Turin-based styling house has released a couple of sketches teasing its upcoming Nuccio Concept car. To be debuted at the in March, the Nuccio will reportedly be based on a mid-engine platform and is meant to commemorate the company’s 100-year anniversary.
The Nuccio is named after founder Giovanni Bertone’s son, who took over the company and separated it into two divisions, one for building cars and one for designing them for clients. Giuseppe “Nuccio” Bertone died in 1997 and was , having led his eponymous company through its most successful years.
The Nuccio Concept will be a berlinetta (Italian for little saloon) of classic Bertone design, sporting a pronounced wedge shape that sits very low to the ground. No real details were provided with the two sketches, so we’ll have to wait until the Geneva festivities kick off for any hints on the powertrain or seating configuration.
These days, you only have an Egg chair in your office if you’re an evil genius or confused enough to think it’s still 1962. The clever artists at Racing and Emotion Design are out to change all that, though. The company has taken it upon themselves to slather the spherical seating in some of the world’s most famous racing liveries. Want to kick back in the same style as the Gulf Porsche 917? Nor problem. What if the Pink Pig is more your style? Racing and Emotion Design have you covered.
The French designers have even worked up an Egg chair in Ayrton Senna’s helmet livery, as well as the colors found on the racer’s Lotus 97T. In all, there are 21 separate liveries to chose from. We’re particularly smitten with the BMW 3.0 CSL piece, though the various Gulf liveried thrones are likely to be sure winners. Unfortunately, we won’t be dragging one of these home to the lair anytime soon. The chairs each cost around $3,788 at current conversion rates, which means we’ll just have to control our death ray from the comfort of the couch. Head over to to take a look at the full range.
Automotive News reports is still mulling the possibility of a luxury sub-brand. Vehicles like the , and would all sail under a new Genesis brand sold through Hyundai dealerships. The models would also receive a new alphanumeric naming system to avoid redundancy. Dave Zuchowski, executive vice president of sales for Hyundai Motor America, told Automotive News the automaker is currently discussing whether or not selling premium vehicles with a Hyundai badge on the hood is restricting the company from moving more units.
The report says many Genesis buyers are opting for dealer-installed Genesis emblems in place of their Hyundai badges already. Even so, no final decision has been made about the possible rebranding nor has any time table been placed on the move. Zuchowski says if the Hyundai does decide to segregate its luxury models from the rest of the fleet, it would likely coincide with a significant redesign. That means if it happens, the shift will land in 2013 at the earliest.
Ten years wouldn’t seem like much of an anniversary for an automaker, or even a sub-brand. But we’re not talking about a make here, we’re talking about one model. That’s right: the current has been on the market for a decade. Which is a rather long life-cycle for any automobile, but isn’t the least bit embarrassed. In fact it’s celebrating the anniversary with a series of special edition models.
Picking up where the Vogue model leaves off, the Westminster Edition features a cabin decked out in leather trim, thick carpeting and piano lacquer veneers, with illuminated treadplates, polished pedals, a 19-speaker Harman/Kardon sound system with Dual View display and heated and cooled front seats. JLR’s 4.4-liter turbodiesel V8 pulls all four 20-inch, 10-spoke wheels through an eight-speed automatic.
Meanwhile the Autobiography edition is available with the same engine, or with the supercharged 5.0-liter V8 with six-speed automatic. The Range Rover Design Pack distinguishes the exterior, while the Range Rover Seat Style Pack makes the cabin an even more opulent place to bee with the reclining rear seats and moveable front passenger seat you’d expect to find in a limousine.
Full details can be found in the press release , including pricing in Land Rover’s native market, but so far no word on US availability.
The all-electric crossover was unveiled at a red-carpet, velvet-rope style event at the TeslaDesign Studios in Hawthorne, CA tonight, with company co-founder Elon Musk confirming that the Model X will start production late next year and that full production is expected in 2013.
With luminaries such as California Gov. Jerry Brown in attendance and a post-announcement concert by Foster the People, Musk presented a CUV that, as , has so-called “” doors that are similar to those of the old gull-wing vehicles but bend in the middle, allowing them to be opened in tight spaces while offering better access to the rear and third row of seats. Musk said the Model X, which is expected to be priced similar to the $57,500 Model S sedan set to debut this summer, can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4.4 seconds, or 0.2 seconds quicker than a . The vehicle, which Musk says can seat “seven real adults,” actually has front and rear electric motors that instantaneously shift power from one to the other to maximize traction, Musk said. He added that the CUV’s turning radius was comparable to that of a .
