You might say the same for any number of automakers, but in this case it rings particularly true: wouldn’t be Lotus without racing. It’s what forged the company at its outset, and that hasn’t eluded the management team lead by Dany Behar. Say what you will about his overly ambitious plans to expand the company’s product portfolio – he’s also lead the company (or at least the brand) into a variety of racing series, and this is its latest product.
A further evolution of the GT4 Enduro, the new Evora GTC packs carbon-fiber body panels in place of fiberglass and plexi windows to help trim 30 kilograms (66 pounds) off its the GT4’s curb weight that’s now down to 1,130 kilograms (less than 2,500 pounds, depending on customer specification).
The 4.0-liter V6 carries over with 450 horsepower and an Xtrac six-speed sequential gearbox, both of which are further enhanced by new traction control and Bosch ABS, with eighteen-inch competition alloys packed into flared fenders.
Having already undergone exhausting testing at the company’s Hethel test track, the Evora GTC has already found its first customers that will be fielding theirs in the Grand-Am series and Britcar MSA Endurance Championship. for the full press release.
Business has been good for . Thanks in no small part to expanding its activities in developing markets, the racing team turned automaker raked in 556 million euros in revenues to generate 42.1 million euros in profit in the first quarter of this year alone – an increase of 13.2 and 17.2 percent, respectively. Those figures are driven by increased sales that amounted to 1,733 units produced and delivered in the first quarter out of an exciting model range that includes the and , the recently revised , the innovative and the brand-new F12 Berlinetta. But the House that Enzo built is not about to stop there.
Buried deep within the company’s financial report (which you can delve into after below the fold should you be so inclined) comes confirmation direct from the company’s affable chairman (and possible next Italian prime minister) Luca di Montezemolo: “At the end of the year, we’ll also be unveiling the new , a limited series model and our first ever hybrid car.”
So there we have it, straight from the proverbial lion’s mouth and in no uncertain terms. Before we flip the calendar to 2013, we’ll have the latest in the long line of earth-shattering supercars that started with the 288 GTO, continued with the legendary F40, through the open-top F50 and on to the radical Enzo. And yes, it will be a hybrid, coupling an electric motor to a revised version of the V12 in the new F12 Berlinetta, as Ferrari at the .
has passed away at the age of 89. The legendary tuner and proprietor of the famous marque that bears his name had been in the hospital for several weeks, suffering from pneumonia. Shelby fourteen days before his death, saying that he was resting comfortably and being taken care of by his children.
Anyone familiar in the least with automotive history is well aware of Shelby’s vast vehicular exploits, so we’ll just touch on them here. Carroll was a successful race car driver in the 1950s before creating his own racing team to take on the likes of , using -powered sportscar called the . Suffice it to say, Shelby and his Cobra were extremely successful. Later, Shelby’s name would become synonymous with the fastest and most powerful models ever created.
Shelby is survived by his three children Patrick, Michael and Sharon, his sister Anne Shelby Ellison of Fort Worth and his wife Cleo. An official press release can be found .
has passed away at the age of 89. The legendary tuner and proprietor of the famous marque that bears his name had been in the hospital for several weeks, suffering from pneumonia. Shelby fourteen days before his death, saying that he was resting comfortably and being taken care of by his children.
Anyone familiar in the least with automotive history is well aware of Shelby’s vast vehicular exploits, so we’ll just touch on them here. Carroll was a successful race car driver in the 1950s before creating his own racing team to take on the likes of , using -powered sportscar called the . Suffice it to say, Shelby and his Cobra were extremely successful. Later, Shelby’s name would become synonymous with the fastest and most powerful models ever created.
Shelby is survived by his three children Patrick, Michael and Sharon, his sister Anne Shelby Ellison of Fort Worth and his wife Cleo. An official press release can be found .
and have spent the past two years becoming BFFs under the covers of their small cars. In addition to the production version of the Infiniti Etherea using the and Nissan in Tennessee, two years ago it was reported that the next Infiniti G would get engines from the German automaker. As the launch draws nearer, a report in Autocar indicates that Mercedes four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines will be under the hood from the beginning.
