When American automakers release Carbon editions of their sports cars, buyers are treated to a few carbon fiber veneers, some fancy wheels and a few badges. When Pagani builds a Huayra Carbon Edition, the Italian manufacturer simply constructs every last piece of body work out of the composite and slathers everything in clear coat.
Pagani unveiled its latest sculpture at the Geneva Motor Show this week, and the vehicle is very possibly the definition of sinister sexy. Buyers can look forward to enjoying the same lethal drivetrain found in the “base” Huayra, which means there’s a 700-horsepower AMG-sourced 6.0-liter V12 behind the seats.
While the standard Huayra boasts a carbon-titanium monocoque, the wild carbon fiber body work on the Carbon Edition is something new entirely. We dig it in every way possible.
We know we’re beating a dead horse by complaining about an automaker not offering its European products in the United States, but seriously, wouldn’t this handsome new be an excellent replacement for the milquetoast ?
has been doing some great things with design lately, and the full host of new styling elements has made its way down to the new C-segment offering. We like the large headlamps that stretch far up the hood line, accented with LED running lamps and pronounced fog lamps below. The unique, 18-inch wheels look cool and give the Cee’d a sporty touch, and the whole design is rounded off in back with a squared-off rump. Speaking of the rear, Kia also saw it fit to debut a new Cee’d wagon, called the SW, offering a substantial cargo area for those who need more functionality than a standard hatch can offer.
Five powertrains will be offered at launch – two diesel and three petrol – ranging from 89 to 133 horsepower. Six-speed manual transmissions are available across the board, with six-speed automatics available on two of the 1.6-liter engines. The range-topping 133-hp gasoline engine also features Kia’s first dual-clutch ‘box.
Honestly, we’re big fans of this new compact Kia, and our hope is that the Korean automaker will someday plant its Cee’d on North American soil. See the new hatchback and wagon for yourself in our attached high-res image gallery and for the full press release.
Obscure as it may have been (and remains still) to most motorheads on the western shores of the Atlantic, the original Cisitalia 202 was (and endures as) an icon in automotive design. It was fluid, harmonious, and looked as though it were carved by wind from a single bar of soap. The modern interpretation you see here, however, is a far cry.
Designed by the students in transportation design at the IED in Turin, Italy, the was unveiled here on the floor of the to a largely indifferent audience. You can’t fault the students or their school for that, because there’s just so much going on here. But then it doesn’t do much to stand out, either.
Suffice it to say that some of the projects – namely the – undertaken by previous graduating classes caught our attention in a better way. See what we mean in the gallery of live images above.
Diesel engines are synonymous with torque, and torque equals acceleration. Considering these facts, it’s great to see some tuned-for-performance diesel vehicles hitting the ground in Europe from the likes of , including this , which is part of the automaker’s new M Performance line. Now if we could just get them sent to the States…
So, what are BMW fans in the U.S. missing out on? A 3.0-liter inline-six common-rail diesel engine augmented by a trio of turbochargers. That mill is good for 376 horsepower at 4,000 rpm and 545 pound-feet of torque from 2,000 to 3,000 rpm, which is enough grunt for a 5.3-second sprint to 60 and a limited top speed of 155 miles per hour.
Of course, diesel engines are also synonymous with efficiency, and the 2012 X6 M50d scores on that front with EU-cycle ratings of 36.7 mpg Imperial (44 mpg U.S.), though such ratings aren’t equivalent to U.S. EPA figures. In any case, check out the high-res gallery of live photos from the and then for the official press release.
The Spanish automaker GTA has returned to the Geneva Motor Show, this time with a production version of the company’s Spano supercar. The coupe boasts a laundry list of exotic materials on hand, including a unibody shell constructed of titanium, kevlar and carbon fiber. All told, the package tips the scales at a scant 2,970 pounds.
A total of 840 horsepower comes courtesy of an 8.3-liter V10, all of which is dumped on the rear tires through a seven-speed transmission. According to GTA, the Spano can hit 62 mph from a dead standstill in just 2.9 seconds. If you’re keeping track, that’s faster than the just-unveiled .
As impressive as the go specs are, the vehicle has some stout stop-ware to match. AP supplied a set of front discs that are nearly 15 inches in diameter squeezed by mighty six-piston calipers. Too cool.
