Archive for the ‘Car Front’ Category
The Volkswagen (Passat) CC R-Line has been made available for the European market and VW execs are mulling offering the exclusive trim level to the US market.
(The Passat CC’s known only as the CC in the US market.)
The CC R-Line gets additional bling in the form of eithe ra 17-inch or 18-inch R-Line alloy wheels, foglamps, a front spoiler, side skirts and R-Line badges.
Inside, the CC R-Line gets aluminum tread plates, a leather-trimmed steering wheel with buttons to toggle the car’s electronics, and a Park Pilot system.
Volkswagen says that it will be announcing its decision on a US offering come the Detroit show. But if you’d ask us, this might as well be a teaser for a CC R-Line in the Detroit stands next month.
789 hp in a hybrid. How about that?
This here’s the Kepler Motion from Kepler Motors – the hybrid that would make the likes of not only the Toyota Prius but also most supercars look like pansies.
The car packs a 542 bhp twin turbo Ford V6 that delivers power to the rear wheels and a 247 bhp electric motor that delivers power to the front wheels.
That much power enables the car to go from 0-60 in just 2.5 seconds and blast its way past the 200 mph barrier on full gallop.
The car packs tech bits like an active suspension system, active aerodynamics and a launch control system.
Saab might not be going entirely to BAIC but another American-owned European will be shipped to China.
Zheijiang Geely Holding will be completing its takeover of Ford Motor Company’s Volvo group early next year.
Ford is the only member of the Detroit 3 not to declare bankruptcy or be sold. Still, Ford had a tough year seeing a drop in its revenue due to the auto sales drop. Hyundai has overtaken Ford to be the fourth largest automaker in the world.
Ford controls several divisions and subsidiaries including Mercury, Lincoln and Mazda but the sale of Volvo means that Ford will not be controlling any badge.
Geely is said to acquire Volvo for its $1.8 billion value.
Bugatti might be planning its new car (remember the Galibier concept?) but that doesn’t mean that the Veyron should be forgotten. Bugatti made three limited Veyron editions just for the Dubai motor show.
Yup. You read that right. That’s three. And you have to wonder if Bugatti stylers have started snorting powdered aluminum.
The “Nocturne” which features a black and polished aluminum body. To round up the shiny bits, the car featuyres galvanised side windows, custom rims, a platinum center console and black magnesium dashboard.
Next up is the “Sang d’Aergent” inspired by the old Centenary Villa d’Este cars. The car features a two-tone exterior and polished aluminum.
Rounding up the trio is the “Soleil de Nuit” (meaning “sun of the night”) which comes in a deep blue exterior, aluminum finish and a bright orange leather interior.
The cars bear a few hundred thousand on top of the price of the regular Veyron. Despite the Dubai recession, there’s no question that the middle east pretty much is one of the most viable markets for such an expsnsive cars.
Source: CAR
So the drum-banging for the upcoming Formula One season has started. With quite a number of new teams joining F1, 2010 might just be the reboot the sport needs after a controversial year of scandals and exits.
One of the teams joining the field next season in their top-tier motorsport comeback is Lotus and the team has announced their drivers for next season – Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen.
Trulli and Kovalainen had been quite a bit in danger of not having any seat next season. Jarno’s old team, Toyota, pulled out of the competition just this October while Kovalainen was dropped by McLaren in favor of World Champion Jenson Button.
Both drivers have quite the experience in them and would benefit Lotus in that regard.
Mercedes has already announced that it is making an electric SLS supercar that they intend to launch in three year’s time.
Merc in-house tuner AMG boss Volker Mornhinweg revealed to Autocar a few updates on the car. Mornhinweg said that they are on track to meet the performance objectives – 0-62 mph in 4.0 seconds and a range of 110 miles.
This electic SLS will be powered by three batteries and the motor will be around 525 bhp (converted). A consquence though is that it will be heavier than the internal-combustion powered SLS by as much as 620 lbs.
l version.
But with the launch date still in 2013, that gives Merc engineers to fine-tune everything. Or maybe fix a glitch or two while developping the car.