The Geneva Motor Show is obviously a place where automakers converge to present their latest offerings to the auto world. But the event also serves as a venue for these same automakers to announce future plans for their respective brands.
One automaker that dropped quite the news at Geneva was Aston Martin. As part of the company’s 100th anniversary, Aston Martin chief, Ulrich Bez, told Autocar that the brand will be debuting a pair of V12 Vantage-based two-seat, open-top sports cars at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in May.
One of these models has been dubbed the CC100. According to Bez, the CC100 will be part of Aston Martin’s 100th anniversary and will feature a Vantage-based styling that would also be heavily influenced by its own DBR1 race car.
Apparently, the CC100 will come with a dramatic look, too, particularly the absence of doors and a roof, thus exhibiting an entirely exposed cabin. Only two models of the limited edition supercar will be built, one of which will be used to celebrate Aston’s centenary with the other commemorating Stirling Moss’ iconic triumph during the 1959 Nürburgring 1000-kilometer race.
Technical details of the CC100 have yet to be revealed but Bez did say that the CC100 will be priced somewhere between the V12 Zagato and the brand’s crown jewel, the One-77., which gives it a wide range of £330,000 to £1.4 million (roughly $498,000 to $2.1 million at the current exchange rates) to play with.
Update 5/17/2013: Aston Martin has released a teaser video (above) for the CC100 - the CC100 is the yellow silhouette at the end of the video, Aston Martin even has an official web page that previews the official debut of the CC100 Concept, so be sure you check it on May 19th, 2013. Just click here: www.astonmartin.com/n24/reveal.
Stay tuned for more details.
click past the jump to read more about the car that inspired the CC100, the DBR1.
Just a few days ago, the first spy shots of a facelift version for the BMW 5-Series Touring were revealed and now the 5-Series Sedan is taking its turn testing its capabilities.
The sedan version of the 5-Series is camouflaged in the same areas that the Touring model was, confirming that these are the exact locations of the biggest changes. It looks like the front bumper will get most of the updates, with new air-intakes, a new design for the headlights, and a the grille that will sit slightly more upright. It is also believed that the headlamps will feature a new arrangement, just like in the 3-Series, and will go all the way to the grille. The rear lights will also get new graphics and the exterior mirrors will be a bit sportier.
As for the engine updates, the only thing we know is that the 535i version will drop the current N55 engine in favor of a new inline turbo six-cylinder.
Expect to see the facelift BMW 5-Series launched sometime soon, so stay tuned!
Updated 02/26/2013: Today we have created a rendering for the upcoming 5-Series facelift (also referred as the 5-Series LCI) set to be put into production in July 2013 and with the first deliveries to be made in August/September. you may notice that this rendering eliminated the headlight-to-grille connection, which was revealed in leaked images out of China.
Along with the new 2014 BMW M5 Competition Package, the M6 is also going to receive a Competition Package for 2014. With the new package, the output for the BMW M6 will be increased from the current 560 horsepower to 575 ponies. Additionally, the speed limiter will be removed, allowing the coupe to hit a top speed of 189 mph.
The new Competition Package will also add new suspension that will lower the car’s ride by 10 mm (0.39 inches), a new M steering wheel, tailored MDM application, a set of exclusive 20-inch wheels and a new sport exhaust system with Black Chrome tailpipes. Thanks to the new package, the M6 will also receive a more direct steering ratio.
In fact, BMW’s decision to offer a new Competition Package for the M6 shouldn’t be such a big surprise for you considering Mercedes did the same with the unveiling of the 2014 CLS 63 AMG S-Model.
Expect the new BMW M6 with Competition Package to arrive later this summer.
Jaguar F-Type arrives in U.S. showrooms this month and, in order to promote the sports car the company launched a global advertising and marketing campaign called "Your Turn." It will include span across TV, cinema, print, digital, mobile and tablet, as well as experiential and social media. The first commercial aired a few days ago during the season finale of ABC’s ’Once Upon A Time’.
Jaguar is also offering you the possibility to test drive the new F-Type sports roadster, so if you want to be among the winners, go on Jaguar USA’s Facebook page and let them know why you should be one of the first to win a test drive in the all-new Jaguar F-Type!
Four winners will be selected based on their submission and the test drives will be held in different regions of the country: New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago. The drives will be filmed and shared across Jaguar USA’s social channels.
BMW’s decision to offer a revision for the M5 is a little bit surprising for us, considering the new generation was just unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. Still, it looks like the company wants to keep the M5 as fresh as all the other models in the 5 Series lineup, as it looks like revised version is just around the corner.
At least this is what the latest spy shots reveal. Our spy photographers caught this revised M5 parked at the Nürburgring while the test drivers watched tourists driving on the famed raceway. The presence of the mighty M5 at the `Ring likely means we’ll see it on the track for some extreme testing as early as tomorrow.
Just like in the standard version, the M5 is going to receive only minor revisions on the front and rear. BMW will add in updated headlights and a new kidney grille, a new rear bumper and new graphics for the taillights.
We expect the M5 to retain the 4.4-liter V-8 that is under the 20013 model’s hood. This means the revised sports sedan will carry with it 560 horsepower and 501 pound-feet of twist. This will launch the sedan to 60 mph in as little as 4.3 seconds. However, don’t be too shocked to see some mild tweaks to the powertrain, just to keep things fresh.
