JCW is Mini’s in-house tuner, adding an element of mighty to Mini performance since 2003. The initials stand for “John Cooper Works,” making this car the Mini Cooper John Cooper Works Coupe. Apparently, Mini’s marketers have never seen the Monty Python “Spam” sketch.
Keep Reading: 2012 Mini John Cooper Works Coupe – Instrument Tested
Driving the big-daddy Bentley Mulsanne is like driving a very powerful, very deluxe English drawing room. Driving a twin-turbo 567-hp, 12-cylinder Continental GT is less so, even if the smaller car still does a fine impersonation of Ron Burgundy’s apartment—i.e., many leather-bound books, smells of rich mahogany. And it’s probably a safe bet that nobody who bought either one ever cared about what kind of mileage it got.
Keep Reading: 2013 Bentley Continental GT V8 – First Drive Review
Audi is bringing a “Vail” version of its compact Q3 crossover to the Detroit auto show next week, in addition to the refreshed 2013 A4 and new A4 Allroad. Audi CEO Rupert Stadler spilled the beans regarding the small crossover to Bloomberg, and an Audi representative confirmed to us that the Q3 “concept” will make an appearance at the show.
We added quotations around the word “concept” because the Q3 launched just last year in Europe, and the Detroit version will essentially be a dressed-up production car—the “Vail” treatment probably refers to a ski- or winter-inspired theme. The Q3 is not confirmed for the U.S. market, but Audi could be testing the waters with the Vail. We’ll bring you more info next week after the Q3 Vail makes its big debut.
Fiat will introduce a 500-based crossover at the Geneva auto show in March, a spokesperson has confirmed. The car is called the L0, or “elle zero”—this from the company that calls the Abarth SS the “esseesse”—and will be sold in the U.S.
Our artist’s rendering, above, borrows styling from both the 500 hatchback and its platform-mate, the Fiat Panda, a city car with crossover styling. The final L0 may be a bit more SUV-ish than van-inspired Panda, and the Panda door handles probably will be swapped for chrome grab bars, like on the 500. We also anticipate a more normal roofline. But in a general sense, what you see here is what we’ll get.
We hope that Fiat bypasses the 500′s underwhelming 101-hp, 1.4-liter inline-four and goes straight to the turbocharged version found in the upcoming 500 Abarth and Dodge Dart. Regardless of the engine, the L0 will have standard front-wheel drive and offer optional all-wheel drive. Since the L0′s underpinnings will come right from the Panda, and that car is offered with all-wheel drive, much of the difficult engineering work has already been done. Before you laugh, take a peek at some videos of the Panda 4×4 on YouTube—it’s pretty damn capable off road.
Figure on sales starting around the third quarter of this year.
Illustration by Christian Schulte
Volvo products have long been characterized by certain attributes, with clean Swedish styling, great seats, and, of course, safety being chief among them. Powertrain innovation, on the other hand, would be way down the list. The XC60 Plug-In Hybrid concept, making its official debut at the 2012 Detroit show, offers little news on Volvo’s core competencies, but underhood is a preview of the company’s upcoming gasoline plug-in hybrid powertrain. The setup includes one engine, two electric motors, and one big battery.
Keep Reading: Volvo XC60 Plug-In Hybrid Concept – Auto Shows
Lexus has released more images of the LF-LC 2+2 sports coupe concept bound for next week’s Detroit auto show. The car’s proportions and profile are as sultry as they appeared to be in recent teaser images, and we’re really digging the complex surfaces that dive and flow down the body sides. The front end, however, is pretty tragic. In the words of one Car and Driver editor, the overly fussy fascia looks like someone chucked a grenade into the front bumper. We hope it looks better in person.
Keep Reading: Lexus LF-LC Concept – Auto Shows
Porsche has confirmed that the U.S. will get a diesel-powered Cayenne later this year and the smaller Cajun crossover in 2013. The news arrived alongside an announcement of the new 911 Carrera Cabriolet’s premiere at the upcoming Detroit auto show.
The Cayenne diesel is already on sale in Europe, and is motivated by a more-powerful version of the 3.0-liter V-6 found in the TDI versions of the Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7. The engine makes 240 hp in the Porsche—15 more than in the Q7—and it’s doubtful that figure will change much when the Cayenne diesel’s U.S. specs are released. As for torque, the V-6 stumps up an identical 406 lb-ft of torque in both SUVs.
