Even though it is not slated to come to the U.S., nor are any Peugeots, we have kept a watchful eye on the new Peugeot 301 four-door hatchback. Behind the scenes and obviously out of our prying eyes’ range, Peugeot has been working on a different version of the 301, a sedan, or saloon for you U.K. folks.
Yup, this new 301 looks just like the 301 hatchback that we have seen frolicking around, but has the hatch hacked off and a trunk put in its place. This new 301, which is set to debut at the Paris Motor Show in September 2012, is positioned in the automaker’s developing market lineup – Turkey, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Middle East, Gulf and African States, and certain Latin America markets.
Even though its release is not scheduled for a few more months, Peugeot has decided to give us a sneak peak at this new model and a short press release to let us now about some of its key features.
Click past the jump to rear our full review on the upcoming Peugeot 301 Sedan.
The Cadillac Escalade has always been a love-it-or-hate-it type of vehicle, thanks to its awesome styling but terrible fuel economy. Sales have been falling off lately and incoming CAFÉ regulations are really putting the squeeze on GM to increase the overall fuel economy of its sole luxury automaker. This led to talks of the Escalade getting the axe in coming years, but apparently GM is not ready to throw in the towel yet.
Reports are pointing to an all-new Cadillac Escalade arriving in 2014 as an early-2015 model year. Instead of Caddy going the direction that many other SUV builders have gone, it will keep the Escalade on a truck frame, whereas many builders are changing SUVs to sit upon car platforms. This means that the 2015 Escalade will ride on the same platform as the soon-to-be released new Chevy Silverado and Sierra.
Unfortunately, we have nothing to really offer except speculation on the incoming Chevy and GMC trucks, as we have only seen heavily camouflaged models. All we can say for certain is that the Cadillac will share the same platform as its pickup brethren. Some experts are anticipating a change in the Silverado/Sierra twins that rivals the 1996 space shuttle treatment that the F-150 received. If this is the case, we can also expect a vastly redesigned Escalade.
We also know that GM has to work on the fuel economy of this luxury SUV to help it meet CAFÉ regulations in the future and the 18 highway mpg that the 2012 Escalade gets is simply not going to cut it. Look for GM to develop an engine that rivals the Ford’s EcoBoost V-6, like the 3.0-liter twin-turbo engine that has been mentioned, and toss it into the Escalade. The only other option would be to go turbo diesel, which may not sit well with Cadillac owners.
We will continue to bring you more information as it becomes available on the upcoming 2015 Escalade.
The Hennessey Venom GT has already promised to be one of the craziest, fastest, and most incredible supercars to have ever of come out of such a small production facility in the U.S. for decades. And it’s only been in production for a few months.
Yet, Hennessey has yet to deliver upon any of its promised performance capabilities, but that hasn’t stopped the firm from already developing its first variant of the car, with the Venom GT Spyder, and with deliveries of the exotic car set to begin soon, the tuning firm recently took the car to the dyno and fortunately, The Smoking Tire was there to capture it all.
The particular unit in question is actually the black car recently ordered by Aerosmith rocker, Steven Tyler and is undergoing its final stages of development before being delivered in the following weeks.
As we’re sure you know, the Venom GT is a true, rear-wheel drive, V8 monster and managed to pump out 839 horsepower and 745lb-ft at the rear wheels running on pump gas and only medium boost. It’s currently unclear which performance package Tyler selected for the car as it’s available either in 725HP, 1000HP, or 1200HP options, but based off the results we’d estimate Tyler selected the 1200 horsepower variant, as race gas and full boost could definitely add an extra 300-odd horsepower.
On top of the incredible exhaust note produced by the car, the following video also shows the Venom GT Spyder shooting some incredibly-impressive flames from its rear, demonstrating that it really is a performance car.
One of the auto industry’s highly anticipated secrets is finally ready to break cover at the 2012 New York Auto Show.
For the fine folks of Fisker, the debut of the Fisker Atlantic - ’twas once codenamed "Project Nina" - marks as a celebration in its own right, a culmination of years of hard work and dedication.
And now that it’s ready for its world premier, Fisker has come out with the first official details of the car, as well as photos that finally gives us a good look at what they’ve been working on all this time.
