Nissan to Begin Production of X-Trail and Teana Sedan in Russia

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Nissan president Carlos Ghosn took part in the opening ceremony of the Japanese automaker's first plant in Russia on Tuesday. Located at St. Petersburg, Nissan's new US$200 million assembly plant has a production capacity of 50,000 vehicles a year. The facility, which is scheduled to employ 750 workers at start of production with one shift, will build the Teana mid-size sedan and the X-TRAIL compact off-roader.

"This is Nissan's breakthrough in Russia," said Ghosn. "The opening of our plant in Saint Petersburg in the current conditions underlines our confidence in the high potential of the Russian economy. With the start of production at our new plant Nissan become an integral part of the local community."

Even though the financial crisis has taken its toll on the Russian car market as sales plunged more than 40% in the first four months of the year compared to 2008 when Russia briefly overtook Germany as Europe's largest car market, many analyst believe that Russia will be a key growth market for automakers when a recovery starts.

VIDEO: Ferrari 612 Scaglietti Burns to the Ground in Moscow

The unrecognizable mass of metal you see pictured above used to be a new Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. If we are to believe the reports coming in from Russia, the owner of the Prancing Horse model was driving somewhere in Moscow when he noticed smoke coming out from the engine bay. The driver is said to have stopped on the side of the road in an attempt to extinguish the fire himself - obviously his efforts went down the drain. The corpse of the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti was towed away in a rather unfashionably (some may say ironic) way by a local dump truck. Click through to watch the scorching videos.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

New Hyundai Solaris: Russian-built Accent is Ready for the Ice Cold

What was shown as the Concept RB at Moscow's International Motor Show has become the Hyundai Solaris, a re-nosed Accent [Verna in South Korea] for our Cold War counterparts. Starting in January, the Solaris will be Hyundai's first model to be assembled at the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus plant.

The Solaris name comes from a competition held earlier this year. According to Hyundai, "Solaris", derived from the Latin Sol, "implies Hyundai Motor's strong will to expand its business in the Russian Federation".

Major differences deemed necessary for the Russian market include a new front end with boomerang fog lights, less swoopy headlights with bi-color bezels, and a more blunt hexagonal grille area with a less-pronounced chin. Inside, both the Solaris and Accent should be about the same, but differences may include some trim colors/options.

The top of the range Solaris features six airbags, and Hyundai will also provide models with electronic stability control.

The big South Korean auto monster says it will be making sure that Russian Solares will be prepped and ready to handle the harsh Russian environment, including as standard a rear heating duct, 4.0-liter washer fluid reservoir (with low level sensor), a 60Ah (ampere-hour) battery "for higher cold start performance", front and rear mudguards, and a set of enduro (1,500 hour) headlamps.

Optional add-ons for our deep-north Siberian readers include a wiper de-icer, heated driver/front passenger seats, heated mirrors, and an automatic "Emergency Stop Signal" that turns on should an accident occur.

Hyundai is hoping for 85,000 sales per year in Russia (including a 5-door hatchback that arrives later in 2011) once the Solaris goes on sale in 2011. Russian readers, this one goes out to you: is this a car you'd consider? And does the fact that it's Russian-built play a factor in your decision? Talk at me below.

By Phil Alex

Status Design Lamborghini Murciélago is an Alligator’s Tangerine Nightmare...

Russian tuners have a history of making unique if not tasteful supercar tuning kits. Using little more than carbon fibre, orange paint and one unlucky alligator, Moscow-based tuning outfit Status Design has taken on the Lamborghini Murciélago and boy do they not disappoint.

Featuring an (ill-fitting) hood / bonnet, door sills and rear spoiler from BF-Performance, Status Design also added a new front bumper, "headlight lashes", mirrors, side mouldings and engine cover – all carbon fibre.

Status also added a custom rear bumper, sports exhaust and black matte wheels with orange detailing to round off the exterior package.

Things only get better inside, with orange alligator leather (oh yes) and orange carbon fibre mouldings on the center stack, glove-box lid and instrument binnacle.

Status also throws in a McIntosh head unit with Helix speakers and condenser, a boot-mounted subwoofer and Audison amplifier because, let's face it, if you're driving down the street in one of these, you want people to hear you as well as see you.

No word on pricing (of course), though it's probably one of those, "If you have to ask…" things anyways.

By Tristan Hankins