With the A7 Sportback slowly becoming a news story of the past, Audi is busying itself by preparing the Audi S7 for its coming out party at the end of this week at the Paris Motor Show. We’ve already seen one spy photo of the luxury car, but there was absolutely no harm in providing another one, especially if we can soak up as much information about the S7 before it even hits the show floor. The official debut for the more powerful version of the A7 will be in Paris with sales beginning later in 2011.
While the A7’s most powerful engine delivers a total of 296 HP, the S7 will get a new 4.0 liter twin-turbo V8 engine developed in cooperation with Bentley. In fact, it is the same engine that will be used for the new Continental GT, next to the usual 6.0 liter W12 powertrain, and will develop a total of 550 HP. Also, like the Bentley model, the next S7 will be an all-wheel drive model.
Compared to a standard A7, the S7 will get larger brakes, a sportier front bumper with larger air intakes and quad exhaust pipes, fog lights with chrome borders, and a set of double-spoke alloy wheels.
As you know, the Paris Auto Show is scheduled to start at the end pf this week and it seems it will be all about electric cars this year with a few electric examples being the Kia Pop Concept, the Smart Electric, and MINI Scooter E Concept. Today we bring you details of another electric model that will debut in France at the end of this month. It was developed by Exagon Motors and is called the Furtive e-GT.
The Furtive e-GT is powered by two electric motors developed by Siemens. The two engines develop a total of 340 HP and sprint the electric car from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds. Top speed is limited to 155 mph, but after removing the limiter, top speed goes up to 186 mph. The electric model will be equipped with a generator that recharges the battery and offers an autonomy of 700 to 800 kilometers.
Exagon announced that the car will go into production in 2012 with production limited to 100 units a year.
More details will be revealed closer to the official unveiling, so stay tuned!
The Paris Motor Show is only a few days away and we’re already beginning to see a lot of special edition vehicles that are going to be introduced at the auto event.
Not to be outdone by its competitors, Smart is bringing their very own special edition ForTwo, one that, apparently, is hemmed in reusable cardboard. Say what?!
No, this isn’t some half-baked joke that we just thought of this morning; it’s actually the real deal. The cardboard ForTwo is the brainchild of artist Sarah Illenberger, Smart, and CD Cartondruck AG, all of whom brainstormed about the idea of putting reusable cardboard on the car’s exterior and interior. We’re not entirely sure how this works given that cardboard, no matter how “high-quality” it seems to be, don’t exactly inspire confidence when you’re out on the road. Nonetheless, we give these guys some credit for their creativity, imagination, and, well, that’s pretty much it.
If you’re having a difficult time wrapping your head around the justification of the car, then you’re not alone. At the very least, we’ll probably get some explanation from these guys at the Paris Motor Show where the car is expected to be on display in all its cardboard glory.
Here we go again! Excited to see the new Lamborghini supercar up close and personal when it is revealed at the Paris Motor Show, we are scavenging the web to try and find more information to let loose before the official unveiling. Thankfully, we didn’t have to look long since Lamborghini has revealed its 4th teaser image out of the six it will be showing before the car takes the stage at the end of the week. This time, the teaser image reveals the sixth element of the car: the carbon fiber. Despite everyone’s expectations, this teaser does not reveal the long rumored Jotaas that model has been scratched from the Paris show’s lineup. Yeah, we know. We’re bummed too.
Instead, it is said that Lamborghini will only be bringing one concept vehicle to the show that will preview the company’s future technology. We don’t know much of the vehicle, except for what they have showed us in their indistinct teaser images, but we have heard that this model is coded the "83X".
Regardless of what it’s called or what it can do, which we haven’t heard anything on just yet, the mysterious concept is a Lamborghini so we are sure we will not be disappointed.
After the IPL G Coupe, Infinti will come at Paris Auto Show with the Infiniti Performance Line (IPL) G Cabrio Concept. Depending on people’s reaction on the concept Infiniti will decide if the IPL models will also make it to Europe.
The IPL G Cabrio Concept comes painted in new Malbec Black – a pearlescent black paint with red hints combined with a Monaco Red leather interior. The IPL program includes 19-inch split-rim 7-spoke graphite-finish alloy wheels, a new bumper section, blacked-out grille and headlight surrounds, a body-color bootlid spoiler and of course a lowered body. The interior will get black lacquer on the center console, the dashboard area above the glove box and doors adorned with KACCHU, the name given to the armour used by Japan’s feudal warlords, or samurai, in the Middle Ages.
Under the hood there is a 3.7-liter V6 engine with an output of 338 HP and 374 Nm of torque. This will sprint the concept from 0 to 60 mph in less than six seconds, while top speed is 167 mph.
Opel has released today the first details on the GTC Paris, a concept car that previews the future Astra GTC - Opel’s competitor for models like Volkswagen Scirocco or the future Hyundai Veloster.
