Introduced back in 2008, the Q5 was about due for a mid-life refresh, which is exactly what the German automaker has given it. Not that you’d be easily able to tell from looking at it, though: the styling updates to the popular CUV are rather subtle, as are the enhancements to the interior, which center around the control surfaces. No, what’s really new about the 2013 version of the is what lurks in the engine bay.
As part of the update, Audi has installed a completely new range of engines across the board that increase both output and efficiency for a win-win combination. In different markets around the world, the Q5 will now be available with three diesels, two gasoline engines and – for the first time – a hybrid. The smaller of the TDIs displaces 2.0 liters and can be had in either 143- or 177-horsepower states of tune, while the larger 3.0-liter V6 oil-burner offers 245 hp and will likely be the only diesel offered in the United States.
The gasoline range starts at the 2.0-liter turbo four with 225 hp, while the 3.2-liter V6 is replaced by a new 3.0-liter supercharged V6 that delivers 272 hp and 295 pound-feet of torque. The big news, however, is the hybrid powertrain that pairs a 211-hp version of the 2.0-liter turbo four with a 54-hp electric motor, driving through an eight-speed automatic to all four wheels for a 7.1-second 0-62 time, a combined rating of 34 miles per gallon and an electric-only range of two miles at 37 mph.
Pricing for the new range in the United States has yet to be revealed. But for comparison’s sake, European MSRP has only gone up around €150 ($200 USD), so we wouldn’t expect the sticker to jump by much in American showrooms, either. Scope out the extensive high-res image gallery above and the videos and press release by for a closer look.
We Finally Sample Scion’s Irresistible Lightweight At Home
, we flew nearly 11 hours to spend a fleeting afternoon with the highly anticipated at Japan’s Sodegaura Forest Raceway, a track located just outside of Tokyo. Last week, we were in the air for less than an hour en route to Las Vegas to spend a much longer day with the sports coupe on our own turf.
The FR-S impressed us during our first drive in Japan, but the weather turned lousy and we didn’t have a chance to drive it on public roads at legal speeds. This time, scheduled plenty of seat time on public roads and on a racing circuit, while Mother Nature provided us with excellent weather.
Driving the coupe again in proper U.S. spec on home roads (and under much more favorable conditions) gave us better insight into the naturally aspirated four-seater. Not only did we learn a lot more about the engine, chassis and its driving dynamics, but we were able to finally interact with the FR-S as a daily driver.
It was, in effect, an interesting and informative second date.
If you were waiting for those savings bonds to mature so you could get your hands on an Aston Martin One-77, we’re afraid we have some unfortunate news for you: they’re all gone.
According to the reports circulating the interwebs, all 77 examples of the range-topping, seven-figure supercar – complete with its specially-built 7.3-liter, 750-horsepower V12 engine – have been spoken for. That’s after the last example was apparently sold since reports surfaced in February indicating there was still one left.
Don’t worry too much, though, as Aston should still have a few examples of its new top-of-the-line model up for grabs. Production of the V12 Zagato is pegged at 150 units – barely more than twice that of the One-77 – with a sticker price of £330,000 – roughly half a million dollars, or a quarter the price of the One-77. Of course if you’re hell-bent on spending over a million on a new supercar, there are some gentlemen in Modena and who’d be glad to help you out.
announced earlier in the month that in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, piloting a 2012 . The car is reportedly a , a race-ready derivative sold in Japan, and our spy shooters have spotted it out in the wild.
The car is only lightly camouflaged, with coverings over parts of the the front fascia, hood, and rear windows. We will admit that your guess is as good as our as to what might lie beneath the wrapping, but given that Nissan has said the only changes from production car to race car are some added downforce in the front and a new rear wing, we’ll just go with “nothing” as our answer.
Toyota’s may be getting a bit long in the tooth, but it’s received a mild refresh for 2012, and a new “limited edition” package courtesy of in-house tuning arm, Toyota Racing Development. showed a preproduction TRD T/X Baja at last fall’s and at , with the real deal now poised to go on sale in May.
The Baja Series will start at $32,990, plus a delivery fee of $810. That’s for a Tacoma Access Cab model with a manual transmission – the price scales up for automatic-equipped trucks and Double Cab models. The Baja Series package carries an MSRP of $5,015, but you get to subtract $650 in a “factory credit” if you order it, since the Baja’s Off-Road Package is cheaper than the standard Tacoma Off-Road Package. Or to make things simpler, figure the Baja Series Tacoma is going to cost you $4,365 more than the same truck without it.
