It was little more than logic that once Porsche dropped new-generation Boxster onto the market, the Cayman was the next one to be uncovered. Its world debut was made today at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show and sales on the American market will begin in the Spring of 2013 a starting price of $52,600 for the Cayman and $63,800 for the Cayman S. Prices do not include a destination charge of $950.
The problem is that the next-generation Cayman offers no surprises. The design language, interior and engine lineup, we have seen it all in the previously announced Boxster. When compared to the previous generation, the new Cayman is 66 lbs lighter and 15 percent more fuel efficient. Engine’s output has also been increased by 10 horsepower in the standard model and by 5 horsepower in the S version.
With all those updates is the new Cayman any better than the model it replaces?
Updated 04/08/2013: Porsche has unveiled a new video featuring Chief Driving Consultant, Gordon Robertson, exploring the "Power of Balance" in the all-new Porsche Cayman.
Updated 04/26/2013: Porsche has dropped a new commercial (above) for the latest Cayman sports coupe. Called "The world is a curve," the new commercial was produced in cooperation with Pixomondo. Enjoy!
When Steve Saleen officially regained his namesake brand, you knew it would only be a matter of time before his company would debut its first project car. That time, apparently, was at the LA Auto Show when Saleen introduced its return to the auto industry with the Saleen 351 Mustang.
“Since regaining the Saleen brand, I really want to bring it all together with the heritage that Saleen is known for,” Saleen said. “With the current Saleen [302] Mustang model it provides all the right features to bring back and update the S351 model.”
Based on the 2013 Ford Mustang, the car’s name comes from the engine used under the hood, which is a 351-cubic-inch V-8 engine that delivers a total of 700 horsepower and 655 pound-feet of torque when paired with the Saleen 296 supercharger system.
On the exterior, the 351 Mustang is slated to receive an aerodynamic kit entirely made from carbon fiber, including front and side splitters and a new rear diffuser that houses the F1-style taillight. The car will also be equipped with Saleen’s famous Butterfly Center Ram Air Induction system, which includes a Red Butterfly hood that allows cold air to flow through the butterfly scoop design as they open under throttle.
The car will sit on a set of 20-inch 5-spoke alloy wheels wrapped with high performance tires. You can order it in any existing Saleen color and can be updated with a complete treatment of Saleen 351 badging and graphics.
Updated 04/22/2013: After months of silence, Saleen has unveiled a first 351 prototype this weekend at the Fabulous Fords at Knott’s Berry Farm in California. The model should be ready for the 2014 model year, so if you plan to order one, you will have to wait a little bit more. The prototype revealed in California was painted Orange County Orange - a color specially developed for the car by Saleen. (MustangsDaily)
After first unveiling the concept version at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show, the Volvo S60 Polestar has finally made it to production. However, before you get too excited, you have to know that the new S60 Polestar will initially only be offered in the Australian market. Depending on the Australian reaction to the new model, Volvo will decide if other market will also get it or not.
When it comes to the exterior look, the production version remains pretty faithful to the concept, but unfortunately the concept’s amazing output didn’t make it to production. So, if you were hopping to see the same turbocharged, in-line six-cylinder engine that delivers a total of 508 horsepower we have to tell you that you are going to be a little bit disappointed.
Even more bad news comes with the announcement that the S60 Polestar will be limited to only 100 units, so not even the Aussie market will get much of an opportunity to really enjoy it.
Updated 04/17/2013: The production version Volvo S60 Polestar has finally been unveiled, after a teaser video released the other days.
UPDATE 05/02/13: Polestar Racing has released a new video featuring racing and development driver Robert Dahlgren in a 4000 kilometer journey from Barcelona, Spain, to Jokkmokk, Sweden, in the final stages of the development of its first production Polestar model: the Volvo S60 Polestar.
Hit the jump to read more on the new Volvo S60 Polestar.
The continuous evolution of the Fiat 500 and all the subsequent iterations it has had this year are about to welcome another member to the family: the 500e.
With the standard 500, the 500C and the 500L already making their debuts in their respective niches, the 500e is set to fill the vacant electric-power niche in the 500 lineup. It will make that will make its own debut at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show.
With the launch of the all-electric Fiat 500e, environmentalists can now drive the iconic Italian car without aguilty consciousness. With an impressive range of116 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) city and 100 MPGe highway, it aims to electrify the gasoline-powered 500 series.
The all electric Fiat 500e has been unveiled at the 2012 LA Auto Show. Being the first electric powered Italian in North American market, Fiat has confirmed that it will arrive in California Studios during the second quarter of 2013.
So, is the Fiat 500e an alternative worth considering among the 500 series, or is it too early to adopt an electric and expensive shoe? Find out in our review of the Fiat 500e.
Update 4/16/2013: Fiat has revealed the pricing information and an innovative exchange program for the all-new 500e. Check out the "Prices" section, after the jump for more details.
Click past the jump to read our full review on the 500e
Jaguar certainly knew what it was doing when it presented the XKR-S at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, as it has stolen the hearts of many car enthusiasts and also proven to everyone that Jag is still capable of developing amazing sports cars. As everyone expected, this was just the beginning of a new series of high-performance sports car. This was confirmed at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show, as that R-S lineup has been expanded with the incredible XFR-S.
After we have seen it in many times testing on and outside of Nurburgring, Jaguar has decided to use to finally unveil the new high-performance sports sedan. Unfortunately, supply to U.S. customers will be rather limited and the price will be astronomical.
