Caterham Announces Technology and Innovation Division; Aiming to Out-Lotus Lotus?

Caterham Announces Technology and Innovation Division; Aiming to Out-Lotus Lotus?:

When one considers Caterham, “technology” is not the first thing that comes to mind. After all, barring its recent track-only collaboration with Lola, the company makes its bucks continually refining Colin Chapman’s venerable Lotus Seven. Admittedly, today’s Cat is a far cry from Chapman’s original, including such niceties as fuel injection and modern brakes, but let’s face it: A Seven isn’t—and thankfully will never be—a Bugatti Veyron.

Nevertheless, new owner Tony Fernandes, he of Team Lotus fame, is aiming to bring the company name to new markets via Caterham Technology and Innovation Limited. The aim is to develop a completely new line of lightweight sporting cars inspired by the Seven’s minimalist philosophy—in essence, we presume, out-Lotusing Lotus, which has suggested its new cars will be larger, heavier, more luxurious, and altogether Swizz Beatzier.

And rather than hiring say, Timbaland as Head of Road Cars, Fernandes is bringing aboard Tony Shute, a Lotus veteran who shepherded the Series 1 Elise to market. Shute is just the sort of bloke who might know a thing or two about constructing a Chapmanian sporting machine in this day and age.

Caterham claims the new division also will carry out contract work for other companies in the automotive and aerospace industries, drawing on Team Lotus’s and Fernandes’s Team AirAsia GP2 program’s technologies and materials. It sounds like a business model very similar to the one a certain concern in Hethel has operated under for years, almost as if Fernandes is starting a Lotus cover band. Hey Tony, if you’re taking requests, we’d really like to hear “Eclat” again.

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2014 BMW X4 Rendered: BMW Confirms It Will Build X6 Junior

2014 BMW X4 Rendered: BMW Confirms It Will Build X6 Junior:

BMW hopes to duplicate the success of the X6 with a smaller, X3-based crossover.

Ask BMW executives their favorite success story among the company’s current products, and they’re likely to say “X6.” Combining the disadvantages of an SUV, a coupe, and a performance car, the X6 has nevertheless been a smash hit. It’s not hard to see why: Despite being over-the-top aggressive and less practical than the X5 with which it shares its bones, the X6 is perhaps Bavaria’s coolest SUV. Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, other carmakers are scrambling to add coupe-like SUVs to their portfolios.

Keep Reading: 2014 BMW X4 Rendered – Future Cars

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The Continental’s Frankfurt Notebook: VW and Suzuki Woes, Paceman Could be Named Countryman Coupe, and Lots of Small Cars

The Continental’s Frankfurt Notebook: VW and Suzuki Woes, Paceman Could be Named Countryman Coupe, and Lots of Small Cars:

Each week, our German correspondent slices and dices the latest rumblings, news, and quick-hit driving impressions from the other side of the pond. His byline may say Jens Meiners, but we simply call him . . . the Continental.

The Volkswagen-Suzuki alliance has collapsed. In December 2009, VW took over 19.9 percent of Suzuki; the Japanese carmaker, in turn, received 1.5 percent of Volkswagen. VW had hoped to learn from the Japanese how to turn a nice profit on minicars, and to ease entry into the Indian market. Suzuki, in turn, had hoped for access to VW’s electric and hybrid technology. But the partnership has been dysfunctional for almost a year now. Several projects, such as one for a jointly developed SUV, turned out to be a major disappointment; VW engineers told me back then that Suzuki’s contributions were “useless.”

In July, VW publicly said that the cooperation was going more slowly than anticipated. On September 11, the Germans gave a notice of what they perceived as an infringement of the cooperation agreement, when Suzuki opted to buy diesel engines from Fiat instead of VW. Suzuki reacted quickly: One day later, chairman and CEO Osamu Suzuki said that “the partnership is no longer compatible with Suzuki’s management philosophy of autonomous financial and operational decision-making.” But his wish that the companies part ways amicably may not come true: VW is not amused, and it is quite possible that the Germans will attempt to take over the Japanese carmaker entirely—with or without the chairman’s consent.

On a more pleasant note, Volkswagen design will get new headquarters in Braunschweig, 20 miles southwest of Wolfsburg. There, design chief Walter de’Silva—whose current company car, by the way, is a Mk VI GTI with polished Lamborghini Gallardo wheels—will oversee Group design, together with former Lambo and SEAT design chief Luc Donckerwolke.

