160 ISSUE NO DEC 2014 ESOURCE R NOW, the region’s Best Automotive NOW, OMR 0.500 AED 10 QR 10 www.automan.me | Facebook: AutomanMag | Twitter: @automanmag | Youtube: AutomanVideo @automanmag | Youtube: | Twitter: AutomanMag | Facebook: www.automan.me Find us Online : : Online us Find AUtomaN DEC 2014 2015 MASERatI GRANCABRIO & GRANTOURISMO | 2015 FERRARI 458 SPECIALE | VW XL SPORT | RENAULT EOLAB | PEUgeot QUARTZ | SEMA & LA MotoR SHOWS | MotoRSPORTS 160 COVER STORY 36-43 2015 GRANTURISMO AND GRANCABRIO 2015 Maserati 44-49 2015 FERRARI 458 SPECIALE Granturismo NEXT ISSUE Centennial edition of OMAN AND REGIONAL NEWS 36 2015 6-14 RENAULT TRUCKS INTRODUCE REINVENTED Maserati sports cars LincoLN MKC LINE-UP IN QATAR, REFRESHED 2015 PORSCHE CAYENNE IN OMAN, DRAMATIC REGIONAL UNVEIL OF Ford’s all-new MUSTANG IN DUBAI,Ford’s new business unit now fullY FUNCTIONAL,MOTORING EXTRAVAGANZA IN Dubai, ‘INSPIRED LIGHT BY Infiniti’, HIGH- OCTANE DRIFTING AT THE RED BULL CAR PARK DRIFT GRAND FINAL, HARLEY-DAVIDSON OPEN HOUSE DAY HELD IN OMAN, LOTUS F1 DRIVERS CAPTIVATE DUBAI Mall visitors, ‘YALLA MINI’ ROADSHOW PROGRAMME TOUCHES THE SULTANATE EXCLUSIVE 16-17 2015 ASTON MARTIN LAGONDA PROGRESS COVERSTORY | 2014 AUTOMAN COTY 18-20 NOMINEES ANNOUNCED BRANDWATCH 22-24 MAYBACH BADGE RETURNS AS TOP-OF- THE-LINE S-CLASS, AMG RELEASES DETAILS OF NEW TRIM LEVELS, MERCEDES NOW OWNS 25 PER CENT OF MV AGUSTA, INFINITI TO PREVIEW 26 NEXT Q60 WITH DETROIT CONCEPT, INFINITI APPOINTS NEW CREATIVE AGENCY, MAZDA BEGINS MEXICO PRODUCTION, SSANYONG NAMES ITS FORTHCOMING SUV, MINI TO LIMIT MODEL EXPANSION, HYUNDAI GENESIS TOPS ANCAP RATINGS, MORE CARS INCLUDED IN TAKATA AIRBAG RECALL, TOTAL NAMES NEW CEO INTERNATIONAL NEWS SPOTLIGHT 26-29 2014 SEMA SHOW REPORT 30-32 2014 LA MOTOR SHOW REPORT SPECIAL FEATURE 56 34-35 PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE CARS Car crazy central IN PARIS Poles apart when it comes to presenting cars at SEMA or LA FIRST DRIVES 30 50-54 2015 AUDI A8L 70 56-61 2015 MERCEDES-BENZ E400 CABRIO CONCEPT CAR PREVIEWS 62-65 FERRARI FXX K 66-67 RENAULT EOLAB 44 50 68-69 PEUGEOT QUARTZ 70-71 TOYOTA C-HWR 72-75 VW XL SPORT MOTORSPORTS 76-79 F1 READY FOR 2015 SEASON WITH MANY CHANGES, REGIONAL MOTORSPORTS, PORSCHE GT3 CUP, MONDIALE FINALE IN ABU DHABI CHICANE 80 INTERSTELLAR AND THE GREAT VOID EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mohammad Al Taie AL ROYA PRESS & PUBLISHING PO Box: 343, Postal Code 118 Al Harthy Complex Sultanate of Oman Email: [email protected] 100, 90, 80, 70 and could we reach 60? No, that isn’t the result of applying brakes on a Website: www.automan.me speeding car or indeed seeking newer and lower speed limits. By now everyone knows Editorial office: that the most logical association to this sequence is the drop in the price of crude oil as Tel: +968 24479888 Extn 300, Fax: +968 24479889 measured in dollars per barrel. Distribution: Tel: +968 24490386, Fax: +968 24121045 Subscription: It seems almost inconceivable that we are witnessing this sustained drop in prices. The Tel: +968 24493701, Fax: +968 24121045 last time there was any significant downward pressure on oil prices was at the height of the financial mess as economies contracted and demand for oil fell. Post 2010 that slump PUBLISHER Hatim Al Taie [email protected] has been pushed aside, with a massive rebound in many places of the world, with only a few pockets still facing recessionary pressures. So then what’s happening to bring cheer EDITOR & GM to the faces of government officials in oil-importing countries, while giving heartburn to Raj Warrior [email protected] their colleagues in exporting nations? EXECUTIVE EDITOR Chandan B Mallik [email protected] Politics and commerce as so intricately bound together that you just cannot see where one CONTRIBUTING EDITOR ends and the other begins. Low oil prices hurt Russia, hopefully keeping them busy while Anne Kurian [email protected] the Ukraine imbroglio is sorted out. But it also hurts the intrepid US shale gas producer who uses fracking as a means of extracting trapped pockets at a higher cost. It definitely HEAD OF DESIGN Antony Karlo will hurt Oman if it sustains for any length of time as our relatively higher cost of extraction associated with enhanced recovery methods needs a better sale price. The timing is also PHOTOGRAPHY bad, since the relatively higher prices of the past years had allowed the government to Elvis John Ferrao embark on some strategic infrastructure improvements that will come online over the next MARKETING few years. Sayantani Ghosh [email protected] CIRCULATION However, there is an underlying certainty – the price will rebound some day. The moot [email protected] question is how long will we see these lower prices stay (and will they go as low as 50 dollars)? Knowing how people react to these lower prices at fuel pumps around