Of course, you’ll pay for the privilege of being faster than the new Prancing Horse. No list price has been announced just yet, but with the stack of wild materials and heady horsepower on hand, you can bet your last penny this thing won’t come cheap. GTA expects to deliver the first models by late 2012.
We’ll come right out and say it: The isn’t exactly pretty. And while this new adds all of the go-fast appearance bits befitting any AMG model, it doesn’t exactly help the big roadster’s appearance. And by the way, when we say big, we mean big. The photos don’t quite do it justice – this is one seriously large two-seater.
Large and in charge as it may be, the 2013 SL63 AMG is actually far prettier beneath the skin. For one thing, it’s 275 pounds lighter than the model it replaces, thanks largely to the use of high-strength but lightweight aluminum parts. Even so, this bad boy tips the scales at just over 4,050 pounds, but never fear – there’s one heck of a powerplant underhood to get this grandaddy moving with a quickness.
Just like the entire new crop of AMG products, the SL63 uses Merc’s twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter M157 V8, good for 530 horsepower and 593 pound-feet of torque. Tick the box for the optional AMG Performance Package and those numbers increase to 557 and 664(!) respectively. With that additional grunt, the SL63 will shoot to 60 miles per hour in just 4.1 seconds (4.2 without the Performance Pack), on its way to relaxed top speed of 186 miles per hour (non PP-equipped models top out at 155).
Glorious as it all sounds, we still can’t get past the fact that the once-timelessly beautiful SL continues to get uglier and uglier with each new generation. Sigh. See for yourself in the attached high-res image galleries.
Automakers are engaged in a constant struggle to get their products noticed. From clever advertising to sneaky movie deals and , putting a vehicle in front of the public is the first step toward wrangling better sales figures. recently took a different approach for the upcoming hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the F-Cell. While the company rolled out a special version of the car in front of the public, it did its best to hide the hatchback behind a veil of special LED matting. The LEDs were paired to a Canon 5D Mark II on the other side of the car, which supplied video.
As a result, the LEDs project an image of what’s on the other side of the vehicle, making the F-Cell effectively invisible. Why hide a new car behind a curtain of techno wizardry? Mercedes-Benz wants to underscore the fact that the F-Cell is a zero-emission vehicle, making it practically invisible in terms of pollution. We see what you did there, Mercedes-Benz. Check out the video for yourself .
admits it only needs to sell a half dozen to cover its development costs. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the 2013 Audi RS4 Avant. execs have made it clear that its hottest midsize Avant won’t be coming to the States anytime soon, so if you’re particularly sensitive to forbidden fruit, stop reading now.
Like the RS5, the RS4 Avant packs Audi’s meticulously crafted 4.2-liter V8 putting out 450 horsepower at a stratospheric 8,250 RPM and 317 pound-feet of torque from 4,000 to 6,000 RPM. A seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox sends power to Audi’s Quattro all-wheel-drive system, including a beefed up version of the ’s torque vectoring rear differential. The run to 60 blows past in the high four-second range and while the “standard” top speed is limited to 155 miles per hour, grease the palms at the Audi service department and you’ll max out at 174 mph.
The 14.4-inch front rotors are framed by standard 19-inch lightweight wheels, with optional 14.9-inch carbon ceramic discs barely obscured by 20-inch hoops. A customizable, active suspension is fitted at all four corners, dropping the RS4 by nearly an inch over its standard Avant counterpart.
Pricing hasn’t been set, but sales are due to begin this fall in Germany. And if Audi can make the case in the States, we hear the next generation could be a global model.
Turn 10 Studios made some big waves when the video game developer announced it had finally come to an agreement with and EA Games over a licensing deal that would see the German sports cars make it into the Forza Motorsport 4 universe. Autoblog recently sat down with Dan Greenawalt, the director of Turn 10 studios, for a quick chat about the Porsche DLC, Forza Horizon, the new level cap for Forza Motorsport 4 and the relationship between Forza and Gran Turismo.
Autoblog: Porsche has been pretty territorial about licensing their products in terms of video games. How did the Porsche expansion pack play out? How did you make it happen?
Dan Greenawalt: Well, many many years ago Porsche and EA Games signed a long-term deal regarding how Porsche was going to be licensed. That deal has been resigned many times over the years. Because of the nature of that deal, EA has the exclusive rights and the discretion to sub-license Porsche as they see fit.