Judging by its looks, the Atlantic looks like a bigger version of the Karma, albeit with a more pronounced stance that’s typical of its sedan form. The unmistakable Karma grille is also present, which we’ve never been fans of from the beginning.
All in all, though, the Atlantic looks pretty neat and when matched with a hybrid powertrain should make for a model that would draw the interest of a lot of people.
UPDATE 05/21/12:InsideEVs appears to have discovered new information about the Fisker Atlantic, involving the car’s official power train and how much it’s going to cost.
While we initially thought the the car would have a 2.0-liter engine similar to the 328i sedan with a matching electric motor, producing a total of 240 horsepower, it appears that the Atlantic will have a little bit more ponies than we thought. According to InsideEV, the car will be powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder engine and an electric drivetrain, producing an output of 300 horsepower with a 0-60 mph time of 6.5 seconds and CO2 emissions of around 50 g/km.
It looks like the Atlantic will be carrying a sticker price of anywhere between $50,000 - $60,000. That’s still a far departure from the Karma, which retails now for just under $100,000.
Find out more about the Fisker Atlantic after the jump.
It’s not too often that us auto industry buffs get a chance to toot our own horns by calling our shots and being right. To be honest, most of the time we end up being wrong when we start calling our shots. But when we do smack that nail right on the head, we like to let you know about it ASAP…
On that note, remember the long trail of breadcrumbs that we have been following since 2011? If you don’t, allow us to refresh your memory:
April 20, 2012:TopSpeed reports that the “SS” moniker was officially trademarked by GM, after 51 years of using it on various models. Some other experts claim this was just to protect the “SS” trim levels, but we knew better.
Now we have real-life news on the Chevrolet SS front, as GM has officially released, FINALLY, something that we have all pretty much known for at least a few months. For the 2014 model year, Chevrolet will import the Holden Commodore and badge it as the Chevrolet SS – no “Performance” after it. Chevy will have the SS on showroom floors starting in late-2013.
Not only is the SS coming to showrooms, it will also run in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Its debut will occur at the 2013 Daytona 500 race.
Finally, we can put to bed the ongoing mystery of Chevy’s odd breadcrumb trail and start focusing on the next in line, the yet-to-be-announced Cadillac ELR.
Click past the jump to read GM’s official press release on the Chevy SS.
Rumors have been swirling since 2011 regarding the Chevrolet SS and we were amongst the first to start discussing it. The rumors cooled off up until a few weeks ago when after 40 years of using the “SS” logo, GM finally decided to trademark it. Later the rumors became even more certain, as OnStar, GM’s in-vehicle communication system, mistakenly put the 2014 model lineup on its site. Within that lineup was a model dubbed the SS Performance.
This all adds up to a solid case that the Chevrolet SS Performance is on its way to the U.S. According to the rumormill, this would also result in the Holden Commodore SS, which was once used as the Pontiac G8, becoming the vehicle that dons the 2014 SS Perfomance badges.
With this release, Chevy would finally have a performance sedan to stack up against the likes of the Charger R/T and the Ford Taurus SHO.
UPDATE 05/17/2012: Chevrolet has officially confirmed that their new SS Performance Sedan will be a 2014 model and will arrive in dealer showrooms in late 2013. A racing version will compete at the 2013 Daytona 500. The model will be built in limited edition and will carry a derivative of the award-winning global rear-wheel-drive architecture that spawns performance vehicles like the Chevrolet Camaro.
"As a passionate race fan and performance enthusiast, I am thrilled that Chevrolet will deliver a true rear-wheel-drive NASCAR racecar in the SS that is closely linked to the performance sedan that will be available for sale," said Mark Reuss, president of GM North America. "The Chevrolet SS is a great example of how GM is able to leverage its global product portfolio to deliver a unique performance experience that extends beyond the track. I am personally looking forward to driving it."
Click past the jump to read our full review of the anticipated SS Performance and how it stacks up against the competition.
Up until this point, we’ve only been able to show you a couple of low-quality teasers of the Pagani Zonda 760 RS, a car which defines what a supercar should be all about as it’s the most powerful car ever produced up until now. However, today we have something very, very special for you.
Not only have a few incredible pictures of the car been officially released, Pagani owner and Evo Magazine owner Harry Metcalfe was lucky enough to drive this one-off piece of automotive art on some incredible Italian country roads.
