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The Official Car News Thread.
- Thread starter MMR
- Start date
MMR
I like cars!
This is the BMW Vision ConnectedDrive concept car, and it wants to be your brain.
Before a bizarre notion of painful auto-based surgery pops into your head, this stunning concept - revealed ahead of its Geneva motor show world debut - is BMW's idea of a connected, networked automotive future and features a 3D head-up display designed to filter information to make driving easier.
Info is accessed via an antenna (housed under a Perspex cover in the middle of the car). So, for example, you can programme the satnav to bring turn-off locations into your actual field of vision, displayed in the foreground or background depending on how relevant they are to your situation and traffic. In addition, the instrument cluster is freely programmable, meaning you choose what you want to see.
BMW has given the passenger some Tron-like toys to play with too: as co-pilot', he or she can find information (routes, traffic etc) and forward them to the driver's panel. As a handy bonus, it totally alleviates the need to actually talk to your driver.
There's also an Emotional Browser', which captures and filters info about the hood you're driving through; info such as people, mood or location, which isn't terrifying in the slightest. Wonder if it automatically locks the doors while driving through Birmingham on a Saturday night?
The shark-nosed front and layered styling - reminiscent of the Vision Dynamics supercar - is said to reflect Bee Ems' future direction. The concept features fibre optics in various colours in three different areas of the exterior, which have a dedicated light installation. It also gets 20in rims and retracting doors a la BMW Z1.
Like the idea of a BMW roadster constantly in touch with the outside world making your brain less burdened? Or do you simply want engine/wheels/seats/doors?
Source:http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/bmw-vision-connected-drive-concept-geneva-2011-02-10
MMR
I like cars!
This is how a small Jaguar saloon could look, if Bertone had anything to do with it.
Dubbed the B99', the famed Italian design house has built this stunning concept for Jag, set to debut at next month's Geneva motor show.
As you can see, it borrows heavily from Jaguar's past heritage; Bertone said the B99 projects Jaguar's classic style into the future with elegance'. It measures up to around the same size as BMW's Three - though a bit lower - and uses a hybrid long-range' power system tuned by Bertone Energy.
The B99's innards are swathed in soft' Italian leather, brushed aluminium and high-gloss African wood.
Bertone has also built a full GT2 race version of the B99 that will sit alongside the saloon at the Geneva show.
We'll be on the show floor and will scurry information back to you via the medium of Web.
Source: Stunning Jag concept car revealed - BBC Top Gear
MMR
I like cars!
So the wait is over. After 18 months of technological foreplay, the McLaren MP4-12C is finally here, and we've actually driven it.
Yes, we know it has an amazing carbon fibre chassis, a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 that pumps out almost 600bhp and rockets the car to 62mph in a whisker over three seconds and on to a top speed of 205mph while also coughing out just 279g/km of CO2. And yes, we know that Ron Dennis insists that his amazing team of boffins and geniuses can scientifically prove that this is the greatest super sports car ever made. But what's it actually like?
Very, very, very good indeed. The 12C is quite simply an astonishing piece of engineering. It's beautifully made, has a cabin that immediately and brilliantly becomes an extension of the driver, an engine and transmission that have gone from being drawings on a clean sheet of paper to challenging Ferrari's best in barely five years, a radical rethink of how a car's suspension should work, an equally radical re-imagining of how a car should handle, and the sort of amazing high-speed aero properties you'd expect of something that was honed in the same state-of-the-art simulator that Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button's McLaren F1 car was optimised in.
Speaking of which, JB was on hand at the car's first media drive at the highly demanding Portimao circuit in Portugal's Algarve region. Now Jenson likes his supercars, and has owned most of the significant players of the past 10 years, Bugatti Veyron and Porsche Carrera GT included. In other words, though he's a McLaren employee, he's also a potential customer. And he knows what he likes. And not only does he know what he likes - big performance and a healthy degree of oversteer which, trust me, not all top F1 guys approve of - he's not afraid to enjoy himself when the mood takes him. As you can see from the accompanying short film below.
It was fun, it was fast, and it rearranged my hairstyle. (NB: no lunch was eaten before this was shot.)
