2012 Toyota Prius V – Click above for high-res image gallery
False alarm, fans. According to , the Prius V MPV is on track to hit the market as scheduled. Reports indicating that the Japanese automaker was delaying the vehicle’s launch due to the lingering impact of this year’s earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters. Word was that a battery shortfall was causing the hold-up, though the manufacturer has now confirmed that the large hybrid will debut this fall as originally scheduled.
Unfortunately, the arrival of the Japanese-market Prius Alpha is still slated to experience a delay of indeterminate length. for the brief press release.
A photo tour of Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich factory – Click above for high-res image gallery
All Jaguars, whether steel or aluminum, are fashioned in one place: Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands of England. The factory complex originally made RAF Spitfires and Lancaster bombers for World War II service, then was turned over to car production. In the way of Britain’s carmaking conglomerates, it produced bodies for brands from Riley to Austin to Morris – when our tour guide started working there in 1966 he was in charge of making Nash Metropolitans.
has been the sole occupant since 1977, and consolidated all of its production there in 2005, when its Browns Lane plant was shut. We had a chance to tour the site’s C-Block and F-Block recently, where the is assembled and finished. Along the way we came across bodyshells so light they could easily be picked up by one man, a bajillion rivets and miles of adhesive, Ford’s gift of reams of data sheets, the shiniest XJ we’ve ever seen and, of course, signs of Elvis. Have a look at the captioned gallery of high-res photos below to see what’s behind the camouflaged red brick walls of Castle Bromwich.
2012 Toyota Prius V – Click above for the high-res image gallery
In March, we heard that, because of production delays as a result of the March 11 earthquake in Japan, was looking at for the new Prius V and Prius + models set to go on sale in North America and Europe, respectively. The Detroit News is reporting that those delays could last as long as a year for some buyers due to battery pack shortages.
Despite the production problems, Toyota still launched the the larger Prius variant in Tokyo. But the lack of batteries means that the automaker can only build 1,000 of the three-row models with the lithium ion battery pack, and another 2,000 models with the nickel-metal hydride battery pack. That doesn’t quite jive with the automaker’s 18,000 orders for the nickel-metal hydride-equipped five-seater or the 7,000 orders for the pricier three-row model. And that’s just the orders for the up-sized Prius in Japan. The automaker intends to sell about 2,000 units per month each in North America and Europe as well.
In the big picture, Toyota has at least launched the new Prius, and new models should begin trickling in over the next few months. The Prius + won’t be offered in Europe until mid-2012, and it won’t be available in the U.S. at all.
2011Renault Twizy – Click above for high-res image gallery
announced at the Barcelona Motor Show that it’s now accepting online reservations for its pair of electric Twizy models. The Twizy 45 starts at the bargain-basement price of just €6,990 (that’s only $9,923 U.S. at today’s exchange rate). Of course, at that price, you still need to lease the battery, and Renault says that adds €45 ($64 U.S.) per month. The €6,990 price is only for the Twizy 45, which is powered by a five-horsepower electric motor and can be driven without a license in some countries.
The Renault Twizy (not to be confused with the Twizy 45) is equipped with a 17-hp motor and is available in two trims: Urban and Technic, which start at €7,690 ($10,884 U.S.) and €8,490 ($12,016 U.S.), respectively. Leasing the battery pack for these Twizy models will cost you €49 ($70 U.S.) a month.
The Renault Twizy models are due to go on sale at the end of 2011 in Europe. Reservations can be made by clicking . Hat tip to Guillaume!
Ferrari 599XX on JamesList – Click above for image gallery
Anything you can do, I can do better. It might as well be the battle cry sung along the autostrada between Maranello and Sant’Agata Bolognese. Because and have been at each other’s throats like the Sforzas and the Medicis for decades. So if you thought the notion of Lamborghini charging sounded crazy, look no further than their cross-town rivals for the precedent.