Infiniti has been investing heavily in growing the brand across the world, especially in Europe. The G range had no four-pot in the lineup, and without that, few buyers would even consider it. Having economical engines right from the start will at least give purchasers a reason to cross-shop the G with the and , its target market. It will need that expanded consideration to move from 2011’s 145,000 global sales to the 500,000 sales it seeks in 2016.
If you’re wondering why Mercedes would provide engines and know-how to an entry-level luxury car that competes against the 3 Series, one of Mercedes main rivals, Renault- CEO Carlos Ghosn said . “People buying Infiniti or Daimler, they don’t cross-shop between the two brands…. We came to the conclusion that Mercedes collaborating with Infiniti will not be hurting each other.”
isn’t going anywhere, according to parent company Proton. Autocar reports representatives of Proton’s new owner, DRB-HICOM, stopped by Lotus HQ to reassure the company’s staff.
Dato Sri Haji Mohd Khamil Bin Jamil, DRB-HICOM group managing director, said his company “is not thinking about a sale.” While the executive said that he could never fully dismiss the prospect of sending Lotus off to another owner, right now such a move isn’t one of his company’s top priorities. Instead, figuring out a course for Lotus could take months. In the meantime, Dato Jamil said his company would continue to support Lotus financially.
Until recently, Proton was owned by the Malaysian government, but DRB-HICOM purchased the company three months ago. Since then, the future of Lotus has been anything but certain. All production and development stopped for 60 days after the deal was inked, but has now officially resumed. Even so, with no clear long-term decision from DRB-HICOM, it remains unclear whether Lotus will pursue the five-year plan laid out by company CEO Dany Bahar.
General Motors stock has been , failing to climb past $30 per share since July of last year. Trading at around $22 per share today, the optimism that surrounded the company’s emergence from bankruptcy and in November 2010 has all but vanished. So it’s no wonder that the United States Treasury has decided to sit on its GM shares, with no plans to sell of its remaining 26 percent stake in the automaker.
According to The Detroit News, the Treasury believes that GM is underpriced given the changes that have happened at the company. Assistant Treasury Secretary Time Massad told the News, “Our perspective is that the company has made real progress, but the market hasn’t given them as much credit for that as it might.”
The government stands to lose $15 billion on the bailout at today’s stock prices, according to the report. Of the $49.5 billion spent on the bailout, the government has already recouped roughly $23 billion in reducing its stake in GM from the 61 percent it once held. GM shares would have to more than double in value to $53 for the Treasury to break even in liquidating the 500 million shares it still owns, according to the report.
introduced the world to its very own last week, and it just so happened that we were on hand to be one of the first to take part in a long, dizzying lap of Germany’s famed racing circuit as a passenger in the front seat.
So-called “‘Ring taxis” are specially modified race-ready vehicles designed to tote passengers at high speeds around Europe’s famed circuit that circles the village of Nürburg, Germany. While most automakers modify their high-performance models for the harsh duty, the British automaker chose the largest vehicle in its lineup – the extended-wheelbase in range-topping Supersport trim. Yes, the company’s limousine.
The Detroit Free Press reports is set to boost production by 40,000 units. The company plans to half its summer shutdown to just one week at 13 plants this July. Ford says that it is already operating most of its facilities at maximum capacity, and adding a week of production is a good way to balance manufacturing with demand. The automaker is also adding extra shifts at three of its production facilities this month. Overall, Ford will increase its production this year by a whopping 400,000 units to three million vehicles by October.
But Ford isn’t the only domestic manufacturer to step up production. is also skipping the summer shutdown at four of its plants and idling two more for one week instead of two. General Motors, meanwhile, will continue its summer plant stops as planned.
When Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee, it will be a cause for celebration for her entire United Kingdom. But the Brits aren’t the only ones marking Her Majesty’s 60 years on the throne.
The celebrations will apparently include delegations from around the world, including one mixed party of prancing horses old and new to represent Italy. Not only will several be represented at the first Concours d’Elegance to be held at Windsor Castle, but Ferrari is bringing the 4th Mounted Carabinieri to strut their stuff on the grounds of the palatial estate for Her Majesty’s enjoyment.
The event will form part of the Diamond Jubilee Pageant from May 10 to 13, but you can see a preview of what Ferrari and the Mounted Carabineri it supports have in store . The fancy dress makes the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (which you’d otherwise be more likely to see in the other Windsor, where Sergio Marchionne – chief executive of Ferrari’s parent company – went to college) look sober by comparison, but it’s worth watching for the overly dramatic music alone.
With its screaming 4.5-liter V8 and its clever flip-top roof mechanism, we’d venture to say that the 458 Spider is pretty damn close to automotive perfection incarnate. But some owners – even Ferrari owners – will never be satisfied with stock. And that’s where Novitec Rosso comes in.
The Dutch tuning house specializes in Italian exotica, and for the have just announced a series of upgrades that aims to make their take on the flip-top prancing horse stand out that much more on the streets of Monaco or Abu Dhabi where they’re most likely to encounter others of the same.
Novitec knew better than to mess with the engine too much, so it forwent the addition of supercharger or turbo spools. Instead it limited itself to fitting the high-revving eight-banger with new breathing apparati and ECU that boost output up to 600 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque – a boost of about 40 hp and 20 lb-ft, respectively.
The engine mods have been supplemented by an upgraded, adjustable suspension with 22-inch wheels wearing ultra-low-profile Pirelli P-Zero rubber. And the entire package is rounded out by an aerodynamic body kit crafted from carbon fiber – a treatment that continues to the interior where customers can also find a special button on the steering wheel to open the exhaust flaps for a little moor burble. You know, just in case the weren’t packed with enough buttons already.
Some teams might give a promising young driver a second chance, but not . You only get one offer to drive for the Scuderia, and if you turn it down, that’s your last chance.
Legend has it that Ferrari made that offer to Jacques Villeneuve way back in the late 90s after he’d won the Indy 500 and the CART title in the same year, going on to place second in his first season in Formula One and clinching the title the following year. He was the hottest commodity in motor racing, after all, and Ferrari had been his father’s team. But Jacques turned it down, opting instead to build up the BAR- team for which he would drive for five seasons before bouncing around another three and eventually retiring.
JV never did get another shot at driving for Ferrari – not in F1 and not in any other form of motor racing, of which Jacques has contested many. Not until today, anyway, when he was invited to the firm’s private Fiorano test track. The reason was to pay tribute to his late, great father Gilles Villeneuve.
The occasion was of Gilles’ tragic death, which occurred behind the wheel of a Ferrari F1 car during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix on May 8, 1982. Gilles Villeneuve, for whom the grand prix circuit in Montreal is named, was regarded as one of the best drivers ever to have lived, and to see his world champion son drive his Ferrari 312 T4 – the same one in which he won three races in 1979 – was surely a fitting tribute. See for yourself in the vast gallery of high-resolution images above.
This week’s Superior Court verdict suggests there’s little to no recourse for consumers.
As Autoblog readers likely have already learned, a Superior Court judge in California has issued by a small claims court earlier this year awarding nearly $10,000 to owner . She had taken the Japanese maker to court claiming it used misleading advertising promising the sedan would get significantly better mileage than proved true in the real world.
In overruling the lower court, Superior Court Judge Dudley W. Gray II wrote that, “Federal regulations control the fuel economy ratings posted on vehicles and advertising claims related to those fuel economy ratings.”
