Latest news with #PorscheBoxster
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Indian Express
This Indian singer got inspired by Madhuri Dixit's husband Dr Nene, bought cars worth more than Rs 7 cr including a Lamborghini, Porsche
Every kid has always drawn a racecar, and every other kid has always wanted a Toyota Supra while growing up because of the Fast And Furious franchise. Some realise their dreams of owning their favourite cars, and Bollywood singer Stebin Ben is one of the lucky ones. Known for songs like 'Baarish Ban Jaana', 'Sahiba', and 'Thodha Thodha Pyaar', Ben has amassed over 10 million monthly listeners on Spotify and 640k subscribers. The numbers have certainly brought in a comfortable amount of money, since the singer has a garage with cars worth more than Rs 7 crore. Stebin recently appeared on an episode of History on Wheels by Mashable India, where he talked about his love for cars and how he slowly built his way up to buying his most expensive car to date. He said, 'I think for me it started as a kid, playing with scale models of cars and video games and just dreaming of owning those machines in real life. At the start of it, I just wanted to buy a Jaguar or a BMW car, and I stayed true to the promise I had made to myself, and I bought a 5 Series and a Jaguar XF right after that.' ALSO READ: 'AR Rahman loves clothes in strange colours,' Sukhwinder Singh opens up on his 'godfriend', why the composer makes his best music at 3am Talking about his current cars, the singer said, 'Right now I have an S-Class Maybach, a Lamborghini Urus, and a Porsche Boxster. I got all of them very recently. The Urus is for when I travel with my 'boys' and we all go for a drive. For me, the Porsche is a date night car. Honestly, the first time I saw a Lamborghini was a Gallardo, and then slowly I developed my liking for the car. In Mumbai, it's very difficult to drive two-seaters, and with this car you get the 'sports car' feel and the height, and it's obviously very comfortable.' He shared details about his first car and revealed what all he plans to buy in the future for his already impressive car collection. 'My first car was a Honda City ZX, which looked like a dolphin. I built my garage from there; the BMW came, then the Jaguar, and so on and so forth. But the next car I want is either the long wheelbase Phantom or the Ghost; that is on my radar now. I also want to have a Ferrari, either the 296 or the F8. Currently I am in the phase of learning and looking for new cars, and I saw your episode with Dr Nene, and it's so great to see someone being so passionate about their cars.' While some of the models and years are not clearly mentioned, Stebin's total garage value is more than 7.25 crore. According to CarDekho, the S-Class' current on-road price is Rs 1.9 cr, the Porsche Boxster is worth Rs 1.57 crore, and the Lamborghini Urus costs Rs 3.01 crore, making it the most expensive car he has ever bought. The Rolls Royce models that Stebin wishes to buy, the extended wheelbase version of the Phantom and the Ghost, are worth Rs 10.48 crore and Rs 10.19 crore.
Scotsman
02-08-2025
- Automotive
- Scotsman
MG Cyberster review – electric roadster with style, speed and quirks
MG's new Cyberster is a lovely thing to behold | MG Motor This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. MG returns to its roadster roots with a striking electric convertible that's stylish, fast and surprisingly refined - Gareth Butterfield tests the new Cyberster Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... When the 80-year-old British car maker MG re-emerged from a chrysalis to become the Chinese-owned MG Motor UK, there wasn't a petrolhead on the planet that wasn't drooling over the prospect of a new range of lightweight sports cars. But instead the Birmingham brand's resurrection yielded little more than some mediocre hatchbacks, and then some reasonably forgettable SUVs. But MG has been quietly improving its cars with every launch, and some of them are extremely credible options, especially the MG4. And, at long last, MG is using this momentum to launch its first two-seater sports car since the TF. Unlike the TF, which was lightweight, mid-engined, and pretty inexpensive, this new "Cyberster" is heavy, complicated, fully electric and prices start at around £55,000. Yes, that's right, you can buy a Porsche Boxster for that. It's pretty from every angle, ad bigger than it looks in images | MG Motor But the Cyberster isn't like other two-seater sports cars. The first thing to get your head around is that it's fully electric. And it's basically the first fully electric roadster we've been able to buy since Tesla appeared on the scene with a madly