All posts by : Car Bima

I write this column as someone who has evolved into a very sedate driver over the years. Don’t get me wrong, I have my fun on bikes in the right environment, but I find much more joy in driving to a destination as efficiently as possible rather than as fast as possible. I suppose it also helps that my personal car is a twenty-year-old Maruti Zen. It’s a car whose ability to transport you to a simpler time is something I adore, and it also doesn’t feel very comfortable above 100kph. 

With that foundation laid in place, it’s time to get to the point of this column. Some of our speed limits are ridiculous to the point of being downright dangerous. A prime example would be what’s happening on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. A few years ago, the speed limit was raised from 80kph to 100kph and I think that number nicely balances the capability of our modern cars along with the driving skills of the average Indian road user.

However, this speed limit only applies to the straight stretches and the problem begins when you get to the ghat section between Khopoli and Lonavala. Here, the speed limit is immediately halved to 50kph, which is simply way too slow for a road that remains a very wide and flowing six-lane expressway throughout. 

How do we know that this is far too slow? Well, the authorities have now erected plenty of new overhead gantries with speed cameras, and I’ve noticed that almost nobody – not even most commercial vehicles – are going that slowly, especially downhill. People either drive past with oblivion or suddenly and dangerously brake to avoid the fine.

Things get even worse when you’re on the elevated section over Lonavala where there’s a 30kph speed limit board that is soon followed by a row of new cameras. To put it into context, how absurd is this on a six-lane ‘expressway’,  an above-average athlete can run faster than that. 

Having recently been stung by a Rs 2,000 fine for doing a very sedate 64kph on the expressway ghat, I tried slowing down to 30kph for this board and had to completely get off the road to do so without possibly causing a pile-up.

I really wonder how this hasn’t already been corrected. Do the authorities who set these speeds actually drive on these roads? Or have all these new speed cameras been intentionally placed right next to unrealistic speed limit boards? Either way, something has to change.

For bikes, things get worse, with painfully low speed limits on many state and national highways, and a growing number of strategically parked speed interceptor vehicles waiting to catch you out.

Speed limits are important and the steep fines associated with them do a good job of keeping reckless driving under control. But at the same time, more thought and science needs to go into the design of these limits, especially when tens of thousands of crores of taxpayer money is being put into road infrastructure development. 

The very point of making great roads is to facilitate more efficient traffic movement, which will lead to a more efficient economy. Doesn’t it completely defeat the purpose if we are going to then artificially slow the traffic down again?

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BYD has rolled out a mid-lifecycle update for the Atto 3 electric SUV overseas, and the updates include new paint options and an updated infotainment screen with more features. However, it remains mechanically unchanged. The BYD Atto 3 is the company’s highest selling EV in several markets, including India.

1. Atto 3 gets larger touchscreen from the Seal EV
2. Exterior gets a new all-black paint option
3. Remains mechanically unchanged

BYD Atto 3 exterior and interior: what’s new?

There aren’t any cosmetic changes on the outside, but the Atto 3 gets a new ‘Cosmos Black’ exterior colour shade. The chrome window surround and the silver textured D-pillar trim have also been blacked-out. Furthermore, the alloy wheels have a slightly updated design and the ‘Build Your Dreams’ logo on the boot lid is now just spelt as BYD.

The more significant update is on the inside – the 12.3-inch rotating touchscreen infotainment has made way for a larger 15.6-inch unit that’s borrowed from the Seal EV. It also gets a new black-blue interior colour scheme that replaces the previous beige-blue colours. There, however, aren’t any cosmetic changes, but it does get a new ‘intelligent start’ system that allows the driver to start the car by just pressing the accelerator pedal.

BYD Atto 3 powertrain, specs and range

The Atto 3 is powered by a front-axle mounted electric motor that develops 201hp and 310Nm, allowing the Atto 3 to do the 0-100kph run in 7.3 seconds (claimed). It packs a 60.48kWh blade battery that has an ARAI-certified range of 521km. The Atto 3’s battery pack can be charged in around 10 hours using a 7kW Type 2 AC charger, while a 80kW fast charger takes around 50 minutes to go from 0-80 percent.