Besides the kit already included in the TRD Off-Road Package, which is required to get the Baja Series upgrades, the special Tacomas will feature BF Goodrich T/A KO tires (LT265/70R16) with bead-locking wheels, Bilstein shocks (front and rear), a TRD exhaust system, a two-inch front lift, and those snazzy Baja Series graphics.
Toyota has all the details in it’s press release, which you can see if you .
China’s middle class is predicted to mint up to 500 million new bourgeois comrades in the next 15 years, and not only will that mean new car owners, but more of those owners will be women. Along with rising incomes, that has put The Middle Kingdom into an SUV-buying boom driven by “tiger moms,” similar to the splurge that happened here in the 1990s but with big, striped cats replacing black-spotted white balls.
The trend has enough force already that SUV sales are expected to make up for other slumping segments, which is just about all of them. In addition to mothers wanting an SUV to haul their lone kid around there are other cultural factors at play, one being the fact that car ownership has only recently become a practical aspiration and having an SUV is a way to make a big splash in the new pool.
Carmakers obviously have no intention of denying the Chinese their desires, with Daimler declaring this “the year of the SUV.” It’s probably no coincidence that showed off its Jota in and its in , nor that every other automaker showed up to the Beijing Motor Show with plenty of high-riding hardware (see above). It probably is a coincidence that carmakers dreamed of selling squillions of SUVs just as Earth Day ended.
The venerable was tiny, cheap and nimble transportation in post-World-War-II Europe. In this day of $4-a-gallon gas, could a similar car be an attractive alternative? That’s the question University of Applied Arts graduate asked as he endeavored to imagine a modern Isetta.
Tony calls his interpretation the eSetta, with the “e” indicating an electric motor in place of the original Isetta’s gasoline-powered motorcycle engine. Such a small package couldn’t hold much of a battery pack, but it doesn’t need to in Tony’s plan. The eSetta would be part of a car sharing system where the little cars would be charged via induction stations where the eSetta could be borrowed and returned.
For now, the eSetta is only a concept, but its familiar retro look and frugal philosophy could do well for short trips in a compact urban center.
In March, Jeep showed off its blacked-out , and . Now it’s Wrangler’s turn get the monochromatic package.
The Unlimited Altitude package includes everything the traditional Unlimited Sahara gets, including a body color hardtop and various interior gadgetry. But the Altitude exterior gets either all-black paint or all-black trim on Deep Cherry Red, Black, Bright White or Bright Silver Metallic paint. Unique 18-inch wheels with painted black spokes round out the exterior highlights.
Inside, the seats get black leather with contrasting red stitching as well as black trim on the dashboard and black berber floor mats.
Only 4,500 Wrangler Unlimited Altitude editions will be sold (which doesn’t seem that unlimited to us) beginning in May with an MSRP of $33,740. That’s more than the Patriot and Compass Altitudes and just shy of the $35,595 price tag on the Grand Cherokee Altitude.
Check out the official press release for more details.
Details on the pair of Dear Qin concepts that unveiled at the this week are sparse, but they do hint at something interesting coming to every market where the Japanese automaker sells cars.
Calling them “global-strategic concepts,” Toyota says the sedan and hatchback versions of the Dear Qin models have “a design aiming to attract more people to the user base.” With that curious statement in mind, the first promotional video for the Dear Qin models (which you can watch by ) is both language- and information-free, emphasizing the design of the cars for a global audience. With explosions and lightning, of course.
Reports have said that Toyota is working on a new global, front-wheel drive model that is supposed to be launched in 2013. We can imagine these concepts foreshadowing those cars, and hope we get a pair of highly efficient compacts out of the design process. We’ll skip the explosions and lightning, though.
Limousines? That’s so last millennium. These days the pampered and rich in the know get chauffeured around in the back of pimped-out vans. Sure, they may look utilitarian on the outside, but inside, they’re as luxe as a private jet. has been at the forefront of the scene with its much-modified Sprinter vans, but that’s not the only big box in its portfolio. And to drive that point home, the German automaker has just rolled in to with this tricked-out Viano.
Called the Viano Vision Diamond, the custom Benz wagon has a two-tone paint job that only hints at the -grade cabin that awaits inside. The windows (including the partition inside) have the same Magic Sky Control tinting technology as the roof on the new , the cabin is done up in Nappa leather (black for the chauffeur, white for the passengers), and the rear features reclining, temperature-controlled massage chairs, a champagne cooler with flutes, lighting, 40-inch flat screen and Bang & Olufsen sound system (all controlled by a specially-designed iOS app), wireless internet and diamond trim.
