Two images of the 2013 Volvo V40 broke and it seems their friends didn’t want to be left behind. Fourteen more press shots of ’s new five-door hatchback just burgled their way onto the Web, and from the front three-quarter it looks like a worthy competitor to the the and .
Of course we don’t have any more information, so we don’t know which other Volvo family member or members it’ll replace. However, we do get to see its interior, which is an evolution of that in the S60 and C30. More harmonized in design detail and more striking in materials, the dash cluster is reorganized and housed in metallic surrounds, while the center console moves even further toward Scandinavian minimalism.
We’ve also discovered a Volvo commercial for the V40, which you’ll find . It will be revealed officially at the , which is hopefully when we’ll find out if and when it’s coming to the U.S.
It’s more a rear-lift than a facelift, since only the back end has changed on the 2012 Urban offered in Canada. There are two noteworthy changes for the decontented model, the first being that Suzuki swapped the full-sized spare tire for a temporary “donut” spare and moved it from the rear gate to underneath the floor of the cargo area.
The other big change is the price: a current Vitara JL starts at $28,135 CAD, the revised model goes down in price to $26,995 CAD. For comparison, that new price equates to $27,007 USD, nearly $1,700 more expensive than the base price of the top-dog Grand Vitara Limited AT 4WD, which starts at $25,379 USD here.
It’s been speculated that the changes are meant to lure more female customers (Vitara buyers are 60-percent male). Other specs and features haven’t changed, which appears to make this a stopgap while everyone waits on , which will of the platform.
Been wondering what the Infiniti Emerg-E is gonna look like when it takes center stage in Geneva next month? Wonder no more, as the first officialphotos of the mid-engined, range-extended electric supercar have hit the web.
The pics show a pretty and curvaceous design that holds its own against the likes of the and McLaren MP4-12C; more organic-looking than the sharper lines of cars like the , , and .
Will the concept car’s green drivetrain deliver performance on par with that kind of competition? We’re eager to learn what kinds of numbers Infiniti comes forward with. Regardless, this thing’s already a winner on looks alone. We can’t wait to see it in person.
While the released a couple weeks ago basically showed us nothing, but the latest batch of renderings better communicate what we’ll see at next month’s . Designed by Stile Bertone’s Mike Robinson and named for Giuseppe “Nuccio” Bertone, the concept is based on the 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero concept, a car created under Nuccio’s leadership.
At 1,220 millimeters high, the Nuccio is 7 mm taller than a Ferrari 458. It’s powered by a 4.3-liter V8 making 483 horsepower, which matches the numbers for the engine going into . If past Bertone concepts are instructive, we can expect a lot of surprises from the car when we see it in the metal.
China is ’s second-largest market, so important to the brand that it is building its . Infiniti will also adapt to the local tastes in another way this year when it offers an M37 sedan variant that’s stretched by 150 millimeters for the Chinese market.
By now the Chinese preference for extended-wheelbase vehicles is well known, ’s A6L having left a trail of money that the 5Li, E300L and S80L were quick to follow. The longer Infiniti M will go up against that bunch. Unlike its competitors, however, the M isn’t built in China, so even though it helped Infiniti last year, some suggest the price disparity will handicap its chances.
We’ll know the specifics once the extended-wheelbase M debuts at the Beijing Auto Show in April. A hybrid version after the first model goes on sale in June.
Daytona International Speedway is one of motorsport’s cathedrals, and when we think of grueling races on the 3.56-mile circuit, the Rolex 24 immediately comes to mind.
In 2012, 59 teams participated, and after 24 hours of racing, only six seconds separated first and second place. Helping to capture all the action was Scott Waraniak. The motion photographer was invited by Pratt and Miller to shoot video of the race. So he did. For 36 hours straight.
to enjoy the results. The video starts pre-race and ends with the podium ceremony, but it only takes one minute and 42 seconds of your time. Nicely done.
There seems to be no end in sight for the rapidly expanding Racing program. In the past couple of years, the team has branched into Formula One, Indy, GP2, GP3 and a number of GT racing series around the world. Thing is – while IndyCar runs primarily in the United States and F1 is coming here too – none of those endurance championships in which Lotus has been competing have been American. That is, until now.
Teaming up wit Alex Job Racing, Lotus is supporting a factory-backed entry win the GT class of the American Le Mans Series. Together, AJR and Lotus will field a 2012 Lotus GTE running the same black-and-gold livery that has proliferated across the automaker’s entire motorsport division.