Porsche has been in the last three Forza Motorsports through a sub-licensing deal with EA. For Forza Motorsport 4 we were not able to find terms that were agreeable to all parties, but we stayed at the table. It took some time to value the brand in such a way that everyone agreed.
Porsche, and are kind of like the holy trinity of auto brands. They pull in a lot of people. They have prestige around the world. Finding that value and agreeing on that value is really what it came down to.
The , but it’s one of the most lauded cars in history. Today the plug-in hybrid was named the 2012 European Car of the Year, an award it will share with its European fraternal twin, the Opel Ampera.
The Volt won North American Car of the Year in 2011, while also picking up car of the year accolades from , , and nabbing . Britain’s What Car? awarded the Vauxhall Ampera – as the Opel model is called in the U.K. – , as well.
But the Volt has been at the center of one controversy after another, . A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation into a battery fire , but it led to the . Recent negative publicity among has contributed to making the Volt something of an enigma for General Motors, which just announced it was .
While Europe was never envisioned as the prime market for the Volt/Ampera, GM says it already has 7,000 orders for the Ampera and that the company expects to hit its target of 10,000 sales this year. Certainly, winning this award, presented at the for the first time this year, should help.
The Volt/Ampera finished significantly ahead of the Up! and in the European Car of the Year voting, which included a field of 35 vehicles.
Now that Forza Motorsport 4 developer Turn 10 Studios and finally “found the right terms,” you can have in your Forza. The Porsche Expansion Pack will be available for 1,600 MS points or $19.99, and will reward you with 30 products from the Stuttgart maker including the 2010 . Turn 10 says that seven of the 30 will be completely new to the series, which probably means you can expect the return of classics from Forza 3 like the 962.
The pack isn’t included in the game’s Season Pass, but your Porsche Expansion Pack won’t just get cars, either: there will be 20 new events, 10 XBox Live achievements and a Rivals Mode all based on Porsches as well. The pack is scheduled to be available on May 22 and will take FM4’s car count (with DLCs) to 625. The licensing deal isn’t long-term, so if Porsches are your thing you should mark May 22 on your calendar.
The other two new events on the Forza 4 horizon are that level caps have been raised from 150 to 999, and a new game called Forza Horizon is on the way. It’s being developed by an outside studio called Playground Games and no one seems to know anything about it beyond Turn 10’s assessment that “it’s a fast-paced pick-up-and-play racing game.” There’s a video trailer for Horizon which won’t tell you anything more than you already know, but sounds pretty cool.
fettler RUF is bringing six new products to the , showing off what it has in mind for the 991-model . The company announced on its Facebook page that its 300-square-meter stand will showcase the “stunning CT”, “rocket RT”, “racer RG”, “luxury RX”, the “grandfather of RUF Turbo cars” as well as a surprise.
The image above was surreptitiously and is purported to be the new CTR3, hiding a 700-horsepower, twin-turbo flat six good for a sub-four second run to 62 mph and a 235 mph terminal velocity. It is shaping up to be a very good Geneva show.
What do you do when you want to cast your cute little city car as a truly bad ass performance machine? How about hiring an infamous drug enthusiast actor, a guy who insists he has “tiger blood” flowing through his veins?
Yes, that’s right, has enlisted none other than Charlie Sheen to promote its here in the States. Sheen’s appearance in the commercial is brief, portraying himself hot-shoeing the small car around a palatial home – indoors, during a party, mind you – while under “house arrest.” Sheen, of course, is the former star of Two and a Half Men, who was reportedly the highest-paid actor on television before being fired for badmouthing the show’s creator last year. Sheen’s antics also included demanding a 50 percent raise and threatening a lawsuit against his employers, despite being hospitalized for substance abuse-related issues at least three times.
The Abarth goes on sale this spring, while Sheen’s new FX series, Anger Management, premieres on Thursday, June 28 at 9 p.m.
Stay with us on this, because the scene above is one big misunderstanding. It’s a little hard to make out in the YouTube video , but Norman Nowling is backing his Ford Econoline monster van over the top of a Toyota Corolla. When he finished his brutal work, the Corolla wouldn’t be going anywhere that didn’t involve the words “flatbed” and “chains.” So imagine the shock when the Toyota’s 16-year-old owner returned to it in the wee hours, noticeably flatter than we she left it.
