A crossover SUV or XUV is an automobile with a sport utility vehicle appearance but is built upon a more economical and fuel-efficient car-based platform.
The Nurburgring has been extremely crowded these past few days with new prototypes taking their turn burning up the track and finishing up their testing. The latest car spotted isn’t exactly killing any speed records, but it will tickle the fancy of soccer moms everywhere. The new Kia Sorento facelift was spotted testing for the first time back in February somewhere in Sweden, but this new prototype has been stripped of that awkward sack up front and also appears to have different rear light graphics.
As previously reported, the future Sorento will feature the same design language as seen in the recently announced C’eed, including its new designed headlights with LED day driving lights and new front and rear bumpers. The interior will also be heavily modified in order to make it a more competitive model in the SUV market.
As far as power is concerned, we are still in the dark as to if any changes will be made. The current model is powered by a choice of two engines: a 2.4 Liter four cylinder engine that delivers 175 HP and 169 lb-ft of torque and a more powerful 3.5 Liter V6 engine making 276 HP and 248 lb-ft of torque. Both are coupled to Kia’s six speed automatic transmission. Worst case scenario is that the same engine choices will be offered, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing at this point.
We’ll keep you updated on the newest information concerning the 2013 Kia Sorento, so stay tuned!
The Nissan Juke-R has become kind of like a cult vehicle that people have been dying to see go to production. Well, to all you expecting folks out there, your prayers are about to be answered as Nissan acquiesced to the clamoring.
The Japanese automaker will be building the Juke-R in a build-to-order basis. And that’s not the end of the good news either.
According to Nissan, the production version of the Juke-R will carry the 2013 Nissan GT-R’s twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 engine, one that carries an impressive output of 542 horsepower and 466 lb/ft of torque. That’s a significant output increase from the 485-horsepower Juke-R Concept!
Talking about Nissan’s decision to give the production green light for the Juke-R, Nissan’s marketing product manager for the Juke, Gareth Dunsmore, said: "The Juke-R was originally intended as a one-off concept to marry two of Nissan’s most innovative models. But the reaction we had to the car in Dubai was amazing – people were making offers for the original on the street!"
We know that a lot of people are jumping at the chance to be one of the owners of the Juke-R. So to give you a small taste of what you’re going to be in store for, check out a video of the vehicle, called "Desert Nemesis" after the jump. Join GT Academy winner Lucas Ordóñez as he takes the Juke-R to the streets of Dubai to take on some of the fastest and most powerful supercars on the planet!
Hit the jump to watch the car in the Dubai desert.
Rumors about a possible baby Mercedes SLS have been swirling around for awhile, but now Head of Design, Gorden Wagener, has confirmed in an interview with AutoExpress that the company is indeed working on a new sports car. In the same interview, he also confirmed that the production version of the Concept Style Coupe will be called the CLA and that a coupe version of the ML 4x4 is also in the pipeline.
The future SLC will drop the gullwing doors of the current SLS sports car and will be offered with an all-new 4.0-liter V8 engine. The SLC will arrive sometime in 2014, but until then, the company will be debuting two more versions of the SLS, the first of which will be the Black Series in July.
The new model will take on models like the Porsche 911 and the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, and will be priced from £80,000, or about $130,000 at the current exchange rates.
Two special edition MINI models are ready to make their respective debuts, except that in favor of paying homage to any racing legends like the Rauno Aaltonen Edition or upcoming events like the London Edition models, MINI is taking a different route by celebrating two London parks.
One of these models is the MINI Clubman Hyde Park Edition and it’s been given some special colors to justify its special edition label. Whereas its brother, the Cooper Green Park Edition, came with a Pepper White and JCW Green two-tone finish, the Clubman Hyde Park also gets the same Pepper White color. But instead of the green, MINI incorporated a Hot Chocolate hue on the roof, the bonnet stripes, and the side stripes.
Suffice to say, the green and brown theme of the two special edition MINIs does make sense when you’re celebrating a pair of parks.
As for the interior of the Clubman Hyde Park Edition, MINI is dressing it up with the same Pepper White color of the exterior with the seats being finished in a choice of either mixed fabric/leather or leather Gravity.
The Clubman Hyde Park Edition will be powered by a choice of powertrain options, including a 1.6-liter naturally-aspirated engine that produces 121 horsepower, a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine with 181 horsepower, a 1.6-liter diesel engine with 110 horsepower, and a 2.0-liter diesel engine with 141 horsepower.
