Saturday, January 25, 2014

First Official Shots of BMW's New 4-Series Gran Coupe Hit the Web

A couple of allegedly official photos of the upcoming BMW 4-Series Gran Coupe, which we hear will likely break cover at the Geneva Motor Show in the beginning of March, have surfaced online.

The photos, which appeared over at Autofilou, show a car that, from these angles at least, can easily be mistaken for the 3-Series Gran Turismo.

Pay closer attention, however, and you just might notice the more coupe like roofline with the sleeker (and more sloping) ending tailgate and the less frumpy front end – we know, the devil is in the…details, right?

That's all we have for now, but it's a given that the smaller brother of the 6-Series Gran Coupe will borrow its diesel and gasoline powertrains from the existing 3- and 4-Series model. ranges.




Friday, January 24, 2014

Renault Confirms New Twingo and Clio RS Version for the Geneva Show

Renault has confirmed that it will unveil the next-generation Twingo city car at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The carmaker added that it will bring a “new version of Renault Clio R.S.” and a new engine from the Energy range.


The French carmaker gave no details regarding any of these three premieres, but from what we know so far, the third generation Twingo will be rear-engined and rear-wheel drive, as it has been co-developed with Smart’s upcoming ForTwo and ForFour models.

On the styling aspect, the next Twingo will closely follow the retro lines of the Twin’Z (pictured) and the hardcore 320hp Twin’Run concept cars – minus the futuristic and sporting elements, of course. The production Twingo will launch as a five-door, with a three-door version being uncertain.

There’s little information about the rear-mounted engines, but Renault and Smart are expected to use three-cylinder units paired to manual or dual-clutch transmissions. Electric models may appear as well later on.

As for the new version of the Renault Clio RS, we can only speculate (and hope) of a more hardcore model – possibly a Gordini.

Nothing new for Dacia though, as the Geneva stand of the budget brand will be focused around the restyled Duster SUV.

Hyundai Bringing New Addition to Veloster Range in Chicago – Will it Be Worthwhile?

It hasn't been that long since Hyundai last enhanced the range of its Veloster sports compact – that would be at the 2013 LA Auto Show in late November where it introduced the subtly tweaked Veloster Turbo R-Spec, and now we're told that it will do something similar at the Chicago Auto Show next week.


The Korean firm's telegraphic press blurb reads: "Reveal of the newest addition to the Veloster line-up by Brandon Ramirez, Senior Group Manager, Product Planning, Hyundai Motor America".

Whether this means Hyundai will surprise us with something worthwhile reporting about. or if the presentation will pass by completely unnoticed, remains a mystery for now.

As you may have imagined, the brand will also bring along the new Genesis sedan to Chicago for a second encounter with the American public following its world premiere earlier this month in Detroit.




Thursday, January 23, 2014

BBR Mazda MX-5 Turbo or TRD-Tuned Toyota GT86?

Both the Mazda MX-5 and Toyota GT86 (Scion FR-S) suffer from having too little power, whichever one you go for. This is apparent whatever sporty car you climb out of before driving either of them, but as the EVO video posted below tries to illustrate, there’s no harm in trying to improve these cars to really make the best of their chassis.


First off, the Toyota can be had with a list of factory updates, in the form of a TRD kit. However, that does nothing to up the power and torque of the GT86, the car’s two main quibbles. It does address the grip problem brought about by the use of 17-inch Prius tires in the basic car by swapping them out for larger 18-inch forged rims with much better rubber.

Still not fast enough, but that’s where the MX-5, tuned by BBR, comes in with 70 hp more than the stock GT86, courtesy of a turbo kit. It’s a car that has been slightly neglected ever since the Toyobaru came out, but as the folloowing comparison illustrates, in this slightly-tuned guise, it’s actually a better choice (for the money).

 

Move Over GM, Volkswagen is Now the World's No.2 Automaker

Last time we mentioned 2013 global car sales, Toyota was the undisputed No. 1, while GM was second, closely followed by VW. While at the time Volkswagen said it sold “over 9.7 million” vehicles in 2013, now the German carmaker has provided a more precise figure, which makes it the world’s second-biggest carmaker.

VW’s global sales chief Christian Klinger said the carmaker delivered 9.73 million vehicles last year, narrowly exceeding GM’s 9.71 million units. A VW spokesman confirmed the figure, which includes sales of VW-owned truck makers MAN and Scania.

The Germans aim to overtake Toyota and become the world’s biggest carmaker by 2018. The Japanese automaker sold 9.98 million vehicles in 2013, including deliveries from truck maker Hino Motors and minicar-specialized company Daihatsu Motor.

VW’s sales growth in recent years have been fueled by increasing demand in China, where the German company last year edged out GM for the first time in nine years. VW also benefitted from growth at luxury brands Audi and Porsche.

Volkswagen isn’t that successful in North America, though, where it trails GM and Toyota. To close the gap, the company announced plans to spend more than $7 billion during the next five years in the region, seeking to boost sales to 1 million vehicles in the U.S. by 2018. VW Group sold 565,800 units in the United States last year.




Wednesday, January 22, 2014

No M3 / M4 CSL or Anything Like That, Says BMW Boss

There are BMW M owners and there are BMW M lightweight vehicle owners. The latter will be very disappointed to find out that the Bavarian firm isn’t planning any hardcore, lightweight CSL versions of the recently unveiled M3 sedan and M4 Coupe.


While it is true that the previous M3 generation didn’t offer a CSL model either, BMW did build a lighter, sharper M3 coupe – the M3 GTS. Well, we can’t hope for something like that either, as BMW was clear about this: there will be no CSL or anything like a CSL.

Matt Collins, product manager for BMW’s small to medium cars, told Top Gear that BMW sees the new M3 and M4 as already CSLs in essence. “At the moment though, there are no plans on a CSL. Or anything like a CSL either,” Collins said.

“There wasn’t a CSL on the previous generation, and the way we look at it is like this: the CSL was great because it had this real focus on lightweight engineering. But we’ve already done that with these new cars. We’ve made them as light as possible - they come in under 1,500kgs (3,307lbs), which for a car like this is incredible,” Collins added.

He also wanted to reassure BMW M aficionados that the new twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter straight-six engine is worthy of the M badge. “We think that any M engine has to be good enough to be true to the character of M, and this new S55 combines power (431hp), torque (406lb-ft/550Nm) and usability with the CO2 benefits of a turbo. Plus we’ve retained that high-revving character of the V8, so the overall combination is right for us,” Collins concluded.

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Holy Cash Cow! BMW Launches $457,000 M6 Gran Coupe in China for Year of the Horse

We don't know the intricate details of what taxes and other charges are applied to foreign cars in China, but listing a BMW M6 Gran Coupe for close to half-a-million dollars (2.77 million Yuan or $457,000 / €338,500, to be precise) means that, consumers are surely getting the proverbial shaft from the government, the Germans, or perhaps even both.


And before you utter the words "special edition" to explain the high price for each one of the six units of the M6 Gran Coupe with the "Previous Horse" moniker that were made to celebrate the Chinese New Year and the Year of the Horse, learn that the regular version is priced at 2,395,000 Yuan ($395,000 / €293,000).

That $62,000 premium goes to fit the M6 Gran Coupe Previous Horse Edition with…embroidered logos on the headrests, and we'd like to believe, some standardized options.

The same car in Germany costs €128,000 (US$173,000) with 18% tax included, while in the United States, the M6 Gran Coupe starts at $115,000 or €85,000 (excluding state taxes that vary).

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