VW is developing a new dual-clutch automatic for its upcoming modular-transverse platform. The seven-speed, wet DQ500 dual-clutch transmission, which is used for the Audi TT RS and RS3, is overbuilt and not right for the task, an Audi source tells me. After all, it is the same transmission used in the Volkswagen T5 van. Now Audi and VW will get a wet seven-speed dual-clutch transmission that is lighter and more compact.

Just back from China, Bosch CEO Franz Fehrenbach tells the assembled business press that the Chinese leadership under Wen Jiabao is less conviced about pure-electric vehicles than they used to be. Says Fehrenbach: “The Chinese are increasingly interested in the potential to reduce the consumption of the internal-combustion engine.” For reference: The Chinese car and light-commercial-vehicle market is expected to grow from 17.1 million in 2010 to 28.7 million by 2018.

Mini CEO Kay Segler tells me that while the Mini Paceman—it may also be called Countryman Coupé—is a sure thing, the small Rocketman is still under consideration. Truest to the original Mini in size and concept, it would be difficult to position in the market. Perhaps it won’t be a downsized regular Mini, but stand on a different platform and use externally sourced engines and technology.

While Mini is pondering another car, Smart is dressing up its current one with a styling package jointly developed with weSC, a Swedish apparel company whose name stands for “We are the Supreme Conspiracy,” and who has been identified as a “streetstyle expert” in Daimler’s most recent press release. The more-or-less tasteful execution includes matte and high-gloss gold panels, as well as black wheels, and—lo and behold—high-gloss headphones. Daimler says you can order yours via info@brabus.com, subject: WeSC tailor made. Just know that “the gold-plated horse-head knob, which adorns the shift lever of the WeSC original, is a one-off and not for order,” to quote the release for a last time. What a pity.

The Toyota Avensis—Europe’s Camry—has been face-lifted for the Frankfurt show. Regular readers of this column know that European customer preferences are markedly different from Americans’. In the midsize segment, the take rate for station wagons is over 50 percent, and for diesels around 70 percent. Therefore, Toyota offers two gasoline engines but three diesels on the Avensis, which comes in two body styles; there is a manual, an automatic, and an automated manual transmission. The top-of-the-line diesel makes 295 lb-ft of torque. We like the fact that there is far less evidence of cost-cutting in the U.K.-produced Avensis that in some American-made Toyotas.

Ford launched “Econetic Technology” versions of the Fiesta and the Focus at the Frankfurt auto show. The 1.6-liter diesel makes 94 hp in the Fiesta and 10 4hp in the Focus. Thanks to a stop-start system, brake-energy recuperation, and sophisticated aerodynamics, consumption is rated at 71.2 and 69.2 mpg, respectively, on the European cycle. The instrument cluster displays a blue flower, similar to the one on my recent Ford Mondeo test car. It was supposed to illustrate the eco-friendliness of my driving style and managed to wilt at an astonishing rate.

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BMW M5, E28 through F10: A History of Supremacy

BMW M5, E28 through F10: A History of Supremacy:

In 1985, BMW created the M5, nothing less than a supercar in disguise. That first model was powered by the outrageously muscular, 24-valve, 3.5-liter inline-six taken (albeit slightly modified) from the M1. The result was extreme performance in the perfect camouflage. Only later did BMW add cladding and spoilers or even alter the body of the 5-series to create its top-of-the-line version.

To accompany our first experience in the fifth-generation M5, here’s a quick look through the history of what may be the quintessential executive missile.

A strong engine in a modest, four-door sedan has been among BMW’s bag of tricks since the mid-1960s. The Porsche-fighting “New Class” sedans—1500 to 2000tii, which begat the legendary 02-series coupes—were available with engines producing up to 128 hp.

The first-gen 5-series (E12) was offered with far more powerful engines borrowed from the 6- and 7-series, including a German-market version with the 194-hp, 3.2-liter out of the 633CSi and 733i. That car didn’t have an official moniker, except for “5er der Motorsport GmbH,” or 5-series by Motorsport GmbH. In the U.S., the most powerful E12 5-series offered was the 530i, which had a 176-hp inline-six.