And just like the Green Park Edition, the Hyde Park Edition is also available on the MINI Cooper.
China’s ever-growing automotive market has became such a boon for a lot of automakers that concept vehicles that would otherwise be introduced in auto shows like Frankfurt or Geneva are already making their way to either Beijing or Shanghai.
For their part, Audi is bringing one of these concepts to the 2012 Beijing Auto Show: the 2013 Audi RS Q3 Concept. This concept serves as a response to some Audi drivers that just needed a little more “umph.”
The RS Q3 Concept is a fresh look at what an RS-badged Q3 crossover could look like and since Audi has just released the Q3, it appears that we won’t have to wait long to see a production model soon.
As for the concept itself, the RS Q3 Concept looks hot in its blue-and-black color scheme. As an RS model, Audi also added several RS elements to the concept’s overall look, including a black honeycomb grille, tinted headlights, a new bumper with graping air intakes, and a new set of 20" aluminum wheels. The RS Q3 is planned to borrow the same 2.5-liter engine from the Audi TT RS, so getting that little extra something should be simple for Audi lovers.
Unfortunately, the Q3 will not arrive in the U.S. until later in 2012, and the RS Q3 has yet to be mentioned in the same breath as the U.S. With the growing love for crossovers here, it may become a possibility. Also the fact that the TT RS finally made its way here greatly increases the chances of us U.S. buyers seeing the RS Q3. So let’s have a look at the upcoming RS Q3’s information, courtesy of Audi’s latest press release.
Find out more about the Audi RS Q3 Concept after the jump.
Since the 2012 Beijing Auto Show is coming up fast, it’s only natural for a local automaker to be in attendance at the event. After all, what would it say about a growing auto market like China if it doesn’t have a representative on its home soil event.
Fortunately, MG Motor, a division of Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, is ready to pick up the mantle with the Icon Concept. Sure, the company is based in England, but it’s got local ties, doesn’t it?
Set to become a production model no later than 2014, the MG Icon Concept looks a lot like a MINI, except for those distinguishable protrusions of the front bumper lights. We’re not sure what that’s all about, but it is pretty odd, to say the least.
For the most part, though, the Icon Concept actually looks stylish. it’s got suicide rear doors that we hope ends up in production. It’s got a spacious and functional interior that comes with four bucket seats, it’s got a massive set of wheels to add a more aggressive stance to it, and it’s rumored to carry 130-something horsepower under its hood.
You’re not going to mistake the MG Icon Concept as a drop-dead, out-of-this-world, beyond-gorgeous concept. But give credit to MG because, if for nothing else, the Icon Concept is an attention-grabber, mostly for the right reasons.
Well, except for that front bumper. What’s that about, anyway?
Just a few weeks ago, we teased you about Porsche bringing its popular-in-Europe clean diesel engine to the U.S., and installing it in the Cayenne. Not only is this engine powerful, boasting 240 horsepower, 406 pound-feet of torque, and towing 7,716 pounds, but it is also economical, getting 28 mpg.
According to our colleagues over at Car and Driver, we are essentially just getting Europe’s hand-me-downs. Much like a big brother does with clothes that are too small for him, European Porsche drivers have grown out of the 3.0-liter V-6 diesel that we are just now getting and are moving into a larger engine, a full two cylinders larger that is.
Yup, Porsche will be adding in a V-8 diesel option to the Cayenne lineup in the “very near future,” according to Car and Driver’s report. It looks like the most likely and cost-effective diesel engine to offer is the Audi 4.2-liter V-8 that cranks out 346 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, given Porsche and Audi are in bed under the VW umbrella. Given how well the smaller 3.0-liter diesel performs now, this engine would make the Cayenne diesel a screamer – as much as a diesel can be a screamer. It would also thrust its towing rating toward a truck-like 10,000-pound mark.
With that said, there are also rumors afloat that another VW affiliate, Bentley, may be working directly with Porsche to develop this new diesel engine.
Now, before you start getting all excited for this large diesel engine, you can forget about it. Porsche does not appear to have any plans on bringing this larger diesel engine to the U.S. This is no surprise, as the European market is easier for Porsche to distribute to, as well as the fact that Euro drivers are accustomed to buying these clean diesels than U.S. buyers are. Maybe one day the European market will outgrow this engine and we will finally get it here, but the chances are slim.
