Author Archives: Timmy Tan

Grand Seiko Ninja Spring Drive: Springing a Ninja Surprise

by


Source: Grand Seiko Japan YouTube channel

The Grand Seiko “Ninja” Spring Drive, as seen in the video above and image below, is specially designed for ninjas, features a watchcase like no other, having been inspired by the shuriken, a concealed weapon that only makes its appearance when it is thrown at the enemy.

Grand Seiko Spring Drive “Ninja” inspired by the shuriken, a weapon of choice for ninjas. Photo: Seiko.

For this Grand Seiko Ninja, the shuriken case is shaped like a four-pointed star. The Grand Seiko Ninja is equipped with the brand’s proprietary Spring Drive movement boasting of a “one-second a day precision that no other mechanical watches can achieve”.

Grand Seiko’s 1 April launch of its Ninja Spring Drive. Photo: Seiko.

Seiko’s Spring Drive was first introduced in 1999. The first Grand Seiko was equipped with the Spring Drive in 2004.

Interestingly, there is also a ladies Grand Seiko Kunoichi automatic model bearing the shuriken-type case as well. “Kunoichi” refers to a female ninja.

Grand Seiko Kunoichi Automatic for ladies. Kunoichi refers to a female ninja. Photo: Seiko.

Best of all, both the Grand Seiko Ninja and Grand Seiko Kunoichi models were launched on 1 April 2018, proving that this Japanese brand has a genuine ninja-type sense of humour with this April Fools’ Day prank.

Japanese artist Yoji Shinkawa, who gained fame for designing and illustrating the characters, mechanical designs and environment in Metal Gear and Zone of the Enders in Konami’s videos games, came up with the futuristic “ninja” above for Grand Seiko. Shinkawa joined Konami in 1994 and left in 2015. He is currently working with Hideo Kojima at Kojima Productions and is responsible for art direction for a new video game, Death Stranding. Photo: Seiko.

After all, confusing the enemy, especially through illusion, is a ninja trait, using skills known as Genjutsu, according to the Ninja Encyclopedia.

Grand Seiko’s April Fools’ Day joke is well-worth the effort as it brings further global brand awareness to this high-end line of watches.

Now, having seen and read about the Grand Seiko Ninja and Kunoichi, don’t be surprised if these two Ninja models suddenly vanish in a puff of smoke originating from a Ninja smoke bomb.

Porsche Cayenne: The Third Generation

by

Emcee Bobby Tonelli presenting the Porsche Turbo which was officially launched in Singapore on 28 March 2018. Photo: © Porsche.

The third generation Porsche Cayenne Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) was officially launched in Singapore on 28 March 2018.

The third generation Porsche Cayenne made its debut on 29 August 2017 in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.

First produced by the German manufacturer in 2002, the Cayenne has proven its worth in the luxury SUV segment as more than 760,000 units have been sold worldwide since its launch.

The first Porsche Cayenne SUV was introduced in Singapore in 2003 and has become a bestseller for Porsche Centre Singapore.

From what we understand, Porsche currently produces around 272,000 vehicles a year and some 52% of these are SUVs. This means that the Cayenne SUV accounts for the majority of Porsche’s production volume.

According to Francis Lee, managing director of Porsche Centre Singapore, when he first became involved with the brand 17 years ago, Porsche had an annual production volume of 28,000 units. This represents a remarkable growth for this German marque.

Three models are now available for the Singapore market: the V6 Turbo, V6 Twin-turbo and V8 twin-turbo.

The Cayenne Turbo with 550hp (404 kW) has a new 4.0-litre V8 bi-turbo engine with 770 Nm of torque and its 8-speed Tiptronic S gearbox (with the Sport Chrono package) achieves the century sprint in 3.9 seconds with its top speed of 286 km per hour.

The video below explains the design elements of Porsche’s third generation Cayenne.


Source: TimeWerke Videos