Fast Lane: Drive-through food donation, Proton e.Mas 7’s strong start, updated Porsche 911 arrives

Heart On Wheels food donation drive

For the third consecutive year, car retailer and distributor Wearnes Automotive is supporting Food From The Heart, an independent food charity in Singapore, through a food donation drive called Heart On Wheels. On March 1 and 2, drivers are encouraged to drive to 45 Leng Kee Road to drop off food donations.

The first 100 cars each day will get a treat sponsored by McDonald’s Singapore. In all, Heart On Wheels aims to raise 28,000 food items for communities in need.

Besides sending food donations in person on event days, those looking to help can sponsor food bundles. These start at $40 for a community food pack to $105 for a Heart On Wheels food bundle, which will support a student and a family.

Donors can also order food from online grocers to be delivered to the charity event. Volunteers will be on hand to receive, sort and record the donations.

Find out more at

str.sg/8jUu

Classic and customised vehicle event

Catch classic and customised vehicles, as well as various American hot rod culture-inspired activities, at Wicked Wallop on Feb 22 and 23. This 10th edition of the event will be held at automotive hub Carros Centre in Jalan Lam Huat.

Activities include a “show ’n’ shine” competition where customised cars, motorcycles, bicycles and helmets will be judged. There will also be live band performances.

For tickets and more information, go to wickedwallop.com

Proton’s first charge

Sales of the Proton e.Mas 7, the first electric vehicle (EV) from Malaysia’s national car brand, got off to a strong start with more than 4,000 orders collected since its launch in December 2024 in Malaysia. According to Proton, 421 units were registered in January in Malaysia, representing 25 per cent of overall EV registrations for that month in the country.

The electric mid-sized sport utility vehicle comes in two variants. Prime has a 49.5kWh battery with a range of 345km, while Premium has a 60.2kWh battery and a range of 410km.

The Proton e.Mas 7 will be available in Singapore in the second half of 2025 and will be distributed by Vincar. While both the Prime and Premium versions will be offered, Vincar is likely to focus on the longer-range variant, according to Mr Ernest Tan, the Singapore distributor’s director of new ventures.

The showroom, to be located at 24 Leng Kee Road, will be ready by the second half of 2025.

Updated Porsche 911 launches here

The updated Porsche 911 was launched in Singapore on Feb 13 at the Helutrans gallery at Tanjong Pagar Distripark.

Known internally as the 992.2, exterior changes are focused on the front end, where the shape of the bumper looks more chiselled than before. At the back, the vehicle registration plate sits on the upper half of the bumper rather than on the diffuser element. An Aerokit, consisting of front and rear aprons, and side skirt, is available as a $22,745 option.

The biggest change to the interior is the fully digital instrument cluster, replacing the previous set-up, which had an analogue tachometer.

The 911 range starts with the Carrera, which has 389hp and is priced at $569,268; a manual-only and similarly powerful 911 Carrera T at $620,488; and the 473hp Carrera S at $682,988. All prices do not include certificate of entitlement and options.

New class of BMW EVs

The BMW Vision Driving Experience is a prototype that the German carmaker is using to develop the systems for the next generation of EVs.

This includes four supercomputers that are 10 times faster than the ones used in current BMWs. They manage systems such as the car’s drivetrain, brakes, charging and steering functions, and deliver more speed and precision over the functions.

Among the technical highlights is the system’s ability to recover more energy during braking. For most of the time, BMW said the prototype uses the braking power generated during energy recuperation, which is like having the electric motors working in reverse, instead of relying on friction brakes to slow down the car. To illustrate the technology, the wheels on the prototype light up in a different colour when the car is accelerating, decelerating with energy recuperation or friction brakes.

The Vision Driving Experience prototype will be officially shown at international automobile show Auto Shanghai 2025, which will be open to the public from April 25 to May 2.

Even though BMW said the prototype is not intended for series production, its silhouette resembles the earlier Vision Neue Klasse concept. The first production model from the concept will be a sport utility vehicle, which will be built at the carmaker’s plant in Hungary.

BYD wants more of everything

In 2024, Chinese electric car brand BYD knocked Japanese carmaker Toyota off the top spot to become the best-selling car brand among authorised distributors.

In the latest episode of Wheels Insight, the monthly podcast by The Straits Times, Mr James Ng, head of BYD for Singapore and the Philippines, says the brand is far from done as it rides on the larger shift in consumer behaviour from internal combustion engine cars to EVs. He believes that EV adoption will continue to accelerate with as much as 50 per cent of new car registrations in 2025 being electric and BYD accounting for half of that pie.

To get there, he says plans are under way to beef up the aftersales operations, foster closer partnerships with its distributor and dealers and finalise an idea to support the resale value of the cars. In short, BYD is doing anything but easing its foot off the accelerator. Listen to it

here

.