Porsche locality

PITSTOP

All you Porsche fanatics, rejoice! The manufacturer is officially here in India. Porsche Middle East and Africa, has decided to sell their magnificent machines here in the country through dedicated Porsche Centres.

Two distributors have already been appointed "� Shreyans Motors in Mumbai and Exclusive Motors in Delhi "� and more are expected to be set up over the next year and a half.

The first shipment will arrive from Germany next month and the centres will be up by the end of this year. The centres will also handle service and spares for Porsches.

The first car to be sold will be the Cayenne SUV. In fact, Porsche has been eyeing the Indian market for some time, say officials, and it was the Cayenne that was the catalyst for entering the country, as the market for luxury SUVs is perceived to be sizeable here.

Porsche expects to sell about 35 units of the SUV in the country within this financial year, and its price ranges from Rs 56 lakh to 1 crore, depending on the option chosen.

The Cayenne comes with three options: a 250 bhp 3200cc V6, the normally aspirated 340 bhp 4500cc V8 in the Cayenne S, while the top end has the same powerplant but with a bi-turbo, taking the power up to an awesome 450 bhp. And this is just the beginning. The Boxster roadster and the fabled 911 are just a few months away. We can't wait.

Flying trick

BMW have released information about their new high performance motorcycle, set to debut later this year. This image, from www.motorcycledaily.com, appears to be the final look for the K 1200 S. While the new K will be added to the flying brick family, it will share practically nothing with its relatives.

The 1157cc four-cylinder engine is transversely mounted, with an integrated gearbox and a rumoured power output well past 160 bhp.

To put that in perspective, BMW says that the S will have a power-to-weight ratio almost 50 per cent better than the K 1200 RS. The cylinders will be canted forward by 55°.

The narrow machine will also get a completely new kind of front suspension instead of the usual Telelever system and a light shaft drive will put the rubber down.

The bike is expected to debut at the Intermot show in Munich in September. Oh, and did we mention that there could be a V4 Ducati, based on the Desmosedici, in the near future as well?