A sedan car is a four-door vehicle, with a separate hood covering the engine in the front, and a separate trunk for luggage at the rear — the achetypical 3-box car. However, other variations of the body style exist as well, including two-door and hatchback/fastback models.
The new take on the classic Porsche 911 may be a window into the future if these new spy images have anything to say about it. This is the future Porsche Panamera that in due time - 2013, to be exact - will strut into the market with a minor facelift.
Our spy photographers were able to capture the future Panamera as it tries to hide the new headlights, bumpers, and rearlights it is now sporting. The front end looks to have taken a page from the new 911’s book, but the rear end is still holding on to the old design...for now. We expect that prototypes displaying the full changes for the facelift will arrive shortly.
As for the engine lineup, we anticipate the current line to carry over, maybe with some performance enhancements for good measure. This will mean a 3.6-liter V6 engine that may be slightly more powerful than the 300hp at 6,200rpm and 295 lb-ft of torque at 3,750rpm it currently delivers. Direct fuel injection, dry-sump lubrication, and “VarioCam Plus” will also carry over, as will the 7-speed PDK transmission.
UPDATE 01/20/2012: The facelift version of the Porsche Panamera has been caught testing one more time, now during winter conditions. The new images revealed slightly changed front lights and a new designed front bumper, the rear lights with a new graphics and a changed rear bumper.
UPDATE 05/01/2012: While we are all awaiting the release of the facelifted Panamera, a lucky YouTube member was able to take a video of the future model while it took a pitstop at a fuel station in Stuttgart, Germany. Check out the video after the jump! Pay careful attention to the 00:03, 00:08, and 00:13 marks as there is where you will be able to rear the sound of the engine!
After debuting the new Phantom Series II family at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show in March, Rolls Royce has completed the lineup with the new Phantom Extended Wheelbase at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show.
The Rolls Royce Phantom Extended Wheelbase features significant improvements in design, drive-train, and technology. It has a striking new front-end design with fully-LED headlamps, complete with re-styled bumpers and rectangular light apertures. The interior gets a modern user interface with re-designed multi-media controller that controls a new satellite navigation system. The driver can take the necessary information from a larger 8.8 inch control center display.
Under the hood, Rolls Royce has placed a V12 direct injection engine mated to a new 8-speed automatic gearbox and rear differential. Compared to the previous model year, fuel consumption has been lowered by 10% on the combined cycle and CO2 emissions for the Extended Wheelbase fall from 388 to 349 g/km as a consequence.
"I am proud to present our new benchmark of automotive luxury in China," said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. "No other luxury product comes close to Phantom Extended Wheelbase in staging an object of exquisite beauty, effortless opulence and grand theatre. I am delighted that our discerning Chinese clients continue to value Phantom Extended Wheelbase so highly. And with the changes for Series II I am confident that it will continue to retain its position at the very pinnacle of the ultra-luxury goods marketplace for many years to come."
A few months ago, Nissan started its teaser campaign for the new generation Altima. Now, the same marketing strategy is being applied to the future Sentra that will be launched as the nameplate celebrates its 30th anniversary in the U.S. If Nissan follows the same rules as with the Altima, then the official debut will be made in about six weeks. According to the first details, the 2013 Sentra will bring a new level of refinement and innovation to the segment.
"Sentra is the third of five all-new core models we’ll be introducing in a 15-month product onslaught," said Brian Carolin, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing, NNA. "The all-new Altima goes on sale this summer and will be followed closely by the all-new Pathfinder and Sentra. And when the next two new models launch in 2013, we will have refreshed 75 percent of our volume, rewarding our loyal owners and attracting new customers into Nissan showrooms."
The 2013 Nissan Sentra will be unveiled in the United States later this summer and will go on sale in the fall.
More than three years after the Estoque sedan concept was unveiled at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, the clamoring for a production version of the supercar has yet to die down. That’s why in a recent conversation with Autoweek, Lamborghini CEO Stefan Winkelmann refuses to shut the door on the possibility of a production version of the Estoque, saying that the car "was placed on hold because of a number of reasons, including the lack of a suitable platform."
"We haven’t given up on the idea of a sedan entirely," Winkelmann said. "But we see more potential in a sport-utility vehicle encapsulating typical Lamborghini attributes."
The Lambo CEO, of course, is referring to the recently revealed Urus SUV, which made its world debut at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show.