Once the E12 evolved into the E28, BMW’s engineers wanted more, especially after coveting Alpina’s successful 5er conversions, including the B7 Turbo. M GmbH’s radical solution: Transplant the M1′s 3453-cc inline-six into a virtually unchanged 5-series body, giving it 8 more horsepower in the process; power was rated at 282 hp in Germany and at a still-more-than-satisfactory 256 hp for the U.S. market when it eventually arrived for 1988. The inline-six had a pure racing pedigree and emitted a wonderfully aggressive sound, but the car remained easily drivable in everyday traffic. Despite its aerodynamically challenged body, the M5 topped 150 mph.

The first two years of E34 sales in the U.S. lacked a top-dog 5er, with it returning in 1991 on the new platform and sticking around through 1993. In its second generation, the M5 was clearly established and became a fixture of the 5-series lineup. Its trim distinguished it from the regular 5-series, and it got exclusive wheels, which unfortunately reminded U.S. customers of whitewall tires. The previous M5’s engine was enlarged to 3535 cc, with output increasing to 310 hp. After four years, the European M5’s engine grew to 3.8 liters; power jumped to 335 hp. A station wagon was available in Europe. Late models got a bigger grille and a six-speed manual. M produced a prototype of a two-door cabriolet, which remains a one-off.

Voices within BMW calling for the replacement of the inline-six, which was deemed too similar to the M3′s powerplant, prevailed. The E39 M5—based on what some consider to be the most beautiful 5-series—received a 4.9-liter V-8 rated at 394 hp which it shared with the near-exotic Z8. Cosmetic changes were significant, but the effect was mitigated by the fact that a very similar M package was available for lesser models. The eight-cylinder M5’s exhaust was the most raucous so far. A station wagon was considered, and a prototype exists, but BMW ultimately decided against it. The E39 M5 was offered in the States from 2000 to 2003.

Bigger is better, and so BMW equipped its fourth-gen M5 with a 500-hp, 5.0-liter V-10. Ten-cylinder engines were the rage, thanks to Formula 1 regulations at the time, and this one was an extraordinarily rev-happy and thirsty unit. The car was sold here from 2006 until 2010. Loyalists were tested with a new cockpit that discarded driver-oriented ergonomics while adding the flawed iDrive system. The jerky, seven-speed SMG automated manual was deemed unsatisfactory by U.S. customers, prompting BMW to hastily develop a manual six-speed box to quell the criticism. Europe got a station wagon, while, of course, the U.S. didn’t.

A V-10 no more: With the new M5, BMW reverts to a V-8, adding a pair of turbochargers this time. Power is rated at a lofty 560 hp, or about twice the output of the original M5. The mere mention of turbocharging has been considered sacrilege at M GmbH’s headquarters for decades, but it nevertheless has produced a fully convincing supersedan. The single-clutch automated manual is replaced with a seven-speed dual-clutch box, and the U.S. will keep the option of a manual. But the station wagon is history, even in Europe.

For more on the 2013 M5, read our first drive review.

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2013 BMW M5 – First Drive Review

2013 BMW M5 – First Drive Review:

5 is Alive: Turbos transform the M5 experience.

Quicker? Yes. More sophisticated? Yes. More fun in a hairpin? Yes. Is the new BMW M5 what we’re accustomed to expect from BMW’s M division? Um, well, as we discovered during a session in southern Spain, the future of M is big, blustery, red-hot, torque-gushing turbos fitted to smaller engines with mass-production roots. The days of bespoke, high-revving track-bred screamers under the hoods of hopped-up BMWs are probably over. Is this a bad thing? We’re not sure yet.

Keep Reading: 2013 BMW M5 – First Drive Review

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2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco First Drive: Preproduction Thoughts on a Preproduction Malibu

2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco First Drive: Preproduction Thoughts on a Preproduction Malibu:

We drive a preproduction Malibu and offer preproduction opinions.

Hard to believe, but what we have, here, is the eighth-generation Malibu, a car spanning 35 years and, uh, six decades. It has historically been a kind of peripatetic approximation of Midwestern mobile civility—here today, gone tomorrow, then suddenly back again—and it was surely facing another passenger-pigeon demise when GM startlingly imbued the Malibu with all of the stellar credentials found in its sister, the Saturn Aura. Faster than we could say, “GM did what?” the previous-gen Malibu landed on our 2008 10Best list.

Keep Reading: 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco – Prototype Drive

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2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Spy Photos: Hyundai’s Next Mid-Size Crossover Not Likely to be Boring

2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Spy Photos: Hyundai’s Next Mid-Size Crossover Not Likely to be Boring:

Hyundai turns up the heat under its mid-size crossover.

