Toyota Emirates Drifting Team secures 2nd place in round 6 of Drift UAE

In the final round of this season’s Drift UAE held at Yas Marina Circuit, Toyota Emirates Drifting Team, represented by Ahmed Al Ameri, grabbed 2nd place after an amazing display of poise and tyre smoke in front of hundreds of UAE drifting fans.

Al Ameri describing his performance said, “Tonight’s competition was amazing and the fans’ continuous encouragement made it even greater. My practice runs were fantastic meaning I qualified in top position, with a large margin, and went directly to the semi-finals. An unavoidable error in the final round prevented me from getting the 1st place I was striving for but I’m delighted with 2nd position today and finishing 4th in the overall championship. Ending the season on a high note will definitely give Toyota EDT a push for the next season with our Toyota 86.”

THREE STUDENT TEAMS TO REPRESENT THE UAE IN F1 in SCHOOLS WORLD FINALS

Abu Dhabi, UAE, 14th May 2013:  With less than six months to go until the 2013 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yas Marina Circuit was the scene of another F1 this week when it hosted more than 200 student competitors in the 5th annual F1 in Schools UAE National Finals presented by Mubadala.

Supported by parents, education officials and VIPs, competition between the 37 Senior and Junior teams was fierce as they went head to head in a bid to secure the title of UAE Professional Category Champions. As a result, three teams – ADROIT INFINITUM from The Indian High School in Dubai, Strike Automobiles from The School of Research Science in Dubai, and All-female Emirati team Popcom from Al Shohub School for Girls in Abu Dhabi – of the UAE’s best and brightest will represent the country in the F1 in Schools World Finals in Austin, Texas later this year.
Abdulla Al Shammari, F1 in Schools Manager at Yas Marina Circuit said the competition highlighted both the level of talent of UAE students as well as its growing Formula One fan base:

“Every student here today at the F1 in Schools National Final is a champion. If the dedication, passion of the students, and the quality of the work on display here today is any indication, the future of F1 and motorsport in the UAE is very bright.”
The two-day competition saw teams participate in a series of competitions that included team presentations, a team pit stop display, and head to head racing. At the end of the day, ADROIT INFINITUM, a team from The Indian High School in Dubai, was named the UAE Professional Category Champions 2013.  In addition to the overall champion title, the team won Best Engineered Car but it was another team from The Indian High School, VELOX, who earned the Fastest Car Award.
ADROIT INFINITUM’s Team Manager Malvikha Manog said the team was thrilled to be able to represent the UAE later this year at the F1 in Schools World Finals. “This is supposed to be our last year to participate as a student as we are going to grade 12, a very important educational year for us. We are so happy that we did it and we won! The feeling is great for all of us.”Malathy Mansingh, the F1 coordinator and supervisor of the technology department at the Indian High School in Dubai, said the school started participating in 2010 and have represented the UAE in the World Finals previously: “The kids, through this programme, learn a lot of life skills: team spirit, problem solving and learning how to take the loss and the win equally. I see the students that are involved in this program become so mature and I can argue that they can run their own business and more importantly they enjoy learning.”
Ruba Al Attas, the 16-year-old Finance Manager for Team Popcom confirmed the value of participating in F1 in Schools. “F1 in Schools is a great experience. It’s a learning experience,” she said.
Taking top spot in the F1 Junior Challenge 2013 Competition was Blazing Flames from Al Yasmina School, Abu Dhabi. The team was very excited about their win. “My heart was beating so fast during the competition,” said 10-year-old team member Hindh Imad. “It feels really good to win,” added team captain Riley Forbes.
Since 2010, more than 2,500 UAE students have participated in the F1 in Schools programme in the UAE. The programme aims to introduce engineering into the classroom through the excitement of F1 racing sees student teams develop and build all aspects of an F1 team. In addition to designing, building and racing small scale F1 cars, the teams are also tasked with designing a team identity, collateral and uniforms as well as securing sponsorships and marketing their teams.
Members of the Professional Category Champions 2013 team, Ardroit Infinitum, Indian High School Dubai.  Malvikha Manoj - Team Manager, Radhika Gupta - Marketing Manager, Mohamed Nassif - Manufacturing Engineer, Dhruv Kapoor - Design Engineer, Rahul Gupta - Graphic Designer and Jonathan Paulson, Resource Manager Supervising Teacher is Ms Malathy Mansingh.

A car that goes 1,000 km with just a litre of fuel

A team of engineering students in the UAE have designed a car that could potentially travel up to 1,000 km on just one litre of fuel.
The lightweight vehicle -- named Eco-Dubai 1 -- is in its final stage of construction and will begin testing in the next two weeks.
The product of almost two years of work by students at the Higher Colleges of Technology Dubai Men's College, the vehicle is half a metre wide, two metres long and half a metre high and weighs about 25 kg.
It will enter a race in July against similarly designed cars from around the world, including four other vehicles produced in the UAE.
Ahmad Khamis Al Suwaidi, one of the students behind the car, said: "Petrol is not going to last forever. One day we're going to run out. So in terms of developing a local eco-car industry, it starts with us. We're the future of the UAE in this."
The students will put their creation to the test at Shell's Eco-Marathon to be held July 4-7 in Kuala Lumpur.
The competition is based on designing a car that can travel the farthest on just one litre of fuel.
Students are allowed to use electricity, solar or hybrid technologies to reach their goal.
The record for the longest distance travelled is held by students from France's Polytech Nantes University, who designed a car that travelled almost 4,900 km.
--IANS/WAM

2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 4MATIC

With bold new styling, a fresh new cabin and refreshing efficiency, the 2013 GLK-Class delivers the spirited character of a Mercedes-Benz sport sedan in a capable, compact SUV.
The redesigned 2013 GLK-Class isn't just bold on the outside. Its muscular yet elegant body is merely the outward reflection of its innate Mercedes-Benz virtues. Rugged from its core and rewarding from behind the wheel, its standard 19-inch wheels, rear spoiler and dual exhaust reveal its race-bred soul.

