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Don’t call it an Outback Sport. This is Subaru’s new XV crossover, and though it totally fits the bill as a successor to the Impreza-based Outback Sports of yore, the Japanese automaker says that this little orange all-roader takes the company “into the compact crossover segment for the first time.” (Nevermind that the XV isn’t actually a new model, or that it is, minus a few very minor tweaks, exactly what the Impreza Outback Sport used to be).

Looking over the specifications, as before, the XV is pretty close to its Impreza sister, though ground clearance has been upped to a trail-friendly 8.6 inches. Under the hood, two gasoline engines are available, measuring 1.6 and 2.0 liters, and a heavily tweaked version of the diesel Boxer four-cylinder is on tap, as well. Subaru’s new start/stop system is also on hand, and when mated to the CVT, Subaru says that the XV is quite efficient (thought we’ll wait for official fuel economy numbers before we make any judgments).

It’s still unclear if the XV will make its way Stateside. Last we heard, it was only being considered for North America, and it probably wouldn’t retain the Outback Sport moniker if it did come over. Hit the jump for Subaru’s official press blast and see the little orange CUV for yourself in our attached high-res image gallery.

Continue reading 2012 Subaru XV raises the Impreza bar

2012 Subaru XV raises the Impreza bar

It’s compact, sporty, has a manual transmission… and we don’t expect it to arrive Stateside anytime soon. We’re talking about the all-new Suzuki Swift Sport, which is set to make its official debut at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. The compact hot hatch is a tuned version of the standard Swift, with power rated at 134 horses and torque at 118 pound-feet, fed to the wheels through a six-speed manual transmission.

Suzuki didn’t just fiddle with the engine, however, as the Swift Sport gets a healthy dose of chassis and suspension upgrades over the standard Swift. The torsion beam is more rigid, spring rates have been increased and the front wheels receive larger bushings to help turn the Swift Sport into an agile handling machine.

Despite all the sporting notions, the Suzuki Swift Sport is still a light sipper at the fuel pump. Fuel economy is rated at approximately 37 miles per gallon. So to sum up, the Swift Sport sounds rather fun to drive yet it’s fuel efficient as well, and you’re not going to see one on a U.S. road in the foreseeable future. Feel free to read all the details after the break.

Continue reading Suzuki to launch sprightlier Swift Sport in Frankfurt

Suzuki to launch sprightlier Swift Sport in Frankfurt

Infiniti is using its presence here at the Frankfurt Motor Show to not only show off its newest goodness (more on that later today), but to give us a glimpse of what’s to come. The Japanese automaker released this sketch of what we’re told is a five-seat zero-emissions vehicle set to launch sometime in 2014.

Those are the only details we have about the EV sedan as of this writing, but Infiniti promises us that it will stand true to the brand’s promise of “inspired performance.” Infiniti’s incredibly brief, official statement is yours for the reading after the jump.

Continue reading Infiniti releases sketch of upcoming EV sedan

Infiniti releases sketch of upcoming EV sedan

The Honda Insight is a hatchback with its spirit in the right place, but everything else about it has practically no spirit at all. Honda has finally seen to its lackluster hybrid by tweaking nearly everything about it. Its face has been given blue eyes courtesy of tinted headlight covers, and the grille and front spoiler benefit from a welcome sharpening. In back, a revised profile for the spoiler means improved visibility.

The Insight’s sparse plastic interior is where TLC was most needed, and the loving comes via nicer seat fabric, “wood look paneling,” and stitching that breaks up the synthetic expanses. There is also more room inside, and less noise.

Under the hood is the familiar 1.3-liter i-VTEC mated to an electric motor, but tweaks mean that it gets better gas mileage and now puts out just 96 grams of CO2 per kilometer when fitted with 15-inch wheels. You can find out all about the better, frugal-er Insight in the materials after the jump and the gallery of high-res photos.

Continue reading 2012 Honda Insight gets nicer

2012 Honda Insight gets nicer

Seat has showed off (highly stylized) photos of its IBC sedan concept, billing it as “the future of the sports saloon” and the “latest evolution of stylish Seat design DNA.” We actually think it a bit toned down… and a bit of a mish-mash, frankly (Kia Optima, anyone?), compared to Seat’s usual concepts.

But where the IBL makes its concept statement is inside, with next-step infotainment and draught-free air conditioning. You’ll find the full story on the IBC inside and out in the press release after the jump, and there’ll be live shots coming soon from the Frankfurt Motor Show floor.

Continue reading Seat drops the details on IBL sedan concept

Seat drops the details on IBL sedan concept

Now that Kia has proven itself to be a true leader in terms of automotive design (thanks for that, Peter Schreyer), it’s time for the Korean automaker to evolve its styling language to new types of vehicles. Every new Kia design has been created for a front-wheel-drive platform, but now, Schreyer and his team have expanded to the world of the rear-wheel-drive architecture, previewed here with the GT concept, making its debut at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.