Here’s a rare Ferrari 599XX – and a sinister one at that, decked out all in black – up for sale in France. It’s one of only 30 examples made for the company’s exclusive client test driver program and packs a screaming 720-horsepower 6.0-liter V12 with all the latest wind-cheating, stop-watch trouncing technology the company’s considerable army of engineers has come up with. It’s not every day that one of these goes up for sale. In fact, this is the first one we’ve seen.
So what’s the asking price? €1,315,600 – used. (That’s about $1.9 million at current exchange rates.) You can bet it was driven hard, too. What’s more, someone will most likely snap it up in due course. And if someone can spend €1.3 million on a used Ferrari track car that’s based on an existing production model, suddenly it doesn’t seem so far-fetched to imagine Lamborghini finding 20 buyers willing to shell out €2 million on a completely new one.
Head on over to JamesList for . We’ve got the regrettably low-res images of this particular example compiled for your viewing pleasure in our gallery, but for a better look at the gaggle of 599XXs we encountered up close and personal at Miller Motorsport Park, follow the jump.
After painfully watching for years as the automaker’s beloved M lineup ballooned in both size and weight – even adding sport utility vehicles – the German’s have delivered us a new little jewel. It’s not another derivative of the race-bred , the highly anticipated next-generation or a sneak preview of the future M6. Instead, this little shot of driving ecstasy comes in the guise of the lowly – the entry-level BMW.
BMW invited us to its headquarters in New Jersey for our first driving impressions. Instead of death-by-PowerPoint, the traditional manner of new vehicle introduction, they immediately handed us the key fob to a brand-new along with a paper map. Our assignment was to drive the back roads for the next two hours to Monticello Motorsports Park, the private racing circuit outside New York City. After extended hot laps followed by lunch, we’d polish the marbles off the tire treads with a drive back to Montvale before a six-hour flight back home.
2012 Hyundai Genesis Sedan – Click above for high-res image gallery
According to the sleuths at Car and Driver, the current won’t come with all-wheel drive. Instead, buyers will have to wait until at least 2014 before the traction-adding tech shows up on the company’s luxury four-door. That may also mean that the and the lengthy will miss out on all-wheel drive for another few years until the Korean automaker can come up with a refreshed platform. CEO John Krafcik has long made it clear that the Genesis twins and the Equus would receive an all-wheel drive option in the future, but we were hoping that we’d see a variant of the that churns from all four wheels.
As Car and Driver points out, the Genesis Sedan has seen fairly strong sales since its introduction, and the addition of all-wheel drive will likely help the model inch ever closer toward that magic 30,000 unit-per-year mark. Unfortunately, with at least three years before an all-new model touches down, buyers will have to content themselves with the rash of more powerful engines, a reworked suspension and refined visuals that Hyundai recently unveiled.
2012 Audi A6 sedan – Click above for high-res image gallery
The last time we heard anything about the upcoming A6 Avant, our spy photographers were braving brutal winter cold to snag a few of the luxury long roof. Now Audi has confirmed that it will pull the sheets off of the vehicle during a live television broadcast that will also be streamed on the interwebs for all to enjoy. The event will take place on Wednesday, May 18 at 8 p.m. CEST at the Humboldt Box in Berlin, though something tells us that you’ll need to know a guy who knows a guy to get an invite.
The rest of us plebes can sit back and take in the whole affair from the comfort of our keyboard by watching the live stream . Apple fans can also watch the unveil on their iPhone by using the AudiMedia App. for the press blast.
Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Pikes Peak SE – Click above to enlarge
Ducati is planning to unveil a new special edition version of the company’s Multistrada at this year’s Quail Motorcycle Gathering. Officially branded the Multistrada 1200 Pikes Peak Special Edition, the bike is designed to pay homage to Greg Tracy’s win astride a Ducati mount at the 2010 hill climb and comes slathered in a host of drool-worthy goodies. Those include a Ducati Corse paint scheme and black-anodized passenger foot pegs with a matching engine cover. The Italian bike maker also threw in a set of unique wheels with red pin striping to boot.