The Santa Fe, Hyundai’s innocuous entry in the ultra-competitive mid-size crossover segment, has received numerous subtle improvements over the years but has never garnered much attention. Come 2013, though, the Santa Fe should turn more heads, trading its dreary duds for Hyundai’s dramatic new styling language and packing a tech-heavy interior like that found in the Sonata.

Keep Reading: 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Spy Photos – Future Cars

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Subaru Working on 1.6- and 2.0-L Turbo Fours and Own Hybrid, Seeks 30 Percent Fuel-Economy Gain by 2015

Subaru Working on 1.6- and 2.0-L Turbo Fours and Own Hybrid, Seeks 30 Percent Fuel-Economy Gain by 2015:

At the Frankfurt auto show, we chatted with Subaru about its plans to drastically increase the fuel efficiency of its cars while maintaining their current levels of dynamics. The Japanese company says it wants to improve fuel economy across its lineup by 30 percent by 2015. New engines and revised transmissions will contribute to two-thirds of the increase, while lightweight body and chassis technology will provide the rest.

1.6- and 2.0-Liter Direct-Injected Turbos

Turbocharged, lower-displacement engines are today’s new hotness for achieving improved efficiency—Ford’s EcoBoost technology is the most marketed example—but for most companies, widespread turbocharging is new. Subaru, on the other hand, has extensive forced-induction experience and intends to put that knowledge to work. The new-for-2012 Impreza sedan’s new, naturally aspirated 2.0-liter flat-four is part of a new FB engine family (click here for a dive into the new engine), as is the Forester’s current 2.5-liter flat-four. While the 2.0-liter has boosted the new Impreza’s fuel-economy numbers significantly—the Forester saw only minor gains—Subaru plans to add direct injection (which we’re told nets a two-percent reduction in fuel consumption on its own) and turbocharging to the FB mix in the near future, both to the 2.0-liter and a new 1.6-liter variant.

Turbo BRZ? Maybe, but Not Yet

Ah, you’re thinking, this means a turbo version of Subaru’s sports car, the BRZ! While that hasn’t been explicitly ruled out—and we believe one is in the works—this isn’t a confirmation either. The engine in Subaru’s forthcoming coupe actually is codenamed FA, and exactly how it differs from the FB—likely only in its use of Toyota’s port- and direct-injection heads—isn’t known at this point.

Hybrid Coming in 2013

Furthermore, we learned that the FB will form the basis for a new, Subaru-developed hybrid system that will be introduced in Japan by 2013. It’s unclear if direct-injection, turbocharging, and hybridization will be utilized simultaneously, but for those with a long memory, Subaru’s Hybrid Tourer concept from the 2009 Tokyo auto show featured a 2.0-liter boxer-four with both direct-injection and turbocharging, a front-mounted motor/generator, and a second electric motor on the rear axle. Whatever form its hybrid system takes, Subaru plans on quickly spreading it to the rest of the world.

CVT Proliferation—Yippee

Subaru is extensively revising its Lineartronic continuously variable transmission, too, and will produce different variants tailored to engine torque levels—and that means more CVTs as a general rule. One variant will be bolted to Subaru’s diesel-burning boxer engine, which tells us at least one version will be on high-output duty. Even if the diesel never appears here, this is a strong signal that automatics in torquier mainstream Subies—our recently departed long-term Legacy 3.6R, which had 247 lb-ft of torque, used a five-speed slushbox—are likely to get replaced by CVTs. (The BRZ is one definite exception, as it will offer six-speed manual and traditional automatic gearboxes.) Beyond that, Subaru also is working to reduce friction and operating losses in its CVTs and all-wheel-drive systems to help achieve its efficiency goals.

Diets, High Strength Steel, and Lower Drag

Another critical part of Subaru’s aggressive plan involves lightening bodies and chassis components across the board. Saving weight is critical for Subaru and its AWD-focused lineup (the new BRZ will be rear-drive only), and so a new, lightweight platform that makes liberal use of high-strength and ultra-high-strength steels will be adopted. In addition to shedding weight, Subaru hopes to cut fuel economy’s other mortal enemy: drag. Subaru will be focusing more attention on aerodynamics than ever before.

What about those who cringe at the thought of CVTs? Besides provoking the response “just buy a stick-shift Subaru” from us, models like the WRX, STI, and BRZ still will exist and be geared towards enthusiasts, while cutting weight and refining their drivelines should ostensibly make them even better. If those cars’ survival—and Subaru’s, too—requires more CVTs to satisfy ever-tightening fuel-economy regulations, we can live with that—so long as a three-pedal setup is offered, too.