The problem is that everyone knew what the new XFR-S will bring, especially after the firm’s global brand director Adrian Hallmark said in an interview: "’I can confirm there is a project to transfer the upgrades from the XKR-S to the XFR." The question remains: how this upgrades transformed the XFR-S’ performance figures?
Updated 03/20/2013: The XFR-S made its racing debut at Goodwood today,. It was driven by 1988 Le Mans 24 Hour Race winner, Andy Wallace. You can see the images of this Italian Racing Red XFR-S in the gallery.
Hit the jump to read more about the 2013 Jaguar XFR-S.
Last month, Nissan unveiled the Japanese specifications for the 2013 Nissan GT-R and announced that the 2014 U.S. model year will be making its world debut at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show. As we expected, the 2014 U.S.-spec GT-R will be nearly identical to the 2013 JDM-spec GT-R, but American customers will enjoy a few more updates, thus avoiding completely disappointing us.
The updates are mostly limited to minor tweaks to the engine’s internals. Despite these minor adjustments, the 2014 GT-R will carry over the same output specifications as it had in 2013. AS we all know, horsepower is only a portion of the equation. You also need to reach the peak-output rpm in an efficient manner, and this is where Nissan made most of its changes – what most people simply refer to a “throttle response.”
So, are these improvements worthy of trading in your 2013 model year for?
Updated 01/24/2012: Nissan has just released the official prices for the 2014 GT-R, which is now on sale at the dealers nationwide. Bad news is that when compared last year’s model, the 2014 model year prices have been increased by $2,770. As a result, the 2014 GT-R Premium is priced at $99,590 and the GT-R Black Edition comes in at $109,300.
To find that out and more, hit the jump to read all about the 2014 Nissan GT-R.
The current generation RAV4 has been sale since 2005 and the only update was in 2009 when it received a mild refresh. It is no surprise that today, at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show, Toyota decided to finally unleash the fourth generation RAV4. The new SUV has been caught testing in many times and teased a few more times, so we can say it brings nothing that we did not expect.
The new RAV4 is not only redesigned both inside and outside, but it also receives new in-cabin technologies, a fuel-efficient four-cylinder engine, new six-speed transmission and new safety features.
While building the new RAV4, Toyota will use the same body-engineering principles previously used on the 2012 Camry and 2013 Avalon that helps improve steering and handling, and makes the car a little bit lighter.
The new generation Toyota RAV4 will go on sale early in 2013 in three well-equipped grades: LE, XLE and Limited.
Updated 12/18/2012: Toyota today announced prices for the 2013 RAV4 SUV that will arrive at dealerships in early January 2013. Prices will range from $23,300 for the LE FWD version up to $28,410 for Limited AWD one.
Click past the jump to read our full review on the 2014 RAV4
A few days after Saleen announced its plans to build a modern-day 351 Mustang, another aftermarket company took to the LA Auto Show to reveal its own supercar project.
Should we be surprised that the announcement came from the folks over at Galpin Auto Sports?
Actually, that’s a rhetorical question because nothing GAS does surprises us anymore. It’s in the process of building a Ford GT-inspired supercar, one that it’s planning to name the GTR-1. GAS is claiming the GTR-1 will feature an astounding 1,000 horsepower. We typically take these claims with a grain of salt, but given GAS’ reputation as a trusted tuner, we think you can take that number to the bank.
To go along with all of this power, GAS is adding in a choice of handmade aluminum or carbon-fiber coachwork, a bespoke interior tailored to the customer’s desires, an improved drivetrain and suspension modifications.
This is all pretty much par for the course for GAS.
The only thing that upsets us is the fact that we have to wait until we get closer to the early-2013 release of the GTR-1 before we get the full details. We’re sure it’ll be well worth the wait though.
Unfortunately, there was only room for one winner, and that winner is Subaru’s Highway Automated Response Concept.
As a futuristic concept for what Subaru deems as “24-hour highway monitoring for Hawaii’s highway patrol,” the SHARC Concept captured the essence of this year’s theme best. It’s the smallest of all the concept vehicles, but still retains great functionality, an awesome design, and uses renewable energy. For achieving this delicate balance, the SHARC Concept was deemed as the best of them all.
"The SHARC captured the vision of the Design Challenge theme by combining functionality and problem-solving technology around a dynamic and plausible story," Design LA’s Chuck Pelly said.
Subaru designed the SHARC highway patrol vehicle to provide the kind of innovative, affordable and environmentally conscious solution for 24-hour highway monitoring, protection, and rapid emergency response in Hawaii, all while adhering to the state’s strict UltraGreen carbon-neutral environmental regulations.
It’s unlikely that we’ll see the SHARC as an actual production vehicle in the near future — maybe the distant future — but that’s getting ahead of ourselves. It does, however, give us a vision of what the future could look like in law enforcement.
Mitsubishi is celebrating its 30th anniversary on the North American market by lifting the veil from a limited-edition model based on the 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport.
The 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Limited Edition distinguishes itself from the rest of the 2013 Outlander Sport lineup with an exterior package that includes blackout side mirrors, center bumper, wheel arch trim and roof rails. There is also a set of special argent Limited Edition alloy wheels. Inside the cabin, the only modifications include new two-tone Dove Grey and Black leather seating surfaces. Lots of "Limited Edition" badges remind us again that we are looking at a special edition.
Under the Limited Edition’s hood is the usual 2.0-liter in-line 4-cylinder engine that delivers a total of 148 horses and a 145 pound-feet of torque. However, for this special edition Mitsubishi installed a new engine balancer shaft that helps reduce the rolling resistance inside the engine, resulting in smoother and quicker acceleration.
The new Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Limited Edition will be produced at the company’s assembly plant in Normal, Illinois.