expensive Lotus Elise clone. And because it's electric, it's quite heavy. So it isn't really all that sporty and it's more of a grand tourer, then. More in line with a Mercedes SL, in fact. And they cost twice the price. It's also utterly gorgeous, in case you hadn't noticed. The large front end, small cockpit set back towards the rear wheels, and the abruptly squared-off rear make it look really rather British, and it has scissor doors. I don't really know why; it doesn't need them, they don't perform any useful function, but my goodness they're awesome. You'll never tire of getting in and out of the Cyberster, and electrically raising them at the touch of a button. It's absolutely lovely inside, too. There are four displays draped around the cabin, a very comfortable pair of seats, and all the materials feel plush and expensive. It couldn't be a further cry from the MG 6 that first emerged from the MG ashes back in 2011. The scissor doors are quite the party piece | MG Motor It's also very fast. There are two versions; a rear-wheel-drive Trophy with 335bhp, or a GT with all-wheel-drive and almost 500bhp. This means the GT can accelerate to 60mph in just 3.2 seconds. They each use a 77kWh battery, which gives a claimed range of 316 miles in the Trophy and 276 miles in the GT, and it's brimming with modern tech and gadgets. On the face of it, then, the Cyberster is better than we could have hoped for, as we sat salivating over news of a new MG roadster. But there are issues. The biggest issue is in the four digital displays. It all looks seriously impressive when you sink into the cabin, but it only takes a few miles of driving to realise that they're just needlessly complicated and really quite annoying. The main driver's display is fine, that's centrally mounted and easy to understand. And there's also a screen on the centre console which does a fairly complicated job of bundling in the basics, including climate control. Irritating not to have buttons, but standard fayre at the moment. Then there are two other small displays, either side of the steering wheel. They're controlled with buttons and joysticks on the wheel itself, but the menu systems - especially on the right-hand screen - are complex and fiddly. And each screen works in a different way. And each screen is obscured by the steering wheel. The interior is lovely, but the four screens are a bit of a tech overload | MG Motor It's an exercise in digital overengineering. Navigating the options on this many displays while you're driving a car with 500bhp is downright dangerous and, even when you get used to where everything is and you've built up some muscle memory, you'll still have to take your eyes off the road for a bit too long to perform basic functions and, if you do, the car's driver alertness monitoring system will tell you off. The boot's a bit small, too. Not too bad in roadster terms at 249 litres, but the floor's quite shallow. And then there's the slightly awkward fact that the Cyberster weighs the best part of two tonnes. That's becoming forgivable in hatchbacks these days, but it does not make for a sporty drive. Happily, though, the rides is terrific, and the effortless power delivery coupled with a silent drivetrain makes for rather serene cruising, even if you're pushing on a bit. This isn't a car for B-road blasting, then. But for long journeys, even with a few tasty corners thrown into the mix, it's brilliant. Drive it more sensibly and you won't just be rewarded with a pleasant journey, you'll get fairly decent efficiency too. Topping 3 mi/kWh isn't difficult in the Cyberster and, while you'd struggle to get it too high, it does mean the range is well north of 200 miles, even if you're quite lead-footed. The roof lowers at speeds of up to 60mph, which is really handy | MG Motor The Cyberster also gets MG's impressive seven-year warranty and lease deals look pretty good, so it's going to be a viable option for anyone who wants to save some money and still have some open-top fun. When MG launched the MG4 it took us all by surprise. It's a remarkably good hatchback and its popularity is well deserved. Don't expect the Cyberster to be such a familiar sight on the roads, but anyone who does buy one will be enjoying a pretty unique offering in the automotive world - an electric roadster with a gorgeous design, show-stopping doors, and a genuinely luxurious interior. It might not be the sports car we've all been waiting for, but that doesn't mean it isn't really, really good.
The Irish Sun
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Irish Sun
Moment multiple cars & 30-tonne HGV collide in terrifying high-speed motorway pile-up… but is everything as it seems?
