The Acura RL luxury sedan is entering the 2010 model year with bold looks, a powerful V-6 engine and Acura’s acclaimed Super Handling All-Wheel Drive. The car is now on sales with prices starting from $46,830 for the RL, $50,450 for the RL with Technology Package and $54,250 for the RL with Technology and CMBS / ACC Packages.
For 2010 the RL will be offered in three variations: RL, RL with Technology Package and RL with Technology Package Plus CMBS. All versions will be powered by a 3.7-liter V-6 engine that develops 300 hp and 271 lb-ft of torque thanks to an innovative VTEC valvetrain system for both the intake and exhaust valves.
The available Technology Package includes the satellite-linked Acura Navigation System with Voice Recognition, AcuraLink Real-Time Traffic with Traffic Rerouting, AcuraLink Real-Time Weather, rear view back-up camera, Active Front Lighting System (AFS), ventilated front seats, and a simulated wood accented steering wheel and shift knob. The top RL package is the Technology Package with CMBS which adds Acura’s acclaimed Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and genuine maple wood instrument panel trim.
When top-flight auto executives say something, a lot of us generally stop and pay attention.
So when Jim O’Donnell, BMW North America’s CEO, said that the next generation 6-Series, which will be launched in 2011, will be “the best-looking BMW in year”, then we have to stand up and take notice.
O’Donnell’s comment came from an interview with Automobile Magazine where he boldly proclaimed that the next-in-line 6 series will veer away from past designs and will look nothing like any of its predecessors. Although he expects to see a radically different 6 series, O’Donnell mentioned that the car will pretty much carry the same dimensions as that of the current model. Apart from that, the design of the car is anyone’s guess.
O’Donnell did not divulge any more out of fear of giving away too much too soon. But before doing so, he did say that the next-gen 6 series will be “super sleek.”
If we take what he said for what it’s worth, it would be hard to bet against BMW coming up with something we’ve never seen before, especially after they pretty much floored a lot of us with what they showed at Frankfurt last month, including the jaw-dropping BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car.
Time and time again the old adage that “you can’t buy taste” is all too evident in the world of high end customizing, and while the Beatles used to sing “Can’t buy me love” it appears that English Premier League soccer star Stephen Ireland is trying to dispel that with his girlfriend Jessica Lawlor’s 24th birthday present, an extensively modified Bentley Continental GTC. He got the idea after Jessica jokingly suggested that he get her something in the style of Pimp-My-Ride to match Stephen’s blue accented Audi R8. The 23 year old midfielder kept the entire ordeal a secret from almost everyone, especially Jessica who was simply stunned when she received her gift.
The modified 200 MPH drop top is full of special details that make this Bentley truly unique. Stephen had the flying B on the hood of the car replaced with a J and even the two tone deep dished rims have Jessica’s initials panted on them. On the inside Stephen went the extra step and had an oversized heart stitched into the red headrest with the message “To Jess Love From Stephen” monogrammed inside. Despite the extreme lack of a taste and absence of style, Jessica is absolutely delighted with her birthday gift, after all what 24 year old female wouldn’t.
Although the Bentley Continental GTC underwent £264,000 worth of modifications, the mighty 6.0 Liter W12 was left alone and still produces a maximum output of 552 HP and is capable of accelerating the all wheel drive grand touring car from 0 to 60 MPH in just 4.8 seconds and keep on going all the way up to a top speed of 198 MPH.
The Lexus GS luxury sedan enters the 2010 model year, in three version - GS 350 RWD, GS 350 AWD and GS 460 RWD. Next to all the latest technologies, the GS is also offered with new exterior colors: Deep Sea Mica replaces Black Sapphire Pearl and Satin Cashmere Metallic replaces Golden Almond Metallic. In addition, Parchment leather interior takes the place of Cashmere.
TGS 350 is powered by a 3.5-liter V6 engine that produces 303 hp at 6,200 rpm and 274 lb.-ft. of peak torque at 3,600 rpm. The GS 460 gets a V8 that produces 342 hp at 6,400 rpm and 339 lb.-ft. of peak torque at 4,100 rpm. The GS 460 can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds and the GS 350 in 5.7 (5.8 for AWD).