“We wanted to create something similarly graceful, athletic and confident, but not aggressive or overbearing,” says Gregory Guillaume, Kia’s European design chief. Those of you with keen eyes will note that the GT concept is a sort of evolution from Kia’s Kee concept, first seen in Frankfurt back in 2007. The swoopy, four-door coupe shape works well with the Kee’s original design direction, though we must admit, we feel like we’ve seen that front fascia before. (Aston Martin One-77, anyone? Or how about the GT by Citroën race car?)

We’re not quite sure if we love the exterior design, but one thing’s for sure – what’s under the hood is sure to impress. The GT concept is powered by a 3.3-liter turbocharged V6, producing 389 horsepower and 394 pound-feet of torque, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Inside, the GT concept uses single-piece seats floating on arched supports, as well as a glass instrument panel with three layers of organic LED lights. This glass panel not only gives an interesting, 3D view of the information display, but allows the center console to be freed up of its usual buttons and displays, allowing for a cleaner, more spacious feel.

Hit the jump for Kia’s own words about the GT concept, and stay tuned for live shots direct from the Frankfurt Messe.

Continue reading Kia GT Concept puts a familiar face on a rear-wheel-drive platform

Kia GT Concept puts a familiar face on a rear-wheel-drive platform

With a vehicle as iconic as the Porsche 911, even small changes are a big deal. Take this new 2012 model, for example – its design has only been tweaked ever so slightly, and the non-visual modifications include some powertrain tweaks and overall chassis enhancements. We’ve been gushing over the official 911 details for a while now, but here at the Frankfurt Motor Show, we’re finally able to get up close and personal with Porsche’s new hotness.

Arguably the biggest bit of news regarding the 2012 911 is its seven-speed manual transmission, available with both the 3.4-liter and 3.8-liter flat-six engines. That, combined with start/stop technology means the new 911 will be more efficient than ever, though its impressive output numbers (300 horsepower for the 3.4-liter mill, 400 hp for the 3.8) mean it’ll still be an excellent enthusiast machine out on the road. Porsche claims 0-60 times of 4.4 seconds for the base Carrera and 4.1 seconds for the Carrera S.

This is one car we’ll surely be starting at quite a bit during our time here in Frankfurt, so stay tuned for plenty more live shots to come over the next few days. In the meantime, scroll through our high-res image gallery to see Porsche’s new icon for yourself.

2012 Porsche 911 is the icon, tweaked

We’ve heard plenty about Volvo attempting to move up-market and now we’ve got another indication of what it’s going to look like.

The Volvo Concept You, debuting today at the Frankfurt Motor Show, is the next iteration of the Concept Universe originally shown in Shanghai earlier this year. We don’t have any powertrain or production details, but that’s the point – the You is all about showing off the future of Volvo luxury and how the Swedes plan on evolving the infotainment game.

The You’s controls are distilled down into a single touchscreen mounted in the center console, partnered with a heads-up display on the windshield and a customizable dash. When the driver looks – yes, looks – in the direction of the screen, a pair of infrared cameras register the eye movement and wakes the display from sleep. All the normal climate, audio and infotainment controls are accessible – including internet for the passenger side – and drivers can swipe data from the touchscreen to the heads-up display or to share with back seat passengers. If it’s anything like Volvo’s standard navigation and audio controls, it should be pretty slick and less distracting than other systems.

The other interior innovation comes in the form of a new audio system developed by Alpine, equipped with a “FreshAir” subwoofer that drops the weight of the speaker from around 33 pounds down to three pounds.

You can see it all in the gallery above, including the utterly ridiculous door panels the ape a tailor-made suite – complete with pen.

Concept You is the new face of Volvo luxury

The new Land Rover Defender cometh in 2015, so sayeth – officially – Land Rover. When it released information and photos on the DC100 concept not long ago, the accompanying press release stated “Land Rover confirms its intention to launch a new Defender in 2015.” Bringing a spot of sun to Defender lovers everywhere, in two weeks the firm has snipped three years off that delivery time.

We haven’t got any more information on what the replacement will really have, but the sampler platter of specs we have so far – mixed-alloy platform, aerospace tech, Terrain-i scanning and so on – does tempt. We’ll get the whole lot when it’s revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show, so stay tuned for that… and for 2015. Press blast after the jump.

Continue reading All-new Land Rover Defender coming in 2015

All-new Land Rover Defender coming in 2015

Meet the Fiesta ST concept – it’s all the goodness of the newly introduced Focus ST, just in a smaller package. It looks just about ready to hit the streets, and that’s a good thing, since
Ford says that it is “seriously looking” at bringing this hot little number to production.