Musk, speaking to an enthusiastic crowd of about 1,000 people, touted the Model X as having, “more room than a minivan, more style than an SUV and more performance than a sports car.” Indeed, with no internal combustion engine, the vehicle has substantial rear cargo space behind the third row of seats as well as a “frunk” in front of the car (which provided the evening’s only glitch with a sticky latch. See video of that ). Musk said that the “frunk” has the same storage space as the rear cargo area of an . Musk should know, since he owns one.
Musk also said Telsa will start deliveries of the Model S sedan – upon which the X is based – “no later than July” and will start taking online reservations for the Model X at noon Pacific time Friday. Tesla is expected to produce between 10,000 and 15,000 Model X units a year starting in 2014.
has named designer David Hilton as the company’s head of exterior design. Hilton ran his own successful design firm for 12 years before accepting the position with the ultra-luxury automaker. He will now report to Dirk van Braeckel, director of design and styling. Hilton is stepping into the shoes of Raul Pires, who left the company at the end of last year to join forces with Italdesign, the Volkswagen-owned design studio.
Hilton has over two decades of automotive design experience under his belt, having worked with companies from to . The last-generation Ford Focus RS is among his notable accomplishments.
He’ll have his work cut out for him moving forward. Bentley is slated to unleash a rash of new products in the coming months, including an all-new SUV and a replacement for the company’s aging Continental line. Click for the full press release.
is headed back to the Australian V8 Supercar Series. The Japanese Automaker was famously ousted in 1993 when the sanctioning body behind the series adjusted the rules to require all entries be V8-based. Nissan had dominated the series for three years with the company’s , laying waste to the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive dinosaurs from and with a high-tech combination of all-wheel drive and turbocharged six-cylinder fury. In 1991, the company set a top-speed record at the Bathurst 1000 that wouldn’t be touched for nine years. The following season, the company was forced to carry 100 kg of weight and run reduced boost pressure. It didn’t matter. The GT-R still cleaned up.
Nissan is entering the series under the fairly new Car of the Future program, which was designed to make the series more attractive to competitors and sponsors. Interestingly enough, the Car of the Future Program was started by none other than Mark Skaife, the man who piloted the GT-R to many a win in the early ’90s. Nissan’s racer will be forced to use a generic V8 drivetrain to conform to the rule book, so don’t expect to see any more turbo sixes dotting eyes on the track. Likewise, the all-wheel drive of the GT-R will be off the table.
Still, any amount of diversity in a series that’s been Holden versus Ford for so long is a step in the right direction. As far as we know, four cars will carry the Nissan badge in the 2013 season and be campaigned by Kelly Racing. for the full press release.
The true jewels of most auto shows are often hidden, requiring a bit more legwork to find. During our third pass of the , we stumbled upon a display from the . Tucked away in a corner behind low aluminum railing, we found a stunning full-size two-door hardtop: the 1954 Mercury XM 800 Concept.
When it was first introduced at the 1954 , the XM 800 made quite an impact. Mechanically speaking, it was fitted with a 312 cubic inch engine rated at 270 horsepower. A Ford-O-Matic automatic transmission, sending power to the rear wheels, was standard. Its design was noted for an expansive greenhouse offering passengers an almost 360-degree outside view. Benson Ford, running the Lincoln-Mercury Division at the time, pushed for the XM-800’s basic design to be added to the Mercury lineup. The plan to move forward was only extinguished because the automaker switched gears to work on Edsel.
The fiberglass XM 800 traveled extensively in 1954 and 1955, making appearances at most major car shows and special exhibitions (including the Chicago Auto Show). It even had a featured role in Hollywood, appearing in the 20th Century Fox production Woman’s World. In the late 1950s, the concept car was gifted to the University of Michigan’s Automotive Engineering Lab to be used for training and design inspiration. Ten years later, the Mercury ended up in storage outside a barn on a farm in central Michigan. Thankfully, the deteriorating concept car caught the eye of an enthusiast who purchased it and began a 20-year frame off, nut-and-bolt restoration.
Today, the 1954 Mercury XM 800 is considered to be one of the most significant concept cars ever produced. It recently sold at the RM Auction for $429,000. Check out the for its interesting history and our gallery for some beautiful design.
has taken the company’s K9 to Northern Sweden for a little winter testing, and our spy photographers were on hand to catch a glimpse of the vehicle as it went dashing through the snow. The vehicle will borrow from the rear-wheel drive architecture pioneered on the , though will likely boast design cues inspired by the Kia GT Concept. Judging by these photos, full LED headlights will make their way to the model, at least on some trims. Odds are the K9 will boast power from both a 3.8-liter V6 and a 4.6-liter V8 as well as a more powerful 5.0-liter V8 engine borrowed from the Genesis R-Spec.