Source: McLaren MP4-12C news - McLaren
MMR
I like cars!
Can 30.4mpg and 159g/km of CO2 emissions ever justify being hated by everybody on your street?
That's essentially the question Porsche is asking with this, the new Panamera S Hybrid.
Utilising the same system currently in the Cayenne, the hybrid Panamera is powered by an electric motor with 47bhp and a supercharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine developing 333bhp, mated to an eight-speed tiptronic gearbox. Both engine and motor can be used alone or in conjunction, and Porsche is spoiling you with the Pan's pure electric range: a dizzying 1.25 miles.
This motor - connected to a nickel metal hybride battery which siphons back energy under braking - also acts as the generator and starter, and sits between the engine and transmission.
The Panamera also features a sailing' function: when the engine isn't using any power and you're basically coasting down the road, it switches the big Vee off to save fuel at speeds of up to 103mph.
As a result, the Porsche Panamera Hybrid S achieves those figures outlined above, along with a 0-62mph time of six seconds and a top speed of 168mph, which, considering it emits less than a 1.6-litre Ford Focus, is quite astonishing.
The S Hybrid also features adaptive air suspension as standard, and the hybrid display panel as used in the green Cayenne.
Prices start from £86,146. And so again we put it to you, can low emissions act as a shield against the scorn your friends and neighbours - maybe even your dog - will pour on you because you bought a Panamera? It's not like Porsche isn't capable of cool.
Source:Porsche announces Panamera S Hybrid - BBC Top Gear
MMR
I like cars!
Mercedes-Benz has lifted the lid on the new C-Class Coupe. Finally.
Two years after production of its swoopy BMW 3-Series competitor slinked off into the sunset, Merc has unveiled a new two-door coup' which will make its debut at the Geneva motor show next month.
Set to battle with the BMW 3-Series Coupe and Audi A5, the new Cee Coupe shares styling with its saloon sibling and gets four full seats, together with multi-link independent rear suspension, and three-link McPherson struts up front.
http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/new-mercedes-c-class-coupe-2011-02-12
The C-Class Coupe also comes with Agility Control' as standard; the dampers change depending on road conditions sent via impulses. Float along and the dampers soften up, but give it a dose of Stig - sending impulses through the shocks - and the dampers firm up.
We'll get the AMG sports pack as standard when the C Coupe drops in the UK in June, which includes sports suspension, speed-sensitive steering, AMG bodystyling and 18s.
Three petrol engines and two diesels will kickstart the range: a 2.2-litre diesel in 170 and 204bhp guise, a 1.8-litre petrol with 156 and 204bhp, and the range-topping 3.5-litre V6 with 306bhp and 272lb ft of torque, good for a 0-62mph time of six seconds while returning 41.5mpg.
What do you think? Certainly wouldn't kick it out of bed, at any rate. And let's not forget: slightly flared arches, bonnet vents and (probably) a 5.5-litre turbo'd V8...roll on the AMG version.
Source:http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/new-mercedes-c-class-coupe-2011-02-14
MMR
I like cars!
Audis new Q3 is ready to come in from the cold! The firms baby SUV has been snapped cold weather testing ahead of its debut, which sources have intimated will be the Geneva Motor Show next month.
The stylish SUV takes its design inspiration from the Audi Cross Coupe concept which debuted at the Shanghai Auto Show in 2007. Our spy shots reveal that the production model remains faithful to the concept, including the sloping rear hatchback.
The Q3 is based on a modified version of the VW Tiguans platform, and slots into the range beneath the Q7 and Q5. To differentiate it from the VW model, Audis Q3 will be tuned for a sportier drive, and will feature adaptive dampers, like those featured on the TT.
There will be a choice of 168bhp and 208bhp versions of a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine, while the 2.0-litre TDI diesel comes in either 138bhp or 168bhp tune. Six-speed manual and seven-speed S Tronic gearboxes will be available, and all Q3s will feature four-wheel-drive.
The Q3 will be built at SEATs Martorell factory just outside Barcelona, alongside a SEAT-badged version of the car that will debut in concept form at the Geneva Motor Show. Combined Audi and SEAT production should be around 80,000 units per year
Source:Latest Audi Q3 spy shots | News | Auto Express
MMR
I like cars!
