Remember the Ferdinand GT3RS pedal car that Richard Hammond drove around the Top Gear track? Well, its makers have done it again, taking on the Ferrari FXX as a parody to the Mercedes’ SLS tunnel commercial.

Called the Fahrradi Farfalla FFX, the name is derived from a blend of the German word for bicycle, which is “Fahrrad”, with the brand name Ferrari. The vehicle body is made of light tubes and adhesive connections while a specially constructed aluminum frame sits within.

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How do tuning boxes work? 

Almost every diesel engine sold in India is detuned. Manufacturers do this in the interest of fuel economy and also to suit the quality of fuels, the variety of climate conditions and also to take care of the emissions. Tuning boxes inject more fuel and produce more power.

Tuning boxes come with OEM connectors that let them tap into the ECU feedback from the rail pressure sensor. It modifies the reading from the rail pressure sensor and when the rail pressure is at, say 1600bar, the tuning box tells the ECU it is only 1400bar and that makes the ECU increase the rail pressure to say 1700bar. With this higher rail pressure, when the injector nozzles open, more fuel gets sprayed into the cylinders and consequently you get more power.

Now the manufacturers of these tuning boxes say, the operational range of these boxes is still within the tolerance limits and most engines can easily handle the extra load.

The test process

To test and compare the tuning boxes, we had to have a base. We chose the Swift the most common car diesel car we could find and one with the most popular diesel engine of them all- the 1.3Multijet. As standard, the Swift comes with 75bhp of power and 190N-m torque. Now, we could compare the performance of different cars fitted with each of these boxes, but then, not all cars are mechanically the same and that could affect the results. So instead, we went box-swapping on our Swift until we arrived at our performance data.

Here is how our stock Swift performed as recorded by our vbox. At the time of testing, the car had grippier 205 section tyres and very stiff suspension.

0-60kmph: 5.37sec

0-100kmph: 13.58sec

20-80kmph in 3^rd gear: 12.71sec

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Unichip

This one offers great throttle responses with minimal turbo lag. It offers great performance in the midrange and the turbo gets a bump in boost. This one doesn’t offer the performance advantages of some others, but it offers great refinement and a very smooth power delivery making it very good for everyday driving. It is quite expensive and doesn’t feel like you did much to the factory tune.

0-60kmph: 5.40sec

0-100kmph: 13.17sec

20-80kmph in 3^rd gear: 12.63sec

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Tunit

This box is clearly focused towards performance. There is a lot of turbo lag and once you get it spooling, the rush is addictive. It feels the quickest of the lot, thanks to the sudden rush of torque and power stays on for longer too. But the initial lag means it didn’t do very well in out performance timings.

0-60kmph: 5.31sec

0-100kmph: 12.83sec

20-80kmph in 3^rd gear: 12.94sec

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Pete’s

Made by PSI of Belgium, the blue box comes with quality packaging but no mounting options. Performance gains are impressive, with the car shaving nearly a second and half from the stock car’s 0-100kmph timing. Even more impressive is the drivability and despite the turbo taking longer to spool up, there is sufficient torque low down to drive at slow speeds. On the flip side, the engine isn’t very refined when revved and sometimes there is a whiff of smoke, indicating very rich fuelling.

0-60kmph: 4.90sec

0-100kmph: 11.98sec

20-80kmph in 3^rd gear: 11.43sec

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Race Dynamics

This one, the dieselTRONIC, comes with a remote control and has four remotely switchable settings on it. ‘P2’ is the setting with most amount of power and there is the next one ‘P1’ offering a good balance. The difference between the two is perceptible and in P2, it offers the best performance of all boxes. There is a hint of lag, but when the turbo comes on a song, it is quite rewarding. It also comes with an Economy mode ‘E’ which cuts off the turbo boost to an extent and this should result in improved fuel efficiency. The fourth setting ‘S’ turns off the box and provides the stock performance.

0-60kmph: 5.02sec

0-100kmph: 11.88sec

20-80kmph in 3^rd gear: 12.64sec

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Spider Tuning Box

This claims to be the most advanced box of the lot, with carbon fibre looks and an adaptive scan that changes the fuel mapping to suit each load application. The universal nature of the box means, it is also transferable by swapping the microprocessor with one that is designed for your next car. When connected, it takes a while to make its presence felt, but once in, if offers an adequate improvement in low end performance and a decent spike in the turbo’s punch. Performance improvements are not as some of the best boxes here, but it scores well on refinement.

