2012 will be a pretty busy year for Ferrari. After the F12berlinetta and the new Enzo replacement, the company will take a little break from developing V12 supercars and will focus on offering the long rumored successor for the legendary Dino instead.
In the past few years, Ferrari has been up and down when asked about a new Dino, but now Ferrari sources have confirmed to us that a new Dino is currently being developed and that it will be unveiled this fall at the Paris Auto Show, with the production to follow in early 2013 - as a celebration of the car’s 45th anniversary.
The new Dino will be the smallest model in Ferrari’s line-up and will be powered by a detuned version of the V8 engine used in the 458 Italia. This means we’ll see a total output somewhere in the 450 HP area. As for its exterior design, expect to see the classic Dino brought to our modern days: it will combine elements from the latest 458 Italia, FF, and F12berlinetta and will still offer a 2+2 seats configuration. The best part is that the car’s legendary nose will remain, but will look a bit modernized.
As for the car’s price, our sources have confirmed that the new Dino will be the cheapest model in the line-up, but you’ll still have to dish out about $200K if you want to own one.
UPDATE 04/02/2012: In case you hadn’t realized it yet, April Fool’s!! This information is 100% false and was created for our amusement on this wonderful day!
Partnerships and collaborations have become an increasing trend in the auto industry these days, and we need to look no further than the agreement struck up between Lotus and Mansory to know that the trend is on the upward tick.
The British automaker and the Swiss tuner recently announced that the two companies will be working hand-in-hand with each other for a number of future projects.
While details are still slim pickings at this point, the partnership between the two will make Mansory the "official customization studio" of Lotus with the former working hand-in-hand to build and contribute "bodywork, trim, and special finishes" for some of the latter’s vehicle offerings, including the Evora, Exige, and Elise.
According to Wolf Zimmerman, Lotus’ Chief Technical Officer, the partnership between Lotus and Mansory was sealed to further bolster the profiles of both companies, giving the tuner an opportunity to build programs for the automaker, similar to what they did last year when they debuted a program for the Lotus Evora at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.
"Mansory are leaders in their field, and having worked closely with them on the Evora GTE and the special editions we’ve unveiled recently, we now wish to take the partnership to an official level," he said. "Together, I am confident we will continue to produce outstanding sports cars, with the bespoke qualities that many of our discerning customers look for."
The official timetable for the first tuning program under this new partnership will be unveiled at the 2012 Paris Motor Show this coming September. Be on the look out for that bad boy because something tells us it’s going to wickedly out-of-this-world.
A lot of us might not be familiar with the Facel Vega name, but there once was a point in time when the French automaker was a pretty big deal. That was back in the 50’s and 60’s when Facel Vegas was considered the French version of Rolls-Royce.
Since then, Facel Vega has faded into oblivion, but now there are rumors going around that the company might return from the grave after recent teaser photos revealed a new Vega concept could make its debut at the Paris Motor Show. Some folks are speculating that the released images are nothing more than just design studies from an enterprising young designer, but considering there are a few teasers showing a car draped in a cloth cover, there’s a pretty good chance that these images are legit.
The unnamed concept appears to be a sleek coupe with a fancy LED headlight configuration, a rather curious grille set-up that harkens back to the old Facel Vegas, and an interior that features a full-length center console, a flat-bottom steering wheel, and a 2+2 seating configuration.
No mention on what kind of powertrain this new Vega concept will carry, but since the old Facel Vegas ran with HEMI V8 engines, we won’t be surprised if the concept taps into the Chrysler engine once more.
More details are definitely to follow as soon as they become available, so stay tuned!
Two years ago, Audi began to work on something very special indeed. It was called the Anniversario, a coupe concept that was suppose to show off the company’s excellence and it would debut at the Pebble Beach Concours Weekend. Yet, it was around this time that the world’s market collapsed and this sort of show car fell to the bottom of the priority list.
Now, with the economy back on track, Audi is on the verge of having another record sales year. For years and years, Audi has been in the third German automaker in the minds of many, with BMW and Mercedes-Benz leading the way, but those times have changes. They have grown through the years with technological innovations and it just so happens that one of those innovations, Quattro four-wheel drive, is celebrating a birthday. To us, and to Audi in fact, this historical moment seems like the perfect inspiration for the new Quattro.
UPDATE 03/12/2012: During an interview at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, Quattro GmbH Product Boss, Stefan Reil, confirmed that Audi has finally made a decision about the production version of the quattro concept. Unfortunately it’s not a desirable one as they have decided there won’t be a production version of the car. The reason behind this decision is that production will require the intense use of lightweight materials such as carbon fiber body panels and many components from aluminum and magnesium, and these elements would jack up the price. (Fourtitude)
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The 5-Series GT is one of the most unsuccessful models BMW has ever offered. However, the company is bound and determined to get the GT formula right and will more than likely be doing so with the new generation 3-Series. Rumors for a 3-Series GT began a few years ago and many were enticed with the idea of a roomier 3-Series, and renderings began almost immediately. Now, the first spy images for the larger Avant-style vehicle have been captured, as the new 3-Series GT has been caught during its winter testing somewhere in Europe.
The difference between the unsuccessful 5-Series GT and the new 3-Series GT is that the last latter will drop the twin-door hatch design in favor of a normal one piece hatch. It will also be 15 inches longer than the standard model and offer the added bonus of more headroom due to the shooting brake layout. The four-door coupe designed body will combine a set of raised, sliding rear seats with a high lifting tailgate that should make accessing the larger cargo area very trouble-free. This formula may very well make the car a bit more successful than the 5-Series GT.