The Multistrada 1200 Pikes Peak SE ships with a Termignoni silencer and a low windscreen in addition to the standard stock pieces. The parts are EU approved and hewn from carbon fiber to keep weight as low as possible. In addition, a CF front mud guard is part of the package as is a special seat with red stitching. Otherwise, the special-edition bike is mechanically stock.
The Quail Motorcycle Gathering kicks off on May 14. for the full press releases.
Spirit of Ecstasy #1 (below right) and #2 (above) by Rankin – Click for high-resolution image gallery
Few marques are as encapsulated in their hood ornaments as is . (Which could be largely because Rolls-Royce is one of the last automakers still using hood ornaments.) Its iconic Spirit of Ecstasy, as we’ve been covering, this year. And as much as the Flying Lady has inspired over the course of the last 100 years, it’s being even more thoroughly re-interpreted as part of its milestone anniversary.
Recent takes on the theme have seen a New York dealership the ornament out of $200,000 worth of diamonds, a sculptor artistic reproductions for home and office, even a for the Phantom electric prototype. Now Rolls-Royce has commissioned the celebrated photographer Rankin to give his take on the Spirit of Ecstasy with a series of 100 photographs.
The photos will be gradually revealed over the coming months, but Rankin and Rolls have already revealed the first two, which you see pictured here. To create them, Rankin used his muse, model and wife Tuuli Shipster. And as you can see, the results are quite dramatic. Have a closer look in our high-resolution image gallery, for the full press release and watch for more as the collection goes live.
Tony Stewart and Lewis Hamilton – Click above for high-res image
It’s been several decades since Formula 1 has visited Watkins Glen, but the high-pitched scream of a modern grand prix racer is set to return there this summer for a special demonstration.
As we back in February, Lewis Hamilton and Tony Stewart will be swapping keys for the day, the Formula One World Champion taking the wheel of the No. 14 Chevrolet Impala stock car while the two-time wielder of the NASCAR Sprint Cup will slink into the cockpit of the , the car which Hamilton drove to the world championship in 2008.
The initiative is being undertaken by Mobil, which sponsors both drivers in their respective series, and will take place on June 14 at the 3.4-mile road-course in upstate New York – one of the few locations (alongside such notables as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal) that has played host to both F1 and NASCAR over the course of its storied history. It’s also where McLaren locked up the first of its many world championships, with Emerson Fittipaldi behind the wheel at the 1974 United States Grand Prix.
It ought to be an interesting experience for both drivers, each of whom has mastered his respective motorsport discipline as well as the feeder series’ that led them to where they are today. for more details in the full press release.
Jalen Rose to auction of ‘69 Dodge Charger General Lee – Click above for image gallery
Jalen Rose, former NBA player and member of Michigan’s Fab Five, is looking to help out a charitable organization founded in his name. It’s called the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, and it’s a preparatory school for students in grades 9-12, located in Detroit. The JRLA is slated to open in September of 2011, and 120 students will enter the halls as ninth graders. Rose has chosen to offer up his 1969 Dodge Charger General Lee at auction, and all of the proceeds will be put towards the new school.
Rose took the liberty of making a few changes to this particular car. The Confederate flag has been removed from the roof and the numbers on the doors have been changed to show “05″ in honor of Rose’s playing number.
This is not simply a Dukes of Hazzard replica, however, as this Charger is one of the few surviving cars used during filming of the television show. Jalen Rose’s signature can be found under the hood, along with the John Hancock of Bo Duke himself, John Schneider.
The auction will get underway on May 23rd, and the car will be listed with an opening bid of $45,000. This is a no-reserve auction with the proceeds going to a good cause, so pegging the final hammer price is rather tricky. for more information on both the car and Jalen Rose Leadership Academy.