While we don’t necessarily disagree with what Winkelmann has to say, we do see a future where the a production version of the Estoque, or something close to it, will be built by Lamborghini. After all, with Ferrari’s new FF supercar already out and about, a Lamborghini counterpart would make for quite a rivalry.
Just days ago, we brought news about how Swedish Automobile - which used to consist of Saab and Spyker – was dissolved, as both companies went their separate ways. The only difference between the two is that Spyker is still a viable business while Saab is still crippled with debt with absolutely no known development currently taking place.
Chinese mega-company Youngman put in a multi-million dollar bid to purchase Saab in its entirety from GM a few months ago, but General Motors swiftly denied the offer and once again Saab’s future was left in limbo; the same position which has faced the company for the past few years. Even with Youngman’s promise of putting upwards of $1.5 billion into developing new Saab models over the coming years, GM still wasn’t swayed, but to our surprise that didn’t put Youngman off in anyway.
As a result, Youngman has put in yet another bid to purchase Saab, this time for the sum of $470 million at current exchange rates. In addition, the $1.5 billion promise of development still stands, so in total Youngman is willing to spend almost $2 billion to prop up Saab which currently has a debt of around $2 billion, so it sounds like quite a reasonable offer to us.
However, don’t for one second think that this offer will be accepted, as Youngman also has to compete with Indian company Mahindra & Mahindra who have also reportedly put at least one bid into the acquisition of Saab.
In all honesty, we’re not really sure why so many companies are fighting over Saab, as the brand’s reputation has been tarnished massively over the past few years. Nevertheless, we hope all the bidding parties well and hopefully Saab’s debt saga can be put to rest soon enough.
While the official debut for the new baby CLS, also known as the CLC, is still one year away, Mercedes has decided to offer the first preview of the upcoming car with the Concept Style Coupe. The new concept is an evolution of the previous F800 Style Concept revealed two years ago and will make its official debut at the 2012 Auto China in Beijing.
The new Concept Style Coupe comes with design elements inspired by the Concept A-Class and features an interplay between concave and convex surfaces that is typical of Mercedes. Under the hood, Mercedes has placed a 2.0-liter petrol engine that delivers a total of 211 HP, combined with an efficient 4MATIC all-wheel drive system and a 7G-DCT dual clutch automatic transmission.
"The Concept Style Coupe is expressive and powerful in its design", said Dr Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. "We are staking our claim very clearly here. This is the model against which sporty vehicles in the executive segment will have to measure themselves in future."
UPDATE 04/26/2012: Mercedes has unveiled a new video for their latest Concept Style Coupe. The video shows Gordon Wagener, the Head Designer at Mercedes-Benz as he offers an exclusive presentation of the Concept. At one point, he goes into detail about the headlamp inspiration, detailing how it was designed to look just like an eye. Amazing!
Hit the jump to read more about the new Mercedes-Benz Concept Style Coupe.
All we’ve heard about the Bugatti Galibier so far has been concept details and speculation, but things are about to turn around for all the fans wishing the company would take the next big step. Volkswagen has offered Bugatti the backing they need for a 16C Galibier sedan.
Apparently, Wolfgang Duerheimer, the man who recently took over as head of Bugatti and Bentley, was the main proponent behind pushing Volkswagen to give them a break. The Galibier, a 1000 HP sedan, was first shown as a concept in 2010 and when put into production, will cost about $1.4 million. It will use a 16-cylinder engine that can run on both biofuel and gasoline, and will bring back the dual-clutch gearbox. Production will require facilities in Molsheim, France, to be refitted, which may push back deliveries until 2013 or 2014.
The official name for the production model hasn’t been provided yet, but Bugatti’s decision to offer a production version sedan should come as no surprise considering Lamborghini has already confirmed the production version of the Estoque and Ferrari has brought out the FF. These competitors by no means come close to the power behind the Bugatti, but they do illustrate the luxury automakers that are taking advantage of the upswing the economy is making by expanding their lineups.
UPDATE 04/26/2012: Bugatti has unveiled a new video for their 16C Galibier - the world’s most exclusive, elegant and powerful four door car. A wonderful combination of art, form, and technique.
Hit the jump for a full list of rumors regarding the Bugatti 16C Galibier.
It seems like Chevy is so excited to release the SS model that it can barely keep a lid on the rumors and leaks. First, we had swirling rumors about the Holden-based SS model back in 2011. Next, there was the oddly timed registration of the SS moniker.