Well, um, no. That was my understanding, too, until I had the chance to pursue the matter with the EPA a couple years back. In fact, I was told, the law simply sets an upper limit. If the tests determine a new model gets 50 mpg – as with Peters’ Civic Hybrid – that’s the most a maker can advertise or use on the Monroney window sticker. But should a manufacturer like realize through its own tests that the vehicle’s real-world mileage might be noticeably less they can mark it down to whatever they think is valid.
Of course, who would do that? With mileage now one of the top things on the consumer’s shopping list, who can blame a manufacturer for wanting to put the prettiest lipstick on a gas hog. And this week’s Superior Court verdict suggests there’s little to no recourse for consumers who only discover that fact after they’ve given it a big smooch.
Paul A. Eisenstein is Publisher of and a 30-year veteran of the automotive beat. His editorials bring his unique perspective and deep understanding of the auto world to Autoblog readers on a regular basis.
Few automakers can produce the kind of sports sedans that the Germans do. And for most of the country’s automakers, those performance vehicles can be recognized by one letter (or a combination of a few): M for , RS for , AMG for … and R for . The relatively new performance division at Wolfsburg has now gotten its hands on the , and these are the results.
Well, almost, but not quite. You see, this isn’t a full-on R performance variant, but an R-Line model that gives the midsize sedan (and wagon) a sportier look and an upgraded suspension, but without the engine mods you’d expect to come with it.
It also isn’t the same Passat as the one we get here. Ours is made in America (Chatanooga, Tennessee, to be specific). This is based on the European model, and as such is available (in Europe, anyway) in both sedan and wagon form. In either body-style, the Passat R-Line includes a new aero kit (complete with sportier bumpers front and rear, side skirts, rear diffuser and deck-lid spoiler), 17-inch alloys, a sport-tuned suspension and a cabin decked out with sports seats, stainless steel trim and a flat-bottomed steering wheel.
The R-Line model stands as a separate trim level atop the Passat range – selling for €30,225 in Germany (equivalent to about $39k) – but buyers of the Comfortline and Highline trim levels can also specify the aero kit for an extra €990 (~$1,300). Check it out in the high-res image gallery for a closer look.
Tiny city cars are becoming a big business in overseas markets. was a pioneer in the segment with the entire brand, tackles it with the iQ, recently launched the Up! (along with the Skoda and Seat versions that came along with it), and soon Opel and Vauxhall will, as well.
The new city car, undergoing testing at the Nürburgring and released in this latest pair of “official” spy shots, promises to give a slice of the city-car pie. But its nameplate has left us scratching our heads. The project has at times been referred to as the Junior or the Allegra, but has now been officially confirmed to be called the Adam.
The name is an apparent nod to the company’s founder, Adam Opel, and in its invasion follows the same formula as the Ferrari Enzo – albeit and the complete opposite end of the spectrum. If this emerges as a new naming trend, we should be looking forward to seeing models like the Henry, Louis, Ferruccio and Ferdinand flooding showrooms in the near future. Before that, though, expect the Opel Adam to debut at the in the fall… hopefully without the camouflage.
Exotic automakers from Italy come and go, and some are missed more than others. But while names like , and have remained constant throughout, others have risen and fallen. was one such example – revived temporarily by Italian investors before Volkswagen stepped in to bring it back to Alsace – but another is De Tomaso.
Founded (not unlike Pagani) by an Argentine-Italian in Modena, but way back in 1959, De Tomaso produced legendary sports cars like the Vallelunga, Mangusta and of course the Pantera. It even owned Maserati and Moto Guzzi for a time, but it eventually petered off into bankruptcy. Along came a certain Gian Mario Rossignolo – a veteran auto exec in Italy – to scoop up what was left of the company in 2008.
The revival led to the debut of the Deauville concept at the 2011 , but a lack of interest and funds led to the program being sold to a Chinese automaker which appears to have done little with it. Meanwhile it looked for a time that Rossignolo was planning to continue development of a new Pantera, but those plans have reportedly lost momentum as the outfit struggled without enough capital to even pay its workers.