The 4.46 meters concept was inspired by the Richard Bach’s famous novel, Jonathan Livingston Seagull "…and the speed was pure beauty." It’s design was inspired by the Insignia sedan and is defined by "maximizing tension by limiting the amount of lines:" intense, very slim eagle-eye shaped headlamps, a chrome emblem bar, a dramatic low trapezoidal grill. Of course elements like LED running lights / tail lights and rides on 21-inch rims won’t make it to production, but the concept its just pure beauty.
Under the hood Opel placed a four-cylinder, 2.0 liter Turbo with direct injection fitted with Start/Stop technology and a six-speed manual gearbox.
Opel’s Vice President of Design Mark Adams said: "We wanted to express the most emotional side of the Opel brand and we believe this vehicle creates an appropriate visual impact to reinforce our dynamic sporty character."
Updated 09/24/2010: Opel has unveiled today new images and two video of the GTC Paris, but also the concept’s specifications. The GTC Paris features a twin-scroll turbo-charged four-cylinder engine with direct injection - a range-topping 2.0-liter Turbo equipped with a six-speed manual transmission. The engine delivers a total of 290 HP. Check the gallery to see all the new images.
The scooter war in Paris is now on. Okay, we’re just making it up, but it is a little curious that days after Smart revealed their ’E-Scooter’ concept, another brand went ahead and released the first official photos of their own Paris-bound electric scooter.
To outdo Smart and its e-scooter, BMW has bared their plans of bringing three of its lithium-ion battery-powered MINI Scooter E Concepts to the Paris Motor Show. Take that, Smart!
As a sign of what the future holds for the scooter market, the MINI Scooter E Concepts will be featured with the latest smart technology, including the utilization of smartphones that can be used to do a plethora of tasks, not the least of which include a navigational system function.
The three MINI Scooter E Concepts will come in three unique colors, including one that will bear the same finish as that of the MINI E electric car. Meanwhile, the other two Scooter E Concepts will come in the colors of the UK Mod subculture while the other one will be colored with the British Racing Green finish-brown leather seat combination.
That’s about all of the information we have of the MINI Scooter E Concepts, but expect more information about these scooters when the doors of the Paris Motor Show officially open next week.
By this time, we’ve talked and gone over the BMW Concept 6-Series Coupe so many times that the only thing left to do is wait for the car to be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show.
But as with any manufacturer that wants to keep all of us on our toes, BMW has given us more to talk about with the vehicle by releasing the first detailed look of the Concept 6-Series Coupe’s interior and exterior. Good for you, BMW!
Technically speaking, the 6-Series Coupe isn’t really a concept, contrary to what its name suggests. The production version of the car is already expected to hit dealerships sometime next year. Nonetheless, these two videos of the coupe’s interior and exterior gives us an idea of what to expect when the car officially hits production. Take note also that while most of what we’re looking at will be included in the production version, we should also at least expect a few tweaks and changes here and there.
So check out the video and acclimate yourself with the car as much as you can. You never know, if you like it enough, you might drive home with one in the future.
To say that the new Citroen DS3 rally car has some big shoes to fill is like saying that Megan Fox is hot. Well, duh.
Following in the footsteps of the C4 rally car isn’t always the best place to get your feet wet in the world of rally. This is especially true since the C4, which has been running for four years, already has a laundry list of accomplishments, including three driver’s championships and two manufacturer’s championships. Can you take the heat, DS3?
Nevertheless, Citroen is ready to unveil their next-generation rally race, which was built with a smaller, normally aspirated engine to adhere to the new rules that are going to be enforced in the World Rally Championship beginning in the 2011 season.
The C3 rally car is scheduled to have its public unveiling at the Paris Motor Show next week. But before that, Citroen has released a new teaser video of the new rally car. We’re dying to find out how the DS3 can handle the enormous shadow cast by its predecessor. Although we won’t be able to find that out until next year, we’re likewise excited to see how the new rally car looks.
We’ve already touched on this before, but its certainly worth saying again given that BMW will be readying three new versions of the 2011 BMW 5-Series Touring at the 2010 Paris Motor Show.
For those of you who think that the station wagon version of the new 5-Series will be ready for US soil down the road, you’re terribly out of luck. We’re not trying to rub it in your faces; it’s just the cold hard truth straight from the mouth of BMW.
So when the Bavarian automaker unveils three new versions of the 5-Series Touring at the Paris Motor Show, including a 525d Touring that packs 204 horsepower, a 535d Touring with twin turbochargers that also produces 300 horsepower, and a 3.0-liter diesel with an in-line six cylinder, don’t expect it to come Stateside – at least for the time being.
We’re still holding up hope, though, that BMW will do an about-face on bringing the 5-Series Touring Stateside – or even Canada, for that matter – but for now, the closest we can come to the car is the Internet.
That is unless we all decide to move to Europe, in which case, dibs.