The Bentley empire is spreading! Bosses are hard at work plotting models with bodystyles new to the marque but it wont be the usual VW technology underneath.
The cars will be underpinned by Porsche architecture a fact confirmed to us by the new CEO of Bentley, Wolfgang Dürheimer, who is also outgoing head of R&D at Porsche.
First on the agenda, as we reported in Issue 1,136, will be a £150,000 five-door coupé version of the Continental GT. It was originally thought that Bentley would base this car on a version of the VW Groups modular longitudinal platform that underpins the Audi A7 and the upcoming A9. But in light of the new bosss revelation, its almost certain the next-generation Panamera will be the donor.
Petrol engine choices are expected to include a reworked version of the current W12 with upwards of 600bhp as well as the new turbocharged 4.0-litre V8, set to debut early next year in the Continental GT. An oil-burner shouldnt be ruled out, either, after VW Group chairman, Dr Ferdinand Piech, told us recently: You will see diesel at Bentley.
A crossover is also under consideration, based on the Cayenne, although this Bentley 4x4 will have an even more luxurious interior and use the same engine range as the five-door coupé. The Cross Continental badge has been touted, along with a price of around £120,000.
Last, but certainly not least, is a £90,000 coupé to slot into the range below the Continental GT. This would be aimed squarely at the likes of the Maserati GranTurismo and Mercedes SL63 AMG. It should be a volume seller for Bentley, and could push annual registrations way beyond the 10,000 peak recorded in 2007.
Dont expect to see this new family of models until the next Panamera arrives in 2015. In the meantime, the second-generation Continental GT will spawn new versions of the GTC drop-top and Flying Spur saloon, with similar styling and mechanical tweaks.
Read more: New trio of Bentleys
MMR
I like cars!
Its take three for the Ford GT! Auto Express has learned that the blue oval is readying an all-new mid-engined supercar and its set to feature hybrid power.
The model follows on from the original Sixties GT40, as well as the GT, built between 2005 and 2006. It will take aim at Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren by using the most advanced technology available to deliver massive straight-line performance. And our exclusive images predict how the Detroit missile is shaping up.
In a bid to distance the new model from the 2005 GT, of which only 100 examples reached Europe, there will be a new design direction. While the GT used plenty of styling cues from the original GT40 racer of the Sixties, the latest interpretation is likely to forego the retro body panels and get a sharper, more modern look.
Evoking memories of the 1995 Ford GT90 concept, which had a 720bhp quad-turbocharged V12, the new GT will put an updated spin on the GT40s design, with a huge front air intake, angular headlights and vents in the bonnet and flanks.
The overall proportions and mid-engined configuration will remain intact, though and that will help to provide balanced handling. The biggest news comes under the skin, though. A supercharged V8 provides the power, but extra boost is available at the touch of a button from an electric motor driving the front wheels.
This is similar to the set-up on the Porsche 918 Spyder-style. Add stop-start and the ability to run solely on electricity for brief periods of time, and the new GT would showcase Fords green credentials. But as total power will be around 600bhp, the newcomer will still keep pace with other mid-engined supercars such as the McLaren MP4-12C and Ferrari 458 Italia, as well as the successors to the Lamborghini Gallardo and Audi R8.
Keeping the weight to a minimum is an all-aluminium chassis and composite body panels. Expect the GT to tip the scales at around 1,400kg, which is nearly 200kg lighter than the car it replaces. That means a power to weight ratio in the region of 430bhp per tonne, while a three-second 0-62mph time and a top speed in excess of 200mph are targets. And while it wont be cheap, the car is sure to undercut its rivals.
Theres no word yet on when well catch our first glimpse of the newcomer, and a spokesman for Ford UK remained tight-lipped. But with the economy in gradual recovery and a raft of brand new supercars on the way the Ferrari FF, Pagani Huayra and Lamborghini Aventador all arrive at Marchs Geneva Motor Show there couldnt be a better time for Ford to take the plunge.
Read more: Ford GT returns as hybrid! | News | Auto Express
MMR
I like cars!