The most astute readers may recall Rossignolo’s name coming up in the news about a month ago as well, when his other business – Prototipo SpA – . Whether the proceeds from that sale end up giving Rossignolo enough to pay his staff and possibly turn the Pantera program around, however, or if they’ll only prove sufficient to repay his debts, remains to be seen.
Bloomberg reports that if U.S. auto sales continue at their current pace, 2012 will mark the best year for the industry since 2007. The news comes after word that both and have slimmed or entirely eliminated the traditional summer shutdown at their manufacturing facilities to keep pace with demand.
All told, sales may reach 14.3 million cars and light trucks, according to analysts, thanks to factors like a gradually improving economy and easier credit. If the pace continues, 2012 will mark the third year of 10-percent gains, which marks only the fourth time that’s happened since the Great Depression.
Car sales stalled in 2008, and 2009 saw manufacturers move just 10.4 million units. As Bloomberg points out, that’s the lowest number since 1982, but buyers took home 11.6 million vehicles in 2010 and 12.8 million in 2011. The industry saw a 10.3-percent increase through the first four months of this year. As a result, General Motors, Ford and have adjusted their yearly sales forecasts accordingly.
Host Adam Ferrara has confirmed Top Gear USA will be back for a third season. The comedian-turned television personality broke the news during an event in New York City last night, according to Inside Line. The show is slowly gaining momentum in the U.S., and this season saw its best ratings yet. One episode drew an impressive 2.1 million viewers. Of course, that’s a small figure compared to the legions who tune in or download the original “Top Gear,” but with the U.S. hosts getting more comfortable with each other every episode, we’ll hardly turn down more car-oriented programming.
Then again, Top Gear USA may be your only TG fix over the next few months. Jeremy Clarkson just confirmed the original show won’t . According to Ferrara, production on season three starts this weekend.
The global luxury war has three fierce combatants, all German, all producers of amazing vehicles, and all serious about besting their two other rivals. While has been winning as of late, the latest battle goes to .
The luxury brand sold 125,200 vehicles in April, topping BMW’s 121,476, according to Reuters. It was the first time Audi outsold BMW since January 2011. BMW still holds the year-to-date lead with 478,030 units sold, compared to 471,300 for April’s champ, according to the report. BMW sales are up 10.1 percent for the year, while Audi’s have risen by 11.7 percent.
sits over 50,000 units behind at 418,246, according to Automotive News. Sales of Mercedes vehicles are up 9.7 percent on the year.
Audi’s ascendency can be traced to China, where sales rose 44 percent in April, according to AN. European sales, by comparison, were only up 4.9 percent, with U.S. sales rising by 15 percent.
Every single Cadillac XTS post ends up with comments deploring the sedan’s FWD – even a post that speaks of nothing more than the with the car. For those folks especially, Car and Driver has loaded the hopper with news on the possible treats coming from the Wreath and Crest. Examining uses of the Omega platform, C/D says “a proper rear-drive sedan” will arrive in “a few” years and take the top spot in the lineup. Predictions are that it will have a rakish roofline and the 310-horsepower, 3.6-liter V6.
GM’s Omega platform is said to have been engineered to accommodate this new RWD flagship, though the chances of it actually coming to fruition are about as likely as winning the Mega Millions. The only trifles, according to C/D, are that the program hasn’t even been approved, and if it is, would Cadillac have an engine good enough to serve in such a car or would it need to develop one. But said flagshp does, we repeat, it does, have a platform. Still, since the Cadillac Sixteen concept is from a time when “Gaga” is what babies said, you should probably stick to the Mega Millions for now.
Paul A. Eisenstein is Publisher of and a 30-year veteran of the automotive beat. His editorials bring his unique perspective and deep understanding of the auto world to Autoblog readers on a regular basis.
