rumors:

Mercedes Concept Fascination will go into production

The German luxury car builder, Mercedes Benz unveiled their Concept Fascination back a t the 2008 Paris Motor Show. What was once boasted as nothing more than a design study focused on bringing back the shooting brake, is now rumored to be going into production as another iteration of the new Mercedes Benz E-Class for 2010. With this final addition, the E lineup has now grown to 5 body styles: saloon, coupe, convertible, estate and now shooting brake. The estate/coupe combination should make its official debut some time in 2011.

Under the hood, the engine lineup will be the same as the E-Class Coupe. Power plants will range from four and six cylinder engines to a mighty V8 for the top of the line E-Class Shooting Brake. One thing is for certain, with this kind of sports inspired body, a high performance version will almost definitely be an option.

Until then we will just have to wait for the wagon to be revealed in Frankfurt, and for the convertible to come sometime after. When all of the new E-Class cars finally do make their debuts, Mercedes Benz is going to have a whole lot of attractive cars to get rid of.

Firebird might come back

Ok this is a big “if” rumor. If Pontiac survives the GM carmageddon that’s on the horizon, we may see a Firebird revival. Spreading the cost of the Camaro over another car, plus giving Pontiac an inexpensive way to boost sales, should be good enough for GM to reconsider a Firebird... but Pontiac has to survive first.

Mini Speedster going into production

Rumors are going around that BMW has approved a two-seat speedster version of the Mini. Although the design will be different (including more angular design and rear tonneau cover,) underneath the skin it will likely share many components from the other models, including the 208 hp 1.6-liter engine from the JCW Mini.

2010 Bugatii Royale to be revealed in Frankfurt

Bugatti may have some big plans for the long-rumored sedan, which include a first showing at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. 4WheelsNews is reporting the slow economy hasn’t stopped Bugatti from it’s sedan plans, but instead it actually may help Bugatti repeat history.

The new sedan is expected to be called the Royale and will possibly be limited to six units, just like the original. Ettore Bugatti intended to build twenty-five examples of his Type 41 (Royale), but the Great Depression limited production to less than one per year over the 1927 to 1933 run. So if this rumor is true, Bugatti may be once again introducing an ultra-exclusive sedan in a time when few will be able to afford it. The new Royale will likely borrow a version of the W16 engine from the Veyron, and it could be the world most expensive car considering the price should be well north of the Veyron’s $1.5 million retail price.

This kind of news always gets us excited, but we also have to be a little cautious. Earlier this year we were expecting something big from Bugatti at the Geneva Motor Show, and all we got was the Bleu Centenaire.

Toyota’s Celica rebirth may still be on track

We’ve known Toyota has been working on a partnership with Subaru to bring back the Celica. But there has also been confirmation that plans were being delayed until at least 2012, if not indefinitely.

Now there’s a story coming out in next month’s L’Automobile Magazine that says the Celica will be here in 2010. The French publication says that this has been confirmed by Thierry Dombreval, vice president of sales and marketing of Toyota France.

We still are a little cautious about news of the traditionally frugal Toyota continuing plans for a sports sedan in unsure economic times (especially in addition to the rumored new hybrid MR2). But if Toyota is willing to take the risk on a new rear-drive car, we will be one its largest supporters.

2012 Audi R2 rendering

Alright, time to travel back into the murky waters that is the Volkswagen Group’s lineup mash-up. Here’s what we do know: Audi will get a version of the Volkswagen BlueSport concept. How it fits into Audi’s family is the debate.

Audi has been using a codename R4 on a mid-engined project. The thought was that the R4 would be the Audi based off the BlueSport. This rumor itself was already pretty tricky, and was explained last month. Now Auto Express is using the codename R2 for the VW based roadster, which could move the playing field.

If plans for a R2 and R4 both exist then, it could mean multiple cars coming from both Porsche and Audi. Porsche is possibly getting a version of the BlueSport chassis that could go to a 914 revival. An earlier rumor pegged the R4 to share many pieces with the Porsche Boxster. So one possibility is that the R4/Boxster/Cayman could play big brother to the BlueSport/R2/914 chasis.

But all this is speculation also would mean that the Volkswagen Group is laying out a lot of money on new designs at a time when cash is tight. Plus there are plenty of questions still to be answered: Is there really room in the Audi lineup for a R2 and R4? How many chassises will Audi be utilizing? Is this just a case of one car going under two names?

Only time and Ritalin will give us the answer.

Need For Speed is going online in a big way

With the termination of EA’s Black Box division the thought was that the Need For Speed franchise would be soon to follow. Falling sales and mediocre reviews have sent the once promising franchise into despair. However, the designers at EA have not thrown the towel in yet.

More after the jump.

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First U.S. Audi R8 V10 5.2 FSI sells for about $500,000

The rumormill is floating a big one here. Last night the first Audi R8 V10 5.2 FSI quattro that will arrive in the U.S. went to auction at the Boca Raton Concours d’ Elegance. Although the exact price cannot be confirmed, it sold for around $500,000.

The R8 V10 will be powered by the same 5.2 liter V10 as the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4. The engine is rated at 525 hp, which is 105 more than the V8 version but about 27 less than the Gallardo.

The first 2010 Ferrari California for the U.S. market was also auctioned during this event (the first 2009 car was auctioned in September) , and the combined price of the two cars is rumored to be about $1 million. All proceeds of the event will go to support the Boys and Girls Clubs of Broward County, Florida.

We should get final pricing early this week. Once we know more, we’ll pass it along.

Acura NSX to show up in Detroit, pulse not included

Looks like the executives over at Honda caught a showing of Weekend at Bernie’s over the holiday break and got an idea. Just because the Acura NSX is dead, doesn’t mean they can’t show it off.

There was already a NSX concept car ready for January’s Detroit Auto Show before the project was indefinitely idled, so Honda doesn’t want to waste it. The concept car won’t mean that there is an Acura supercar bound for the U.S. The NSX will be there just to fill space.

From a business standpoint it’s easy to understand that Honda is just trying to get its money’s worth; but from an enthusiast’s standpoint, showing the concept is like Honda is taking us to the strip club. Honda’s New Year’s gift to North America is the ultimate ‘you can look but never touch’ set-up.

Porsche 914 rendering

With Porsche moving forward on plans for a four-cylinder engine, Volkswagen and Audi going ahead with plans for a small mid-engined coupe/roadster, and Porsche definitely taking a controlling position in VW; it’s hard to ignore the possibility of Porsche making a 914 successor.

Sometimes when a company goes for a its smallest version the styling gets a little out of hand. Examples include the original 914 had a tough time fitting in with the rest of the Porsche family line as well as outcasts like the current Nissan Micra and the MkI Austin Healey Sprite. So we decided to go to the extreme in styling and have a rendering of our own “Bugeye” Porsche.