AJR has a whopping 39 ALMS race wins and three GT titles to its credit, and will put IndyCar driver Townsend Bell and two-time ALMS Founders Cup winner Bill Sweedler behind the wheel for the full season that will kick off at Long Beach on April 14. for the full press release.
The paradigm has shifted. Normally an automaker’s range-topper gets the latest and greatest technology, but with the introduction of the all-new A-Class, is flipping that order on its head.
At next month’s , Mercedes will show off the next A-Class and with it, its updated COMAND infotainment system. The user interface has undergone a complete overhaul, ditching the black and beige color scheme for a sharp, modern, three-dimensional design and a range of new features and functions, nearly all of which are centered on the iPhone 4S.
The new Digital DriveStyle app allows drivers to stream AUPEO! radio (Europe’s equivalent to Pandora), connect with Facebook and Twitter to read out status updates, find your car in a crowded parking lot and get real-time traffic data and point-of-interest searches through a new Garmin navigation system. All of which is available with the entry-level “Audio 20″ setup.
More intriguingly, Mercedes is the first automaker to support and integrate Apple’s Siri voice-recognition technology, allowing users to make appointments, send text messages and emails, get weather status and access all their songs through voice commands.
While all these features will be limited to the Euro-only A-Class at first, Mercedes says that the iPhone-integrated COMAND Online suite of services will be coming to the B-, and models this fall. for the full details.
While we wait for the unveiling of the , the inevitable speculation over what it’s going to look like continues. In broad terms, we already know what we’re going to get in the third generation of Chrysler’s flagship sports car. We’ve seen enough , and to know that the final product is going to look like, well, a Viper – long hood, wide stance, massive grille, big wheels.
Ah, but the details. The big questions concerning and performance specs and such won’t truly be answered until actually rolls out some real cars. But perhaps more importantly, we do have a good sense of the Viper’s new face. Its triangular headlights and triple hood scoops look to raise the aggro level, and those features have been nicely illustrated by one of our readers.
Spen Oner created the rendering you see above, using that Hot Wheels image as its basis. As we noted in our original post about the Hot Wheels car, the wheels are a bit over-sized, and the angle of the shot only accentuates that. We also know that there will be something other than gaping black space in the grille area, as we’ve seen a stylized version of Dodge’s crosshair grille in the .
Thanks to Spen Oner and stay tuned for more news. We promise we’ll do our best to make you sick of the Viper before it’s even released!
has unveiled a prototype version of the upcoming European ahead of the model’s debut at this year’s Geneva Motor Show. As with most prototypes from Honda, the vehicle is a thinly veiled version of the production CUV set to hit dealerships later this year. If the 2012 CR-V looks familiar, it certainly should. At first glance, the tall-riding five door looks to be a carbon-copy of the U.S. market vehicle. Peer a bit closer, however, and you’re likely to notice the Euro prototype wears a grille with a slightly different finish compared to its American cousin.
Our eyes also spot a mildly tweaked lower front fascia with different fog lamp openings and different – dare we say more attractive – headlights to match. Honda isn’t saying much about what sort of drivetrain options European buyers will be able to enjoy once the 2012 CR-V lands. Odds are we’ll have to wait until the official debut next month. In the meantime, for the brief press release and check it out in the gallery.
Having recently spent a day driving through Portugal in the well-executed but slightly less than inspiring , we’ve now plunked our rumps into a very separate yet parallel dimension. It’s called the , and instead of Portuguese hill country, we find ourselves driving over a heady combo of no-limit autobahn and essentially unmonitored idyllic two-lane Bavarian country roads. As luck would have it, the view ahead is sunny and dry.
As with any diesel phenom, the story here is not in the horsepower, which nonetheless rests at 376 between 4,000 and 4,400 rpm. You have to look at the torque curve: 546 pound-feet pounding a high-speed freight train tune between 2,000 and 3,000 rpm. That twist joins hands with that rising horsepower curve and spirals (in hugely inspiring fashion) up to a scorching rendezvous at 4,500-4,600 rpm. After which point, the two forces share a smoke, rest up, maybe chat a little to kill time while the sweat dries, and then have at it again. And again. And again. Like any active and happy young couple should do.
While we’re still waiting for official details, we have received confirmation from the blokes at that the Range Rover Evoque Convertible you see above is the real deal, and it will debut at next month’s .
