MotorBeam Daily News Roundup – 5th October

Audi – The German luxury carmaker has commenced bookings of their entry-level SUV in India, Audi Q2. The compact SUV will be offered in its pre-facelift avatar in our country. It will be positioned below the Q3 in their lineup. Powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine producing 190 HP and 320 Nm of torque, mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. It is expected to be priced around Rs. 30 lakhs (ex-showroom).

Maruti – The Maruti S-Presso is celebrating its first anniversary. It has crossed a milestone of 75,000 units already within a year of its launch. It directly competes against the Renault Kwid. While other rivals include Hyundai Santro and Datsun redi-GO.

CNG – The CNG price has been reduced by Rs. 1.53 per kg in Delhi and Rs. 1.70 per kg in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad. The new price is Rs. 42.70 per kg in Delhi and Rs. 48.38 per kg in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad. We believe this revision will result in better Maruti sales since the carmaker is pushing their S-CNG range across their lineup.

Atal Tunnel – A new 9.02 km Atal tunnel has been inaugurated in Himachal Pradesh. It provides all-weather access to the Lahaul-Spiti valley from Manali with reduced distance and travel time. This is the longest tunnel above 10,000 feet in the world. It reduces 5 hours and 46 km from the journey. The construction started in 2002.

Motor Trivia – Did you know, the Pagani Huayra BC gets quad titanium exhaust that weighs just 2.9 kgs.

Comment of the day – Anirudh Kalyan – “It actually looks like a classic electric car paint scheme. Just like how red paint adds minimum 50hp, I guess this paint job automatically saves CO2 emissions.”