CHEVROLET / CAMARO
Design and packaging : These first official pictures of the Chevrolet Camaro reveal that its styling has remained faithful with the concept version first shown in 2006. The last Camaro to be made was in 2002.
LOTUS
Known as project Eagle, the Evora is the first all-new car after the iconic Elise introduced in 1995 and is based on a unique 2+2 mid-engine package. The last notable car to ever use such a configuration was the Ferrari Mondial of the 1980s.
TATA / XENON
Any newcomer venturing into the Thai pick-up market needs guts to face up to the formidable presence of Japanese brands and back it up with adequate muscle in terms of marketing and financial support.
SHORT DRIVE / BMW X3 2.0D
What is it? : This X3 has a second version assembled in Thailand after the petrol-powered 2.5i - and it's an ever-sensible diesel.
BMW / 3-SERIES
The BMW 3-series has received its mandatory facelift which includes new bumpers, 24mm wider tracks, side-view mirrors and lights. The most notable change is the shapely front bumper under the kidney-grille cluster. BMW has also made the rear lights, that were widely criticised for looking too much like Mitsubishi's defunct Europe-only Charisma, more distinctive than before.
MITSUBISHI / PAJERO SPORT
Design and packaging : In an effort to give the new G-Wagon a fresh presence in showrooms, Mitsubishi Motors Thailand is renaming it Pajero Sport. It will be rebadged in some other markets as well.
NEW COMERS
The specs: The LP560-4 is now in Thailand priced from B26.5m from official distributor Niche Cars Thailand. The 560hp 5.2-litre V8 and robotised six-speed manual helps it to see 100kph in 3.7secs before topping out at 325kph.
INTERVIEW / SAEN 'PASCAL' SRESHTHAPUTRA
For a while there it seemed as if you couldn't go to the launch of a new automobile in Bangkok without bumping into Saen Sreshthaputra. He'd become something of a fixture; there he'd be studying the vehicle intently; measuring it, stroking it, recording its specifications.
MOTOR SPORT
SEAT...................172pts
BENTLEY Continental Flying Spur Speed
HONDA OSM : What is it? Open Study Model roadster designed in Germany with a greenish hybrid engine up front. It's the fourth of a series of concepts after the Remix, CR-Z and SHSC (Small Hybrid Sports Concept).