Inner beauty for the upwardly mobile.

Dramatically redesigned and impeccably detailed, the GLK-Class cabin reaches new heights in style, while leaping to the forefront of technology. Vivid color displays, intuitive controls and advanced multimedia systems put a world of enjoyment at your fingertips, and put everyone aboard in the lap of luxury.

2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 4MATIC looks damn good. I absolutely love the strong lines, aggressive front grille with the massive chrome Mercedes logo and the mock push bar (part of the standard AMG Sport Package). Just the right amount of chrome accents are thrown on the exterior to bump up the class factor. The almost-too-small rear spoiler and 20" five twin-spoke wheels add a touch of "sporty" to the overall look, as well.

Step inside the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 4MATIC and that manly, assertive look continues. I immediately thought "military" the moment I sat in the 8-way power adjustable driver's seat. From the symmetrical, mounted buttons on the leather-wrapped steering wheel to the propeller-blade air vents to the button-loaded but oh-so-organized middle console, there's something extremely strict about the interior design - very German. Everything has its place, everything has its purpose and nothing is overdone. And I love it.

While I'm not a huge fan of the Mercedes-Benz COMAND entertainment and navigation system, it's not impossible to use and quite easy to get used to. I also found the placement of the control knob a bit uncomfortable. As I am on the shorter side of the spectrum, my seat has to be pushed farther forward than most, so in order to use the system control knob ahead the middle console arm rest I had to angle my elbow out as it would have met with the end of the seat and my hand would never reach the knob. And because of this, I was required to take my eyes off the road and look down each time I wished to use the knob while driving, just to make sure my arm was angled enough to reach it.

Other than that, the interior of the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 4MATIC is well-built and comfortable for long or short journeys. It also offers a fair amount of cargo space with 450 litres available in the trunk.

Suzuki’s New C-segment Crossover Concept

Suzuki’s unveiling of the S-Cross—a concept car which heralds the company’s next-generation C-segment crossover model. The new crossover will be the first in an ambitious programme of annual European model launches which Suzuki will be starting in 2013.

Suzuki’s future model strategy
Suzuki has established a reputation for producing cars which make everyday life more exciting. These cars reflect a brand strategy which is expressed through the company’s slogan “Way of Life!”. Suzuki has always been focusing on creating models—such as the Alto—which are characterised by small environmental footprints and low running costs thanks to exceptionally low fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Now the company plans to launch models which top their segments in terms of environmental performance even more. The production model of the S-Cross concept will be one of those with the lowest CO2 emissions in the C-segment crossover cars.

The crossover pioneer
Since launching the Jimny (originally the LJ series) in 1970, Suzuki has expanded its lineup of off-road vehicles to include models such as the Vitara and Grand Vitara; the company has earned a reputation as the pioneer of compact sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Meanwhile, Suzuki has gained incomparable know-how in the development of compact passenger cars. And since the latter half of the 1980s, the company has been refining its performance technologies in the field of motor sport. In 2006, Suzuki united its advanced technologies in the form of the SX4 sport crossover—a vehicle which offers relaxing city driving and great performance on snow and rough roads. With the SX4 Suzuki created the crossover category in Europe and has driven its growth. Suzuki is the crossover pioneer.

Smart Crossover for more freedom in daily life
The new model heralded by the S-Cross will mark Suzuki’s full-scale entry into the market for C-segment crossovers. The new vehicle’s features and functions will be designed primarily for comfort. It will also offer a high degree of practicalityby providing one of the largest luggage areasfor C-segment crossover cars.
Suzuki is also ensuring that the new crossover inherits the on-road handling and performance excellence of the Swift series, the SX4 and the Kizashi. And Suzuki is adopting systems which represent an evolution in the four-wheel-drive performance that is part and parcel of its heritage.

The new model will offer drivability which encompasses gentle, fuel-saving driving, more sporty driving, and even driving on snow. It will maximize the enjoyment of day-to-day tasks
such as commuting or carrying children as well as the pleasure of longer trips at weekends; in short, it will allow people to get the most out of urban lifestyles. It will perfectly embody
Suzuki’s vision of a smart crossover for more freedom in daily life.

The new crossover will join the Alto, Splash, Swift, SX4, Kizashi, Jimny and Grand Vitara in a lineup which already includes A-, B- and C-segment passenger cars and SUVs. Suzuki will
continue to expand its range to meet a wider range of user needs.

The S-Cross design

    Emotion is expressed by dynamic lines running from the front bumper to the rear of the body, by chrome-plated features which extend deep into the body from LED foglamps in
    the front bumper, and by LED headlamps and tail lamps with organic designs suggesting the muscles of an animal.
    Quality is expressed by a mesh front grille consisting of dark chrome and silky chrome and by innovatively designed roof rails which are flush with the roof line when not in use.
    Aerodynamics is expressed by a roofline which slopes downwards towards the rear and by smooth contours on the sides of the front bumper, at the bottom of the doors and on the sides of the rear bumper. The shape of the body helps the vehicle meet increasingly tough demands for fuel economy.
    Crossover toughness is expressed by a front skid plate, by boldly flared wing arches and under mouldings, and by 20-inch chrome wheels.

Body colour
A specially created Crystal Green Metallic body colour has intensity and radiance which create a dynamic impression in the minds of onlookers. The image it evokes is one of “nature in the city and the city in nature”.

Specifications (mm)
Overall length 4,310
Overall width 1,840
Overall height 1,600
Wheelbase 2,600
Tyres 235/55R20