2010 Aston Martin DBS Edo Competition Luxurious Sports Car

Edo Competition Aston Martin DBS is a result of a modification carried out by Edo Competition Motorsport for the 12-cylinder Aston Martin that already produces 517 horsepower and has a top speed of more than 300 km/h (186 mph). Improving and underlining the elegance and beauty of this British triumph and strengthening its sporting character was the goal declared by Edo competition.

2010 Aston Martin DBS Edo Competition

The first step taken by Edo Competition was improving the power output. The DBS’s engine control unit was modified via software recalibration, then supported by a new high performance exhaust system, and was fitted with special catalytic converters and high flow air filters. As a result, the DBS’s power output was increased from 517 hp and 570 Nm (420 ft-lb) to 550 hp and 600 Nm (442 ft-lb), an enough power to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.1 seconds and continue on to a top speed of 320 km/h (199 mph).

The high performance exhaust system, which was specially designed for the DBS, incorporates butterfly valves allowing it to produce a fantastically rich and sonorous sound. They further help increase the British luxury sports car coupe`s power and torque output. The exhaust comes with a programmable control system that monitors backpressure inside the exhaust and opens the 70 mm butterfly valves when a pre-determined level of backpressure is exceeded. 

The unique advantage of this system is that it provides good torque at low engine speeds without sacrificing top end horsepower. The exhaust system is made from stainless steel and the chromed exhaust tips accentuate the elegant design. The driver can adjust the sound of the DBS at any time using a remote control.

Dealing with the levels of grip, Edo competition offers a new wheel design, a set of 21 inch racing wheels. The three-piece wheels come with stainless steel outer rims and the customer can choose the stock tire dimensions

Further, Edo competition has developed a new high performance brake system, 405 mm rotors with 6-piston monoblock calipers and performance brake pads for the front and 380 mm rotors with 6-piston monoblock calipers and performance brake pads for the rear, both including braided stainless steel brake lines.

As with all edo competition models, we set no limit to our customers` imaginations. Special interiors or lavish leather upholstery, individual requests are accommodated and executed with quality.

The modifications of this Edo competition Aston Martin DBS are all carried out at Edo competition Motorsport GmbH in Ahlen, Germany.

Plato leads BTCC

At the Thruxton round of the British Touring Car Championship three weeks ago, the races were won by the independent entries of Fabrizio Giovanardi and Steven Kane. This weekend at Rockingham, it was the turn of the factory teams.



Matt Neal, who received a reprimand from stewards following his ambitious overtaking attempt at the Thruxton chicane, managed to keep out of trouble and won races 1 and 3 in his Honda Racing Civic.

Jason Plato secured victory in race 2, which was the first win in the BTCC for the Chevrolet Cruze. It was a close result though, with the WSR BMW 320si of Rob Collard that challenged Plato’s lead in the closing stages finishing less than half a second behind.

Rockingham, however, was perhaps notable for its absences. Neither Giovanardi nor Philip Glew competed, both of the Triple Eight Vauxhall Vectra drivers sidelined by sponsorship issues at the team. There was still no sign of reigning champion Colin Turkington either, despite hopes he would be driving a third WSR BMW to defend his title. Again, a lack of sponsors seems to be the problem.



Plato leads the championship going into the third round, which is at Brands Hatch in a week’s time:



Pos.  Driver / Points

01     Jason Plato / 64

02     Matt Neal / 47

03     Steven Kane / 45

04     Paul O'Neill / 43

05     Fabrizio Giovanardi / 38

06     Mat Jackson / 36

07     Gordon Shedden / 23

08     Robert Collard / 23

09     Andrew Jordan / 18

10     Tom Boardman / 15

11     Tom Onslow-Cole / 15

12     Alex MacDowall / 11

13     Philip Glew / 9

14     Tom Chilton / 9

15     David Pinkney / 5

16     James Nash / 4

17     Andy Neate / 3

18     John George / 2

19     Martin Johnson / 2

20     Martin Depper / 0

21     Arthur Forster / 0

22     Lea Wood / 0

23     Matt Hamilton / 0

24     Shaun Hollamby / 0

No UK return for Lancia

First of all, Lancia had intended a return to the UK market in Summer 2008, spearheaded by the then new Delta. That plan was delayed for a year because the dealer network wasn’t ready, and the company recognised it also needed a second model for those dealers to sell.

