sales, Original i10 won numerous awards across Europe, most recently being named ‘Best city car less than £9000’ at the What Car?Car of the Year 2013 awards (UK), and generated loyalty rates above the segment average – 54% in the five biggest European markets compared to the segment average of 48%.

Another evolution over Original i10 is the introduction of what Hyundai Motor calls ‘true value’ – the addition of desirable features from segments above and emotional qualities such as dynamic styling to existing rational features such as high quality and high efficiency.  Exemplified by models such as New Generation i30 and New ix35, true value is now integral to the appeal of New Generation i10.

“We’re offering consumers something truly unique in New Generation i10 – an A-segment car consumers want to buy, not one they feel they have to.  It fully meets the rational needs of buyers in the cost-sensitive A-segment, yet delivers levels of comfort, driving pleasure and perceived quality from segments above,” said Mark Hall, Vice President of Marketing, Hyundai Motor Europe.

New Generation i10 is another example of Hyundai Motor’s commitment to European customers.  It has been designed and engineered at the Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Centre (HME TC) in Rüsselsheim, Germany, and is, for the first time, manufactured in the region, at the company’s recently-expanded plant in Ízmit, Turkey.

Influenced by Hyundai Motor’s design philosophy, fluidic sculpture, New Generation i10 features sleek and substantial lines that emphasise the naturally athletic stance of a model which is longer, wider and lower than its predecessor.

The new proportions are mirrored by a driving experience that has been developed to meet European preferences.  Relocated and retuned components result in greater body and wheel control, delivering more driver involvement and ride comfort comparable to that of cars from higher segments.

The larger bodyshell of New Generation i10 yields one of the roomiest occupant cabins on the market, as well as a best-in-class 252 litres of trunk capacity.  Up to 1046 litres becomes available when the rear seats are folded – also a best-in-class figure.  New levels of craftsmanship can be found in the spacious interior, together with levels of comfort and safety equipment commonly only found in segments above.

Allan Rushforth, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Hyundai Motor Europe, commented: “The introduction of New Generation i10 represents a pivotal moment for Hyundai Motor in Europe and for the A-segment in the region.  Rich in features and abilities normally only found in vehicles from segments above, New Generation i10 offers consumers premium equipment and abilities –without asking them to pay a premium price.  In addition, consumers benefit from more practicality and space, as well as style and comfort; we’re confident New Generation i10 will win new customers while retaining the many new customers won by Original i10.”

Demonstrating Hyundai Motor’s confidence in its European build quality, the New Generation i10 will come with the company’s Five Year Unlimited Mileage Warranty.  The industry-best package also includes five years of roadside assistance and five years of vehicle health checks - which are offered across Europe for the first time on an A-segment Hyundai model.

Jaguar Land Rover and EPSCR announce £10M virtual engineering research programme

• Jaguar Land Rover will lead a five year research programme with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and four leading UK universities
• The research projects will give the UK the opportunity to take a global lead in virtual simulation technology

Five new academic research projects that will advance the UK’s role in developing virtual simulation technologies were unveiled today by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, The Rt.Hon Dr Vince Cable MP.

The unique £10m five year collaboration between Jaguar Land Rover and the country’s leading academics will develop the capability of the virtual simulation industry in the UK and will give manufacturers like Jaguar Land Rover access to new, world-class simulation tools and processes. This is the first phase of a 20 year strategic project that could put the UK at the leading edge of virtual simulation globally.

The research will improve the quality and capabilities of simulation, using sights, sounds and even smells to make virtual simulation more realistic.

Giving engineers a more realistic perception of what a design might achieve, as well as giving them access to more powerful computers, will mean even more engineering can be virtual. This will help manufacturers like Jaguar Land Rover deliver more complex new vehicle programmes more quickly. It will also help save costs in product development by reducing the reliance on physical prototypes and have environmental benefits by limiting the number of prototypes that need to be driven and tested in the real world.

Announcing the funding during a visit to WMG at the University of Warwick, Dr Cable said: “With world-class universities and cutting edge companies like Jaguar Land Rover, the UK is well placed to be at the forefront of driving innovation and developing new technology. This investment will support the Government’s industrial strategy by boosting the UK’s manufacturing capability and helping to keep us globally competitive.”

The projects form part of the ‘Programme for Simulation Innovation’ (PSI), a partnership between Jaguar Land Rover and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Loughborough University, University of Leeds, University of Cambridge and Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG).

The PSI project is funded by Jaguar Land Rover (£4m), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) (£4m) and the partner Universities (£2m) and is split into two phases that will run over the next five years. The five projects announced today form the first phase and will make up 80 per cent of the programme. The projects include:

• Analysis of the vehicle as a complex system (Loughborough, Leeds)
• Multi-physics and multi-functional simulation (Loughborough )
• Driving simulation (Leeds)
• High performance computing and simulation knowledge mining and abstraction (Cambridge)
• Visualisation and virtual experience (Warwick)

Bob Joyce, Jaguar Land Rover Engineering Director, said: “While we already utilise a wide range of sophisticated virtual engineering tools and processes to design, engineer and test our new vehicles, we are keen to enhance the future capability of virtual simulation and tailor them for automotive product development. We want to make advances in the simulated driver and passenger experience, including more realistic imagery, sounds and even smells.  These projects will help us analyse increasingly complex cars at whole vehicle, system and component levels, as well as enhancing the high performance computers that industry will use in the future to mine increasing amounts of more complex data.

“Jaguar Land Rover believes the UK needs to be globally competitive in industrial innovation. Collaboration between Jaguar Land Rover and academia to develop new automotive applications will give the UK an opportunity to take a lead in virtual simulation technology.”

EPSRC’s Chief Executive Professor David Delpy said: “This partnership shows how the research community can work hand in hand with industry to push boundaries in science and engineering. EPSRC’s role, as a sponsor of innovative research, has been to work with Jaguar Land Rover to define the longer term research needs of the industry, issue a call for proposals and facilitate robust peer review.”