At this time, Land Rover is calling the roofless wonder a concept, though a production model seems likely at some point in the near future. Based on the three-door , the convertible model will offer seating for four and be billed as the world’s first premium convertible SUV (sorry, !).
Top Gear fans were some of the first to hear about the droptop Evoque when presenter Jeremy Clarkson used a pair of scissors to cut the roof off an Evoque during a news segment this week, but it took a while before the crafty Internet got around to leaking real images. See for yourself in the image gallery above, and stay tuned for official information as we draw ever closer to the Evoque Convertible’s official debut.
If you believe the gossip around Detroit, one of the Group’s minivan twins is fixin’ to be killed. This is not news. In fact, it’s now been over one year since that either the or will likely get the axe by 2013. What’s still unknown, however, is exactly which of the two minivans will be left standing after the vehicles merge into one Pentastar van.
“If we were to combine them into one minivan, Town & County has the natural fit to continue,” Chrysler brand CEO Saad Chehab said while speaking to Automotive News, adding that the T&C is the “bread and butter” of his brand. “It’s always been Town & Country that leads the way for the business of minivans, but there is a certain cache and there is loyalty that we’ve got to consider to move forward.”
In 2010, the Chrysler Town & Country was the best-selling minivan in the United States. Things shifted in 2011, however, where the Dodge Grand Caravan outsold the Town & Country – 110,862 units to 94,320 – and both were bested by the in sales. We suspect it isn’t just owner loyalty that Chrysler would be keen to maintain with the Town & Country – it’s also priced higher and that presumably translates into bigger margins.
Until the next-generation Chrysler Group minivan launches in 2013, we won’t know which of the two current minivans will get the axe, though earlier reports have stated that , depending on the market. Still, one of America’s minivans is going away, so sound off in our poll below to tell us which of the two nameplates you’d like to see stick around.
and its commitment to maximizing the potential of every model continues with the 2012 640d xDrive. It’s the first time the has used a diesel engine, and it sound like it won’t disappoint if ’sporty’ and ‘oil-burning’ are your prerogatives: the 3.0-liter inline six with TwinPower turbos throws off 313 horsepower and 465 pound-feet, with all that twist available from around 2,000 rpm. Working through the standard eight-speed automatic will get you from 0 to 60 in five seconds, and the coupe will return an estimated 40 U.S. mpg.
This is also the first 6er to be fitted with Intelligent xDrive, which routes 60 percent of the power to the rear and 40 percent to the front in normal conditions. However, it can shuttle power from front to back and side to side depending on traction and the sporting intensity of your cornering. It will be available in convertible form as well, though we don’t expect either to show up in U.S. showrooms any time soon.
A press release breaks things down in typical Bavarian detail, or there’s a huge gallery of high-res photos for you visual types.
has opened the curtains on the i30 wagon it will be bringing to the , and it’s a slightly less svelte five-door version of i30 hatch that debuted in Frankfurt. With its hump providing appreciably more space behind the B-pillar, Hyundai says the i30 wagon has best-in-class cargo room at 528 liters (18.6 cubic feet).
It appears to fall right in the competitive sweet spot Hyundai says it’s gunning for. At 4,485 millimeters the i30 wagon is 50 millimeters longer than the Estate and 35 millimeters shorter than the seven-seat Ford Grand C-Max. The Golf Estate advertises cargo capacity of 505 liters with the rear seats up, and the best the Grand C-Max can muster is 475 liters if you opt for the tire-repair kit instead of the mini spare. The i30 splits the cargo room of the and the with the rear seats down, but beats the five-seat C-Max.
The i30 wagon will offer three direct-injection gas engines and three diesels when it goes on sale later this year. Exact specs haven’t been divulged, but outputs will range from 93 to 132 horsepower. A press release with more details is available .
And here we thought we everything planned to bring to the . We were wrong. The German automaker has announced that it will debut a new M135i Concept, marking the first time it has paired a gasoline-burning engine with its new moniker.
We’ll get to the powertrain in a moment, but first, take note of the three-door hatchback body. Up until now, we’ve only seen the in , and while the M135i is officially a concept, we’d expect the production version to rock this basic shape, sans the enlarged air intakes up front and the rest of the body kit.
BMW says the three-door 1 Series has “a more dynamic and elongated appearance” than its five-door sibling, pointing to details like its rising character line, frameless windows and “powerfully flared wheel arches” as unique elements. We won’t argue any of that, but we’re still not entirely sold on the new 1er’s nostrils.