We’ve known for some time now that the Cajun—an all-new Porsche based on the Audi Q5 architecture—was coming, but now we have a more specific timeline on its official reveal. (For the full rundown of what to expect from the Cajun, including the engine portfolio, check out our deep dive here.) The Cajun will, of course, join its big brother on every Porsche enthusiast’s list of blasphemies. But as we did with the Cayenne, we’ll let its existence slide so long as it sells well enough to help fund the stuff we really want, like hard-core 911s and the upcoming baby Boxster.
The Ford EcoSport crossover has broken cover at the New Delhi Auto Expo, and the mini SUV will spearhead Ford’s efforts to expand its market presence in India, South America, and Southeast Asia. Will we get it here? No. But that doesn’t reduce the EcoSport’s global significance for Ford.
Most cars sold in India are B-segment cars or smaller, and Ford India wants a bigger piece of that expanding market. Introducing a small, tough vehicle with decent ground clearance that appeals to both urbanites and rural dwellers should help. This is actually the second-generation EcoSport, but its predecessor didn’t migrate far outside of Brazil—where it’s quite popular—in significant numbers.
To do battle everywhere from tight urban confines to battered back roads, Ford gave the high-riding EcoSport tough styling, tidy dimensions, and an efficient powertrain. Putting aside some of its show car flourishes, the compact trucklet looks like an embryonic 2013 Escape with a big mouth—so it’s rather attractive. We especially dig the neat tailgate-mounted spare tire. The EcoSport utilizes Ford’s B-segment platform, which also underpins the Fiesta and the B-Max, and is powered by the company’s new 1.0-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost engine. The turbocharged, direct-injected engine squeezes out 118 hp and 125 lb-ft of torque, and is mated to a five-speed manual transmission.
Ford plans to build the EcoSport in India and Brazil initially, but will expand production to other markets in the future. Even though the EcoSport was conceived under Ford’s new global One Ford strategy, there are no plans to bring the small crossover to our shores—at least as the sum of its parts. The 1.0-liter EcoBoost is coming to the U.S. and will definitely be available in a Fiesta and perhaps the larger Focus.
You can tell by the photo we don’t mean some great classic or collectable automobile. We’re talking about your family’s old wheels. In this case a 1996 Mercedes-Benz C220 with just over 177,000 miles. We bought the car when we adopted our daughter, Holly, my wife was more than happy to drive it all these years and when Holly turned 16 it became hers.
But it needs a little help, so we took it to our faithful Mercedes mechanic for a deep mechanical dive. I just wrote a check for roughly twice what the car is worth -which isn’t much – to bring it back up to snuff.
Living as we do at Road & Track in the world of new cars, checking their prices, wondering about their residual worth, yada, yada, yada, spending to refurb old wheels seems rather silly.
But it isn’t. Not only is the C220 a faithful family member – kind of like the dog -but its dented left rear fender and scruffy gray paint aside, it has a true intrinsic value to us. Driving it, you can tell there are tens of thousands of good miles left in her. Mercedes and other good cars don’t seem to be old or used, but broken in, like a favorite pair of slippers. My guess is that it will probably get Holly all the way through college.
And like many great old wheels, it has a value far beyond what I could get for it…which isn’t much.
Welcome back, C220. I think I might polish up your headlights.
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The opening of a new exhibition of 50 James Bond vehicles, which will be unveiled to the public on January 17, 2012, is now only 12 days away. The exhibition, the largest of its kind staged anywhere in the world, will showcase 50 of the best loved and most iconic James Bond vehicles in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the James Bond film series.
‘Bond in Motion’ will run from January to December 2012 at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu in the UK.
Among the vehicles now arriving for the exhibition are a number that have never before been seen in public. These include the Ford Mustang Mach 1 from Diamonds Are Forever, villain Zukovsky’s Rolls- Royce Silver Shadow II from The World Is Not Enough and the vintage 1962 Rolls-Royce, pushed into a lake by May Day and Zorin with Bond still inside, in A View to a Kill.
Other exhibits on public view for the first time include the ‘Burial-At-Sea Bed’ from You Only Live Twice, the Union Jack Parachute which villain Gustav Graves used when he landed on The Mall and the Surfboard with concealed weapons and ammunition, from Die Another Day. Also on display will be the Casino Royale Skyfleet S570 model, based on a Boeing 747, and original ‘Pig’ from The Living Daylights, used to smuggle Koskov across the border through the Siberian Pipe Line.
This year also marks the 40th anniversary of Beaulieu’s world-famous National Motor Museum.
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Choice. That’s what Volvo, the Chinese-owned Swedish-based company, is promising with the XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept, which will be unveiled next week in Detroit.
The driver can choose the driving mode via three buttons on the instrument panel – Pure, Hybrid or Power.