At front the 2010 GS gets a sloped, vertical grille surrounded by four independent headlamps visually connects the current GS sedans with the previous-generation models while signaling the brand’s design progression. The lower valance features integrated fog lamps, and a low 0.27 coefficient of drag (Cd) helps to minimize wind noise and maximize highway fuel efficiency.
The 2010 Subaru Legacy 3.6 R Limited is an excellent import, any consumer who fails to recognize the niche market Japanese automaker’s latest mid size four door sedan as a viable option when shopping for a new car are seriously missing out. This Ruby Red Pearl 3.6 R Limited is the automaker’s top of the line Legacy, and a pleasant surprise from the all wheel drive automaker is just how luxurious their flagship sedan can be. Subaru is an automaker that we would traditionally relate with Gran Turismo and the World Rally Championship, but in this case the “R” is meant less as a nod towards a high performance racing model, but is more likely to stand for the new Legacy’s relaxed attitude. However that doesn’t mean that the new Legacy isn’t going racing, in fact it is already a GT300 race car, and once you have a look at the flared four door, you will never look at another new Legacy the same way again.
The all new 2010 Subaru Legacy wears a set of the automaker’s aerodynamic hawk eye headlamps up front, stylish 17 inch wheels underneath a set of curvaceously contoured flared fenders, a redesigned rear suspension that makes a more spacious rear bench while under the hood of our 3.6 R is a rather large horizontally opposed six cylinder engine. The 3.6 Liter boxer engine makes a total of 256 HP and 247 lb-ft of torque while getting and EPA estimated 18 MPG in the city and 25 MPG on the highway using regular grade gasoline.
One interesting feature of the Legacy 3.6 R is that the flat six engine is only available with a 5 speed automatic transmission that has been beefed up to work with the flatter torque curve from the bigger power plant. Our 2010 Subaru Legacy 3.6 R came well equipped, and would have set us back somewhere around $31,000. If you ask us, that is a great price to pay for such a relaxed all wheel drive sedan experience.
Ian James Poulter is a very good golfer, good enough even to be included in two of the biggest golf tours in the world today, the US PGA and the European Tour. And while Poulter has proven that he’s pretty good with a golf club in his hands, few people know that he’s also a natural out on the race track.
Recently, Poulter sat behind the wheel of the all-new BMW X6 M and pretty much held his own with the hybrid SUV, taking it to the absolute limit and, surprisingly, he manoeuvred in and out of the chicanes effortlessly like a seasoned racing pro. Of course, he’s much better at swinging golf clubs than he is at racing SUVs, otherwise he probably would’ve found a way past that blue BMW in the video.
You can’t have too many talents, IJP. But we have to admit, you were impressive out there on the tracks.
The soon-to-be-released Hyundai Equus Stretch Edition is on its way to a number of countries in the world, although it looks like the US will not be one of them, at least that’s what Hyundai USA said. In a statement they released, Hyundai USA said that “we have no comment on plans for such an edition in the U.S.”
While the future of the Equus limousine in the US remains a point of debate, Hyundai has long confirmed that the standard Equus edition would make its way to the US where it is being positioned as a contender to the country’s luxury car market that has long been dominated by Lexus and BMW.
In the event that the Equus limousine does make it to America, it’s
interesting to note that the car will be priced significantly higher than that of the Lexus LS 460 and the BMW 750i. As it stands right now, the price for the Equus limo goes at around $110,000 as opposed to $75,000 for the LS 460 and $85,000 for the 750i.
After the German tuners from TechArt revealed their plans for a fully customized Panamera, the luxury specialists at Lumma Design decided that they could do the new four door sports car one better with their own high performance design study based on Porsche’s latest grand tourer.