Its the worlds most efficient car and Auto Express has driven it! Revealed at the Qatar Motor Show, the quirky, low-slung VW XL1 gets gullwing doors, a two-cylinder turbodiesel engine and a 20kW electric motor.
With rear wheel covers, an F1-style carbon fibre monocoque, and other ultra-lightweight materials such as magnesium wheels, its meant to show how economical cars can be, boasting 300mpg-capability. But whats it like to drive? Open the gullwing door and you sit very low in the cabin. However, thats not an issue because the driving seat and steering wheel positions are spot-on.
The overall look and feel of the XL1s less-is-more cabin is beyond VWs usually high standards, though. Press the logically positioned start button and the cars heart silently starts to beat without indicating to the driver that it is doing so. Pulse starting, VW calls it.
Slide the gearstick back as far as possible while nervously tickling the accelerator pedal, and the car launches itself with more vigour than it has a right to in view of its undeniably modest powerplants. A combination of virtually silent running, futuristic supercar styling and unprecedented on-road presence stops bewildered pedestrians and fellow drivers in their tracks.
When the tiny two-cylinder diesel engine kicks in, tricks are played on the mind and ear. This is and should sound like half a standard four-cylinder VW engine, as fitted to the Golf. Instead, the noise it creates is not unlike that of an air-cooled Beetle from the Seventies. The faster and harder the XL1 is propelled, the more the 800cc diesel overrules the electric motor and, curiously, the lower the noise levels are inside the car.
Brakes are strong, the steering pin sharp. Getting in and out of the cabin is difficult at first, as the doors are heavy and stiff. Not content with thrashing all of its current eco rivals in terms of exterior design, interior class, and technological breakthroughs, the XL1 is far more versatile than it looks.
Its at its best when its diesel and electric power units are working together, helping each other out for maximum fuel efficiency. But theres nothing to stop an XL1 driver with say, a slow 30-mile commute to and from work relying solely on zero-tailpipe-emission electric power as long as he recharges each night. Conversely, it can be a conventional, diesel-only car, although it has just a 10-litre tank.
The XL1 is more than a flight of fancy, though. UK drivers will soon be able to order one! VW chairman Martin Winterkorn says it will be going into limited production and on sale by 2013. A most efficient car in the world label and affordable price tag will be placed on the vehicle.
VW has yet to tell us just how affordable the XL1 will be but it has to cost less than £30,000
Read more: Volkswagen XL1 Driven | First Drive | Auto Express
250+hp, 35mpg highway, 10 year 100,000 mile warranty. I would ****ing love to have that car.
2012 Kia Forte Koup Might Get a TurboIn an Automotive News story about Kia adding former Saturn dealerships to its dealer network on the East Coast, Tom Loveless, vice president of sales for Kia Motors America, mentions in passing that a turbocharged engine might be offered in the 2012 Kia Forte Koup.
And we've got a very good idea where Kia might source that engine: the Hyundai Sonata. Although the redesigned 2011 Sonata starts out with a normally aspirated, direct-injected 2.4-liter engine, it's scheduled to get a turbocharged and direct-injected 2.0-liter inline four for the 2012 model year. And at least in the Sonata, Hyundai is promising upwards of 250 horsepower along with 35 mpg on the highway.
Drop that engine in a Forte Koup, and Kia would have a real sport compact and perhaps a legitimate rival to the Honda Civic Si and Volkswagen GTI.
AN writer Kathy Jackson quotes Loveless as saying a turbocharged engine in the Forte would be "a natural extension if it makes financial sense."
MMR
I like cars!
With each passing year, another cohort of normally staid members of our national life suddenly turn up in spray-on Lycra on Strictly Come Dancing. And more and more of the world's plump GTs are embarking on a double life with a track-biased version.
Now it's the Maserati GranTurismo's turn. The new one - an addition to the range not a replacement - is called the GranTurismo MC Stradale. MC is Maserati Corsa, the factory race shop, and it looks rather like their GT4 racer. Stradale means road-going.
It has an extra 10bhp over the exisiting GranTurismo S, taking the total to a nice round 450. This issues from a V8 that sounds like a flashmob of heavy metallist lead singers. But in a good way. The transmission is a flappy-paddle job that finally gets the idea pretty well off pat, serving up spine-tingling shifts under power and sawtooth downchanges too.
