Bentley is extensively prepping for their future with a couple of new paths to higher sales. Just recently, the company has downsized from a W12 to a V8 engine and their next course of action is to offer a plug-in hybrid model. In an interview with Car and Driver, Bentley CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer reported that the hybrid system could be based on Volkswagen technology and that it could combine either a W12 engine or a V8 engine with an electric motor placed between the engine and transmission. This system will allow an electric-only range of 16 to 19 miles - a relatively good range considering we are talking about very heavy vehicles.
Another new direction Bentley is taking, and probably the stranger of the two, is their announced plans to steal customers from Maybach. This bit of news came shortly after Mercedes announced that the last Maybach unit would be produced in early 2013. Bentley hopes that this termination of production will get stars like hip-hop artist Jay-Z, actor Samuel L. Jackson, and King Juan Carlos to turn their attention from the old Maybach models to Bentley’s line-up. We would think that Rolls Royce would be a good candidate as well, but Bentley wouldn’t be a bad way to go either.
"The withdrawal of Maybach is a business opportunity for us and we’re going to use it," Bentley Chief Executive Wolfgang Duerheimer told Reuters. And they aren’t too worried about Mercedes’ decision to offer an S600 Pullman because "they wanted something more exclusive than a Mercedes in the first place, so Rolls or Bentley would seem an obvious substitution."
In this war, Bentley has the advantage of planning a large luxury SUV that will be placed over the top Cayenne and it will be "highly customizable, including a wealth of interior materials and a choice of four- or five-passenger configurations."
Cadillac seems to be just about done filling in all of the blanks in their popular CTS model, so it was high time for them to provide some definitive details on their next project: the ATS. Prepared to slide in right below the CTS and all of its variants, the ATS should be debuting in sedan form in 2012. That’s all fine and dandy, but we are much more interested in the variant following that unveiling with the ATS-V in 2014.
First rumored in 2008, the ATS is ready to go and will be built on GM’s new Alpha platform with a rear wheel drive system. Its design will be inspired by Cadillac’s Art and Science design language which "incorporates sharp, sheer forms and crisp edges — a form vocabulary that expresses bold, high-technology design and invokes the technology used to design it."
The ATS-V was first thought to carry a 470 HP V8 engine as found in the CTS-V, but worried that the car would then take sales away from its bigger brother, Cadillac opted for a twin-turbocharged 3.0L V6 that will produce around 380 HP. The engine will be mated to a six speed manual or automatic transmission and the combination will get the ATS-V coupe to 60 mph in under five seconds with a top speed of above 170 mph. This engine choice fits in nicely with the ATS-V’s biggest rival, the BMW M3, but Cadillac may need to up the ante in terms of power for the competition to be a bit stiffer. The future M3 will produce around 450 HP and should get to 60 mph in about 4.5 seconds, but top speed will be electronically limited to 155 mph.
The full line of ATS models should cover a sedan in 2012, the ATS-V and Coupe in 2014, and an ATS-V Convertible in 2015. Stay tuned for more details!
2011 hasn’t been the best year for Lexus on the North American market. The world crisis combined with the massive earthquake that shook Japan to its core in March 2011 hurt the company’s sales and made it surrender its 11-year reign as the best-selling luxury brand in the United States. However, Lexus has plans to make a major comeback, announcing plans to offer nine new or updated products to hopefully increase their sales by about 21%. This translates to 240,000 units compared to 2011’s 198,552 units.
"We will grow more than any other luxury brand this year. Our base plan is 240,000. But we think we can exceed that by a pretty good margin," said Mark Templin, Lexus General Manager.
The list of new models includes the GS 350 and GS 450h sport sedans arriving in February, followed by reworked versions of the ES 350, the IS 250 and 350, the LS 460, and the 600h. The LX SUV will also be refreshed in 2012.
But the biggest news for 2012 is the LF-LC Hybrid Concept shown at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. This concept will be immediately followed by a production version priced somewhere between $100,000 and $130,000.
BMW has already begun to revitalize its line-up with the future 3-Series Coupe and Convertible getting tagged under the 4-Series nomenclature, and now it’s rumored that the same treatment will be applied to the 1-Series. The three and five-door models will be sold under the 1-Series name, but the coupe and convertible will find themselves sporting a 2-Series tag.
The new BMW 2-Series will deliver sportier handling, but will share its engine line-up with the 1-Series hatchback. This means it will be powered by a 1.6-liter TwinPower turbocharged four-cylinder petrol unit delivering 170 HP and a revised 2.0 liter engine with an output of about 181 HP. BMW is also considering a new 3.0-liter straight-six-cylinder turbo petrol engine that will deliver up to 350 HP, but this engine is expected to be used in the M2 variant.
The new BMW 2-Series will debut as a coupe in 2013 and will be followed by the convertible version and a more powerful M2 version a few months later.
Everyone knows that Mercedes is preparing a new generation S-Class for the 2013 model year, but as of late, the model was only offered as a sedan. Now, Mercedes plans on changing that by offering a total of four models, including, for the first time, a four-seater cabriolet.
During an interview with British magazine, AutoExpress, Dr. Uwe Ernstberger – Mercedes Program Manager for the S-Class - said: "The S-Class is the best luxury car in the world, and we have many surprises in terms of technology for the new model. It will deliver something very different to its rivals – and it will have a much broader range."
The first model to arrive after the base version will be the previously rumored S600 Pullman which will serve as a replacement for the recently discontinued Maybach line-up. Next, there will be a two-door S-Class coupe replacing the current CL-Class and a four-seater cabriolet featuring a vast folding roof inspired by the Ocean Drive Concept from the 2006 Detroit Auto Show. An E300 BlueTEC Hybrid version will also be offered.