Then the brand’s re-launch was postponed indefinitely, a victim of the prevailing tough economic conditions.



Now, following the presentation of Fiat Group Automobile’s 2010-2014 Business Plan, it seems almost certain that Lancia will never return to the UK.



That’s because the Chrysler and Lancia ranges are to be fully integrated in Europe, a consequence of Fiat taking a 20% stake in Chrysler back in June 2009. It has also been decided that all of the unified range will be branded Lancia in continental Europe, while the Chrysler badge will be used for the UK and Ireland.



As well as the Delta, the Lancia line-up currently consists of the Ypsilon supermini, Musa small MPV and Phedra MPV (part of the Citroen C8, Fiat Ulysse and Peugeot 807 family).

Chrysler meanwhile only sells the 300C saloon and Grand Voyager MPV in the UK at present, the PT Cruiser and slow-selling Sebring no longer being offered.

The combined range will look like this:

• Ypsilon continues, with an all-new five door model scheduled for 2011.


• Delta remains in production, but will be joined in 2012 by a new-model compact saloon and station wagon.


• Musa will remain on sale until 2012, with no replacement planned.


• Phedra is to be phased out during 2010.


• 300C will be replaced by a new version in 2011.


• Grand Voyager remains on sale, to be replaced in 2014.


• 2013 will see the introduction of a large saloon (primarily for North America) and a crossover model.

Fiat has set a target of 295,000 Chrysler / Lancia sales across Europe in 2014, to be handled by over 1,000 dealers.

VW Phaeton facelift

With its combination of cut-price Bentley Continental technology and elegantly discrete looks, perhaps the Volkswagen Phaeton should be attracting more buyers than it does?



Things certainly didn’t go well in North America, where the car was withdrawn after only a few years on sale. European retails continue at a trickle, but China is now the biggest remaining market for the Phaeton. That no doubt influenced Volkswagen’s decision to reveal the 2011 facelift at the Beijing Auto Show.

The changes are fairly mild, and have been concentrated around the front to bring the Phaeton’s look in line with the latest Polo, Golf and Sharan. So that means redesigned lights, a new grille and a revised bumper which even uses the now ubiquitous LEDs for the fog lights. Around the back, the only significant change is new light clusters.



On the inside, the centre console has an 8” touchscreen which on some versions can now incorporate Google Maps into the satellite navigation. The other ‘enhancement’ that Volkswagen seems very excited by is the road sign recognition function.



This system works by a camera integrated in the Phaeton’s rear-view mirror detecting road signs. The relevant information is then shown on the touchscreen and / or the multifunction display between speedometer and rev counter.



It will tell the driver, who is presumably too busy looking at all of the various displays to bother looking outside of the car, information such as the maximum permitted speed and whether there are any overtaking restrictions in force. These are probably the sort of things that should have been noticed anyway, especially if considering an overtake. So, unless you’re myopic or just too dopey to be driving, what’s the point?



The Phaeton will continue to be offered with V6, V8 and W12 petrol engines, as well as a V6 turbocharged common rail diesel.  However, expect the choice in the UK to be limited to the 444 bhp 6.0 litre W12 and 237 bhp 3.0 litre diesel, as it is now.



Prices have yet to be announced, although it’s worth noting the V6 diesel is currently down from £45,910 to £40,340 in the UK until the end of June. That offer is most likely in place to clear any remaining pre-facelift stocks.



