Acura unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show the 2009 RL, a new generation featuring bold, sleek exterior styling, an upgraded interior, advanced technologies and powerful new engine.
The 2009 RL will be powered by a a new, larger 3.7-liter V-6 that incorporates the first ever SOHC use of VTEC valvetrain actuation for both the intake and exhaust valves. The engine develops 300 horsepower and 271 lb-ft of torque. The engine is mated to a new version of the Sequential SportShift 5-speed automatic transmission.
The RL will be offered in three different trim levels including RL, RL with Technology Package and RL with Technology Package Plus CMBS™. All RL’s receive a potent new 3.7-liter V-6 engine, Super Handling All-Wheel Drive™, a Bose Surround Sound audio system, Bluetooth HandsFreeLink connectivity and a GPS-based solar-sensing climate control system.
The 2009 RL’s new exterior styling is not only more aggressive, but delivers excellent aerodynamics and reduced rear lift at higher speeds. The RL’s more athletic style foreshadows the power concealed by the new power plenum front grille and blow-formed aluminum hood. The RL’s shape is taut and athletic, and its acceleration and cornering performance allow it to challenge the most capable German and Japanese sports sedans.
Press release after the jump.
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Volkswagen made today official the Scirocco, a model that started its history 34 years ago. Prices will start at €27,490 for the 1.4L TSI petrol variant with 120hp.
With a length of 4.26 meters, the Scirocco is on par with the Golf. However, it is built significantly lower to the ground (1.40 meter) and is nearly as wide as the Passat (1.81 meter). Four adults can be seated with plenty of space inside. Once they are all aboard, the Scirocco provides 292 liters of cargo capacity; when the two seatbacks of the rear individual sport seats are folded down, capacity increases to a considerable 755 liters. This contemporary Scirocco demonstrates unfettered everyday utility, and it can be clearly recommended as a sports car for every day of the year.
Providing for ample power on the Scirocco – which comes with ESP and sport chassis as standard equipment – are four TDI and TSI engines, all of them charged and therefore just as torque-strong as they are economical and low in emissions. The three TSI (gasoline direct-injection) output 90 kW / 122 PS, 118 kW / 160 PS and 147 kW / 200 PS. The Scirocco’s common rail engine (TDI) develops a power of 103 kW / 140 PS. The 122 PS TSI takes the car to a top speed of 200 km/h. This 160 PS TSI takes the Scirocco from rest to 100 km/h in 8.0 seconds; its top speed is 217 km/h. With the 200 PS engine, the Scirocco makes the 0 to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds and hits a top speed of 235 km/h.
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Acura unveiled today at the New York Auto Show the all-new second-generation TSX sports sedan. Featuring a dynamic design with a bold new signature Acura grille, the 2009 TSX is more distinctive and sporty. Due to its greater length and width, wider track, and longer wheelbase, the new TSX provides additional interior room while new fully independent front and rear suspension with dual-stage dampers provides more agile handling.
The 2009 TSX has improved fuel economy, lower emissions, added safety features, and more technology than ever before. Producing 201 hp from a 2.4-liter engine, the DOHC VTEC® in-line 4-cylinder now delivers its power across a much wider rpm range. Along with more torque, the new 2.4L is also cleaner as it meets EPA TIER 2-BIN 5 and CARB LEV II Ultra Low Emission Vehicle standards.
The TSX is equipped with an impressive list of standard equipment which includes a power glass moonroof, dual-zone automatic climate control, leather seats, power windows/mirrors/locks, a premium 7-speaker sound system (with CD, AM/FM and XM Radio), Bluetooth HandsFreeLink, and USB port and AUX jack music interface.
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Ferrari revealed today the first images and official details of the 2009 California, the latest addition to the new generation of Ferraris launched in 2004 with the 612 Scaglietti and added to more recently with the 430 Scuderia.
The California will be powered by a new V8 engine mounted for the first time in the marque’s history in the mid-front position. The engine develops 460 CV at 7,500 rpm with a torque curve that enhances vehicle dynamics and provides maximum driving pleasure which is typical for Ferrari.
As per the traditional Ferrari transaxle layout, the engine, which allows the Ferrari California to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 4.0 seconds, will be coupled to a 7-speed dual clutch transmission that boosts the car’s performance while enhancing the driving pleasure, improves ride comfort and reduces fuel consumption and emissions (c.310 g/km CO2).
California will make its world debut this autumn at the Paris Motor Show, but more details will be unveiled in the upcoming weeks.
Press release after the jump.
Pics via Automobilismo.it
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Although the Race of Champions took place last December in London’s Webley Stadium, Discovery Channel’s HD Theater has just begun to run the special on television here in the U.S. The Race of Champions is organized by Group B legend Michelle Mouton and allows drivers from every discipline of motorsport to represent their home country in teams of two competing for the Nations Cup and by the end crowns one driver as the overall champion. Drivers compete side by side on special stages in machines ranging from off-road buggies to the open air KTM XBow to fully built Ford Focus WRC cars.
The event is as much about racing as it is entertaining the crowd. F1 Champion Lewis Hamilton made a few demonstration laps in his Mclaren machine and said a few words to his countrymen and the Scotsman David Coulthard showed off his Red Bull F1 machine. Taking a page out of BMW’s Z4 ad campaign, the two F1 drivers used their machines as paintbrushes to create automotive inspired pieces of artwork that were later auctioned off to support cerebral disorders. The action carried over onto two wheels when the Red Bull X fighters entertained the crowd with their high flying motocross antics.
Continued after the jump.
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Seat revealed today the first official images of the Ibiza SportCoupe that will make its world debut at the London Motor Show in July.
The Ibiza SportCoupe will be powered by 105 hp 1.6 liter engine mated by the new seven-speed DSG gearbox. This new, twin-clutch automatic transmission provides the Ibiza with greater acceleration. Besides, this system produces remarkable fuel consumption, since the seventh gear is ideal for long motoring trips.
The new three-door Ibiza has a length of 4.034 meters and mere 1.428 meter height to match its temperament, lending the car agility and comfort both in the city and on the motorway.
The new Ibiza SportCoupe will be manufactured exclusively at SEAT’s Martorell factory near Barcelona and will be available in three trim levels – Reference, Stylance and Sport, with an outstanding standard equipment list from the entry-level model. In the near future, the model’s ecological ECOMOTIVE, FR and Cupra versions will also make their appearance.
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BMW 7-Series made its world debut at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show. In USA it went on sale this spring with the following prices:750i is $81,125 and the 750Li is $85,025.
The new BMW 7 Series is entering the market with a V8 and a straight-six gasoline engine both featuring Twin Turbo technology and direct fuel injection (High Precision Injection) as well as the first representative of a new generation of six-cylinder diesel engines.
The eight-cylinder developing maximum output of 407 hp between 5,500 and 6,400 rpm in the BMW 750i, for example, is the most efficient engine in its performance class and the only engine of its kind worldwide with the turbochargers fitted in the V-space between the two rows of cylinders.
For the BMW 740i, output of the six-cylinder Twin Turbo has been raised to 240 kW/326 hp at 5,800 rpm. The newly developed six-cylinder diesel in the BMW 730d, in turn, develops maximum output of 180 kW/ 245 hp at 4,000 rpm. And it goes without saying that all engines comply in full with the strict EU 5 emission standard.
Press release after the jump.
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Renault has chosen the glamorous weekend which sees the Cannes Film Festival coincide with the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix to take the wraps off Laguna Coupe. The flowing lines of the newcomer’s elegant, uncluttered design express timeless beauty and the promise of sheer motoring enjoyment.
Its performance provides unprecedented pleasure behind the wheel thanks to the combination of its Active Drive chassis equipped with four-wheel steering – which has been acclaimed by the media across Europe on the GT version of Renault Laguna – and the two new V6 powerplants which have been introduced at the same time as this image-forging vehicle. The brand new V6 dCi, which is poised to become a benchmark in terms of performance and pleasure, delivers 235hp (173kW), while the new 3.5-litre petrolpowered V6 offers 240hp (175kW). Laguna Coupe stands out as an inspiring, fourseater with genuine sensual appeal and will be shown in further detail at the forthcoming Paris Motor Show in October.
Renault Laguna Coupe bears a close resemblance to the racy concept car revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2007, while its elegant styling and proportions boast all the hallmarks associated with truly exceptional coupes. Its distinctive front end suggests the presence under the bonnet of the finest Renault-Nissan Alliance engines which have been designed and developed to ensure supreme driving enjoyment. Indeed, Renault Laguna Coupe is capable of accelerating from standstill to 100kph in less than seven seconds, and this upper-range performance combines with the Active Drive chassis and four-wheel steering to deliver optimum pleasure at the wheel.
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First unveiled in 1996, the Ford Ka has finally officially entered the second generation. The new generation Ka made its world debut at the 2008 Paris Auto Show and comes with new exterior design, new interior and engines.
Ford designers have given the new Ka a fashionable, modern appearance based around the company’s ’kinetic design’ form language. A number of visual cues provide a connection to the original Ka, but with its distinctive face and chunky proportions the new model has its own unique character.
The affordable new Ford Ka is designed to be both cheap to run and kind to the environment. It uses two economical, low emission engines: a 1.2-litre 69 PS Duratec petrol engine and, for the first time on Ka, a 1.3-litre 75 PS Duratorq TDCi turbodiesel.
Both petrol and diesel models are available with sub-120g/km CO2 emissions. The 1.2-litre petrol model, which is expected to be the largest seller in the new range, has cut fuel consumption by 21 per cent compared to the previous 1.3-litre Ka. The diesel model – available on the Ka for the first time – improves economy still further, achieving a combined fuel consumption of 4.2 litres/100km.
Press release after the jump.
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Since the first generation was launched and until now, Volkswagen sold more than 1.7 million GTI worldwide. Now this success history will go even further with the debut of the sixth generation GTI at the Paris Auto Show. Sales will begin in spring 2009.
With a top speed of 148 mph and 207 hp turbo engine, the new GTI offers even more fun to drive, but with a fuel consumption of only 7.5 liters per 100 kilometers.
The Golf GTI comes with an unique combination of agile and athletic engine. At 1800 rpm the engine develops a maximum torque of 280 Nm. After only 7,2 seconds the sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) is completed.
The GTI features an electronic limited-slip differential called XDS and the Scirocco’s adaptive chassis. At the exterior the new GTi is inspired by the Golf GTI W12 concept, there’s a wide, one-piece lower-grille which is far more aggressive than the three-piece design on the fifth-generation GTI. It features foglights, a narrow upper-grille featuring red-banding and a rear diffuser which features twin exhausts.
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