While the Porsche Panamera is already an attractive vehicle from the factory, the Lumma Design model is a much sleeker sports car thanks to the stretched front end, deep dish 22 inch rims and the oversized rear wing. The Lumma Panamera will also have enough grunt to back up the super car looks. The German design team are planning for the Panamera to have no fewer than 700 HP coming from a modified turbocharged Porsche V8 under the hood, hence the CLR 700 GT writing down the side like a classic Carrera.
TechArt maintained the majority of the factory’s bodylines, only accentuating the new muscular figure, however Lumma Design is going above an beyond with an aggressive wide body kit to transform the Panamera into a true GT race car. The redesigned aero package consists of bold fender flares, sleek side skirts, restyled bumpers with larger openings and a more pronounced down force inducing front lip. The hood is also another race car part, judging from the sketch it looks like it will be made out of carbon fiber and feature quite a few engine bay temperature reducing vents. While most owners should be content with their fast four door sport sedans but there will always be a few willing to take their rides to the next level, and this rendering from Lumma Design would make a perfect starting place.
The folks over at Inside Line have done the legwork and confirmed that the future BMW M5 will indeed be powered by a smaller turbocharged V8 as opposed to the super sedan’s current high revving V10 in an attempt to bring the luxury automaker’s fuel economy figures more in line with the new industry standard. Although the thought of a Formula One inspired 9,000 RPM ten cylinder engine screaming in a mid size sports sedan is too much to tempting to pass up, a smaller engine makes more sense for the future. In fact, BMW already offers quite a few cars with turbocharged V8 engines, this way the technology can trickle down more easily into the rest of the German automaker’s lineup.
The X5M and X6M are already powered by a 4.4 Liter twin turbo eight cylinder engine that already makes a maximum output of 555 HP and 5000 lb-ft of torque. Perhaps an M badged model would receive a bit of an increase in bore and a stroke to see the engine displacing closer to 5.0 Liters thanks to a set of lightweight forged pistons. It would have to be built to handle the additional pressure from an upgraded set of turbochargers to make somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 HP. With a highly versatile modern day direct gasoline injection system, the high performance power plant can be tuned to run efficiently when not creating as much power as possible.
The other benefit of a super tuned future M5 is that every other owner of a turbocharged V8 Bimmer stands to profit from a host of possible second hand performance parts range from turbochargers and intercoolers to waste gates and engine programs that will make hot rodding a BMW with factory parts fashionable once again. Unfortunately for fans of smaller high performance German automobiles, the sleuths at Inside Line also uncovered that just like Audi, BMW isn’t planning on pushing a motor sport inspired1 Series compact in the U.S. anytime soon.
As other automakers are looking towards smaller more compact models to get through these tough economic times, the Korean car builder is rejoicing their recent success and are rewarding the world with the Hyundai Equus, an even better luxury bargain than last year’s Car of the Year Winning Genesis Sedan. The new to the U.S. Equus is well known as the automaker’s flagship sedan, being powered by a 366 HP V8 that gets as many as 28 MPG. The concept is similar to the Genesis, except the Equus has a bit more space inside.
Adding excess to success, Hyundai has just released the Equus Limousine. Pumping a little more volume into their flagship luxury sedan by stretching it to almost a foot longer than the competition, Hyundai has come up with an affordable, attractive and sensible alternative to their German and Japanese luxury car building cousins. The stretched Equus is distinguishable by its horizontal cross bar grill that is exclusive to Hyundai’s most expensive product. For the first time, the South Korean automaker will power on of their cars with the all new 5.0 Liter Tau V8 that makes as much as 400 HP, making the Equus Limousine more powerful than both the Lexus LS460L and Mercedes S500L.
Rest assured up and coming Korean hip hop super stars, Hyundai is also releasing a bullet proof version of the long wheelbase model. For those who aren’t so fortunate, but still want to ride in spacious luxury and comfort, Hyundai will offer an optional cost reducing 3.8 Liter V6 that will bring prices down closer to the $100,000 mark. Now going down to your Hyundai dealer and handing over a thousand Benjamins might be hard to fathom, but with being able to say that you are riding around in the same vehicle as the President of Korea might be worth it.
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