Expect the revised BMW M5 to arrive sometime in the fall of 2013.
Updated 05/13/2013: BMW.de "accidentally" placed a configurator for the revised version of the M5. It has been taken off, of course, but a vigilant person over at bimmertoday.de managed to take some shots of the revised M5 along with some more details on the sports sedan. As expected, changes include a redesigned kidney grille to go along with new headlights and taillights. The interior will get a new M Sport Steering Wheel and the new iDrive Touch. You can see the images in the Gallery.
Click past the jump to read more about the revised M5
Imagine the Lamborghini Aventador, Ferrari FF, Aston Martin One-77 and Chevrolet Camaro SS all in one place. No, we are not talking about the cars that would occupy our dream garage; we are just talking about the cars from the insane Dubai Police fleet. To make it even crazier, another supercar has just joined the lineup: the Bugatti Veyron.
So, let’s figure out how many horsepower the fleet now has at its disposal to catch bad guys. there’s 700 from the Aventador; 660 from the FF; 750 from the One-77; 426 from the Camaro SS; and 1,001 from the Veyron. That gives the Dubai police force a total of more than 3,500 horsepower! Hopefully it has a very large stable and a stacked bank account to go along with it.
The problem with the Veyron is that the police officers could be forced to end a chase early, considering the huge gasoline appetite the Veyron has.
We’re just wondering what’s next on the force’s list; can you guess?
Click past the jump to read more about the Bugatti Veyron.
Hot Wheels, the company that specializes on building miniature toy cars, has been regarded as a company that loves to think outside the box.
Whether its commissioning world-record stunts, or building tracks with double loops, the toy manufacturer has proven time and again that it can think of just about anything to promote and market itself to its demographic of choice.
This time, it’s done it again, except in a totally different way.
It made a movie - a 22-minute short film, to be exact - to find out the World’s Best Driver. In what can be best described as a novel approach in its goal, Hot Wheels commissioned different teams - aptly named Red Outrageous, Yellow Powerful, Blue High Tech and Green Superfast - to compete in a series of challenges at the Hot Wheels test facility in an undisclosed location.
We’re not going to keep you waiting any longer because the movie definitely warrants your time. Be advised, though, the kind of racing you see in it isn’t exactly the kind you’d want to do on any normal race track.
Just sayin’.
Click past the jump to watch more of Hot Wheels’ stunts over the years
The 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S was unveiled with a series of updates that made it even better than the previous generation. Even so, when a tuner comes with some updates we can be nothing but happy.
German suspension expert, Eibach, is offering its Pro-Kit Performance Springs that lower the new 911 Carrera’s center of gravity, offers improved handling and gives it a more balanced appearance. With the new springs, the car’s ride was lower by 40 mm (1.57 inches), giving the Porsche a more aggressive stance.
The tuner is also offering a pro-spacer kit made from high-tensile-strength aluminum alloy that widens the car’s stance for added stability and a more aggressive appearance. These new wheel spacers also weigh significantly less than steel wheel spacers.
Eibach’s offerings for the 911 end there, but the new suspension kit may just be the perfect addition for the Carrera 4.
Click past the jump to read more about the standard Porsche 911 Carrera 4S.
A lot of folks expected Pagani to introduce a new model at the Geneva Motor Show. But that didn’t happen. Instead, the Italian automaker showcased a new and extremely expensive option that customers can add to the Pagani Huayra.
Collaborating with Sonus Faber, Pagani introduced the custom Huayra sound system that was designed by the two companies to fit perfectly in line with the lightweight philosophy of the Italian supercar.
The overall setup is pretty remarkable for a sound system. It comes with carbon-fiber speaker cones, which is no small feat for those who designed and developed it.
In addition, the sound system also comes with neodymium magnets and an advanced amplifier system that results in a staggering 1,200 watts of power - three times as much as the "regular" sound system already installed in the Huayra.
That’s a lot of audio power to complement a car that already boasts of a 6.0-liter twin-turbo V-12 engine that produces 700 horsepower and 730 pound-feet of tire smoking torque.
Click past the jump to read about the Pagani Huayra
If you have no plans for the weekend, we might have an idea for you; the "BMW - The Ultimate Driving Machine"exhibition will open this weekend and will feature some of the coolest BMW models out there. Andy Warhol’s 1979 BMW M1 Art Car will be the center piece of the exhibition and next to it you will also see the BMW 3.0 CSL that won the Daytona 24 Hour race in 1976, plus tons of other road cars, motorcycles and race cars.
Andy Warhol was the first to paint the entire car himself, as previous BMW Art Car artists prepared a draft version on a scaled-down model and then moved that on the real car by assistants to the painter.
"This exhibition at the Saratoga Automotive Museum will provide visitors a great look at BMW’s long heritage and provide a sense of how the company has evolved to become the leading premium automobile and motorcycle manufacturer in the world," said Ludwig Willisch – President and CEO of BMW of North America. "It will also show just how integral motorsports has been throughout the company’s history."
Don’t worry, if you don’t have the time to go this weekend, the exhibition, will run until November 3, 2013.
Click past the jump to read more about Andy Warhol’s 1979 BMW M1 Art Car.
