MINI has been one of those rare manufacturers that never seem to go out of its comfort zone. Part of it, we can say, is by design. After all, with one of the most recognizable cars in history (the Cooper), MINI could thrive under the Cooper banner just fine. So when word came out that MINI was coming out with a Roadster – predictably called the MINI Roadster – then you could say that it turned a few heads.
Word is being spread that MINI is close to releasing the MINI Roadster, possibly just in time for the Frankfurt Motor Show. The news was first reported by the French car magazine, L’Automobile and was likewise confirmed by the UK’s Autocar magazine.
From the few snapshots we’ve seen of the MINI Roadster, it looks quite like a loaded version of the MINI Cooper, complete with raked windshield and a retractable soft top – giving it a uniquely bad ass look that’s far removed from the conservative style of the Cabriolet. More so, the MINI Roadster has been reported to feature a low center of gravity, giving it superior driving performance than the Cooper.
As far as the engine is concerned, the Roadster is set to come with the same 1.6 L twin scroll-turbocharged engine, capable of exhausting up to 211 horsepower and up to 280 Nm peak torque with Overboost deployed.
It doesn’t strike us as coincidence that MINI is releasing the Roadster – along with the much talked about MINI Crossman SUV - on the very same year they’re celebrating 50 years of the Cooper’s existence. There have been no confirmed dates as to when the Roadster, and the Crossman for that matter, will be released for production.
What we all know is that barring the unforeseen, both vehicles will be on-hand for the Frankfurt Motor Show, making it a must-attend occasion for all MINI aficionados from all over the world.
Top Speed has already shown you the German tuner Hamann’s take on BMW’s redesigned roadster, the Z4. There is another group of tuners in the Bavarian region that are out to make the drop top Bimmer even more of a sporty ride.
The tuning house G-Power starts off by adding a set of their signature Silverstone wheels and height-adjustable G-POWER coil-overs in order to achieve the perfect stance. The GZ4-RS, 9 way adjustable shock absorbers also help to tune the dampening characteristics of the Z4 to work best with the sticky 295 series rubber incase there is a challenge regarding the vehicle’s handling abilities.
The German mechanics have managed to keep the grease out from under their fingernails. Tahnks to factory plug and play connectors, they have been able to extract an additional 45 HP from the car’s twin turbo straight six 100% electronically, increasing the output of G-Power’s Z4 sDrive 35i to 345 HP, good enough to get the new BMW to sprint from 0 to 60 PH in just 4.7 seconds down from the standard version’s 5.1 second 0 to 60 MPH time.
Press release after the jump.
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It was announced last July that the German automaker Mercedes Benz and the racecar constructers McLaren would soon be going their separate ways. This meant that the end was near for all variations of the SLR super car. However, before the two automotive giants part ways, they have decided to celebrate the by painting the last batch of SLR roadsters in McLaren’s signature racing livery.
The orange paint scheme was first used to cover the 1967 M6A Can-Am racecar, and is also the color of the McLaren F1 LM that Lewis Hamilton first saw in his karting days and made Ron Dennis promise to give it to the young Britton if he ever won the manufacturer a Formula 1 world championship. You should know how that played out.
However; the very last SLR Roadster will feature a deep copper color scheme called Sienna Pearl metallic and have a Tobacco Brown leather interior. The super car will be built for the U.S. market and ultimately auctioned off to help raise funds for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on November 20th.
One of the most iconic cars in the history of the U.S. is packing its bags and is heading East, well past the Statue of Liberty, leaving the East Coast behind. This pony car is going on a trip to visit the wealthiest, most car crazed place in the world.
The vehicle that is making its way to the Middle East is none other than the Chevrolet Camaro. It is safe to assume that if the Camaro could afford a smile it’d have one stretching from ear to ear, thanks in large part to the monstrous highways found in the region, as well as the bargain basement prices of fuel.
And we’re guessing that the feeling is well-reciprocated by those exceedingly rich Middle Easterners who can finally get their well-manicured hands on one of the most popular modern day muscle cars in the world. The Camaro’s popularity, which needed no additional boost, reached new heights thanks to its performance as Bumblebee in the Transformers franchise. The Hollywood buzz only added to the car’s long and illustrious history as an American automotive icon, and it’s a safe bet to say that order forms will be flying off salesmen’s desks as soon as the Camaro lands in the desert.
Continued after the jump
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Porsche unveiled today the first details about the 2009 911. The official debut will be made on 5 July. The European prices are as follows: 69,600.- for the Carrera (Euro base price). The Carrera Cabriolet and Carrera S both retail at Euro 78,000.- (Euro base price), and the Carrera S Cabriolet is entering the market at Euro 88,000.- (Euro base price).
911 Carrera is powered by a 3.6-litre power unit with an output of 345 hp (up by 20 bhp). Carrera S is powered by a 3.8-litre power with an output of 385 bhp unit (up by 30 bhp). The Carrera S Coupe now offers a top speed of 186 mph.
The new generation of the 911 is available for the first time with the new Porsche-Doppelkupplung (PDK), Porsche’s double-clutch gearbox. Offering no less than seven forward gears, the new gearbox combines the driving comfort of a converter automatic transmission with the dynamic gearshift of a sequential racing gearbox.