Remember when Porsche released the Cayenne? Remember all the people in their Porsche owners club shirts sitting around and telling you about how this new SUV was a disgrace to the Porsche logo and that all the company should design and produce are 911 variants?
While they might have had a point, the Cayenne sold like bottled water and like this water in plastic, it’s completely pointless. People don’t need this much power from something that will be used to haul around families. Yet, it became the automaker’s best selling model, despite its looks.
Now, to put the owners club folks in the mental home, Porsche is created a smaller SUV, the Cajun. No, it’s not intended for people in New Orleans, but it is intended for people who found the Cayenne to be a bit too large and fancied something a bit more crossover like.
Porsche officially confirmed the small SUV in an official statement detailing their hopes for the vehicle: "Under the working name "Cajun," this efficient and sporty model will further expand the world’s most successful Porsche segment in the SUV sector. In addition to the new Cayenne, which has clearly consolidated its market position as the most successful sporty SUV in the premium segment, the "Cajun" will also have a very positive impact with its typical Porsche features such as light weight, ease of handling and agility. As an attractive entry model in the Porsche world, the "Cajun" will attract new and even younger customers to the premium brand along with the Boxster, the market leader in the segment of two-seater, mid-size sports cars."
UPDATE 02/16/2012: Porsche has confirmed that its new SUV - known until now as the Cajun - will in fact be called the Macan, a name derived from the Indonesian word for tiger. The name "combines suppleness, power, fascination and dynamics." The new Macan will be the fifth model in Porsche’s line-up and will be produced in Leipzig starting 2013.Next to the official name, Porsche has also unveiled a teaser video and a rendering of the next SUV.
UPDATE 04/16/2012: According to Autocar, Porsche will fit the Macan Turbo with a new 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine that produces 370 horsepower and 400 lb/ft of torque. Likewise, the Macan will also be mated to a standard seven-speed manual transmission or an optional seven-speed, dual-clutch PDK automatic transmission.
In addition to the top-of-the-line Macan Turbo, Porsche will also offer less powerful engines for other variants of the Macan. Look for a four-cylinder engine to be offered, one that produces around 220 horsepower. Similarly, Porsche will likely offer a Macan S variant that comes with a 3.6-liter V6 engine that develops 295 horsepower.
A diesel engine is also in the pipeline in the form of a 2.0-liter turbo diesel with 190 horsepower and last but certainly not least, a hybrid model that could carry a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder engine with an electric motor, producing an output of 241 horsepower.
After debuting the new Altima at the 2012 New York Auto Show, Nissan is moving on to its next project by presenting a teaser image showing five redesigned models that will be launched in the next 15 months. During the Altima’s official debut in New York, Nissan also presented a short promo video that showed five new models hidden under a white cover.
Rumors say that the list of redesigned models will begin with the production version of the 2013 Pathfinder and a new Sentra. From left to right in the teaser images, the cars are: the hatchback version of the latest Versa set to be unveiled by the end of the year, the 2013 Pathfinder, the new Altima, the redesigned Rogue compact crossover, and the next Sentra that will adopt the same design language as the new Altima.
We haven’t received any confirmations for any of the models listed, but these are the best speculated vehicles in terms of Nissan’s history. Nissan has confirmed, however, that the new Sentra will be the next model unveiled.
The Lexus RX range entered the market back in 1998 and, in 2005, a hybrid version was offered for the first time. Now, the RX 450h has been redesigned for the 2013 model year with a new, more elegant and aggressive frontal design, as well as a new Sport mode, supplementing the full hybrid powertrain’s Normal, Eco, and EV (electric only) drive modes.
The new Lexus RX 450h has received a bold, elegant, and highly individual frontal treatment which was inspired by the latest generation GS sedan. Lexus has combined the trapezoid upper grille and slanted lower grille into just one element, while the lower grille now features horizontal bars and is finished in black. The rear lamp clusters have been redesigned with a stronger, more sweeping horizontal emphasis.
Under the hood, Lexus placed the usual 3.5-liter V-6 engine combined with two electric motors for a total of 295 HP. However, compared to the previous model, the RX 450h adds a new Sport mode that further improves the performance and dynamic ability of the RX 450h.
UPDATE 04/10/2012: Lexus has announced the US prices for the 2013 RX450h set to arrive in dealerships this month. The RX 450h FWD version will be priced from $45,910, while the AWD version will be priced $47,310, an increase of 1.5% and 1.0% respectively over the previous year.
Hit the jump to read more about the new Lexus RX 450h.