0-60kmph: 5.40sec

0-100kmph: 13.03sec

20-80kmph in 3^rd gear: 12.82sec

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Verdict

All these tuning boxes set out to do the same thing, but there are some differences in the way they perform.  Tunit is strictly inclined towards power and lacks finesse in every other area. It suffers from weak throttle responses and too much turbo-lag and is best left for highways. The Unichip which was the most responsive of the lot, turns out to be very linear in its nature. While that is very good in theory, for a performance mod, it doesn’t feel like a very big difference.

If you want maximum performance, the Race Dynamics DieselTRONIC is the one to go for. The remotely switchable settings make it more fun, but it leaves you with a tough choice as to what mode you should select. We had a lot of expectations with the Spider tuning box but it turned out to be quite average in our test. It is not the fastest, nor is it verygood in terms of refinement or drivability.

We quite loved the Race Dynamics box for its performance, but for all-round goodness, it is hard to beat the Pete’s box. It is the very genesis of diesel tuning boxes in the country and is still your best bet, if you’re looking for the best balance between performance and drivability.  It is on the expensive side, but strong sales network and reliable service support make it worth it.

The rear gets a new tailgate with integrated number plate recess, chrome garnish along the length of the bumper and a rear diffuser.  Strangely for a facelift, the headlamps and tail lamps seems to be carried over. Inside, the new Linea gets Punto Evo’s dashboard with better design and improved quality.

India will continue to get the Linea with 1.4 petrol engines in naturally aspirated and turbo formats along with the 1.3 multijet version. With Fiat bidding goodbye to Tata Motors and setting new dealerships on its own, things are likely to get into a faster pace and we might see the Punto Evo and Linea facelift faster than we might expect.

Ford has unveiled the production version of the EcoSport mini SUV. Sharing bits from the new Fiesta, the EcoSport is built on the B2E platform  and is very much like the concept shown inIndiaearlier. The headlamps and tail lamps have been toned slightly, but the tall chunky styling remains. There are pseudo skid plates built into the bumper, a conventional boot mounted spare wheel and side claddings, to emphasize the SUV-ish character.

The EcoSport petrol will have a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder, direct-injection turbo-petrol motor which Ford says will provide near 1.6 litre performance along with class-leading fuel economy. The other engine the EcoSport will come with, is the 1.5litre TDCi in the new Fiesta.

The EcoSport will be priced in the Rs.7-9 lakhs segment, where it will compete with the upcoming Premier Rio Multijet, the Renault Duster and the highly speculated mini SUVs from Maruti, Hyundai and VAG.

Engine specs remain scarce, but rumours are that the Urus will be powered by a 5.2-litre V10 with 584 hp and with an off road adapted version of the Gallardo’s all wheel drive system.

Watch this space for more updates.

SriRam’s car is in stark contrast to most of those modified cars running Evo body kits and aluminium GT wings. But while most of them stop on that side of the fuel station where they sell the oily stuff, SriRam wants his to be fuelled by the higest octane petrol he can manage to find. Strange, for a car whose only tell tale signs of performance are an SFX skirting and fifteen inch Lenso alloys.  It does have a few details like the extra grille on the front bumper and the aero scoop on the bonnet but those don’t even hint at the performance on offer.

The interiors at this point are a total mess and we’re partly to blame for that. Post the paint job, SriRam wanted to do up the seats and install all his audio components back, but before he could do that, we dragged him into a quick photoshoot. To give us some credits, we waited more than six months for this moment but one thing or other kept it away from us. SriRam, a good friend of ours and there is only one thing wrong with him; he’s a perfectionist. The paint job took him seven months to decide on the colour and three more to strip it down and paint it to his satisfaction. Meanwhile there was the engine rebuild going on, and that took around two months. Knowing his no-compromise attitude and doing his best to satisfy him was Mr. Kumar, who painstakingly put back every bit of the car and its engine. Without Kumar, this car wouldn’t be anywhere as good as it now, remarks a very chuffed SriRam.