1969 Ferrari 365 GT Speciale – Click above for image gallery
If one name is synonymous with in North America, it’s surely Luigi Chinetti. The Italian-American was Maranello’s first importer and dealer in the United States, and was also the founder of the North American Racing Team (NART) that campaigned Prancing Horses on American circuits. And in case that wasn’t enough to prove his credentials, he also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans no less than three times.
Chinetti’s considerable influence with Ferrari also led to a handful of road cars built to his specifications. The convertible version of the iconic 275 GTB/4, for example, was known as the NART Spyder. Chinetti also had a pair of these 365 GT Speciales built to his specifications by of Modena, and one of them is now up for sale out of Seattle.
Given the 80s styling, we’d venture that the conversion was undertaken years after the vehicle’s production. And while its coachwork may be divisive, it is consistent: one look at the NART’s later 512 BB LM and you’ll immediately see the family resemblance. Based on the 365 GT 2+2 (not to be confused with the Daytona that replaced it), it packs a 4.4-liter triple-carb V12 and independent suspension.
According to the seller, this unique example (chassis 12611 in red over black, as opposed to the second example in black over cream) was featured on the cover of the April 1989 issue of Automobile Magazine. Ferrari of Seattle is , which may seem like a big chunk of change, but for such a rare example of American Ferrari history – one which sold for $314k in Tokyo way back in 1991 – this could worth it.
Like their body-on-frame SUV cousins, full-size pickup trucks are more prone to roll over than a standard passenger car. That’s exactly why it’s so important to have a vehicle that earns good marks in roof-strength tests. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has just released the data on its recent volley of tests on full-size pickup trucks, and both the and earned the coveted Top Safety Pick designation. The vehicles earned the highest possible rating of ‘good’ in the institutes crush test, where a large steel plate is pressed against one corner of the roof to calculate a strength-to-weight ratio.
Meanwhile, the took home an acceptable rating in the rollover evaluation while the , and 2011 Ram 1500 netted marginal scores.
IIHS says that the roof on the Toyota Tundra stood up to 4.5 times the truck’s weight while the F-150 handled 4.7 times the pressure. A vehicle must withstand 4 times its weight before five-inches of crush is detected before being awarded a Good rating. for the full press release.
2011Volkswagen Jetta – Click above for high-res image gallery
has made a big deal about the 2011 Jetta’s $15,995 starting price. After all, how many times have you seen those commercials that show to afford the new , only to find out that it’s starting price had been lowered. And then there’s the baby-holding dad that after checking out the German sedan’s bargain-basement MSRP.
At any rate, you can pick up your cup and get back to work, because the starting price of the Jetta has now been increased by $500. The VW website clearly shows that the S model, which comes equipped with an anemic 2.0-liter four-cylinder with a scant 115 horsepower, now starts at $16,495.
This isn’t exactly great news for Jetta-loving budget shoppers, but we hear rising commodity costs is making it more expensive to build vehicles these days, so it isn’t totally unexpected. On the bright side, only the entry S model has been given a price bump. The rest of the Jetta lineup is unchanged.
2012 Hyundai i40 sedan – Click above for high-res image gallery
Despite some automakers continue to integrate their product strategies around the globe, is sticking to a somewhat more localized lineup. While the , for example is the smallest Hyundai in North America, overseas, it’s the slightly smaller i20 (previously known as the Getz). Towards the upper end of the company’s mainstream spectrum (before you get into and territory) we get the , which is sold in Australia as the i45. And just below that sits the new i40.
Hyundai unveiled the in Geneva a couple of months ago, and as , it’s just now pulled the wraps off the i40 sedan ahead of its global debut at the Barcelona Motor Show. Like its extended-roof counterpart, the D-segment sedan was designed and developed specifically for the European market at Hyundai’s R&D facility in Rüsselsheim, Germany, but there’s an awful lot of Sonata at work both with and under the sheetmetal.