Underhood lies BMW’s well-known Twin Power Turbo 3.0-liter inline six that sends “more than 300″ horsepower to the rear wheels. The suspension has been modified for M Performance duty, and the wheels have been upgraded to 18-inch M-branded alloys. We expect something along these lines to show up in production guise in relatively short order… at the very least for European buyers.
Check out the high-res image gallery above, then to read the official press release.
We have to ask the question above because, in all honesty, we don’t know for sure if these are images of the , specifically its new nose and hood. Sent to Autoblog by an anonymous tipster, the images appear to be of a mold of some sort, possibly used to make the tooling for the engine cover, fenders and front end of the new Viper.
Based on , as well as the , these images could be the real deal. Two things make us think that. The first are those three vents in the hood: the central NACA duct and a pair of large air outlets behind it. We can see them on the spy shots in the gallery below and they’re present in these images, as well. The second is the lower grille. Our recent spy shots indicate that the familiar Dodge cross-hairs are being replaced by two vertical bars in a slight ‘V’ shape that bisect a pair of horizontal lines. That matches to a tee the mold we see in the above gallery.
We won’t venture any further speculation since it’s entirely possible these images aren’t of what we think they are. We’ll know for sure when the real deal debuts at the New York Auto Show in early April, or maybe sooner if things progress as they have been.
The Artega GT has no lack of fans in the ranks of the Autoblog editorial staff. With a shape that shows the likes of the and how things ought to be done and a 3.6-liter V6 with 300 horsepower, the Artega never fails to attract our glances when we see it on the European show stands. But this year, the small German manufacturer is tipped to have a surprise up its sleeve.
According to reports, Artega is preparing to unveil a roadster version of the shapely coupe at the fast-approaching . Mechanics are expected to stay the same, but without a roof, this highly desirable sportscar could get even more so.
Every car has its better and worse angles, but by and large we’d argue the XK is one of the most beautiful cars on the road today. Almost artistic, we’d say, and Jaguar itself seems to agree with the release of the new Artisan special edition.
Launched (for the time being at least) in Jaguar’s home market, the Artisan SE is available in either coupe or convertible and in base or supercharged trim. It’s distinguished by its polished 20-inch wheels and unique shades of black, white and silver, but what really sets it apart is its interior: Scraffito-style leather covers the seats, dash and doors, with a Poltrona Frau headliner, a Bowers & Wilkins sound system, stainless steel pedals and unique sill plates.
The Artisan SE bumps the price of any XK specified by a good £12,000 ($19,000 based on current conversion rates), making it the new king of the hill for Jaguar’s two-door range. Check it out in the press release and the high-res image gallery.
Yesterday’s didn’t come from the GOP (for a change), but , one Michael Degusta. His charges against include suggesting that its cars will have “eventual, inevitable, catastrophic battery failure,” lambasting the company for poor warranty service, accusing Tesla of tracking its owners without consent, and intimating that the company is not only failing to provide owners with proper notice of this phenomenon but also covering up the whole sordid affair. Serious stuff, this post of his that’s rippled through the automotive web with the force of a 185-kW electric motor.
Yet all may not be what it seems. Late yesterday, an e-mail surfaced on Green Car Reports, in which a disgruntled owner who bricked his battery pleads his case to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The e-mail, sent by one Max Drucker, CEO of Santa Barbara-based Social Intelligence Corp, is a clear plea for assistance in the repair of his car. Drucker identifies his car as Roadster #340, the same car that serves as the primary example in Degusta’s piece. Drucker has since spoken with Autopia about his car, admitting that he drove his Roadster down to a 25 percent charge, then left it parked for six weeks, something .
Now, let’s turn our attention towards Degusta, who noted at the end of his screed, “No one has paid me to write this article” and pointed out that his blog is not advertising-supported. That’s an important point, as it’s clearly designed to give readers the impression that Degusta is an unbiased outsider, something of a modern-day Upton Sinclair, defending the poor, innocent owners of $100,000 sports cars from the uncaring electric car company and its billionaire co-founder.
Yet, a few minutes spent with Google shows that Drucker and Degusta are also business partners, having registered at least four corporations together in California, . It also turns up , from the November 15, 2000, issue of Insurance & Technology magazine, a profile of Drucker, in which he is quoted describing Degusta as his “partner in crime.” Indeed, we wonder if the Tesla might be considering another libel lawsuit against this muckraking duo.
on the 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero concept, a car created under Nuccio’s leadership.