THIS is the moment a huge pile-up takes place on a motorway, involving multiple cars, a caravan and a huge 30-tonne heavy goods vehicle. But while the destruction and terror brought about by the incident are all very real, not all is as it seems. Advertisement 7 Channel 4 recreates motorway chaos for Pile Up - The World's Biggest Crash Test Credit: Peter Sandground 7 Heart-stopping moment cars and a 30-tonne lorry collide in a high-speed pile-up Credit: Peter Sandground 7 Eight vehicles, including a caravan and lorry, crash in a controlled experiment Credit: Peter Sandground 7 Remote-controlled cars simulate real-life motorway pile-up in groundbreaking study Credit: Peter Sandground 7 Four unaware drivers face a simulated crash to test reactions and safety systems Credit: Peter Sandground 7 Over 90 cameras capture every detail of the staged high-speed motorway collision Credit: Peter Sandground 7 Experiment highlights crash dynamics, vehicle safety flaws and driver behaviour Credit: Peter Sandground Indeed, the high-speed crash was all part of a carefully planned experiment conducted as part of a documentary titled Pile Up - The World's Biggest Crash Test. Carried out at a former RAF base in Scotland, the experiment involved recreating a high-speed motorway pile-up with eight vehicles and a 30-tonne lorry. The cars involved were a Toyota Prius, Porsche Boxster, Volkswagen Golf GTI, Ford F-150, Audi A8, Dodge Grand Caravan, Mercedes ML and a Vauxhall Vivaro van. The team used an almost 2-mile-long stretch of road, which was presumably an aircraft runway, and included white lines, a hard shoulder and motorway-grade varioguard barriers to make everything as realistic as possible. Advertisement Read more Motors News Professor James Brighton and his team from Cranfield University's Advanced Vehicle Engineering Centre led the study, which thankfully utilised cars that were remote-controlled from 'pods' but driven at motorway speeds. Four members of the public took part, each selected to represent a cross-section of road users. To make the pile-up as realistic as possible and to capture genuine reactions, the four selected drivers had no knowledge of the true nature of the experiment. They were revealed as 19-year-old Caitlyn, who represents inexperienced drivers aged 17 to 24; Luke, 26, a 'boy racer,' reflecting young male drivers who account for 65% of serious injuries or deaths; 66-year-old Lynn, representing older drivers aged 60+; and Tito, 57, a surfer and international driver familiar with UK and US road differences. Advertisement Most read in Motors Exclusive Latest All four believed they were taking part in an experiment to improve motorway safety and advance their driving skills and were unaware they would be involved in a high-speed multi-car pile-up. As they drove along at speed, a lorry swerved into their lanes to simulate a pile-up. Heart-stopping moment out-of-control driver speeds at woman on pavement missing her by inches before ploughing into shop Over 90 cameras, drones and black boxes were used to capture the moment of impact, recording crash dynamics, vehicle data and driver reactions. The experiment provides valuable insights into crash dynamics, safety systems and human behaviour during multi-vehicle accidents, while also highlighting areas for improvement in vehicle design and accident analysis. Advertisement The aftermath of the crash replicated several intricate details, such as a car sliding under the lorry and also demonstrated crumple zones, which are effective at absorbing impacts and saving lives. Statistics on road safety Multi-vehicle crashes: Account for nearly 20% of all fatal road accidents in the UK (2020 data) Frequency of accidents: Someone is killed or injured on British roads every 16 minutes Injury and death rates: In 2022, almost 75,000 car occupants were injured, and nearly 800 died Speeding: 45% of UK drivers exceed motorway speed limits; speeding is a factor in 24% of fatal crashes Seatbelt use: 24% of drivers killed weren't wearing seatbelts For example, despite a massive rear shunt from a van, the Prius' electric battery remained intact. Afterwards, Marcus Rowe, a crash investigator, was sent to the scene of the accident - having not witnessed the crash - to figure out what happened using crash forensics. One concerning finding was that airbags might not always deploy and largely depend on where the vehicle is hit, showing that safety systems can struggle with multiple impacts. Advertisement One thing that can't be determined is a driver's reaction in the heat of the moment, as one panicked motorist accelerated into the lorry, despite having come to a stop safely. Lastly, it found that the hard shoulder is a dangerous place to be, as any drivers or passengers in the cars on the mock-up hard shoulder would most likely have lost their lives. Speaking on the experiment, David Twohig, an Automotive Engineering Consultant, said: 'The beauty of a lab-based crash test is everything is controlled. "Everything is repeatable, but unfortunately, the real world is not a laboratory, and there are many, many variables. Advertisement 'It might be the weather conditions, it might be the friction of the road surface, it might be temperature, humidity, the state of the driver, the mood of the driver - so I think that's the limitation of the lab, it's almost too good.' Pile Up – World's Biggest Crash Test airs Sunday 15 June at 9pm on Channel 4.
Scottish Sun
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- Scottish Sun
Moment multiple cars & 30-tonne HGV collide in terrifying high-speed motorway pile-up… but is everything as it seems?