Under the hood, the upcoming 3-Series GT will be offered with the same engine line-up as its sedan brother. Customers will have a choice between four engines - two petrol and two diesel - with power ranging from 163 HP to 306 HP. It is rumored that BMW will also offered a range of smaller engines.
The official debut of the BMW 3-Series GT will be made in September at the 2012 Paris Auto Show.
UPDATE 02/29/2012: Here’s a new rendering of the upcoming 3-Series GT! Let us know if you like it in the comments section below!
If you want a break from all the news about the upcoming Geneva Motor Show then we have something for you: fresh spy shots of the seventh generation Volkswagen Golf set to be released this Fall at the 2012 Paris Auto Show. The model was caught testing in its three-door version, but as you can see, it wears the same camouflage as the previous mule spied.
The future Golf VII will be built on Volkswagen’s new "Modularer Querbaukasten" MQB platform - that will be seen for the first time next month in the new generation Audi A3 when it debuts in Geneva. This new platform will make the model longer and wider, as well as about 100 lbs lighter than the current generation. Volkswagen will try to keep the Golf formula intact, but there will be changes made to the car’s design, on both the exterior and interior.
It has been rumored that the new Golf VII will be offered with a new range of engines, more powerful and more fuel efficient. Volkswagen will also be offering a plug-in hybrid with 246 HP capable of more than 50 mpg.
Although we were able to catch a semi-glimpse of the new Mazda6 when the Mazda Takeri Concept debuted in late 2011, we all know that concepts are the jazzed up versions of production models. Luckily, our spy photographers were able to catch a mule for the new generation Mazda6 testing in winter conditions. This mule sits on the next model’s platform, but still maintains the chopped up body of the current generation Mazda 6.
Mazda has made it clear that the next generation Mazda6 will have nothing in common with the current model, with the new model being wider and longer and its exterior design modeled after the aforementioned Takeri Concept. The new Mazda 6 will be built using the company’s new SkyActiv technologies, including a Skyactiv-D Clean diesel engine, a new six-speed automatic transmission, and an engine start-stop system. The next Mazda6 will also be the first Mazda equipped with regenerative braking. This system converts kinetic energy into electricity during braking and stores it in capacitors for use later in powering electrical equipment such as the air conditioning, lighting, and audio system.
The new generation Mazda6 will also feature a coupe version set to be released sometime in 2014, but expect to see the Mazda6 sedan at the 2012 Paris Auto Show.
The legend is back! Lotus has unveiled today the new Esprit sports car. Described as the "ultimate Lotus," the new Esprit will go into production at the end of 2012, with first deliveries beginning in late 2013, early 2014. Lotus announced an estimated price of £110,000 ($175,000 at the current rates).
At the unveiling of the Evora S model in San Jose in June 2011, Lotus Cars USA PR boss, Kevin Smith, confirmed that the Esprit supercar would be getting Lotus’ in-house V8 engine and both a manual and a dual-clutch transmission. This V8 engine was originally said to deliver between 550 - 570 HP, but actually achieved 570 HP at around 9000rpm and 398 lb-ft of torque at a bit higher than 3000rpm. Lotus Chief Technical Officer, Wolf Zimmermann, says this engine can reach up to 630 HP at 9,400 rpm and 424 lb-ft of torque between 5,500 and 6,000rpm. The V8 weighs in at about 375 lbs, which is about 176 lbs lighter than the original 5.0L V8 Lotus was going to borrow from Lexus. It will be used for both the Esprit and, as confirmed by Smith, an even more exotic Elite.
"One has to be very careful when taking on the challenge of reinventing such an iconic classic as the Esprit – everyone has an opinion. There’s a fine balance between acknowledging the greatness of the past whilst at the same time rapidly leaping forward to the future and ensuring that this car not only does the name Esprit justice but also the Lotus brand. I think we’ve managed to find the balance and in doing so created a new icon, a car people will find hard to resist."
UPDATE 11/21/2011: Lotus officials has confirmed that the next generation Esprit will be powered by a 4.8 liter V8 engine. This new engine will deliver a total of 570 HP in standard version, but the company will be also offering a higher-tuned variant with an output of 620 HP. (Autoblog)
UPDATE 12/12/2011:New details about the future supercar revealed that the Esprit will, in fact, be offered in two versions. A base model will combine a 100 HP electric motor to a normally aspirated V8 engine and a more powerful version will drop the hybrid system and focus on weight-saving measures. (AutoCar)
Press release after the jump.
Full story
Next to the Quattro concept, Audi has also unveiled at the Paris Auto Show the e-tron Spyder, a concept rumored to preview the future R4 sports car. But compared to the previous E-tron concept, this one is powered by a turbochargers 3,0 Liter TDI engine with an output of 300 HP, combined with two asynchronous electric motors with a total output of 88 HP. The result is a sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 4,4 seconds and a top speed limited to 155 mph. All this while delivering a fuel economy of 106.92 US mpg.
The E-tron Spyder measures 1.81 meters (5.94 ft) wide, just 4.06 meters (13.32 ft) long and only 1.11 meters (3.64 ft) in height. It features a wide central air inlet, single-frame grille, adaptive matrix beam headlight modules with three-dimensional clear glass covers carbon inserts in the front and side windows and of course 20-inch wheels.
The interior gets a large, display with integrated MMI functions and flanked by two round dials; racing-inspired lightweight bucket seats, contrasting colors and high-quality materials.
UPDATE 10/18/11: The Audi E-Tron Spyder was recently spotted at Mulholland Drive in California doing some test work. And today Audi has unveiled a new video showing the concept in action in Malibu. Also, we have added new photos of the car, which you can check out by heading to the gallery.
Press release after the jump.
Full story