the world, FINANCE & ADMIN Sumy Mol [email protected] one hopes that the on-going electric and hybrid revolution doesn’t take a hiatus. There is a window of opportunity that technology provides to actually make these new technologies WEBSITE & IT so efficient that they make sense even in a low oil price regime. Mohammed F Draz [email protected] PRINTER In the meantime, a new law on competition and consumer protection has been passed, Ruwi Modern Printers LLC, Muscat much to the delight of the PACP. It strengthens their hands as they protect the consumer Tel: +968 2479 4167, 2479 8157 Fax: +968 2470 0545 and theoretically encourages competition by allowing more than one source for a product brought into the country. We will definitely keep track of the effects this has on Oman’s © 2014 car market. Wishing all our readers a great 2015! All editorial content of Automan in the magazine and its website is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the management of AL ROYA PRESS & PUBLISHING Now, Automan is available in bookshops in Automan accepts unsolicited exclusive editorial material, but reserves the right to publish any such the United Arab Emirates too! Get your copy material. Once published, the copyright for any or let us know which outlets you would like such material will vest with AL ROYA PRESS & PUBLISHING to see us in topography that are ideal to test a truck to its limits. The new Renault Trucks ranges performed extremely well with no Renault issues reported. This is vital for businesses who need to be able to rely fully on their vehicles for the maximum productivity.” Media and guests got an opportunity to Trucks drive the whole range of the new trucks in various body styles around the Losail Race track. The event’s highlight was a grand dinner held at the Diplomatic Club in Doha, reinvents where Herve Bertrand, Director of Design and creator of the new range, said, “This original design, as well as the attention paid by the Hall of Design teams to the sides of the vehicles, has added a great its line-up deal of dynamism to the new ranges.” Renault Trucks in the Middle East has enault Trucks chose Doha as the a strong dealer network in 13 countries NEWS Oman & region location to roll out its completely and has experienced sustainable growth new line-up of trucks. Marking it R over the past three years. Qatar is one as an event that happens only once in of the key markets in the region with an twenty years, the company highlighted expected growth of 30% between 2012 and the huge investment that has been made 2015. to leapfrog ahead of their competition. In addition to that, the event was significant as the company chose to introduce their C and K ranges to the market, on the heels of the D range that they introduced in 2013 as a facelift model. At the launch, Bruno Blin, President of Renault Trucks, said, “In developing Bruno Blin the C and K ranges, we have deployed Lars-Erik Forsbergh significant resources to ensure these vehicles deliver maximum reliability. Each range has undergone rigorous quality trials and have also been exhaustively field tested under actual operating conditions. Ruggedness, driver comfort, payload, pulling capacity, and easy body mounting are the features which set these trucks apart and make these the perfect tools for demanding businesses.” Bruno Blin, continued: “Both new ranges have been designed and developed in close association with international customers, who have been involved in the project from the design stage right through to testing under actual operating conditions. “The Renault Trucks C range offers superior driver comfort, exceptional reliability and optimal fuel efficiency, making it ideal for both long-haul and certain construction applications. The K range offers new standards in durability and robustness. The front bumper is 100% steel with headlamp protection and has models that suit the harsh demands of the construction industry. Lars-Erik Forsbergh, President Renault Trucks Middle East, said, “These trucks have been tested for over a year in Oman in some of the toughest regional settings. Oman presents the type of extreme conditions in terms of heat and 6 | www.automan.me | DEC 2014 DEC 2014 | www.automan.me | 7 HARLEY-Davidson OPEN HOUSE DAY HELD IN OMAN arley-Davidson Middle East and North Africa (MENA)’s organised the brand’s ‘Open House Day’ event in Oman Hlast month along with the local dealership. “Every year, the Harley-Davidson community gathers at Open House Days to celebrate riding culture while getting a preview of the latest H-D motorcycles. This year was no different, with local Harley- Davidson dealerships across the Middle East putting together exciting Open House Days to bring together Harley-Davidson enthusiasts, friends and family,” said Elsa Abi Nader, Regional Marketing Manager at Harley-Davidson MENA.