The beating heart under the Fiesta ST’s bonnet is a 1.6-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder, producing somewhere between 175 and 180 horsepower. The concept car uses a six-speed manual transmission and sends power exclusively to the front wheels, and Ford claims that the Fiesta ST is capable of running to 62 miles per hour in under seven seconds.

The big reason why we’re hoping the Fiesta ST gets the go-ahead? Ford says that the car will be a global model, meaning we’ll have two new Ford performance products to sink our teeth into in the United States. We’ve seen plenty of spy shots of the hotted-up Fiesta, so we’re fairly confident that this little darling will see the light of day sometime after the Focus ST goes on sale. The question is, will we get the three-door configuration, or will it spawn a set of rear doors?

We’ll have a slew of live images direct from the Frankfurt Messe in short order. For now, hit the jump to read over Ford’s official press release.

Continue reading Ford Fiesta ST Concept is tiny-tough hotness

Ford Fiesta ST Concept is tiny-tough hotness

Ahead of its official unveiling at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Fisker Automotive bosses had us up to a studio in Munich for a thorough advance viewing and info download on their second model, a shooting brake called Surf.

The first words out of our mouth was, “The shape is a bit like a Ferrari FF.” First thing out of their mouth – as though they were utterly perched to form the words, too – “But with four doors!” Henrik Fisker and COO Bernhard Koehler much prefer hearkening back to the 1970s iconic Lamborghini Espada when talking about the Surf’s inspiration.

The Surf is the second model from the Fisker design pool, and it is so-named partly because a Fisker owner can now load a surfboard either in or on it. This joins the Karma sedan on the production line at Valmet Automotive in Finland, and should be ready for deliveries worldwide by July 2012.

Continue reading Fisker Surf shooting brake wows Frankfurt Show

Fisker Surf shooting brake wows Frankfurt Show

We’re almost ready to record Episode #247 of the Autoblog Podcast. Check out the topics below and you can join us live via UStream, as well. Thanks for listening!

Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #247

• Ford Focus ST
• Three Cylinder EcoBoost
• Frankfurt anticipation
• Jaguar CX-16

Live broadcasting by Ustream

Autoblog Podcast #247 goes LIVE at 10PM Eastern

Testing a new car is always a grueling process. General Motors decided to ratchet things up a notch for the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, putting the car through an even more demanding test schedule than normal. Out on the Milford proving grounds, engineers pushed the Camaro ZL1 around the track for four hours per day over the course of six days.

These test sessions were divided into 40-minute segments, of which there were 36 sessions in total. That is a lot of track time for a new car, especially on a track that pushes vehicles to their limits. This is 24 hours of track work to see if and where something might go wrong. Click the jump to get some insight into into the testing procedures and for some fun footage of a ZL1 driven in anger.

Continue reading Chevy Camaro ZL1 undergoes brutal 24-hour test

Chevy Camaro ZL1 undergoes brutal 24-hour test

Following a bit of an early leak ahead of its actual debut on the eve of the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Lamborghini has gone ahead and pulled the sheets off its Gallardo Super Trofeo Stradale for real. And it’s a beauty.

Looking rather fetching in its flawless coat of Rosso Mars paint, which the automaker proudly claims recognizes Italy’s famous red racing cars, this latest version of Lambo’s V10-powered supercar is based on the LP570-4 Blancpain Edition that was unveiled at last year’s Paris Motor Show. That means it weighs 2,954 pounds and makes good use of its 570 horsepower to hit 0-62 miles per hour in 3.4 seconds.

That massive rear spoiler is manually adjustable to help keep the wheels on the ground, and both it and the car’s hood are crafted from carbon fiber. Lamborghini will happily plaster the interior with carbon goodness in place of the standard black and red motif, surely for an extra charge.

Only 150 of these special Gallardos are earmarked for production, in either the aforementioned red hue or, optionally, in Grigio Telesto or Bianco Monocerus. Feel free to read all the details in the press release after the break, and be sure to check out our live gallery of high-res images.

Continue reading Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo Stradale hits the stage

Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo Stradale hits the stage

A light nip and tuck is often all that a stylish sports car needs as it gets older. The Audi RS5 isn’t even old yet, but’s gone in to have some work done anyway. With a refreshed face, the RS5 has emerged on the internet ahead of its global debut at this week’s 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. The handsome coupe is propelled by way of a 450-horsepower, 4.2-liter V8 engine that revs to over 8,000 rpm. As before, forward momentum is metered out through the Quattro all-wheel-drive system, and helps the RS5 run from 0-62 miles per hour in 4.6 seconds.