The new generation of the 911 stands out clearly at first sight through innovations in design both front and rear as well as new lights with LED technology. LED daytime driving lights and bi-xenon headlights now standard on all new models in the Carrera range give the silhouette of the 911 even more distinctive style and a truly unique look, interacting with new LED rear lights to ensure an unmistakable and striking appearance also at the rear. And as a further safety option, Porsche now also offers Dynamic Bending Lights on all models.
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Only a few days ago, Top Speed reported that the Japanese automaker, Toyota, is preparing a roadster version of their iQ city car. It turns out that they are not the only car builder from the Pacific island nation working on an open air subcompact.
The manufacturer from Hiroshima, Mazda, is also working on a roadster version of their smallest vehicle, the Mazda2. The new roadster is a response to sporty, fuel efficient models from Europe, like the upcoming Renault Twingo CC, Opel Tigra and Peugeot 207 CC. The roadster will be powered by the same engines that are found under the hood of the hatchback version, starting with a 1.3 Liter four cylinder and a larger 1.5 Liter gas burning engine. For those who like their fuel from a larger nozzle, Mazda will offer both a 1.4 Liter and a 1.6 Liter turbo diesel power plant to motivate the new roadster.
There is no word on a turbocharged gasoline engine or even a rotary powered roadster. Both are a bit too thirsty for the Mazda2’s intended customers, but wouldn’t it be exciting to see a compact Mazda city car powered by a 13B.
Porsche revealed today two new models in its new 911 line-up: the Carerra 4 and Carrera 4S. The new models will go on sale starting 25 October 2008.
The Carrera 4 is powered by a 3.6-litre power unit that delivers 345 bhp. Featuring the new PDK system the fuel consumption goes down to 10.1 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres, equal to 28.0 mpg imp.
The 911 Carrera 4S is powered by a 3.8-litre power unit that delivers 385 hp and the fuel consumption goes down to 10.7 litres/100 km, equal to 26.4 mpg imp.
The new all-wheel-drive sports cars come with sporting manual transmission featuring six gears. As an alternative the new models are available with Porsche’s new Doppelkupplungsgetriebe replacing the former Tiptronic S automatic converter transmission and offering an even faster gearshift on less fuel. The Doppelkupplungsgetriebe or double-clutch gearbox comes with seven gears shifting electrohydraulically without the slightest interruption of traction and pulling force.
Press release after the jump.
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Ever since Volkswagen announced pricing for the production Blue Sport Roadster, it was only a matter of time before Audi would come up with a rendering of their own. Although this looks a bit smaller and despite being both turbo and supercharged it’s got front wheel drive. They are calling it the A1 Targa, to be sold alongside the A1 sportback, convertible and roadster.
Like all the other versions of Audi’s subcompact, the Targa will get both the 140 HP and 170 HP versions of the 1.4 Liter TSI turbo/supercharged power plants currently found in the Golf GT Sport. These unique power train combinations will use Volkswagen’s signature DSG six-speed double-clutch gearbox to drive the front wheels. The German automaker expects that TSI versions will be sales leaders because of an appealing combination of Audi refinement, Vorsprung durch Technik performance and city car economy. The four ringed automaker will offer a 150 HP 1.8 Liter turbocharged engine alongside the high performance TSI unit. For car buyers wanting to capitalize on the economical aspect of the A1, there will also be an entry-level model powered by a 1.6 Liter four cylinder engine making 102 HP and two 2.0 Liter TDI oil-burners rated at 140 HP and 170 HP.
If a German tuning firm like ABT could get their hands on one of these A1 Targas, equip it with a bigger set of wheels, widen the already pronounced fenders and add a lot more boost from both power adders; this little A1 could become a force to be reckoned with.
If there was ever a story of a sports car with an uncertain future, the Volkswagen Blue Sport Roadster is it. Ever since the creation of the concept
, there has been speculations as to whether Porsche will make another 914 or what would and Audi version look like. Even Volkswagen has put the eco friendly sports car on the back burner due to the unstable economic climate and deficiency of new car buyers.
Anyhow, until the German automaker makes up their minds, they will continue to tease us with a few more images of the Blue Sport. The alternatively fueled vehicle is powered by a 2.0 Liter Clean Diesel (TDI) engine with common rail injection making 177 HP mounted in the midship position. Volkswagen claims that the roadster will go from 0 to 60 MPH in just 6.6 seconds and reach a top speed of 140 MPH, all while returning a very hybrid-like 55 MPG.
Ever since the People’s builder unveiled the BlueSport Roadster as a concept back at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the German automaker has been teasing the car buying public with a “will they or won’t they” saga about the future production car. The next chapter in the story has just been written, previous speculations have claimed that the production version has been put on hold due to the current global economic situation, but now it is time to put the diesel powered roadster back on track.
According to AutoWeek, "the compact mid-engine roadster has an internal development code name," this means that it is very likely that the VW will become the modern day successor of Porsche’s 914. The concept is powered by a 2.0 Liter, common-rail, four cylinder engine puts out 168 HP, but the production version will receive the hot rod 265 HP, turbocharged, direct-injection power plant form the Scirocco R.
When the production car finally does hit the streets, Volkswagen will have wrapped up a lot of fun into $30,000 package. The BlueSport will weigh in at only 2,600 pounds and because of the light weight chassis will be able to sprint from 0 to 60 MPH in a rather quick 6.6 seconds and have a top speed of 140 MPH.
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