However, even with such a discount, eye-watering depreciation makes buying a brand new Phaeton a very tough decision. The situation isn’t helped by a tempting choice of used cars. For example, there are currently 24 used Phaetons listed on Auto Trader that are under a year old, with prices ranging from £26,989 to £39,995. Most are listed at £29,995, which is not much more than a Volkswagen Golf GTI costs new.

MG Zero concept

The revitalisation of MG slowly continues, with the firm unveiling its attractive Zero concept at the Beijing Automotive Show.

Developed by MG Global Design at its UK base in Longbridge, the Zero is around four metres in length, making it roughly the same size as a Ford Fiesta or Volkswagen Polo.



Although just a concept for now, it seems highly likely that a toned-down version will make it into production. A replacement is certainly needed for the aged MG 3SW (an MG-badged version of the ancient Rover 25 Streetwise) which is still offered in the Chinese market.

No other technical details have been confirmed yet, and it’s unknown whether MG is planning to assemble the Zero at Longbridge or import it into Europe from China.

Volvo C30 Polestar PCP

The 345 bhp Ford Focus RS500 and similarly-engineered Mountune Focus RS MP350 have been getting a lot of attention in recent weeks.



But now the Fords might have serious competition in the form of the Volvo C30 Performance Concept Prototype, developed by Polestar Performance.

The Swedish tuner has a history with Volvo. Not only does it offer performance upgrades for Volvo road cars, but it has also run Volvo’s factory entries in the Swedish Touring Car Championship for many years, winning the 2009 title with a C30.



It’s not hard to directly compare the C30 PCP to the Focus RS500, especially as the Ford shares its platform and 2.5 litre engine with the Volvo.



Thanks to a larger intercooler and modified pistons, conrods and inlet camshaft, Polestar has managed to give the C30 PCP 405 bhp and 510 Nm of torque.



That’s considerably more than the RS500, but the C30 PCP is arguably better equipped to handle the extra power. Unlike the front-wheel drive Focus, it features a Haldex all-wheel drive system with Quaife front and rear differentials.



The C30 PCP is equipped with 19” BBS wheels and Brembo disc brakes front and rear, while its body kit has been inspired by the aerodynamic tweaks seen on the STCC racer.



It’s just a concept at the moment, although Volvo is expected to shortly confirm whether the C30 PCP will be put into production.

Renault Fluence Z.E.

Another week, another manufacturer announces its electric car. This time it’s Renault’s turn with the unveiling of a finalised version of the Fluence Z.E.

As per usual, the production model isn’t quite as dramatic as the original concept unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. In fact, the Fluence Z.E. is essentially a saloon derivative of the third generation Mégane, albeit with some styling tweaks around the front end to distinguish the electric version.



Another noticeable difference is the extra length behind the rear seats, needed to accommodate the battery. It gives the Fluence Z.E. rather odd proportions, resulting in an arse-heavy look. Nevertheless, as Renault points out, this is the first proper electric saloon car in its class.

As with the Leaf, to be built by Renault’s alliance partner Nissan, power comes from a lithium-ion battery. What’s interesting about the Fluence though is that as well as the ability to charge the battery via the household mains or at fast charge stations, there will be a ‘QuickDrop’ battery switch system.



This will enable the battery to be swapped in around three minutes at special exchange stations. That would seem to solve the problem of having to wait for the battery to recharge (even the fast charge stations will take thirty minutes), but Renault isn’t saying how many exchange points are planned.

The Fluence Z.E.’s motor produces 70 kW (94 bhp), allowing for an electronically-limited top speed of 135 km/h (84 mph). However, perhaps the crucial measure of an electric car’s ability is battery range. The Renault will manage 160 kilometres (just under 100 miles), which should be sufficient for most commuters, if not high-mileage business users.



No word on pricing yet, but the car’s performance should mean UK buyers can take advantage of the OLEV Plug-in Car Grant.

Production of the Fluence Z.E. is due to commence in 2011 at the OYAK-Renault factory in Bursa. That's in Turkey, which is renowned as a leader in electric vehicle technology (or should that be cheap labour?).