Do we believe in him? After a day with the car, we’re pleased to report it was more fun than we expected. Comparisons with the Evo are inevitable. That MIVEC V6 under its hood doesn’t have the explosive performance of some of the EVO 4G63 transplants we have driven earlier, but it rides a suitably big tidal wave of torque. We couldn’t time it properly but from behind the wheel, it felt surely felt fast ; picking up pace, nearly twice as fast as you’d expect. Unlike the turbo Evo which delivers its power in big bursts, the MIVEC’s naturally aspirated nature makes it so much more manageable to put down the power in corners. Also improving cornering prowess is the combination of Pedders springs and Koni Sports adjustable dampers. To rein all that power, the front brakes have been upgraded to DBA slotted rotors with Hawk ceramic brake pads.

The 6A12 MIVEC engine and gearbox comes from an FTO. Stock, it’s putting out 200bhp, but with the rebuild, things are now even better. It breathes in through a K&N Apollo filter and to ensure it flows better, there is a custom stainless free flow exhaust. Fueling is taken care of by a Mine’s VX-ROM ECU with a piggyback Unichip tuning chip with options to load up to five different maps, helped of course by a Walbro uprated fuel pump and a Camskills Fuel pressure regulator. The ignition Magnecor ignition leads and Denso spark plugs; normal ones for the front and long life ones for rear banks of the V6. The engine benefits from a high flow Camskills high flow waterpump and an upgraded alternator to support the heavy duty ICE,that was once fitted to the car. The Exedy stage-I clutch was sourced fromAustralia.

A funny incident, SriRam remembers, was when he found an original FTO ECU to replace the aftermarket one that came with the engine. Just as he was about to throw the old one away, he noticed a plaque undersigned by the Representative Director stating this Mine’s ECU is guaranteed for a life time. A quick search revealed that Mine’s Motorsports of Japan, though not re-known as Ralliart or Mugen, is a pretty respectable name in the domestic market. “What a loss, it would have been had I decided to bin it”, says Sriram.

SriRam is thinking of a installing a supercharger or a remote turbo setup in his car, the latter because there is very little room in the engine bay for all the plumbing. “But before that, I need to complete the car”, he says.  Complete, is the wrong word, because knowing him, doing up the seats and fitting his audio  back are just the beginning.

The Ertiga is Maruti’s answer to everyone who desperately wanted a car that is smaller than an Innova, yet could take a family of seven in reasonable comfort. Built on the new Swift platform, the Ertiga looks like a derivative of the Ritz. The front end looks upright with the tall air dam and fog lamp inserts, but the shapely bonnet and sloping windscreen give it a very aerodynamic and purposeful appearance. The rear has been styled rather well, with well defined creases under the tail lamps and a prominent ‘U’ outlining the license plate region. The elongated head lamps and tail lamps complement the long body and visual bulk is further reduced by the shapely glass house and an upward sweeping D pillar. The short overhangs and long wheelbase give the Ertiga good presence, but the generous proportions, coupled with the strong flares make the 15inch wheels look small at times.

The Ertiga has the longest rear doors Maruti has ever put on a vehicle, and it helps with the passenger entry to the rear most row. The Ertiga offers a flexible seating with 60:40 split middle row and a fully foldable rear row. The middle row of seats can be reclined and slided back and forth, so it is easy to find a position with an acceptable amount of room for both rows. With the all the seats in place, there is a 135litre boot for small bags and you can increase it ten times by folding down the seats.

The dashboard, the centre console and front seats are similar to the Swift/Dezire, but the door pads, the beige upper tone and fabric are all exclusive to the Ertiga. It also gets a roof mounted second AC (not just ducts or a blower) for the middle row passengers.

The car measures 4265mm in length, 1695mm in width, 1685mm in height and has a 2740mm wheelbase. That is a whole lot smaller than the Innova, which measures 4580mm in length, 1770mm in width and is 1755mm high. At 1180-1255kgs, the monocoque MPV is also significantly lighter than the Innova (1520-1590kg) which has a full ladder frame chassis and rear wheel drive layout.

The Ertiga is the first car to benefit from the new K14, a larger version of the very popular K12B used in the Ritz and Swift. Maruti could have saved the effort and launched the Ertiga with the 1.6 litre M16A from the SX4, but that engine already has a reputation for being on the thirsty side and would dissuade buyers of this segment. The 1373cc, 16valver with variable valve timing puts out a healthy 93bhp and 130N-m. It is an eager motor with adequate low end grunt, but with full complement of passengers, you will need to give it a little more revs. The gear ratios are carefully spaced to give the engine good flexibility and it is particularly good pottering around town in third.  Cross 3500-4000rpm and like all new Suzuki petrol units, it begins to impress even more. Power delivery becomes even more punchier and it keeps on building till 6000rpm where the engine has a lovely snarl.