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THIS is the moment a huge pile-up takes place on a motorway, involving multiple cars, a caravan and a huge 30-tonne heavy goods vehicle. But while the destruction and terror brought about by the incident are all very real, not all is as it seems. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 Channel 4 recreates motorway chaos for Pile Up - The World's Biggest Crash Test Credit: Peter Sandground 7 Heart-stopping moment cars and a 30-tonne lorry collide in a high-speed pile-up Credit: Peter Sandground 7 Eight vehicles, including a caravan and lorry, crash in a controlled experiment Credit: Peter Sandground 7 Remote-controlled cars simulate real-life motorway pile-up in groundbreaking study Credit: Peter Sandground 7 Four unaware drivers face a simulated crash to test reactions and safety systems Credit: Peter Sandground 7 Over 90 cameras capture every detail of the staged high-speed motorway collision Credit: Peter Sandground 7 Experiment highlights crash dynamics, vehicle safety flaws and driver behaviour Credit: Peter Sandground Indeed, the high-speed crash was all part of a carefully planned experiment conducted as part of a Channel 4 documentary titled Pile Up - The World's Biggest Crash Test. Carried out at a former RAF base in Scotland, the experiment involved recreating a high-speed motorway pile-up with eight vehicles and a 30-tonne lorry. The cars involved were a Toyota Prius, Porsche Boxster, Volkswagen Golf GTI, Ford F-150, Audi A8, Dodge Grand Caravan, Mercedes ML and a Vauxhall Vivaro van. The team used an almost 2-mile-long stretch of road, which was presumably an aircraft runway, and included white lines, a hard shoulder and motorway-grade varioguard barriers to make everything as realistic as possible. Professor James Brighton and his team from Cranfield University's Advanced Vehicle Engineering Centre led the study, which thankfully utilised cars that were remote-controlled from 'pods' but driven at motorway speeds. Four members of the public took part, each selected to represent a cross-section of road users. To make the pile-up as realistic as possible and to capture genuine reactions, the four selected drivers had no knowledge of the true nature of the experiment. They were revealed as 19-year-old Caitlyn, who represents inexperienced drivers aged 17 to 24; Luke, 26, a 'boy racer,' reflecting young male drivers who account for 65% of serious injuries or deaths; 66-year-old Lynn, representing older drivers aged 60+; and Tito, 57, a surfer and international driver familiar with UK and US road differences. All four believed they were taking part in an experiment to improve motorway safety and advance their driving skills and were unaware they would be involved in a high-speed multi-car pile-up. As they drove along at speed, a lorry swerved into their lanes to simulate a pile-up. Heart-stopping moment out-of-control driver speeds at woman on pavement missing her by inches before ploughing into shop Over 90 cameras, drones and black boxes were used to capture the moment of impact, recording crash dynamics, vehicle data and driver reactions. The experiment provides valuable insights into crash dynamics, safety systems and human behaviour during multi-vehicle accidents, while also highlighting areas for improvement in vehicle design and accident analysis. The aftermath of the crash replicated several intricate details, such as a car sliding under the lorry and also demonstrated crumple zones, which are effective at absorbing impacts and saving lives. Statistics on road safety Multi-vehicle crashes: Account for nearly 20% of all fatal road accidents in the UK (2020 data) Account for nearly 20% of all fatal road accidents in the UK (2020 data) Frequency of accidents: Someone is killed or injured on British roads every 16 minutes Someone is killed or injured on British roads every 16 minutes Injury and death rates: In 2022, almost 75,000 car occupants were injured, and nearly 800 died In 2022, almost 75,000 car occupants were injured, and nearly 800 died Speeding: 45% of UK drivers exceed motorway speed limits; speeding is a factor in 24% of fatal crashes 45% of UK drivers exceed motorway speed limits; speeding is a factor in 24% of fatal crashes Seatbelt use: 24% of drivers killed weren't wearing seatbelts For example, despite a massive rear shunt from a van, the Prius' electric battery remained intact. Afterwards, Marcus Rowe, a crash investigator, was sent to the scene of the accident - having not witnessed the crash - to figure out what happened using crash forensics. One concerning finding was that airbags might not always deploy and largely depend on where the vehicle is hit, showing that safety systems can struggle with multiple impacts. One thing that can't be determined is a driver's reaction in the heat of the moment, as one panicked motorist accelerated into the lorry, despite having come to a stop safely. Lastly, it found that the hard shoulder is a dangerous place to be, as any drivers or passengers in the cars on the mock-up hard shoulder would most likely have lost their lives. Speaking on the experiment, David Twohig, an Automotive Engineering Consultant, said: 'The beauty of a lab-based crash test is everything is controlled. "Everything is repeatable, but unfortunately, the real world is not a laboratory, and there are many, many variables. 'It might be the weather conditions, it might be the friction of the road surface, it might be temperature, humidity, the state of the driver, the mood of the driver - so I think that's the limitation of the lab, it's almost too good.' Pile Up – World's Biggest Crash Test airs Sunday 15 June at 9pm on Channel 4.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Watch The First Ever Multi-Car Pileup Crash Test