Drive us to the airport in one of these and we’d be inclined to just stay in the back, lapping up the luxury of it all. Instead, we’ll just admire from afar in the high-res image gallery and press release .
It’s not the most pronounceable model name, but that’s not our problem, is it?
debuted its sharply styled Yundong Shuangqing hybridconcept at the today, announcing that a production version will be sold in China at some point in the future. The Yundong Shuangqing was joined on stage by the Dear Qin compact and the GT 86 rear-wheel-drive sports car.
Toyota developed the Yundong Shuangqing’s hybrid powertrain mainly at the automaker’s research and development plant in Changshu, China. “We would like to put smiles on the faces of our Chinese customers with hybrid technology,” Toyota President Akio Toyoda said in prepared remarks at the show. “I want the people of China to be able to experience the beauty of hybrid technology through a hybrid car born in China.”
In 2005, China became the first place outside of Japan where the hybrid was built when Sichuan FAW Toyota Motor Co. Ltd. started making the third-generation model. And two years ago, GAC Toyota Motor Co., which is in China’s Guangdong Province, started making the Hybrid.
Earlier this month, Honda specifically for the Chinese market under either its moniker or the brand in order to capitalize on what’s likely to be surging car sales in that country. Honda will introduce the , and Hybrids in China later this year, and will likely sell its promised hybrid-powered Acura NSX sports car in China as well.
has been building the in Greensburg, Indiana, since 2008, but now the company’s newest American assembly plant has some variety on its lines. The joined its mass-market relative at the 2.1 million square-foot facility yesterday.
Honda is building both the standard ILX and the ILX Hybrid at Honda Manufacturing Indiana, which is the only plant slated for assembly of the new compact . Greensburg will continue to build Civic sedans, including the , both for domestic consumption and export. Since the ILX is based on the Civic, the two cars sharing an assembly line is a natural.
The ILX on May 22, at a starting price of $25,900 plus $895 for destination. to read the full press release.
It takes a lot to grow jaded at the thought of a one-of-a-kind, seven-figure, record-breakingsupercar, but that’s what’s happened after this many years of special edition . The latest: a unique version of the Grand Sport roadster created for the and one lucky (read: obscenely wealthy) customer.
Called the Wei Long edition, this one-off celebrates the Year of the Dragon. It was born out of the same collaboration with Königliche Porzellan Manufaktur that gave us the previous blue-and-white marbled edition. Only this one is white with red trim.
Like what you see? It can be yours for €1.58 million – chump change over two million greenbacks. Scope it out in the high-res image gallery and the press release .
Considering how short some product lifecycles have become, it boggles the mind to think that has had the Phantom on the market for nearly ten years now. And with the next-generation model not expected to arrive for another few years, the model that relaunched the brand under ownership stands to reach its Bar Mitzvah before it’s replaced. But in the meantime, Goodwood is keeping the Phantom fresh with the Series II update.
The revisions include a refreshed front end with new bumpers and adaptable LED headlamps, the latest in infotainment systems and a new eight-speed automatic transmission to help the 6.75-liter V12 marginally improve its emissions and fuel consumption figures.
New versions of the , and convertible are already finding their way to eagerly awaiting (and obscenely wealthy) customers around the world, but Rolls opted to wait until the to unveil the new Extended Wheelbase model. Particularly popular in the Chinese market where extra rear-seat legroom is deemed the pinnacle of luxury, the Phantom Series II Extended Wheelbase model measure a whopping 20 feet long.
That’s more than a foot longer than the now-departed Ford Excursion, and you can check it out in the gallery of high-resolution images above.
, , and all unveiled new special editions at the , and wouldn’t miss the opportunity to join in their company. Hence the Dragon 88 Limited Edition.
A special trim level available on the , and , the Dragon 88 range is outfitted at the hands of the Q by Aston Martin division that tricked out the we saw in . The Dragon 88 celebrates the Year of the Dragon with such special touches as 24-carat gold badges, embroidered headrests, special interior trim, commemorative sill plates and a choice of three unique exterior colors.
As the name implies, only 88 examples will be offered, exclusively in China, at an as-yet undisclosed price. Since your chances of ever seeing one up close, then, remains rather slim, the high-res image gallery above (joined by the press release ) is probably your best shot.
Martin rolls out Dragon 88 special editions in Beijing
Rumors and conjecture will only get you so far, particularly when we’re talking about the stratosphere of supercardom where speculation can disappear back into the ether from whence it came as quickly as it emerged in the first place. What we need to really anticipate the arrival of a new record-breaking hypercar is concrete evidence. And concrete evidence, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is what we have here before us today.
