Future cars in the making. Should they be an innocent drawing, a fine computer rendering or real driving concept, they always preview the cars of the future in some aspects.
A 235 mpg car, like the Volkswagen XL1, could be a dream car on the current market, but the problem is that the XL1 is too expensive and limited to just 50 units, with none of these units arriving in the U.S.
The good news is that the XL1 could get a sportier, XR1 variant that could also arrive here in The States. The future XR1 would be built on the same structure as the XL1, but it would offer performance figures to rival the Porsche 911 for half the money.
If produced, the XR1 will use lots of carbon fiber to keep the weight down and will be offered with a powertrain that will deliver 70 mpg. Rumors suggest that the XR1 could get a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-banger and a turbo- or supercharged three-cylinder engine. No matter what engine is used, the XR1 will most likely use a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, will be about 230 pounds lighter than the XL1 and will offer a more conventional look.
First details suggest that the XR1 will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in about 4.5 seconds and will hit a top speed of about 190 mph.
Click past the jump to read more about the Volkswagen XL1.
As a project of Neal Bailey’s BXR Motors, the Bailey Blade XTR has been in the oven for quite some time now. But the project car has yet to progress into an actual production car because, well, there wasn’t enough money to do so.
But now, the money has been injected into the project and, thanks to a teaser video released by BXR Motors, the Bailey Blade XTR is mere months away from making its official debut at the 2013 SEMA Auto Show.
It’s definitely a long time coming, especially since it has made various media rounds in the past but never got the opportunity to actually get up and running.
Needless to say, we’re all excited to see what BXR Motors has in store for all of us when the Bailey Blade XTR finally makes its debut at SEMA later this year.
Click past the jump to read more about the 2014 Bailey Blade XTR.
A few weeks ago it was reported that Infiniti was planning to offer new hybrid and electric vehicles in the next three years. Naw, however, Infiniti’s new boss is reconsidering the company’s priorities and is pushing back plans for electric vehicles because they will not help push the company to its 500,000-unit goal.
In a recent interview, Johan de Nysschen confirmed that hitting the aforementioned goal is an “inordinately ambitious challenge.” Last year, Nissan’s luxury arm sold just 170,000 units, so 500,000 by 2017 looks to be a little tougher than expected.
Nysschen also said that electric cars or production versions of those dramatic sports-car concepts displayed at recent auto shows make no sense in the current lineup. Instead, Infiniti will focus on offering volume nameplates, such as an entry-level compact to debut in 2015.
Also, Infiniti plans to offer two new halo cars placed above the current M sedan, which Infiniti is renaming the Q70. These new models will be "high-performance luxury cars, not a sports car." Nysschen said that the two new models will be designed more "Porsche Panamera-like than BMW 7 series"
Both models will be inspired by the Essence concept hybrid coupe unveiled at the 2009 Geneva auto show, will share drivetrains, but will get different bodies.
Click past the jump to read more about the Infiniti Essence Concept.
Rumors have been swirling since 2011 regarding the Chevrolet SS and we were amongst the first to start discussing it. The rumors cooled off up until a few weeks ago when after 40 years of using the “SS” logo, GM finally decided to trademark it. Later the rumors became even more certain, as OnStar, GM’s in-vehicle communication system, mistakenly put the 2014 model lineup on its site. Within that lineup was a model dubbed the SS Performance.
This all adds up to a solid case that the Chevrolet SS Performance is on its way to the U.S. According to the rumormill, this would also result in the Holden Commodore SS, which was once used as the Pontiac G8, becoming the vehicle that dons the 2014 SS Perfomance badges.
With this release, Chevy would finally have a performance sedan to stack up against the likes of the Charger R/T and the Ford Taurus SHO.
UPDATE 06/04/2013: Chevrolet announced today prices for the 2014 SS. See more after the jump.
Click past the jump to read our full review of the anticipated SS Performance and how it stacks up against the competition.
Now that we have seen the new generation Mazda6, the Japanese company is focusing on the development of the new generation Mazda3. The model is set to arrive late in 2013 or earlier in 2014 and will benefit from the company’s latest Kodo design language already seen in the new Mazda6 and the facelift version of the CX-9.
This means the next Mazda3 will adopt a prominent black grille and a more aggressive headlamps, while that ugly Cheshire-cat grin from the current model will finally be dropped. It will be built on the same lightweight architecture as the recently announced CX-5 and will be powered by a 2.0-liter Skyactiv four that delivers a total of 155 HP, among other gasoline engine variants. Mazda also has plans on offering a diesel engine.
Clients who want a sportier alternative will still have the Mazdaspeed 3 to look forward to, but they will have to wait a few more months to see it on the market.
