Infiniti mines the design talent of reigning F1 champ Sebastian Vettel for this “concept.”
Last week we stumbled across a video that showed Infiniti-sponsored Red Bull Racing F1 driver Sebastian Vettel consulting on a special-edition FX crossover, and now comes a single image of the result. The white FX concept you see here will be unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt auto show.
Keep Reading: Infiniti FX Sebastian Vettel Concept – Auto Shows
Hyundai has been running around plenty of camouflaged 2013 Genesis coupes recently, and now an eagle-eyed observer for an Italian blog has captured the refreshed coupe sans coverings. We knew from previous spy photos that the Genesis coupe would inherit Hyundai’s new hexagonal corporate grille and a very Elantra-like interior, while we also heard that it will receive several chassis and powertrain upgrades.
The one thing we didn’t expect was so much front-end styling similarity to Hyundai’s upcoming Veloster. The Genesis coupe’s face looks like a slightly wider rendition of that car’s mug. The copycat front end also features new hood vents and de rigueur LED running lights that lace the lower intakes. The rest of the 2013 Genesis coupe looks largely carry-over—including the unusual dip of the rear quarter windows. To check out the rest of the car, head over to the site with the original photos. Expect the new two-door Genesis to officially debut in early 2012, possibly at the Detroit auto show.
Click to enlarge
It’s Monday, and that means it’s time to present this week’s shifter. You’ll have until mid-day Wednesday to identify the make and model of the vehicle from whence this shifter came. The first person to respond correctly in the Backfires section below will win a Save the Manuals button and sticker. Good luck!
Acura has unveiled this 2012 TSX Special Edition as part of the brand’s 25th anniversary celebration. The mods are strictly cosmetic. Cars with the Special Edition package receive slight tweaks to the lower front and rear fascias, as well as unique 17-inch, five-spoke wheels. Inside, the automaker has spiced up the seats with faux suede inserts and there’s red contrast stitching on the seats, steering wheel, and shift knob. Acura’s interior stylists also have fit aluminum pedal covers in the red-lit footwell. We share the feeling of ennui no doubt welling inside you, but the upside is that the special-edition package will be available on both six-speed-manual and five-speed-auto four-cylinder TSXs. The company hasn’t announced exact pricing for the TSX Special Edition, but promises the car will come in under $31,000—or about $1000 more than a four-banger TSX without the extra kit. Look for it in Acura showrooms in late September.
Mini chief Kay Segler has confirmed that the Mini Paceman concept, a three-door derivative of the five-door Countryman, will go into production. The series-production model will be built at Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria, alongside the Countryman and share its architecture and powertrain. The Paceman might still get another name, but it will look almost exactly like the concept. Expect it at dealers as a 2013 or 2014 model.
Before the Paceman reaches dealers, though, the production Mini Roadster, the second of the so-called “Oxford twins” after the Coupe, will be unveiled in either Detroit or Geneva in early 2012.
Photo by Marc Urbano
When BMW introduced the “new” Mini brand back in 2001 it promised it would develop different variants in the coming years. It has certainly followed through with a variety of styles derived off the ubiquitous platform. Every time Mini shows a concept you can almost bank on it appearing as a production vehicle not long after.
No surprise then that Magna Steyr has signed a contract with the BMW Group for the development and assembly of the Mini Paceman, which was first shown at the Detroit Auto Show back in January.
Photo by Marc Urbano
The two-door Mini Paceman Concept was powered by a John Cooper Works 1.6 liter turbocharged engine delivering 211 hp with a maximum torque of 207 lb-ft. The Paceman Concept had the ALL4 permanent all-wheel-drive system, which uses an electromagnetic center differential.
As expected, the Paceman will be built alongside the Countryman at the Magna Steyr assembly facility in Graz, Austria. There is no word yet on specs for the production Paceman but we suspect it will stay faithful to the Concept. Ironically, this means it will look somewhat similar to the recently launched Land Rover Evoque. The Paceman is also only a few inches smaller than the Evoque. Who’d have predicted a decade ago that Mini and Land Rover would be competing head-to-head with similar sized and similar looking AWD vehicles?