The incident happened at the , a mudding and swamp trails park in Punta Gorda, Florida. The teen attended a concert at the park during “Swamp Cabbage Weekend” and apparently left her car parked near “the mud hole,” a park location that obviously attracts monster trucks. She went mudding elsewhere in the park, didn’t return to her car right after the concert, and at some point the assembled group of monster truckers decided they were going to run over it.
Nowling’s taken the heat because it’s him on the video, but he’s not the bad guy everyone’s made him out to be. See, Nowling was the last guy to the mud hole party, and before he got there at least two other trucks had tried to run over the Corolla and failed. Folks cheered Norman on to do the honors, but before he did he repeatedly asked security if it was all right, and according to his police statement, security told him it was fine, that the Toyota was abandoned. Also, according to Nowling, the fire department and the police were there as he was doing it. And as you can see in the video, Norman didn’t act alone: Another truck holds the Corolla in place while Nowling prepares to back over it.
Nowling was eventually arrested for felony Criminal Mischief and released on bond. Then he held a press conference to tell his side of what happened, and during the conference handed the teen’s stepfather a check for $6,500 to replace her car. Why? “I have a daughter, and it is the right thing to do,” he said. “I need to go to sleep every night with a clear conscience.” He’s apparently been banned from the RYC, but he’s hoping the other truck owners involved will also come forward.
for video of the incident, as well as a press conference held by the crusher and an interview with the teenage crushee.
Battle Of The Budget-Friendly Full-Size RWD Luxury Sedans
The Hyundai Genesis Sedan and Chrysler 300S are much more alike than they are different.
Why compare a Hyundai to a Chrysler? At first glance, this matchup may seem rather preposterous, but a logical argument says this rivalry has been in place for more than a decade. In 2002, and were both offering full-size front-wheel-drive sedans. Hyundai had its XG350 fitted with a 194-horsepower 3.5-liter V6, while Chrysler was touting its Concorde with a 214-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 (each shared an EPA rating of 16 mpg city and 24 mpg highway). Not only were both remarkably similar on paper, but both sedans started at about $25,000.
Today, Hyundai and Chrysler remain in the full-size arena with products that are infinitely more interesting, significantly more powerful and immeasurably more engaging to drive – they also happen to be the only two rear-wheel-drive luxury sedans left in this price segment.
Sensing an interesting fight, we rounded up a 2012 Hyundai Genesis sedan and a 2012 Chrysler 300S for a driving comparison. After several hundred miles of city, canyon and highway had passed swiftly beneath their undercarriages, one clear winner had emerged.
Two years after Consumer Reports smacked by in the wake of safety concerns, the venerable consumer products testing magazine has slipped back into its comfortable role of being one of Toyota’s biggest fans. In announcing its annual Top Picks list, CR lauded five Toyota models as best-in-class, meaning the once beleaguered brand captured fully half of the category awards.
The five triumphant Toyota models included the Hybrid (hybrid), (small SUV), V6 (family hauler), (green car), and (Family SUV). It is the first time since 2003 that a single automaker has scored five class awards. , the last automaker to do so, did not land a single vehicle on the list for the second time in three years.
Other vehicles landing a spot on the list include the (sporty car), (affordable family sedan), (sports sedan), (small car), and (pickup truck).
CR says it evaluates vehicles for their road test performance, as well as reliability and safety, requiring that winners rank at least near the top of their category on the organization’s overall road test scores while having average or better reliability on reader surveys and performing “well” on crash tests.
If you’re of the opinion that the world needs fewer bloated crossovers and SUVs and more station wagons, first of all, you’re in good company. Wagons can offer all the cargo capacity and most of the versatility of their taller siblings, only without the wobbly handling and excess weight. Secondly, today’s your day, because has unleashed its new XF Sportbrake.
Based, as you might have guessed, on the sedan, the Sportbrake offers the longer roofing and extra space embraced by European buyers over their saloon counterparts. In fact, the XF Sportbrake offers 550 liters (19 cubic feet) of cargo space with the rear seats in place, or 1,675 liters (59 cu. ft.) with the rear seats folded flat. That’s roughly comparable to the Estate (20.5/57.4 cu. ft. with seats up/down) and (25/58), or in crossover terms, about what you get in an (29.1/57.3) and a bit less than the back of a (23.7/62.9).