The car we’re talking about is the long-awaited successor to the legendary McLaren F1. Considering how thoroughly that bolide smashed all preconceived notions of what a car could do when the original hit the streets in 1992, its successor is something worth anticipating indeed. It’s expected to have nearly 700 horsepower on tap, challenge the for straight-line pace and emerge as a de-facto challenger to the Enzo replacement is working on.
The styling is expected to take greater advantage of the skills of one Frank Stephenson, father of the modern , , and countless Ferrari and models. His arrival at McLaren Automotive is said to have been a little late for him to truly leave his mark on the MP4-12C – its big brother expected to be his first clean-sheet design since moving in at Woking.
From the spy shots, we can see some distinctive common stylistic elements to the existing MP4-12C, tempered with some references to the original McLaren F1 – particularly in the shape of the greenhouse that packs a windshield that looks like it was lifted from a glass-bottom boat. A rooftop hood vent also appears to be popping up through the camouflage, with a giant exhaust pipe protruding high up through the rear (like a Pagani), with what looks like the biggest underbody diffuser we’ve seen yet.
The overall shape also looks longer than the MP4-12C, presumably to accommodate an engine packing 50% more cylinders than its eight-pot kid brother. With the V12 F1 expected to arrive around the same time as the Ferrari F70, it looks like Maranello and Woking are gearing up for once heck of a high-stakes grudge match.
You know those “spot the difference” side-by-side photos that are commonly reserved for Highlightsmagazines in a dentist’s waiting room? “Can you find seven differences between these two pictures?” Park a next to its gasoline-powered kin and you’ll essentially be playing a three-dimensional version.
But that’s exactly why we like this zero-emission, battery-powered compact. It doesn’t have a funky name, it isn’t all bubbly shaped, and it’s still as functional as any new we’ve sampled to date.
So, does this whole package of anonymous electrification work? It looks like a Focus, but does it drive like one and offer the same refinement, too? We headed to the southern California coast to find out.
In keeping with the CUV-crazy theme of this year’s , has introduced this Urban Crossover Concept penned by the French lion’s design studios in Paris, Shanghai and São Paulo. Eight inches shorter and three inches narrower than a hatchback, the concept is meant to be the ultimate expression of the company’s decades of popular small cars, crossovers and design.
It is also said to show off Pug’s new design cues, but we aren’t told exactly which cues those are. At the moment, Peugeot isn’t talking about what (if anything) powers its UCC, but perhaps we’ll learn more as the vehicle continues to make the rounds of the auto show circuit. In the meantime, check out the press release by and admire its angles in the high-res gallery.
Following the debut of the SUV in this week, it’s only natural to ask: What happened to the ?
At the 2008 , unveiled the striking sedan concept as a way to preview a new model line for the brand, but since then, nothing has come to fruition. AutoWeek sat down with Lamborghini CEO Stefan Winkelmann, who shed some light on the decision to move forward with a sport-utility vehicle rather than a rakish sedan.
“It was placed on hold because of a number of reasons, including the lack of a suitable platform. We haven’t given up on the idea of a sedan entirely, but we see more potential in a sport-utility vehicle encapsulating typical Lamborghini attributes.”
Given the fact that the production Urus isn’t slated to hit the market until around 2015, that means a Lamborghini sedan will likely be even farther out. Nearly four years later, we’re still quite fond of the 2008 concept, but we aren’t sure if we can hold our breath for another five-ish years.
The intricate structure of brands and sub-brands in a consolidating global automotive industry is enough to make your head spin. And each major auto group has its own way of organizing itself. Over at Daimler, each of the automotive divisions is considered a sub-brand of . That’s becoming even more true for and , but AMG has been increasingly differentiating itself as a brand on its own.
Not only have the bulk of Daimler’s motorsport operations been rebranded as AMG and brought closer to their counterparts, but the stands apart as the first AMG-only product in the company’s history. And now the performance brand from Affalterbach has inaugurated its first dedicated dealership.
Situated at the high-end Sanlitun Village shopping mall in northern , the AMG Performance Center is unique from any of the other 195 AMG dealerships already operating in 18 countries around the world in that it is a stand-alone shop, not a corner of an existing Mercedes-Benz showroom. It encompasses 381 square meters of floor space on two levels, which Daimler chose as the location to unveil the new G63 AMG. Scope it out in the press release and the high-resolution images in the gallery.
-Benz opens world’s first AMG-only dealership in Beijing