The body changes look great, partly because there's no bootlid plank spoiler to spoil the flow of the GranTurismo's buxom silhouette. And they add downforce without extra drag. Top speed nudges up to 187mph. That's psychologically important to an Italian car because it's 1km/h over 300. The 0-62mph drag is 4.6 seconds. Quick but in no way qualifying as a supercar.
The chassis is stiffened, but not too much. After all it has to go on the road. The dampers are passive, not the adaptive ones Maserati uses on other cars, but this turns out to be an advantage. Maserati never really got the adaptive ones right.
The brakes are carbon fibre. So are the one-piece seat shells. The whole thing is 100kg lighter than standard. But it's still the wrong side of 1,700kg with fuel in the tank. And it's still a lot longer than say a 911 GT3 or Aston N24, so that's going to hamper its agility on small roads.
Not by much, it turns out. The Stradale feels lighter and a whole lot more solid than the standard GranTurismo, and we like it very much. It works on real roads. The steering is committed, and the traction backs it up. It's balanced and stays on your side. There's a bit of body roll but overall things are really nicely sorted as a fast road car.
And it rides well. There's a bit more road noise than standard. And more from the engine too, but why on earth would you want less of that? So it's huge fun, has masses of character and looks to die for, but still works as a proper fast long-distance tourer. All in, we're struggling to see why you'd opt for the standard machine.
Except that Maserati refuses to fit rear seats to this one. Actually, being a two-seater isn't the sole measure of a sporty car. Any more than padding shoved down a dancer's Lycra doesn't actually signify how much ballroom he needs.
Source: Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale: first drive - BBC Top Gear
MMR
I like cars!
Ford has been successfully promoting the Mustang for decades off the back of that car-chase sequence in Bullitt, all seven minutes of jump-tastic, reverse burnoutery of it. But never Dodge, the maker of the taupe-coloured Charger which McQueen harried through the streets of San Francisco, and which ultimately exploded into a ball of fire.
The reasons for this are relatively simple. The Mustang has generally stayed true to its muscle-car heritage - two doors, enormous engine, rear drive and butch styling. So it makes sense to work the historically cool angle. The Charger has not. I'm not quite sure who's to blame here, but the Charger has been something of an iconic-badge-wearing dog for the last few years - anaemic engines, indifferent styling and, worst of all, four doors.
But now, post-bankruptcy, Dodge - the sporty brand in the Chrysler family - has been feverishly working to bring the mojo back to its core models. And it's started with the Charger. Let's start with the bad news: it's still got four doors. Now the good news: it's got new engines, a reworked chassis, more aggressive styling outside, and a fit and finish inside that feels a world more solid than the rattle and humdrum quality of the outgoing model.
The range of engines now starts with the 292bhp Pentastar V6 and rises to the 370bhp 5.7-litre V8, as fitted in the R/T models. Starting out in the V6, the big car - it weighs 1,796kg and measures over five metres stem to stern - didn't feel underpowered or make too much noise as we thrashed it up and down the San Francisco hills. In a massive, Bullitt-style leap ahead, the steering wheel now also feels connected to the front wheels instead of a large amount of fresh air. We aren't talking European levels of quality here, but the gap's definitely narrowed
Likewise, the interior quality and design, overseen by a Mercedes-Benz employee who came as part of the ‘merger of equals' and decided to stay when Merc pulled out, is a much less offensive place to be. Instead of poverty levels of spec and grey Tupperware plastic quality, there are now some OK-looking instruments and a more than reasonable look and feel. It's still only a six out of 10, but that's already 100 per cent better than the old car.
The V8-powered cars really show what the new Charger can do. Blasting them around the Infineon Raceway, they had plenty of grunt, plenty of poise and made a great noise when thrashed. The brakes felt overworked and the handling was soft, but it was all hugely predictable. Just like it all should be on a proper muscle car
Source: Dodge Charger R/T V8 driven - BBC Top Gear
MMR
I like cars!
Those Bentley's are hideous. I love the Maserati though.
Agreed..
Mormonstang
Oh herrow!
Possible new LP700-4 leaked photo