In Pure mode the car is powered solely by its electric motor as much as possible. The range, according to the European certification driving cycle NEDC, is 28 miles or 35 miles on the EPA’s U.S. cycle.
The Hybrid mode is the standard setting whenever the car is started. Volvo says that according to the European certification driving cycle NEDC, CO2 emissions are 53 g/km, which translates into fuel economy of over 100 mpg, giving the car a potential operating range of up to 600 miles. According to a second Volvo release the operational economy is 50 mpg, which sounds more realistic.
In Power mode, the engine and motors are optimized to create maximum possible power. The turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine produces 280 hp and 280 lb.-ft. of torque while the electric motor is rated at 70 hp with 148 lb.-ft. of torque. The electric motor’s instant torque delivery contributes to the car’s acceleration from 0 to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds.
The gasoline engine powers the front wheels through an 8-speed automatic transmission while the electric motor drives the rear wheels. All-wheel-drive can be activated by pushing an AWD button. Instead of the mechanical power transfer of conventional four-wheel drive, the central control unit distributes power between the gasoline-driven front wheels and the electric-driven rear axle. Volvo says the all-wheel drive system has been designed to provide better traction when starting and for driving on slippery roads as well as in snow or mud.
The engine in the XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept has no conventional starter motor or alternator. Instead, there is an Integrated Starter motor and Generator (ISG) connected to the crankshaft, which is located between the engine and the transmission. The ISG is capable of delivering an extra 34 kW (45 hp) during acceleration. It also charges the battery during braking.
Talking of which — the battery pack can be recharged from a regular power outlet and recharging time varies with the current. If 220V is available, a full charge with 12A takes just 3.5 hours. With 110V/12A a full charge takes 7.5 hours. It is also possible while recharging the car to heat or cool the passenger compartment ahead of time so more battery power is available to propel the car.
If you look closely you’ll see the concept carries a “T8″ badge. Volvo says this emphasizes the combined 350 horsepower of the high-performance 4-cylinder engine and the electric motor, which moves it into territory previously occupied by 8-cylinder engines.
Volvo says a vehicle, not necessarily the XC60, with this technology will be available within two years. On paper this looks like a great concept – as it gives the driver plenty of on-demand choices in powertrain modes. Different modes for different moods?
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Full Coverage: 2012 Detroit Auto Show >>
Photos: 2012 Detroit Auto Show >>
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If this were an auto race there would be no real surprise — the top three “podium” positions remain unchanged. The Ford F-150 continues as the most popular new vehicle in the US for the 35th straight year, and despite all Toyota’s woes, it managed to keep the Camry at the top as the best selling car, behind the Chevrolet Silverado.
The Honda Accord though lost its fourth position on the sales chart to the Nissan Altima, which also overtook the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic in the process of climbing up the sales chart.
Among the best selling vehicles, the biggest sales success story has to go to the Chevrolet Cruze, which managed to make it into the Top Ten ahead of the Hyundai Sonata. Even if we included the outgoing Chevrolet Cobalt in last year’s sales figures, the combined numbers would still not have gotten the car it onto the Top 20 sales chart. Kudos are also due to the Ford Escape, Hyundai Elantra and Volkswagen Jetta as they all managed to increase sales by a third or more compared to 2010.
| Rank | Rank | ||||
| 2011 | 2010 | Model | Sales 2011 | Sales 2010 | Percent Change |
| 1 | 1 | Ford F-Series | 584,917 | 528,349 | 10.7% |
| 2 | 2 | Chevrolet Silverado | 415,130 | 370,135 | 12.2% |
| 3 | 3 | Toyota Camry | 308,510 | 327,804 | -5.9% |
| 4 | 7 | Nissan Altima | 268,981 | 229,263 | 17.3% |
| 5 | 13 | Ford Escape | 254,293 | 191,026 | 33.1% |
| 6 | 8 | Ford Fusion | 248,067 | 219,219 | 13.2% |
| 7 | 10 | Ram Pickup | 244,763 | 199,652 | 22.6% |
| 8 | 5 | Toyota Corolla | 240,259 | 266,082 | -9.7% |
| 9 | 4 | Honda Accord | 235,625 | 282,530 | -16.6% |
| 10 | na | Chevrolet Cruze | 231,732 | 24,495 | 846.0% |
| 11 | 12 | Hyundai Sonata | 225,961 | 196,623 | 14.9% |
| 12 | 6 | Honda Civic | 221,235 | 260,218 | -15.0% |
| 13 | 9 | Honda CR-V | 218,373 | 203,714 | 7.2% |
| 14 | 11 | Chevrolet Malibu | 204,808 | 198,770 | 3.0% |
| 15 | 17 | Chevrolet Equinox | 193,274 | 149,979 | 28.9% |
| 16 | 19 | Hyundai Elantra | 186,361 | 132,246 | 40.9% |
| 17 | 21 | Volkswagen Jetta | 177,360 | 123,213 | 43.9% |
| 18 | 14 | Ford Focus | 175,717 | 172,421 | 1.9% |
| 19 | 15 | Chevrolet Impala | 171,434 | 172,078 | -0.4% |
| 20 | 20 | GMC Sierra | 149,170 | 129,794 | 14.9% |
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That’s another one ticked off the bucket list: a passenger ride in a Le Mans racer.