A standard eight-speed automatic transmission is likely to handle gear-swapping duties, but rumor has it Kia is also working on a new 10-speed transmission, and there’s a chance that gearbox will be available in the K9 in the near future. Look for the vehicle to make a full debut later this year as a 2013 model.
General Motors unveiled the company’s refreshed at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show yesterday, and if you were paying attention, you may have noticed something curious about the vehicle. While the new Acadia looks considerably better than its predecessor, a few components of the design looked more than a little familiar. Upon closer observation, it appears that GM has simply repurposed elements of the now defunct Saturn Outlook crossover on the 2013 Acadia. Both vehicles seem to share the same wrap-around rear glass, back hatch, tail light openings and exaggerated, squared-off fender arches.
While the vehicles are differentiated by badging, tail lamps and a rear valance, there’s no denying the similarities toward the vehicle’s rear. Up front, both share similar fenders, though adjustments have been made for the varying headlight designs.
That’s good news if you just can’t imagine life without the Saturn Outlook.
GM isn’t the only automaker to pull something similar. Parts sharing is a smart way to keep costs as low as possible, and recouping the design and manufacturing costs the automaker poured into the Outlook is a smart way to keep GM’s earnings headed in the right direction. For example, famously reused tail lights in the first-generation . We just aren’t accustomed to seeing this sort of recycling on such a grand scale or after so much time has elapsed.
The performance profile of the turbo four may have doomed it to being merely a footnote in Honda’s illustrious history.
When the launches this spring, will quietly close down a spur line of its Anna, OH, plant. Since 2006, it had been building the 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine used in the there. These engines were unique, the company’s first to be fitted with a turbocharger from the factory. But the redesigned will be available only with a V6, and with no other application for the turbo four, Honda’s most impressive performance engine will die an ignoble death.
The 2.3-liter turbo was a variation of the 2.4-liter four used in the and the . Rated at 240 horsepower, it was the 260 lb-ft of torque that made things special. Honda’s traditional approach to engine design had favored high-revving, small displacement engines that made generous power thanks to variable valve timing technologies – but at the expense of torque output. So when Honda announced that it would be producing a turbocharged engine for the first time, it seemed to herald the next wave of Honda performance. Finally, some torque to match the howling VTEC power. But sadly, it was the performance profile of the turbo four that may have doomed it to being merely a footnote in Honda’s illustrious history.
Remember when we said that the (worst name ever) shown in Tokyo was basically the next ? We weren’t lying. The 2013 Outlander will debut next month at the , and has released the first photo of the new crossover. What’s more, the fancy PX-MiEV II concept apparently wasn’t a vaporware showcase; Mitsubishi says that a plug-in hybrid version of the Outlander will join the roster later in 2012.
The Euro-spec Outlander launches this summer with 2.0-liter gas and 2.2-liter turbodiesel power, three seating rows, and an eco-driving coach feature designed to help drivers eke out the best possible fuel economy. Furthermore, the diesel version will offer an automatic start-stop feature to help maximize efficiency and minimize emissions.
Available driver aids include Forward Collision Mitigation, Lane Departure Warning, and Adaptive Cruise Control systems. There’s not much else to tell right now, other than that Russia gets the new Outlander first, followed by a global rollout that includes North America. to read the press release, and click the image above to see a larger version.
With the first test session of the season now under way in Jerez, Spain, the remaining teams – that is, at least, the ones that have their cars ready – are presenting their new designs for the 2012 Formula One World Championship. The latest among them: Scuderia Toro Rosso.
Long known as the Red Bull B-squad, STR positions itself as something of a training squad for new drivers moving into F1 as an extension of the company’s young driver training program. And for that reason it (Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastian Buemi) in favor of fresh talents Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne.
Like most (make that all so far except McLaren), the new STR7 which they’ll be driving this year is distinguished from last year’s field by a rather unsightly, platypus-style stepped nose and tighter sidepods and hindquarters. Ferrari once again provides its Type 056 V8 engine, driving through a seven-speed gearbox and assisted by a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) and Drag Reduction System in the rear wing.
