When Volkswagen announced the BlueSport concept back in January, VW execs mentioned that production costs needed to be spread over multiple car brands. It was also mentioned that the €30,000 (about $38,000) VW would need to charge for its own car meant that variations should go to more up-market brands like Audi or new step-brother Porsche. Discount brands like Seat and Skoda were originally left out of the roadster lottery due to slim profit margins.
Now that may have changed. Many different sources are mentioning rumors from the Volkswagen Group that would give Seat and Skoda droptop cars. The extra production would also drop the base price for the low price brands to about €22,000. If true, this Seat may finally get a production version of the 2001 Tango concept for 2014.
Also, if Porsche can’t put enough of its own parts in the platform, it could likely bow out of the program. It would be hard for Porsche to demand a premium price for a vehicle that uses suspension bits from VW’s budget-minded Polo and Golf, with similar vehicles available from budget brands Seat and Skoda.<
A couple weeks ago we got a sneak peek at the special edition Lamborghini Murcielago LP 650-4 Roadster. Now we’ve got a few more pics and confirmation that we’ll see it this week at the Geneva Motor Show.
What makes the LP 650-4 so special is the engine: the 650 hp 6.5-liter V12 unit last seen in the Reventon - that’s 19 more hp than the Murcielago LP640-4 Roadster. It should be good for 0 to 60 mph sprints in 3.4 seconds.
Just like the Reventon, the Murcielago LP 650-4 will be a very limited model with only 50 units scheduled for production, with an estimated price of $400,000.
Full specifications and more pics after the jump.
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Wiesmann has been teasing the MF4 for a while now. Last month we got the final confirmation that we will be seeing a few new projects from the German company including the MF4 Roadster.
Now the company has revealed the first teaser image of the German roadster with very British styling. The MF4 will be powered by a 367 hp 4.8-liter BMW V8 that is borrowed from cars like the 650i. An S version will get the 4.0-liter V8 borrowed from BMW M3.
n2a Motors came to the L.A. Auto Show this year with ambitions of production for it’s Corvette-based cars, and now it seems the company is following through. The Anteros Coupe and Roadster are now on sale. n2a is sticking to the prices quoted late last year, so the coupe starts at $149,500 and convertible goes for $154,500. The Anteros based on the Z06 platform is priced at $176,500.
Anteros roadster and standard coupe is based on the 2009 Corvette and is powered by a LS3 V8 engine that delivers 430 hp and 424 lb.-ft. of torque (same as the standard Corvette). Z06-based coupe uses the car’s 7.0-liter V8 engine to deliver 525 to 1000+hp depending on options (including a Lingenfelter performance upgrade).
If you already like the Corvette’s interior, then the the Anteros won’t disappoint. Although n2a says that there are new leather seats, leather dash, Italian carpeting, and leather-wrapped interior panels, the lineage of the donor Corvette is unmistakable.
Looks like this BMW Z4 wanted to go and find its family roots. This car was caught near BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina, which was the home of the first generation Z4.
It doesn’t make much sense for this car to have its BMW badged masked. The car has already premiered, and it should be in showrooms by May. Either way, it’s nice to see the Z4 on U.S. soil.
We knew that Aston Martin was working on a topless version of the DBS (it even asked for suggestions for a name). Now rumors are going around that the cars is almost complete, and we’ll see it for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
Aside from the fabric roof, the Aston Martin DBS Volante will be identical to its coupe brother. It will be powered by the same 6.0-liter V12 engine that delivers 510bhp at 6500rpm and a peak torque of 420 lb.ft at 5750rpm. The coupe version accelerates from 0 to 62 mph in 4.3 seconds and can hit a top speed of 191 mph, so we expect similar figures from the topless version.
On Monday Honda announced the 2009 will be the final year for the S2000 roadster. To commemorate the high-revver’s final year the event the company will reveal a special edition S2000 for Europe. It’s called the Ultimate Edition, and we’ll see first in it Geneva right before it hits the showrooms.
The Ultimate Edition S200 is painted in a Grand Prix White exterior color and comes with graphite colored alloy wheels. Inside gets red leather furnishings and red stitching on the accessories. Ultimate Editions will be marked out by their unique numbered plaques on the kickplates, denoting their position in the series.
It will be powered by the same 2.0-liter 9000 rpm VTEC engine that delivers 240 hp. There has been not special edition marked for the U.S. yet, but we’d be perfectly happy even if Honda would drop a few regular S2000s on our doorstep on its way out of town.
The Artega GT Coupe may be losing its top sooner than expected. Back in the fall we heard rumors that there would be a drop top of this small batch sports car, and now we may get the first opportunity to see it at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
The coupe version has so far been officially only sold in Europe, but the same rumor about the convertable also pointed to a possible U.S. distribution. If the Artega GT is a officially sold here, it may have an up hill battle. Its Volkswagen-sourced 300 hp 3.6-liter V6 makes it competition for cars like the Porsche Cayman, but its €75,000 (about $100,000 at direct current rates) prices it more in Porsche 911 Carrera 4S territory. The saving grace may be that the car is rare with only 500 units planned per year.
General Motors giveth, and General Motors taketh away. Yesterday we rejoiced over news the the Cadillac CTS coupe would make it into production, and today we morn the death of the Cadillac XLR.
"A specialty sports car like this has a limited life cycle," Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell told Inside Line. "It is not unusual for them to have a less permanent life cycle. This will be the final year (for XLR)."
We’ll miss this Caddy, but we’re not surprised. It was a tough road for the XLR. While it stood as a flagship for the brand and had a nifty folding hardtop; it was a low-volume, high-dollar car that first started production at about the same time the whole Cadillac brand was just beginning a renaissance. Sales have never met full expectations, and the current economic conditions make the XLR an obvious martyr. Our only hope is that when the economy is resurrected, so is the Caddy roadster.
Earlier this month we got word that Honda canceled the S2000’s replacement. From that we knew the days were numbered for the aging high-revving roadster. Now Honda has officially announced that 2009 will be the last year for the S2000.
First premiering in 1999, the S2000 had a quick-shifting transmission, striking looks, and 9,000 RPM redline that made it exceptionally great. Although there inernal pieces of the car were reworked in 2004, the car remained relatively untouched for a decade. This allowed the competitors like the BMW Z4 and Nissan 350/370Z roadster to catch up, leaving the 2009 model to be reduced to only great.
We’ll miss the spunky little Japanese rocket, and Honda if you’re reading this, just because the S2000 is discontinued doesn’t mean there still isn’t a spot for it in our fleet (please).
Press release after the jump.
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