Many moons ago I was due to passenger Derek Bell in a 962 at Le Mans but a minor crash by a fellow racer, also in a 962, curtailed the demo drives and my opportunity to experience the thrill of Le Mans.
The nearest I got to that was accompanying Derek Warwick in a Jaguar XJR15 on the then, new, Silverstone Grand Prix circuit with him chatting nonchalantly as we headed into Stowe at speeds approaching 190 mph as we flashed by the 300 yard marker board with no sign of him braking.
So, you can imagine my delight when Bentley offered me the opportunity of a ride with Guy Smith in a development Bentley Speed 8 from 2003. It was Guy, you will remember, who drove a Speed 8 across the finishing line to record a very emotional victory for Bentley at la Sarthe eight years ago.
Guy is a typical race driver: not very tall, whippet thin and as fit as any endurance runner. Me, I am 74 inches top to toe and weigh in at 175 lbs-ish, so getting into the tight confines of a cabin built for one was a challenge in itself. I’ve seen sardine tins with more room in them.
Helmet wedged tight against the roof, arms overlapped with my right hand gripping the door handle, and feet braced against the bulkhead I was ready to experience a couple of laps on Silverstone’s national circuit.
It was a grey, damp day so the car was running intermediate Dunlops, but with 630 bhp powering less than 2100 lbs still meant it was going to be a helter-skelter ride.
Whenever I am driven in a competition car, it’s not the acceleration that amazes me but the ferocity of the carbon brakes which shed speed off as if you’ve just run into a lake of superglue. That and the sheer amount of lateral grip through the corners.
A few laps only gives a brief insight into the amount of physical effort and endurance required for Le Mans or Daytona; the cabin was stuffy, even on a cold December day, with an all pervading aroma of petrol fumes, the ride over the kerbs as subtle as a skate board on octagonal wheels and even wearing a helmet the noise was deafening.
These cars look like brutes to tame and drive fast.
Guy, who won this year’s ALMS series in a Mazda, told me he was only using about 70 percent of the car’s potential, but that was still enough to hit 170+ mph at the end of the pit straight and before we entered the left hander into the Luffield complex.
Even at 70 percent, his work rate was phenomenal, the steering wheel writhing in his hands like a bad tempered snake (is there any other kind?) as the car slithered from under to oversteer on the damp track and the cold Dunlops vainly fought for traction, a battle they seemed to be losing most of the time, especially on the long right-hander into the pit straight with its adverse camber.
And while Guy’s head stayed relatively still, mine was being wrenched from side to side, backwards and forwards as I feebly tried to counter the G-forces.
The ride only lasted a couple of minutes, but it was probably 120 seconds of the most exciting driving I’ve yet experienced.
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Ford is using the 2012 New Delhi Auto Expo to showcase its new EcoSport crossover, along with its smallest displacement EcoBoost engine. The turbocharged 1.0-liter 3-cylinder delivers a surprisingly robust 120-bhp and 125 lb-ft of torque from 1,350 to 4,000 rpm with “virtually no turbo lag.”
The EcoBoost range, which employs turbocharging and direct injection to boost power and economy, now stretches from 1.0 to 3.5-liters in capacity. According to Ford’s estimations, the power on tap in the EcoBoost 1.0-liter is equal to what you’d get with a normally aspirated 1.6-liter 4-cylinder.
Ford has not yet released official mileage figures – expect that announcement soon, possibly during next week’s 2012 Detroit Auto Show. The 3-cylinder will eventually find its way to other models, such as the Focus, Transit, along with the B-Max and C-Max MPVs.
Here in the U.S., the EcoBoost 3-cylinder is almost guaranteed to be offered in the Fiesta sub-compact. Less certain is whether or not Ford will bring the bold looking EcoSport crossover to our shores. Ford has only said the EcoSport will eventually be sold in 100 countries globally – it’s hard to imagine the U.S. not being included in that list.
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