Photos: Mini Paceman Concept >>
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Following the release of sketches from Audi on its Urban Concept electric car to be shown at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, official computer-generated images of the car’s exterior and interior now have also been given to Road & Track.
Constructed with lightweight material such as carbon fiber-reinforced polymer and powered by a pair of e-tron elector motors, Audi tells us that the Urban Concept can accelerate from 0 to 37 mph in 6.5 sec, with a top speed at around 62 mph. Standing at 47.2 in. tall, spanning a length of 126.0 in. and width of 66.9 in., the entire car weighs just over 1100 lbs. The range of the car is between 31 and 37 miles.
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Not many models can credit their success to anthropomorphic hamsters with an eclectic playlist, but that’s exactly what has happened with the Kia Soul. Kias, for once, are actually kinda cool. Introduced as a 2010 model, the Soul sells almost as well as the Kia Sorento. That would be like the Scion xB landing in the number two spot for Toyota, right after the Camry.
Although the Soul has been on the market for only two years, Kia saw fit to refresh it for 2012. Aesthetic changes include new side mirrors with turn signals, plus a sculpted hood, revised head and taillights and new bumpers. The center vent on the front bumper now shares visual cues with the Optima sedan. Overall length has grown by a smidge, by 0.6 in., but all other dimensions remain. Three trims are available—Soul, Soul+ and Soul! (Soul Sport has been dropped)—of which the premium Soul! comes with projector headlights with LED lighting and LED taillights.
The interior also sees a few tweaks. A tilt and telescoping steering wheel is now standard, as is Vehicle Stability Management, Hill-start Assist Control and additional sound insulation. The center stack and shifter area have been polished, and a new 4.3-in. UVO voice-activated touchscreen system (powered by Microsoft) is now standard on the Soul!, as is a 350-watt 7-speaker Infinity sound system, which is optional on the Soul+. (more)
Keep Reading: 2012 Kia Soul – First Drive Review >>
Photos: 2012 Kia Soul >>
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The 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show in September could see the much-awaited new Maserati SUV appear in concept form. According to Automotive News, the model will debut in concept form, before an official production debut closer to its 2013 market release.
The Maserati SUV will be based on the Jeep Grand Cherokee, but would be equipped with the Italian brand’s 4.7-litre V8 engien with about 450 hp and the eight-speed ZF automatic transmission. The challenge for Maserati is not to produce a rebadged Chrysler group SUV under the trident brand, and so some exterior Maserati bodywork will be used and we will get a new interior, too.
Essential to the European market (and possibly exclusive to it according to ANE), the Maserati SUV could get a three-litre, V6 diesel with about 300 hp. It would be the same unit from VM Motori which currently equips the European-export Grand Cherokee. No pricing speculation has been given but it is likely to be what we’d expect of Maserati luxury, and start at more than the Jeep Grand Cherokee Italian price of about 63,800 euros.
It turns out the Bugatti Galibier, luxury touring sedan, will fill the hole left by the outgoing Bugatti Veyron until such time as the company gets around to producing a new hypercar. In reports from Auto Motor und Sport, the Bugatti Galibier will start a 2012 production date sometime in autumn next year, with total numbers reaching 1000 to 1500 models.
As engineers and executives work on a new Bugatti hypercar, the Galibier, or Royale as it might be called, will be made. Using a detuned version of the W16 Veyron engine, down to about 800 hp, the Galibier should be just as expensive as the Veyron, topping one million euros. That kind of price might make the 1000 models sound ambitious, but this is Bugatti after all, and you can’t go putting a price on Bugatti luxury.
In addition to the report on the 2o12 Galibier production, we also learn that it could appear with hybrid plug-in technology, with a zero emissions range of 40 km. And apparently the engineers are also working on moving the W16 to the front axle which should prove more than an interesting task. After this report, we expect more to come and perhaps a debut production vehicle sometime next year.