With its new drivers and car, Toro Rosso hopes to finish sixth or seventh in the championship this year; an ambitious goal considering that the last time it finished that well was in against all odds – a victory that still stands as the only podium finish out of the 108 races the team has contested in its six years of racing. We’ll be watching to see how they fare.
Look very, very closely. This is the , which, though not immediately apparent, is different than the 2012 model. How, exactly? The updated SUV has new features like LED running lamps up front, a revised taillamp design and some new wheel options. Inside, there’s a brand new hard drive-based navigation system complete with Toyota’s fancy new Entune infotainment system.
Aside from that, there isn’t much else in the way of newness for Toyota’s stalwart off-roader. Under the hood is the automaker’s 5.7-liter V8 with 381 horsepower and 401 pound-feet of torque, and a standard Multi-Terrain Select system keeps things in check for when the pavement turns to dirt… or sand… or mud.
Check out the full scope of Land Cruiser goodness in the press release , and click through our gallery of images live from the to see all of those ever-so-slight design tweaks.
It’s not like we needed any more reason to like the , but went ahead and debuted the Track’ster concept at the anyway. The Track’ster is a three-door, all-wheel-drive, 250-hp version of the cute and quirky urban Soul that we hope gets green lights all along its road to production. That’s wishful thinking, but follow along to find out why we want the Track’ster made so badly.
The Track’ster eschews a back seat in favor of a “fully integrated equipment tray and spare-tire well.”
To date, the Soul has been anything but a performance machine. The Track’ster changes that in a big way by eschewing not only a pair of doors, but also the back seat in favor of what Kia describes as a “fully integrated equipment tray and spare-tire well.” This tray is designed to house helmets, race suits, gloves, tools and all the accoutrement that goes with being a serious track rat.
The idea for the Track’ster is to run what your brung, so while the car itself carries everything you need to race, it also needs to move with enough hustle that you’re not embarrassed behind the wheel. To that end, Kia has fitted the concept with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder producing 250 horsepower that gets dissected by a six-speed short throw manual transmission and further divided among all four 19-inch wheels by an all-wheel-drive system.
Despite the lack of rear doors, the Track’ster sports a wheelbase nearly an inch longer than the Soul and a 75.5-inch rear track that stretches nearly five inches wider. Likewise, its braking system is also extra strength with 14-inch Brembos clamped by six-piston calipers up front and 13.6-inch discs with four-piston calipers in back. Of course, the interior has also been done up for concept duty, but not so much that it’s outside the realm of possibility.
The Track’ster is one of those concepts that occupies a space just near enough reality that we believe it, or something like it, could be be produced if the proletariat buying regular old Souls screamed loudly enough. Let us just say, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
General Motors has lifted the veil on its refreshed at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show. Designers gave the big crossover a slight redo with a new front valance, headlight details and new interior materials.
Up front, the 2013 Acadia boasts a new grille set into a more vertical nose (reminiscent of the , anyone?), and buyers can now look forward to more attractive diffused LED daytime running lights on both projector and HID headlight-equipped models. At the back, the Acadia now wears wrap-around glass and a redesigned spoiler. GM has also thrown in a few more wheel design options in both 18- and 19-inch sizes.
Inside, the new Acadia offers upgraded materials, including details like French stitching and red ambient lighting. High-zoot models will boast aluminum trim work, as well.
More importantly, the 2013 Acadia will come with what GM calls the industry’s first center air bag. The system is designed to protect drivers and front passengers in accidents where the impact is on the opposite side of the vehicle. The bag inflates from the right side of the driver’s seat and stabilizes occupants during the crash. for the full press release.
wants its to dominate the C segment, and that means in all body styles. The is set to battle the and hatchbacks, and this new Elantra Coupe clearly has the two-door in its sights.
The four-door already wears pretty rakish sheetmetal that carries over nicely to the Coupe, which is actually half an inch longer than the sedan (173.8 inches versus 173.3 inches). The other dimensions are identical to the sedan, and Hyundai cites greater interior room as one of the Coupe’s advantages over its competition. By contrast, the Honda Civic Coupe is 0.3 inches shorter than the Elantra Coupe, and the Honda rides on a three-inch shorter wheelbase.
The Elantra Coupe has more power than the Honda Civic Coupe and the manual should get 1 mpg more in the city and 4 more mpg on the highway
Hyundai’s new two-door gets the same 1.8-liter inline four-cylinder being liberally spread across the line, with the same 148 horsepower and 131 pound-feet as the Elantra GT and the same pair of six-speed manual and automatic transmissions. Mileage is estimated to be 29 city/40 highway for the manual and 28 city/39 highway for auto. This means the Elantra Coupe has more power than the Honda Civic Coupe and, if the fuel economy numbers hold true, the manual would get 1 mpg more in the city and 4 more mpg on the highway, but both slushbox cars would be dead even.