Updated for the coming model year, the Audi RS5 wears a new face that features restyled headlamps, new daytime running lamps and a revised lower fascia. (Apparently the RS5 shown above will buck conventional fog light trends and go with a singular lamp – that, or perhaps Audi is rocking some sort of special offset radar-based cruise control sensor). Either way, we’re finally looking at the RS5 that will be sold in North American Audi dealerships, and we couldn’t be more excited. Check it over in our gallery and then look past the jump for all of the official details.

Continue reading Facelifted 2012 Audi RS5 breaks out before Frankfurt debut

Facelifted 2012 Audi RS5 breaks out before Frankfurt debut

German automaker Volkwagen is recalling 30,294 of its 2011-2012 model year Jetta sedans for tailpipe finishers that extend beyond the vehicle’s rear bumper.

On certain Jettas, stainless steel exhaust tips – sold at the point-of-purchase and installed at port during importation – may extend beyond the original length of the factory-installed exhaust pipes, a situation that could result in burns if bumped or touched while hot.

VW will notify owners of affected Jetta models by the end of November and says that dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the stainless tips with updated versions. Owners are urged to contact Volkswagen for additional info. Follow the jump for more details.

Continue reading 2011-2012 VW Jetta models recalled over…. excessively long exhaust?!

2011-2012 VW Jetta models recalled over…. excessively long exhaust?!

The McLaren Automotive Company (MAC for short) is presently holding a string of dealership grand opening ceremonies on a city-by-city basis around Europe. We caught up with them in Milan, Italy, at opening ceremony number five of the planned thirty-five ceremonies worldwide.

Located in the “expendable income” part of town, the dealership is more of a boutique storefront with a McLaren logo above a couple of the entryways. On the main part of the floor in the corner window is the star car, the MP4-12C, painted silver with a nice burgundy red interior.

Beautiful folks abounded, making us feel even drabber than usual. Then the moment arrived when the police escorted a black MP4-12C to a corded-off bit of curb in front of the showroom. Up went the driver’s side swan door and out came McLaren F1 driver and 2009 Formula One Drivers Champion, Jenson Button. Click through the jump to read more and watch a video of Button’s arrival.

Continue reading McLaren MP4-12C deliveries on schedule; Jenson Button makes sure of it

McLaren MP4-12C deliveries on schedule; Jenson Button makes sure of it

We record Episode #247 of the Autoblog Podcast tonight, and you can drop us your questions via our Q&A module below. Check out our discussion topics or chime in to help determine what else the crew chats about this evening, too. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven’t already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.

Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #247

• Ford Focus ST
• Three Cylinder EcoBoost
• Frankfurt anticipation
• Jaguar CX-16

[UStream] Interact LIVE at UStream – 10PM Eastern on Monday, September 5, 2011
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
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Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #247 LIVE

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has just announced a safety recall covering
295,123 vehicles, a pair of Subaru models and a close relative from Saab. The recall concerns front control arms that may fail if corroded, making the vehicle difficult to control. The action covers select 2003-2008 Forester crossovers, 2002-2007 Impreza models and some 2005-2006 Saab 9-2x hatchbacks, the latter heavily based on Subaru mechanicals.

In April, NHTSA launched an investigation after receiving seven complaints from owners of affected vehicles. In two instances, owners reported losing control of their vehicle due to control arm failure. The agency’s investigation revealed the front lower control arms may break at the hanger brackets due to corrosion if exposed to salt or humid environments.

This is a geographic recall, meaning that Subaru will inspect the degree of corrosion and either replace or rustproof the control arms on vehicles registered for use in the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island and West Virginia.

Saab dealers will be responsible to inspect and repair affected 9-2x models as necessary, including the possible rustproofing or replacement of control arms. Owners who think that their vehicle may be covered under the recall are urged to contact their dealer.

Continue reading Subaru Forester, Impreza and Saab 9-2X recalled over control arm corrosion

Subaru Forester, Impreza and Saab 9-2X recalled over control arm corrosion

Earlier this year, we headed out to California’s Willow Springs Raceway to see Vaughn Gittin Jr. play with his 1969 RTR-X Ford Mustang for the very first time. It took just a few minutes for Gittin and his pony car to get acquainted, then it was all sideways action and tire smoke for the next couple of hours.

We weren’t the only ones watching Gittin that day, though. A film crew had their lenses pointed at the RTR-X as well, getting footage for a video about the making of the car. That video, produced by Team Need for Speed, has now been released, and it provides a glimpse into what it took to build the car, along with the people behind the project. There’s also some great footage of Gittin doing his thing in the RTR-X at Willow Springs. To watch the video just follow the jump and hit play.

Continue reading The making of Vaughn Gittin Jr’s 1969 RTR-X Ford Mustang

The making of Vaughn Gittin Jr’s 1969 RTR-X Ford Mustang