If, like me, you're morbidly curious and you like to watch crash test videos in your free time then buckle up because last week PBS published a comprehensive documentary that recreates and investigates a multi-car pileup. Don't worry if you're on the squeamish side, the test is conducted without putting any living beings in danger. Instead of having humans behind the wheel, test engineers rigged up each test vehicle with remote controls that a group of test subjects operated safely from remote simulators. This crash test was meant to simulate a multi-car pileup on a freeway, which in the real world poses a significant challenge for accident investigators to recreate without firsthand knowledge of how the accident actually took place. This experiment offers unique insight into what actually happens in the event of a devastating crash scenario, how real drivers react to a sudden road hazard, and how vehicle safety systems perform in such a complex crash. PBS filmed the test which was staged on a two-mile long stretch of road on a decommissioned Royal Air Force base in Campbeltown, Scotland that was modified to mimic a freeway with a slow lane, middle lane, fast lane, and a shoulder. The film is 1 hour and 40 minutes long and provides a thorough deep dive into the methodology of the test as well as the investigation that follows, so it's perfect for diehard crash test aficionados and normies alike. Read more: These Movies And TV Shows Have The Best Car Casting As the first crash test of its kind, this high-speed pileup scenario required countless hours of preparation to ensure that no lives were harmed, no secrets were revealed, and that the accident occurred as it needed to. All eight passenger vehicles and one semi-truck used in the experiment had to be rigged up to operate as full-scale remote-controlled cars so test participants could best simulate a real-world crash, but only some of the vehicles were driven by unknowing volunteers. Half of the vehicles were piloted by test engineers who knew what to expect from the experiment, but the other half were unaware of the plan to simulate a multi-car pileup. The four unsuspecting drivers were representative of different demographics: one very new female driver who remotely drove a 2002 Porsche Boxster, one mid-twenties male driver who describes himself as a "boy racer" who operated a 2009 Volkswagen GTI, one older woman who operated a 2012 Toyota Prius, and an older man who operated a 2012 Ford F-150. The other vehicles operated by engineers were a 2005 Audi A8, a 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan, a 2005 Mercedes-Benz ML, and a 2012 Vauxhall Vivaro cargo van. Each vehicle was selected to represent different vehicle classes, sizes, and engine layouts to provide a real-world representation of a diverse group of random cars. Several Smart ForTwos were converted into simulators for the participants to operate their respective remote-controlled cars from, and a psychologist observed the volunteers as they practiced driving the remote-controlled cars and observed that their bodies were reacting to the situation as though they were actually behind the wheel of the moving vehicle. Dummies were placed into the remote-controlled cars, some wearing their seatbelts and others intentionally left unbuckled, and the stage was set for the test. The accident staged in this test is meant to recreate an icy British motorway with a patch of black ice, as is sometimes the case in real-world high-speed pileups. To simulate a low-traction, icy surface on the airport runway, engineers found that gravel provided a loss of friction that was most similar to an icy roadway, and the test commenced. The team initiated the pileup by driving a remote-controlled semi-truck across the simulated lanes of oncoming traffic, directly in the path of the remote-controlled passenger cars right as the roadway suddenly became slippery. The unsuspecting drivers did their best to avoid the crash but could only do so much given the challenging road conditions. The results are both alarming and fascinating, but I don't mean to spoil the ending, so give it a watch for yourself. On a totally related note, always wear your seatbelt and remain vigilant when you're behind the wheel of a car, as those are your best defenses against a potentially deadly accident like this one. H/T to reader Steven Lance for sending this our way! Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