There will be two Elantra Coupe trims: base GS or top-spec SE. Both have been tuned for extra sportiness versus the sedan and, as we’ve come to expect, while Hyundai throws plenty at the GS, the SE gets the truly sporty goods. The SE swaps the 16-inch standard rims for 17-inchers, gets a rear “lip spoiler design element,” even more suspension tuning for its lower-profile tires, and only it offers the option of touchscreennavigation and a rear-view camera. Both models, however, will get seven exterior colors, three of them Coupe-only, but inside it’s nothing but black or grey.
Pricing should come soon, but for now, enjoy the press release and the high-res gallery of images. Stay tuned for more impressions live from the floor.
When you intend to go up against cars like the , and , it doesn’t matter how softly or loudly you speak, your stick had better be impressive. believes it has just the thing in the 2013 GT, which is the updated moniker for the (and a throwback to ).
The GT is the U.S. version of the , and it’s quite a looker if you’re a fan of Hyundai’s Fluidic Sculpture design language. Under the hood, you’ll find the same 1.8-liter inline four-cylinder as the sedan, sending 148 horsepower and 131 pound-feet of torque to the ground via either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission. That puts it in the thick of a competitive set that, for Hyundai, also includes the and , but gives it the best power-to-weight ratio of them all. That’s because the Elantra GT is 57 percent ultra high- and high-tensile steel, which helps keep its weight down to a lightest-in-segment 2,784 pounds when equipped with the automatic transmission.
Fuel economy is the beneficiary, with the automaker estimating an EPA rating of 28 miles per gallon in the city and 39 mpg on the highway (32 combined). Hyundai says this is good for a cruising range up to 448 miles.
Driving pleasure will be attended to with a sport-tuned suspension that uses MacPherson struts up front aided by a stabilizer bar, and a torsion bar setup out back. The real pleasures, though, are claimed on the inside, where the Elantra GT is said to provide more cargo room than the aforementioned competition and even the . The mod-cons are prodigious and include, as standard, a cooled glovebox, heated front seats, 10-way power driver’s seat, leather seating surfaces, automatic headlights, Bluetooth and seven airbags.
The 2013 Elantra GT goes on sale this summer. Have a read of the press release and stay tuned for live pics from our team at the .
There are luxury automakers, there are mainstream automakers, and then there are those in between. , we’d argue, is one of those marques that doesn’t quite compete in the same market as, say, or , but that looks as if it’s about to change.
The Swedish automaker has been toying for years with the idea of building a new flagship to take on the likes of the , , and , but while Volvo has dragged its feet on the prospect in the past, a series of what look like patent renderings that have leaked their way online give us what could prove the strongest indication yet of Volvo’s intent.
For better or worse, the renderings bear the hallmark of recent Volvo designs like the (unveiled in Shanghai last year), the (showcased in Frankfurt) and the upcoming next-generation XC90 – complete with the gaping maw that seems to mock the face we make when we look at these examples of this particular styling direction.
Of course, given the big wheels, showcar grille, delicate mirrors and suicide rear doors (not to mention the overall form), it seems more likely we’re looking at renderings for the Concept Universe rather than a production model in the making, but that just leaves us wondering what the patent filing is for. We’ll just have to wait a while to find out one way or another.
This is awkward. According to The Detroit Free Press, the now famous Made In Detroit apparel may come from as far away as the Dominican Republic. While Bobby Moscow, LLC, the company behind the official Made In Detroit shirts, designs and screen prints the Ts and other garb in Detroit proper, the raw materials are sourced from elsewhere. The company uses between eight and 10 different suppliers, and they may provide shirts from all over the globe. While some of the Ts come from a small company in Ohio, Buddy Moscow says it is currently working to ensure more of its products are made here in the States.
The original Made In Detroit shirts inspired by the 2011 Super Bowl commercial featuring Eminem were, in fact, made right here in the land of the free. Chrysler said the company felt it was important for the products to be made here given the slogan.
Some fans of the Buddy Moscow pieces have noticed the shirts come without any tags at all, leading to questions about whether or not the Ts were actually made in China. As it turns out, the tags were simply removed to facilitate screen printing in-collar labels.