Some other experts have tried downplaying this by saying that the trademark mentions “SS” in a fanciful manner, meaning just the fancy SS badges. What these experts are overlooking is that all trademarks involving a sequence of letters almost always include “stylized” or “fanciful,” as you cannot just patent two letters.
Well, GM, or more appropriately OnStar, has dropped yet another breadcrumb and one Christopher Price – a Tech dude and OnStar subscriber – found it. As Price puts it, he was checking out his profile and decided to explore other OnStar features. He stumbled upon the list of compatible cars and oddly enough found 2014 models. He clicked on it and what happened to be positioned right between the Chevy Spark and Silverado? A non-existent model dubbed the “SS Performance.”
Does a strange computer glitch mean that the SS model is truly coming in 2014? We don’t really know. However, it is yet another brick that further solidifies the wall of rumors that began construction back in 2011. OnStar obviously caught onto the leak and quickly patched it up, as the 2014 model year is no longer on the site, but not before Price got a glimpse at another future name, the Cadillac ELR, which could point to an all-electric Caddy.
There is, of course, the outside chance that we are being tricked by a good Photoshop job, but our amateur eyes say it is the real deal. Then again, this could just be us getting our hopes up for a new muscle sedan from Chevy.
Not all of us are quite privileged enough to be able to lump down enough money to import a 2012 BMW M5 into the U.S., nor are we all patient enough to await the 2013 release of the new M5. This means we are stuck with videos from people like the fine folks over at Bimmerpost.
One of the new features on the 2012 M5, which will likely be a part of the M5 when it hits U.S. showrooms for the 2013 model year, is the Active Sound system. This is a system that is integrated with the stereo system and pipes engine notes through the stereo’s speakers.
So, here is our dilemma… Is this new feature a cool trick or simply a useless gimmick that BMW is slapping on this ride to make it seem cooler? The folks at Bimmerpost saved the day again by providing us automotive nerds with audio of the 2012 M5 with the AS system active, then with it deactivated, which involves yanking a fuse that also disables the entire stereo system and the rear parking assistant.
After listening to the two audio clips, which you can do in the above video, we can certainly tell the difference between the actual engine sound and the digitized engine sound. While BMW did go to great lengths to help match the digi-engine with the real engine, it is really a disappointment. To some people it might be a cool feature, but real auto buffs want to hear the engine itself.
BMW could help us all out by putting an “On/Off” switch on this feature, without having to disable the entire audio system by pulling the fuse. This rings even more true with folks that add in aftermarket components to this already high-performance sedan. They want to hear the modified turbo whistle, blow-off valve, and exhaust note, not some synthesized version of the stock engine.
We call this a useless gimmick for now. Let us know how you feel in the comments section below!
So it is official, Ford has gone absolutely crazy with the EcoBoost trend, but it’s a good crazy, as the EcoBoost both lowers emissions and sharply increases fuel economy. The latest engine to spool its way into the EcoBoost lineup is the all-new 1.0-liter inline three-cylinder version. When most people think of a 1.0-liter three-banger, they tend to picture the early-1990s Metro with its concrete massaging 49 horsepower zipping it to 60 mph sometime in the next century, while driving downhill.
Fortunately, this isn’t your Metro’s three-cylinder engine. This boosted three-banger will pump out a respectable 98 horsepower on the base level and an even more impressive 125 horsepower on the top-level engine, the latter exceeding the current 1.6-liter’s output by 5 horsepower.
FEV, the leading developer for this engine, also claims that both versions of the engine will twist out 125 pound-feet of torque, which is 13 more pound-feet than the 1.6-liter engine and it saves 20 pounds worth of weight compared to the 1.6-liter.
The press release makes it a little unclear as to whether or not this new EcoBoost will be offered in the U.S., but given the fact that it mentions the 1.6-liter in a Focus, and it being offered in the C-Max and B-Max, we can assume that it will start off in the U.K., as the B-Max and C-Max are U.K. models, and the Focus only comes with the 1.6-liter in the U.K. . Granted, the C-Max is coming to the U.S., but as a hybrid model only.
With the power output of this engine, you can expect to see it making its way over here soon. The likely host for it would be the Ford Fiesta, as it is more accepted with a smaller engine. Focus buyers would generally not accept a 1.0-liter-powered model.
We will continue to keep an eye on this and let you know if Ford makes mention of it coming to the U.S. or not.
Click past the jump to read FEV’s full press release
