Renault presents the new Sandero Stepway, its first "light SUV"

In many countries, roads are in terrible state. The same countries generally have a population that suffers from low income, what prevents this population to have real SUVs, with four wheel drive etc. In order to offer a cheaper product that could handle the poor road conditions, many automakers, such as Fiat and Volkswagen, have created cars that have a higher suspension. Renault has recently tried to give its cars just the off-road appearance, with Kangoo and Scénic, but Sandero has been chosen to be the first real "light SUV" from the French automaker. Light SUV is what these automakers decided to call these cars, although the lack of a four wheel drive system technically prevents me to adhere to this "marketing concept". SUV or not, the fact is that this Sandero even has a new name: Stepway.



The car will be solely offered with a 16V 1,6-litre flexible engine that generates 115 bhp and will probably be well-equipped, but there is no word on prices or on how much the suspension has been raised. The car will be one of the main attraction from Renault at the 2008 Sao Paulo Motor Show and will be sold in the same month the event opens, October.



Fonte: Renault

Peugeot gives some tips on its new concept, the RC...

Peugeot has been cautious about revealing details on its new concept car. Even the name of the car has been hidden with the use of ellipsis. For the time being, you may call the beauty below by "RC..." Try to fill in this blank:



This four-door vehicle intends to show how high performance is not necessarily detached or opposed to environmental concern. RC... is a hybrid vehicle with a 313 bhp/230 kW powertrain and 109 g of carbon dioxide per km, a level that can reach no emissions at all when the car is in full electric mode.

The new machine will be fully revealed at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. Besides trying to figure out what the name of this car may be, you may also try to guess what it looks like by these photos in the shadow Peugeot has released. Good luck!








Source: Peugeot

OFFICIAL! - Volkswagen reveals sedan version of the new Gol

Although this car was reputed to be a "surprise" Volkswagen would reveal only at this year's edition of Sao Paulo Motor Show, the German automaker has anticipated its plans and presented the first image of what it still only calls "the sedan version of the New Gol":



The previous sedan versions of Gol were known as Voyage in Brazil, Senda or Gacel in Argentina and Fox in the USA. There will probably be only one engine available at first, the 1.6-litre with 103 bhp already used by Gol, Fox, Polo and Golf in Brazil, but a 1-litre or a 1.4-litre version of the sedan could also emerge. Let's wait for the official information.

Source: Volkswagen

GM announces its new global compact car, the Chevrolet Cruze

GM presented today its new global compact car, the Chevrolet Cruze. Although GM calls the new sedan global, it does not mean the car will replace the Opel Astra or the Saturn Aura. Global, in this instance, means the car will be sold worldwide with the same name and the same trademark, including Europe, South America and Asia:



No details on the size of the car have been released, but GM claims it will be longer and wider than its main competitors, even because the company calls it a four-door coupe. It is not possible to say the same based only on the three images that have been released, so we shall have to wait until the Paris Motor Show, were Cruze will be officially revealed, to confirm or deny it.

There are three engines confirmed for the car, a 1.6-litre that generates 112 bhp/82 kW and a 1.8-litre that pumps out 140 bhp/103 kW, both running on petrol, and a 2-litre turbodiesel that produces 150 bhp/110 kW. Sales in Europe start in March 2009.





Source: GM

New pictures of the Honda City emerge in China

There is no surprise on the fact that the new Honda Aria/City will be a new car built over the Fit/Jazz platform. The previous version of the car was just a Fit/Jazz with an added boot, but its first pictures, made in India, show this generation will behave otherwise. