Just one day before its official debut Dacia revealed the Duster concept - a totally new model in Dacia-s line-up. With the aspect of a sporting coupe and the utility of an MPV, Duster will become the first crossover in Dacia’s line-up.
Duster’s height of 1.49 metres, short front and rear overhangs (65cm and 80cm respectively), generous wheelbase (2.80m) and compact volumes (4.25m long, 1.64m wide) exude an overriding sense of robustness and sports appeal.
The concept features a broad bumper with two horizontal air-intake slits at the front; the grille is flanked by headlamps which wrap over the front wings to form a tapering line of light that stretches rearward towards the doors. The sporty look is accentuated by 21-inch, five-spoke aluminium alloy wheels, exterior mirrors positioned on the window surround and trapezoidal aluminium exhaust tailpipes.
Under the hood Dacia placed a 1.5 dCi 105hp engine that emits just 139g of CO2/km, equivalent to fuel consumption of 5.3 litres/100km.
Press release after the jump.
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We first saw the I.DE.A. Institute’s ERA concept last May. Back then it was slapped together in 30 days, and the roadster looked like it was almost a distorted Panoz Esperante. Now I.DE.A. is back with a more refined car for the Geneva Motor Show.
Besides the looks, the car is distinguished by gullwing door and a spartan interior that lresembles a simplified Maserati Birdcage. If fact, the ERA’s exterior design seems to borrow pieces from the 60s Italian racer, including the ducktail rear end.
The ERA was developed to mark the company’s 30th anniversary. Now that I.DE.A. has had some time to refine the car, its starting to look like a worthy celebration piece. No word yet on the engine (or if there even is one) because this is mainly a styling exercise.
Press release after the jump.
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Earlier this month Kia announced it will bring a new concept car to Geneva, that it called, "a great looking MPV".
We were skeptical about reporting on MPVs, but we had to post this one again when we saw the windshield. The No 3 Concept features a windshield that is continuous piece of glass that isn’t supported until it is out of the driver’s sight line. Of course this is only for the concept and won’t make it to a production car. Still, that’s a cool little innovation that we wouldn’t mind in a car, that is until a rock cracks it; and we have to pay the replacement costs.
Press release after the jump.
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It has been over three months since we’ve seen the Aussie-only FPV F6 E, and back then the images were pretty grainy. Now the car from Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV), is back with some new details. FPV is the high-performance arm of Ford of Australia (like the U.S. Ford’s now defunct Special Vehicles Team,) so we expect some interesting things from this down under sedan.
Power comes from a in-line six cylinder engine. While that may sound like the basis for most sedans, this one is a large 4.0-liter unit that has been turbocharged to 415 hp at 5500 rpm. The F6 E also features a ZF six-speed high-torque automatic transmission with Sequential Sports Shift. The F6 E receives performance 355 x 32mm cross-drilled and ventilated front rotors with Brembo 6-piston calipers and 330 x 28mm cross-drilled and ventilated rear rotors with Brembo 4-piston caliper as standard.
FPV hopes to put the car on sale for a price of AU $78,190 (about $50,000 US). Unfortunately unlike the Holden HTS GTV/Pontiac G8 GXP siblings at GM, Ford has not made any plans to export the FPV F6 E.
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Alfa Romeo revealed today the official details on the MiTo GTA (Gran Turismo Alleggerito) Concept that will make its world debut at the Geneva Motor Show.
The word “Alleggerito” in GTA translates into “lightened”, and Alfa went down to even the small details on this one. Carbon fiber was used for the tailgate spoiler, the roof and the side mirrors. Some steel bits in the braking system, suspension and parts of the chassis were replaced with aluminum. All this dieting gives the car what Alfa claims is a power to weight ratio in-line with its sports cars.
The MiTo GTA is powered by a 1.75-liter turbo engine that delivers 240 hp. Alfa says that the by using technology such as direct gasoline injection, dual VVT (variable valve timing), turbocharging, and a revolutionary management system, the engine performs like one almost twice its size (3.0-liters).
Although this is labeled as a concept car, the production MiTo GTA should not have much changed by the time it arrives in European showrooms as early as this summer.
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