The video is yet another one of the Evo Diaries series and is undoubtedly the most exquisite one they have ever done. The test begins off with Harry following the 760 RS in one of just a couple Zonda prototypes, which has evolved since the very first 6.0-liter V-12 up until its current 7.3-liter spec very similar to the unit fitted to the Cinque.
Despite the incredible prototype being extremely unique by itself, the 760 RS is something else entirely. Harry confirms that it cost the Chilean owner 1.6 million pounds or the equivalent of $2.5 ‘Benjamins.’ Nope, your eyes are not tricking you, that is in fact twice the price of the Huayra, and Metcalfe points out that the 760 RS is a very similar car to the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, while the Huayra could be considered as an extreme 911 Turbo.
Metcalfe goes on to confirm in the final seconds of the video that Lewis Hamilton did in fact purchase a 760 dubbed the ‘760 LH’ just like we reported, so hopefully some photos of that will be released in due course.
We brought you news about the possibility of Renault reviving the Alpine name and producing a brand new concept based around the original car just a couple of weeks ago, and already more details about this possible, yet-to-be-confirmed car have surfaced.
Originally, Renault was rumored to have stated that a successor to the legendary Alpine A110 would debut at the 2012 Paris Auto Show in late September, but according to Autoblog.nl, the new car could be debuting much sooner at the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix late this month. This wouldn’t be the only new car said to debut at the event, as reports have also suggested that McLaren will unveil the McLaren F1 successor in a private display during the festivities.
If this turns out to be true, then debuting the car at the Monaco Grand Prix could be a great move on Renault’s part, as it’s not only an integral part of Formula One and one of its key engine suppliers, but the media buzz around the famous race will help the French company get some recognition for reviving this legend.
The car in question will only be a concept version, and is rumored to be dubbed the ‘ZAR,’ although we’re somewhat doubtful that the ZAR name would make it to production. It seems a return to ‘Alpine’ would be preferable. Autoblog.nl has also revealed that the new Renault sports car may be completely electric and help lead the sports car market into more efficient territory.
However, if Renault does decide to create an electric Alpine for the 2014 or 2015 model years, it’s likely it would also offer the car with a conventional internal combustion engine if it really is a tribute to the original.
It’s yet to be confirmed if the Monaco display will be conducted in private or not, but if it is, expect a few shots to leak onto the net in the days following the event.
In a press release issued on April 19, 2012, BMW outlines that 7,600 units of the 2012 3-series are being recalled as “they have front seat head restraints that exceed the downward movement limit of 25mm in the highest position” outlined by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Fortunately, this recall will only impact North American vehicles rather than cars being impacted across the globe.
Cars affected were produced between October 18, 2011 and March 18, 2012 and BMW will notify all owners who have cars produced in that time period, and of course all repairs will be conducted free of charge.
BMW only discovered this fault in late April while the 2012 3-series has been in production for well over 6 months and the German brand could have saved itself a lot of trouble by thoroughly checking over all prototypes before entering any world markets.
Nevertheless, recalls seem to be a part of the automotive industry and they just go to show how restrictions vary from country to country and they also show just how difficult it is to enter a variety of markets, something Pagani knows all too well.
The Scion FR-S may be the unfortunate love child created from the Subaru and Toyota sports car collaboration, but the American company still has ambitious plans for its latest sports coupe. It has revealed that it plans on shifting 20,000 units annually for the foreseeable future.
Scion’s vice president Jack Hollis stated that "We’re confident we can sell every one we get our hands on.” So it’s clear that Scion believes the FR-S can help give the brand that little boost of life it’s been looking for for many, many years. Not a great deal of reviews have been published about the Scion FR-S, but if it’s as similar to the Toyota GT 86 and the Subaru BRZ as we’re led to believe, then it should be a true sports car which Scion should be proud to sell.
Just as a quick reminder, the Scion FR-S shares the same 2.0-liter boxer four-cylinder engine as both the GT 86 and BRZ, and produces no less than 200HP. Sure that may not sound like a lot, but the FR-S tips the scales at around 2,500 pounds and when combined with a manual transmission and rear-wheel drive, the FR-S promises to be the perfect, affordable driver’s car.