Given that the Atto 3 is already on sale in India, we expect the updated version to be available here pretty soon. BYD recently also launched the Seal EV as its third product in India.

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The Porsche 911 hybrid has been confirmed for a debut later this year, and this powertrain upgrade for the iconic 911 line-up is a part of a major model update that’s been two years in the making.

1. Four new Porsche unveils in 2024
2. Porsche 911 992.2-gen to get styling tweaks as well
3. Porsche 911 has been in production for six decades now

Porsche 992.2-gen 911 coming this year

The ‘992.2’-generation Porsche 911 receives a host of mid-life revisions, including subtly altered exterior styling, a reworked interior and updated six-cylinder petrol engines. It is one of four new Porsche models arriving in 2024 – one of the German marque’s busiest years on record for new launches – alongside the new Panamera, Taycan and electric Macan.

The changes are intended to sustain the 911’s appeal through to 2027, when an all-new ninth-generation model will join the increasingly electrified Porsche line-up.

Porsche 992.2-gen 911 powertrain

The most significant change to the 911 in its sixth decade of production is the adoption of a unique petrol-electric hybrid system. Set to appear in a new four-wheel-drive model being revealed in the summer, it combines a tuned version of Porsche’s turbocharged six-cylinder engine with a specially designed electric motor housed within the front axle. The petrol engine provides drive to the rear wheels, while the electric motor drives the front wheels. A 48V integrated starter motor in the dual-clutch automatic gearbox will provide an electric boost and power ancillary components.

The new 400V system is claimed to generate its own energy reserves using the engine as a generator – in a function similar to that of a range-extender drivetrain – as well as via brake regeneration, negating the need for external charging.

Electric energy is stored in a specially developed lightweight lithium-ion battery. With an energy capacity well below the batteries used by Ferrari and Mercedes-AMG in their plug-in performance models, it has been configured specifically for rapid energy charge and discharge properties.

Secrecy surrounds the output of the new hybrid drivetrain, though Porsche is eventually expected to offer the new petrol-electric unit in a range of different performance levels. Both Turbo-E Hybrid and Turbo S E-Hybrid models have been mooted for introduction in line with the Cayenne and Panamera line-ups.

Before the eighth-generation 911 bows out later this decade, Porsche is also set to launch an 800hp-plus hybrid successor to the fearsome GT2 RS. A fully electric 911 is not immediately planned, and Porsche instead envisages them progressing into the future with electrified combustion engines in combination with new e-fuel derivatives to provide net-zero emissions.

Porsche 911 992.2: what else will be new? 

Apart from the powertrain, the changes on the facelift include:

Enhanced cooling: To boost cooling for the front-mounted radiators and brakes, Porsche has given the new front bumper distinctive air ducts that house five vertical louvres on each side, in place of the three horizontal louvres of the existing model. It is most likely that they will incorporate some sort of active operation to better balance cooling and aerodynamic drag. There is also a larger central air duct book-ended by additional cooling channels on either side.

Revised headlamps: Instead of being housed within the top section of the bumper insert, the indicators are now integrated into the revised headlight assemblies that feature a new graphic design. As with the units used by the facelifted Cayenne, the new headlights are expected to offer HD matrix LED functionality with more than 32,000 pixels per unit and the capability of lighting up to 600 metres ahead.

Restyled rear end: The updated 911 receives new-look brake lights integrated into the top of a restyled rear bumper, and it also features inboard-mounted tailpipes within a revised diffuser.

Interior upgrades: The changes to the interior of the new 911 are more subtle. Prototypes use the existing dashboard architecture and other features, suggesting that most tweaks will involve software upgrades. Among the expected developments are new digital instrument graphics and the latest Porsche Communication Management system for infotainment functions.

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