Audi confirmed the arrival of the new S6 awhile ago with the car’s world debut date set for the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. Now that the debut is only a few short months away, the S6 Avant is getting stripped of its camouflage and enduring some of its final testing. Our newest spy shots reveal every aspect of the new station wagon, minus the S6 badges, but what we’re really interested in is the upgraded engine underneath the sparkling exterior.
The 2012 Audi S6 will be powered by a newly developed 4.0 liter V8 engine with twin-turbos, allowing the wagon to deliver about 450 HP. Not only will the new engine deliver more power, but true to the times, it will also reduce fuel consumption and emissions by about 20%. The model will be offered with a Quattro four-wheel-drive system and an eight-speed automatic gearbox fitted as standard.
After its world debut later this year, the Audi S6 Avant will go on sale - in both sedan and station wagon versions - at the beginning of 2012. If you live in the U.S. and don’t care for station wagons (which covers most Americans), don’t worry, the S6 Avant won’t be coming over here anyway.
The open-top sports car segment has seen a lot of pretenders recently, cars that attempt to hang with the big boys only to be reminded that it takes another level of power and fast to be able to belong in elite group of open top sports cars. While other brands have had a problem designating which car belongs in what group, Lamborghini has had no problem doing so.
The Sant’Agata Bolognese-based automaker has finally released their latest exotic, the Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Spyder Performante. Based on the Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder, the Gallardo Spyder Performante is what happens when Lamborghini engineers go the extra mile in further reducing the weight of an already lightweight supercar. While some may shun at the attempt, thinking that chopping off more weight would be next to impossible, the folks at Lamborghini set out to prove the naysayers wrong, reducing the car’s weight by 143 lbs, leaving it with a dry weight of just 3,274 lbs, which, in case you’re keeping score, makes this the lightest Lamborghini to be released in the open-top sports car segment.
This is the Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Spyder Performante.
UPDATE 07/11/2011: In the latest episode of Fifth Gear, the team wasted no time testing the latest Gallardo LP 570-4 Spyder Performante, a car that has been built as a response to models like the Ferrari 458 Italia and the McLaren MP4-12C. In this video, Tiff Needell drives the car around the south of France and lets us know what he thinks about the supercar, as well as how it fares against its competitors. Check out the video after the jump!
Details on the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Spyder Performante after the jump.
Dodge unveiled the fourth generation Viper SRT10 ACR a the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2007, bringing what would essentially be the last model presented before a whole new breed of Viper comes out in 2012. The Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR is a 600 hp street-legal Viper engineered to dominate on the race track and also provide for an exciting trip back home. The Viper went on sale in the second quarter of 2008 at a price of no less than $100,000.
"With the all-new 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR, SRT has taken the ultimate American sports car and injected it with an extra dose of racing DNA," said Mike Accavitti, Director - Dodge Brand and SRT Global Marketing and Communications, Chrysler LLC. "With the Viper SRT10 as the starting point, SRT engineered a combination of reduced weight, race-tuned suspension and aerodynamic improvements to create the ultimate Viper for the street and track."
UPDATE 09/15/2011: Put back the champagne in the freezer, Lexus; you’re just-set record lap time of 7:14 around the Nurburgring has been broken. Chrysler’s SRT team went to the ’Ring with only one thing in mind: get under 7:14 in one lap. And just as records are always meant to be broken regardless of how fresh they are, Chrysler’s Dodge Viper ACR blasted around the Nurburgring in a blistering time of 7:12. The exact time has yet to be released - there are tenths of seconds in that equation - but make no mistake, it’s more than a second faster than the 7:14.6 time the Lexus LF-A Nurburgring Package achieved earlier this month.
More details on the Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR after the jump.Full story
Two months after Mercedes unveiled the standard CLS model at the 2010 Paris Auto Show, the better version of the CLS-Class was ready to spice up the eagerly waiting public. The CLS63 AMG showed its face at the LA Auto Show and it was ready to bring the heat with its 5.5-liter biturbo V8 engine.
A standard CLS model is offered with either a 204 HP six cylinder engine or a 408 HP V8, but the AMG version will use a 5.5-liter biturbo V8 engine that will deliver a total of 518 HP and 516 lb.-ft. of torque. There will also be a Performance Package that will increase the engine’s power to 550 hp and 590 lb.-ft. of torque.
The Mercedes CLS63 AMG should go on sale in the summer of 2011 with a starting price of 115,846 Euros (about $155K at the current rates).
UPDATE 04/26/2011: Mercedes has announced prices for the CLS 63 AMG luxury sports sedan. The new model will go on sale in the summer of 2011, with prices starting from $94,900. Prices exclude a $875 destination & delivery charge.
UPDATE 05/16/2011: The new Mercedes CLS 63 AMG is now officially on sale on the US market. And this was the perfect opportunity to add new images to our gallery. Enjoy!
Hit the jump to read more about the future Mercedes CLS63 AMG.
Scheduled to go on sale in the Spring of 2011 as a 2012 model for the United States, the 650i Convertible was introduced in a rather low-key kind of way, un-BMW–like if we do say so ourselves.
At first glance, the 650i Convertible looks to have taken in the look of the Concept 6-Series Coupe, not surprising if you know that the completely redesigned fascia of the vehicle runs on the entire family tree of the 6-Series. And while they do share some similarities, particularly in the overall design and make-up of the cars, the two vehicles do have their own differences, with the most glaring and obvious of which is that the 650i Convertible has a soft roof top, compared to the hard-top 6-Series Coupe.