The 1.3Multijet diesel on the other hand doesn’t rev as well and feels lazier, but it is better suited to the application. There is a good amount of torque to ample along, and doesn’t feel strained when cruising close to a hundred kilometers an hour and climbing gradients when the all the seven seats are full. It is the 90bhp variable geometry version of the engine as in the SX4, and would be the pick of the range for its superior efficiency and effortless cruisability.

With conventional McPherson struts and torsion beam rear axles, the Ertiga is designed to ride and handle like a car. This is important because most family buyers would want their people carrier to drive like a conventional car than an MUV.  And ride quality, is even more crucial. The soft suspension with the reasonably high profile tyres gives the Ertiga exemplary ride quality on our roads, soaking up bumps and filtering out any noises in the process. In fact, the Ertiga’s suspension feels so soft and floaty over road undulations, that it made us doubt its handling. But, (and this is where Maruti Engineers need all the praise) they have done it without ruining the handling. The precise steering and strong front end grip were evident in the twisty bits of the NH17 in Goa where we had this first drive. The Ertiga felt planted and despite copious amounts of body roll, was clinging on to corners like a big hatch. Sure, with the extra weight, long wheelbase and softer suspension it isn’t going to be as fun as the Swift is, but on an MPV, you can’t ask for more. Eventually it settles into a slide when the tyres lose grip but the dynamics of the car were so good that we began to wonder how good the Ertiga would be with SX4-like 205 section R16 tyres in place of the current 185/65 R15s.

With the Ertiga, getting launched in April, Maruti wants to plug the gap between a regular five seater car and a full-on MUV like the Innova. Like the Innova, it is perfect in every way, only smaller and much more affordable. With Maruti’s killer pricing for the Ertiga announced now, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it pull some sales away from the segment above.

Pricing update for the Ertiga (12-04-2012)

LXi- Rs. 5.89 lakhs

VXi-Rs. 6.60 lakhs

ZXi-Rs. 7.30 lakhs

LDi- Rs. 7.30 lakhs

VDi- Rs. 7.90 lakhs

ZDi- Rs. 8.45 lakhs

Prices are Ex.showroom Delhi

NOTE: All diesel variants come with ABS and 185 section tyres as standard. VXi has optional ABS and only the Z variants come with airbags

The EXP 9 F references design characteristics from the famous Blower Bentleys from the late 1920s. For example, the day-time running lamp apertures act as the charge cooler air intakes for the twin-turbo 6.0litre W12 engine, each with a dramatic, mesh-covered turbine fan design and ‘rifled’ inner surface finish. Other key Bentley cues include the matrix grille, round lamps and the strong character-line along each flank. The trasmission is an 8-speed automatic and its mated to an all wheel drive system derived from the one in the Continental GT.

The interiors are fitting for a Bentley and features the best in quality wood, leather and aluminium. The upper part of the dashboard is covered entirely in wood and has a minimalistic design, with only the clock and AC vents.  The high set centre console has the rest of the controls including a floating panel display for the infotainment system.

Inside, the cabin has high quality materials and an advanced design. Notable highlights include circular air vents like sporty Mercs, body hugging front buckets and a clean dashboard layout.

There are a number of engine options starting with the 1.6 and 2.0-litre petrol units with outputs ranging from 113 hp in the A 180, 154 hp in the A 200 and 208 hp in the A 250. Interestingly, the 1.6-liter engine features a new CAMTRONIC system which adjusts the “valve lift on the intake side which restricts the amount of fresh mixture used in the partial load range” for reduced fuel consumption. The A 180 CDI produces 108 hp and 250 Nm while the A 200 CDI boasts  134 hp and 300 Nm of torque. Lastly, the A 220 CDI has a 2.2-litre engine which develops 168 hp and 350 Nm of torque. Regardless of which engine is selected, it is equipped with an ECO start/stop system and can be paired to a six-speed manual or a 7G-DCT dual-clutch automatic.

On the safety front, there’s a standard collision warning system with adaptive Brake Assist. It can be combined with an optional PRE-SAFE system which automatically tensions the seat belts and closes the windows if an accident is imminent.

The 2013 Mercedes A-Class will go on sale in September.

Expect minor improvements with the interiors and slight chnages to the engine management system, when the facelifted Hyundai i20 comes to India.