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Spied: 2012 Tesla Model S Pays Ann Arbor a Visit

Spied: 2012 Tesla Model S Pays Ann Arbor a Visit:

The 2012 Tesla Model S is set to go on sale by the middle of next year, but there has been only a smattering of pricing and production news about the electric sedan since we got our first look at the car two years ago. Then, out of the blue, a reader snagged these shots of a Model S mule whirring about Car and Driver’s home in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The prototype wore no camouflage—although its loose-fitting body panels made it look as though it had spent some time in a rock tumbler—so we were able to make out a few subtle differences between the production Model S and the cars Tesla has been showing off for a while.

The car our reader photographed clearly wears more-pedestrian detailing than the Model S we’ve been looking at for two years. The grille looks to be mostly blocked off by a body-color panel, and the car has sprouted lower intakes that house trapezoidal fog lights and some chrome slats—the large, single grille and flush-mounted LED strips the Model S show cars wore are absent here. Moving to the rear of the car, not much appears to have changed for production. The lower valance is a bit less extreme and has a more-finished look than the Model S concept’s. We’ll get the full picture as the Model S nears its on-sale date, when we will also find out if Tesla has been able to keep the car’s price to a promised $49,900 after a tax rebate.

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Ferrari Video Explains Origins of the Prancing Horse and its Evolution into an Icon

Ferrari Video Explains Origins of the Prancing Horse and its Evolution into an Icon:

If you were ever curious as to the origins of Ferrari’s prancing-horse logo, today is your lucky day. Ferrari has released an informative video that explains where the pony came from, and how it begat the small rectangular badge found on the hood of Ferrari’s cars. Our guess is that the clip, based on Enzo Ferrari’s own telling of the story, would be a hugely boring snore if it weren’t about the famed Italian marque. But it is, so enjoy below.

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Gordon Murray Pens TEEWAVE AR.1 Electric Sports Car

Gordon Murray Pens TEEWAVE AR.1 Electric Sports Car:

Meet the TEEWAVE AR.1, a one-off, two-seat electric sports car designed by Gordon Murray’s design company. The car, which weighs just 1878 pounds, has been designed by Murray for Toray Industries, a Japanese company that specializes in carbon fiber and lightweight material production. As such, the small roadster’s all-new monocoque chassis, crash structures, seats, and body are all rendered in Toray-sourced carbon fiber. The TEEWAVE isn’t simply a T.25 city car with a different body style—that car and the similar electric T.27 utilize steel chassis and plastic body panels.

In addition to the low weight figure, the rest of the TEEWAVE’s chassis specs say “sports car.” The car rides on coil-sprung double wishbones at all four corners, and there are anti-roll bars front and rear. Steering inputs are made through an unassisted rack and pinion setup, and stopping duties are handled by electrically assisted disc brakes. The two-seater has traces of Tesla roadster and Pagani Zonda in its look, but its buggy head- and taillights and tallish proportions set it apart. The AR.1 is also smaller than the Tesla, in addition to weighing about 900 fewer pounds than that EV.

The TEEWAVE’s performance specs, on the other hand, say “wheezing economy car.” Despite the roadster’s light weight, Murray and Toray claim only a 11.4-second 0-to-60 time and a 91-mph top speed. The AR.1 is held back by its mid-mounted 63-hp electric motor, which is said to be sourced from a “commercially available” EV. The motor is fed by a lithium-ion battery pack that can be fully charged in six hours and gives the car a range of 115 miles. There are no plans to put the TEEWAVE AR.1 into production at the moment—Toray had the concept built to showcase the advantages and possibilities of lightweight materials in automotive applications.

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2012 Nissan Versa SL Sedan Tested: A Large Back Seat, but Not Much Else

2012 Nissan Versa SL Sedan Tested: A Large Back Seat, but Not Much Else:

Sacrificing progress at the altar of cost.

The ongoing belt-tightening in America has seen small cars move upmarket, with many boasting attractive designs and premium features unheard of in the segment as recent as five years ago. But just as other manufacturers are moving onward and upward, Nissan has taken a few steps back with its new 2012 Versa sedan, a car that shoots for (and hits) the bottom of the barrel.

Keep Reading: 2012 Nissan Versa SL – Short Take Road Test

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