Updated 06/04/2013: A scanned Japanese magazine has surfaced online revealing what appears to be the first images of the new-generation Mazda3. As no surprise, the new model will feature the same design language as the Mazda6, with more angular lines and a more prominent grille. You can see the image after the jump(Autotribute)
When BMW collaborated with Pininfarina to create the super-sexy and ultra-luxurious Gran Lusso Coupe, we were all in awe of its massive beauty. At the same time, however, we appear to have been blinded, as reports are emerging that BMW’s claim that this is a one-off model may be a smokescreen to protect Bimmer’s real motive behind it.
A source within BMW told the folks at Automotive News that there is more to the 2013 Gran Lusso Coupe than meets the eye. This is actually the conceptual version of an anticipated return of the 8 Series – a model that Bimmer dropped from the U.S. lineup in 1997 and altogether in 1999.
With Mercedes offering one of the few full-size luxury coupes – the CL-Class – and the Maserati GranTurismo being the only other feasible option, BMW would be crazy not to hop back into this growing segment.
Unfortunately, even the source that leaked the information is unsure if the 8 Series will make it back, but the insider made it clear that it is a design study that the Bavarian automaker is using to gauge interest in the model.
Click past the jump to read more about the 8 Series
The resurrection of Detroit Electric came as quite a surprise when it announced its intentions to reenter the market in March. What came as even more of a surprise was the quickness in which it announced its first car – the 2014 SP:01 – and the fact that it had planned to release its first model in August 2013. The latter was a little ambitious, per a report, as it appears that the release has been delayed for about a month.
According to The Detroit News, Detroit Electric has been holed up in an already-occupied facility in Plymouth Township and has been working on finalizing a deal for a Wayne County manufacturing facility. However, some Is and Ts remain undotted and uncrossed in the contract, which will push production to sometime in September instead of the originally announced August start date.
According to the report, Detroit Electric expects the new facility to be capable of putting out 2,500 units per year, but it only plans to sell 999 SP:01 units in total. So, this potential facility should be home to at least one other future model.
Click past the jump to read more about the Detroit Electric SP:01
Last June Noble unveiled the first teaser image, making us believe that sometime in the future we could see a roadster version for the M600 supercar. However, the company said nothing else on such a possible model since then. Now, Peter Boutwood, managing director of Noble is bringing the M600 Roadster back into discussion.
According to him: "We haven’t built or tested one, but it is a feasible project." If built, the M600 Roadster would use a removable roof panel made of lightweight carbon fiber. When removed, the roof can be stored in the engine bay, so that the passenger can enjoy the same interior space as in the coupe.
Also, the company decided to go for a roof panel because it is not structural and it will not affect the M600’s handling capabilities. Talking about this new roof, Boutwood said: "It’s not about how it looks, it’s about how it goes and drives. We would never compromise the car".
Everything else will be borrowed from the coupe version. If built, the next M600 Roadster will arrive on the market in the next two or three years.
Click past the jump to read more about the Noble M600.
Pagani is already selling the Huayra supercar, which is enjoying great success, but the company decided to take a look back in the past and developed the Zonda Revolucion, or, as Pagani describes it "the apex of the celebration of performance, technology and art applied to a track car."
When compared to a standard Zonda, the new version features an improved aerodynamic package, a new rear wing with a Drag Reduction System and, of course, some extra power under the hood. All these changes make it ready to take on any circuit in the world.
The new Zonda Revolucion was unveiled at the 2013 Vanishing Point - the international Pagani gathering - and will be priced at €2.2 million plus taxes (about $2.8 million). It will be limited to only five units, four of which were sold during the private presentation.
Click past the jump to read more about the Pagani Zonda Revolucion.
We already knew that Maserati is preparing to replace the current GranTurismo and GranCabrio with a new generation of models. Along with these next-gen models there will also be a smaller GranSport version.
Now, in an interview with Motor Trend, Maserati CEO Harald Wester revealed more details on what the three new models will bring new on the market.
He started by saying that the current GranCabrio is too big and that the next model will shrink, slightly. In fact it looks like the next generation will be about the same size as the future Gran Sport, making it a competitor for the recently launched Jaguar F-Type and other like it.
He also pointed out that while the design for the new cars is still not finished, the next three models will be more "sporting and lighter than anything Maserati makes now.” A source told Motor Trend that the next-gen cars will be about 177 inches, which is a good bit shorter than the 192.2-inch-long GranCabrio and GranTurismo.
To achieve this downsizing, the new models will move to a considerably shortened version of the new Quattroporte and Ghibli platform. Powering these smaller sports cars will be a 404-horsepower, twin-turbo V-6 engine.
The new lineup is still more than three years away, so there is time for Maserati to change its mind.
Click past the jump to read more about the future Maserati GranCabrio.