There’s more to be learned about the 650i Convertible that BMW has yet to tell us. But we’re optimistic that given the short turnaround between introduction and release in the spring of 2011, we’re confident that BMW will give us all the necessary information we need of the 650i Convertible soon enough.
Update 01/10/2011: BMW has announced pricing for the 650i Convertible at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show. The convertible will go on sale at a price of $91,375.
Update 04/04/2011: BMW Australia has announced today prices for the new 6-Series Convertible that will go on sale on 29 May. Pricing starts at $194,300 (or about $201,000 US at the current exchange rates) for the 640i six-cylinder in-line TwinPower Turbo petrol engine and $248,300 ($257,000 US) for the 650i V8 TwinPower Turbo petrol engine.
Hyundai unveiled the sixth-generation Sonata midsize sedan at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show. The car is on sale in three different trim levels: GLS, Limited and SE with the 198 hp version has a starting price of $19,195 for the well-equipped GLS model; the 200-hp SE model starts at $22,595 and the top-of-the-line Limited model is available for $25,295.
The 2011 Sonata will be the first model to be powered by Hyundai’s new Theta II GDI 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with a Gasoline Direct-Injection (GDI) fuel delivery system. The engine is rated at 198 hp (200 hp in the SE version) and 184 lb.-ft. of torque and is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission with SHIFTRONIC. A second engine will be added next year, a 2.0-liter Theta II turbocharged GDI four-cylinder engine. A 2.4-liter Hybrid Blue Drive version will also be available.
The exterior of the all-new Sonata is long, light and low. The high beltline allows for a long, sleek roofline accented by the third window. A monoform side profile includes flowing lines highlighted by a Hyundai signature chrome accent that spans the length of the car. Normally, this type of trim is only found around the windows. On the new Sonata, this trim extends out from the headlamps, juts up along the hood and through the beltline. The face is bold with a large powerful chrome grille and headlamps that integrate precise details. The stance is completed by 16-, 17- or 18-inch multi-spoke wheels. XM Satellite Radio™, real-time XM NavTraffic, XM Data Services, HD Radio Technology™, Bluetooth®, Touch-screen navigation and iPod®/USB inputs will be offered as standard equipment.
Take a pick among General Motors’ line-up of auto brands when it comes to overall popularity and chances are you’d take a while before picking Buick among them. It’s not the most popular brand by any stretch of the imagination, but thanks to a rejuvenation, Buick is looking like it’s going to be a major player in the mid-size luxury sedan with the 2012 Buick LaCrosse.
Taking the reins from the previous LaCrosse model, the 2012 model looks to take the company to the next level with an all new eAssist system that Buick is proclaiming to improve fuel economy by 25 percent. What’s most impressive about the new LaCrosse is that despite the state-of-the-art system that’s been given to the vehicle, Buick is not giving it an added impetus – separate cost from the vehicle – but rather, is putting the eAssist system as a standard feature in all 2012 models of the LaCrosse.
That, in itself, says a lot about Buick and it’s latest mid-size luxury sedan.
One of the important events that happens at the LA Auto Show that we are all excited about is the Los Angeles Design Challenge, an annual competition at the LA Auto Show that provides up-and-coming designers with the opportunity to collaborate with an automaker to design a futuristic concept vehicle using a few set requirements. This year, the theme of the challenge is to build a safe and comfortable 2+2 compact car that comes with excellent handling and cutting-edge design and weighs in at no more than 1,000 lbs.
This concept comes from Mercedes-Benz, which, incidentally, was built not far from Los Angeles at the company’s US design headquarters in Carlsbad, California. The vehicle is called the Biome Concept and is described as a vehicle that “grows in a completely organic environment from seeds sown in a nursery”. In layman’s terms, the Biome Concept is pretty much an organic hybrid that was created in complete symbiosis with nature, producing its own oxygen and contributing to the improvement of air quality.
UPDATE 11/26/2010: When the designs for the Los Angeles Design Challenge were entered, no one really expected any of them to see production, but, according to Autocar, Mercedes is looking into using the BIOME Concept as the inspiration for their mid-engined supercar. Mercedes is planning on revealing the concept vehicle in 2015 as a competitor to BMW’s Vision EfficientDynamics’ eco-supercar.
Now, we don’t expect the production version to follow the same path as the concept’s creation – nobody’s silly enough to believe that Mercedes can grow the production version from “seeds” as how the concept is supposedly born – but according to Hubert Lee, the man heading Mercedes’ California design studio where the BIOME was conceptualized, certain elements of the concept could be translated to the production version. “We were conscious during its development to ensure it wasn’t too limited or edgy,” he said.
“It had to be do-able without any significant changes.”
Mercedes chose to bring the CLS 63 AMG to the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show where they also chose to announce some other plans currently cooking in the Mercedes kitchen.
Ola Kallenius, head of AMG at Mercedes-Benz, announced that the company plans to develop new models that will be placed under the current C-Class. However, they are not talking about models like the A- and B-Class because these models do not exactly fit in the AMG portfolio. One thing is for sure, Mercedes is bringing in a smaller model, and it will be coming in three to four years and will be powered by a smaller engine than the current 5.5 liter V8.
Kallenius didn’t stop there either as the AMG top dog also revealed that the company is planning to incorporate hybrid technology into its product mix. There will also be two Black Series model set to be revealed in the near future, one of which will probably be the Black Series version of the C-Class that was recently caught testing.
Wait, there’s more. Kallenius also confirmed that there will be several SLS AMG versions launched in the next years. These guys really can’t keep any secrets, can they?