Four engines are on offer, each with four cylinders. There are a pair of 1.7-liter diesels with 113 horsepower and 134 hp, respectively. If petrol is more your thing, there are a duo of direct-injection gasoline engines at 1.6 liters with 133 hp and 2.0 liters with 175 horses. All come mated to a six-speed manual, with a six-speed automatic available only with the more powerful of the diesels. The 2.0 is the only one that drops its 0-62 time down below the 10-second mark. Scope out all the details in the press release and the trio of initial images in the high-res gallery.
P 4/5 Competizione – Click above for image gallery
Born from the mad mind of James Glickenhaus, the P 4/5 Competizione is the racing version of . A rendered image has been transformed into a carbon fiber-bodied track racer, which is set to tackle race tracks across the globe. Captured in a , the P 4/5 has been missing that last little bit to turn it into a full-fledged race car – sponsorship stickers. That is, until now.
The P 4/5 Competizione has been officially tarted up with a variety of sponsor signage. While we hate to see that glorious carbon fiber body hiding behind vinyl, we still think the car looks pretty amazing. Check it out from all angles by clicking through the gallery below.
2012 Mercedes-Benz E350 – Click above for high-res image gallery
In past generations, she was often labeled planet Earth’s favorite taxi. (Or have you always preferred the Ford Crown Victoria with the shiny black leatherette?) The , however, has long since graduated to become a premium middle-management darling in all corners of the globe.
Still, even Mercedes-Benz North America would have to admit that a mid-life and/or new model year E-Class is not generally a traffic-stopping event. This time around, however, there’s more going on with Mercedes’ ninth-generation contender than, say, adding a new Pipe Smoker’s Package or overhead cold beverage storage-TRONIC. And while it may still not cause a road block, this mid-shelf-life version of the W212 E-Class should, at least, make everyone slow down to rubberneck a bit, because the new V6 and V8 E-Class wants to take you farther on a full tank while making more power and torque to exercise your executive privileges.
Audi Q5 S spy shots – Click above for high-res image gallery
Our intrepid spy photographers have caught what appears to be the first prototype of a hotter Q5 S crossover. This tester is clearly sporting larger brakes and a quad-exhaust setup, leading us to believe that this isn’t just another S-Line suspension and badge job.
Our spies speculate that power will likely come from a boosted version of Audi’s 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four – similar to the engine found in the and . That means anywhere from 265 to 280 horsepower could be on tap in the Q5 S, and while that might sound sporty, keep in mind that the current ’s naturally aspirated 3.2-liter V6 pumps out 270 hp.
If so, could this Q5 S merely serve as a replacement for the six-cylinder Q5? Maybe. Scroll through our high-res image gallery and speculate about the Q5 S for yourself in the comments.
Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS – Click above for high-res image gallery
We’re not exactly sure what’s in the water over in Stuttgart, but something apparently makes the folks over at wake up most mornings and think, “There aren’t enough versions of the . We should make another.” It’s the same time-to-make-the-donuts spirit that has already given us more than twenty versions of the iconic rear-engined sportscar, and has now given us two more in the form of the 911 Carrera 4 GTS coupe and cabriolet.
When the rear-drive debuted last September, it included the wider bodywork typically reserved for all-wheel-drive models. Now Porsche has backed it up with the Carrera 4’s traction, packing the same 408-horsepower 3.8-liter flat-six as its rear-drive counterpart for an identical 4.6-second sprint to 62 mph – that’s in coupe form with the six-speed manual, to which you can add or subtract 0.2 seconds for the cabrio and PDK dual-clutch transmission, respectively.
A restyled front bumper with lip spoiler, side skirts, black 19-inch RS Spyder wheels and sport buckets trimmed in Alcantara round out the package, which now stands as the flagship of the Carrera range – those being the naturally-aspirated, non-Motorsport models in the 911 family. Prices start at $110,200 and spiral upwards from there. Details in the press release after the jump and high-res photos in the gallery.