Jaguar in turn says structural integrity is just as stiff as the sedan’s, and rear seat headroom has incidentally increased by 48 mm (1.9 inches). All that, and the Sportbrake weighs just 70 kg (154 pounds) more than its four-door counterpart, offset by a self-leveling air suspension. Couple that with a torquey diesel – with either 2.2 liters of capacity in four cylinders or 3.0 liters in six – and an eight-speed automatic transmission and you’re looking at an intriguing alternative for towing the motor launch down to the yacht club.
What Jaguar isn’t saying, however, is what (if any) of its gasoline engines will be offered in the Sportbrake – most pertinently the V8 and supercharged mills – or for that matter if there are any plans to bring the stately estate to the U.S. market, but we wouldn’t hold our breath (that whole wagon thing didn’t work out too well last time). What you can do, however, is scope out the high-res images in the gallery and the press release after the jump until next week when the long-back cat debuts under the floodlights of the .
Delphi is headed to this year’s Geneva Motor Show with a concept of its own. Details on the F1FOR3 Concept are slim at the moment, though the company says the vehicle will be a platform for demonstrating “high speed connectivity and user experience features.” While that sounds about as thrilling as belly button lint, we’re bolstered by the fact that the concept was created with input from Franco Sbarro. Sbarro has had a hand in creating some of the most beautiful and oddball concepts we’ve ever seen, which means the F1FOR3 should be plenty entertaining when it hits the show room floor.
The good news is that the technology on display inside the concept will likely be Delphi products that are currently available. While we were hoping to see a street-legal F1 car with seating for three, innovative on-board tech will simply have to do. Look for the vehicle to debut next month, and for the brief press release.
Tom LaSorda, former CEO and current vice chairman, has been named CEO of Fisker Automotive Group.
LaSorda takes the reigns from the company’s namesake, Henrik Fisker, and will continue to help manage the up-start automaker with the help of former , and board members.
LaSorda saw Chrysler through its most recent troubling times, including its botched marriage to Daimler, the unholy offloading to Cerberus and finally its sale to .
We’ll have more information when Fisker makes the official announcement shortly.
UPDATE: Henrick Fisker is moving aside to fill the role of Executive Chairmain. LaSorda says he’s excited about the company’s prospects, particularly after seeing what’s in store with Project Nina and has invested in the company ahead of his appointment. Full release .
spent much of 2011 jousting with Italian labor unions over contracts and plant security. The matter was when Fiat signed new labor agreements, but a sign of Fiat’s take on the matter was its , an Italian business group, over concerns that group labor agreements were crippling international competitiveness. Some recent comments by Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, though, seem to point the company back to loggerheads with labor.
According to a Reuters report, Marchionne said that Fiat might close two of its five Italian plants “if plans to export to the growing U.S. market don’t materialize.” The plans in question appear to be based on getting Alfa Romeo back to the U.S. market, but the only public news we’ve and . The report didn’t say when Marchionne was considering shutting down the plants, but with Alfa’s U.S. return timed for next year at the earliest, it seems a bit early for Marchionne to turn into a crapehanger.
Indeed, the report has riled the head of Italy’s largest metalworker’s union, who called the comments “worrying,” cited the failed attempts to get Alfa here and called plans for the brand “weak, overambitious and adventurous.”
What’s not in question, however, is that Marchionne has to figure out how to get more from Fiat’s Italian operations. While Chrysler plants are at capacity, put Fiat’s Italian factory utilization at 38 percent in the first three quarters of 2011, and said Italian workers produced 30 cars per year on average while Polish workers produced 100, before accounting for model and work disparities. Pinning hopes on Alfa’s export possibilities to turn those numbers around strikes us as odd.
![Official: Tom LaSorda named Fisker CEO [UPDATED]](http://theautoblog.ru/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/d574d_fisker-names-former-chrysler-chief-tom-lasorda-as-vice-chairman.jpeg "Official: Tom LaSorda named Fisker CEO [UPDATED]")
Tom LaSorda, former CEO and current vice chairman, has been named CEO of 
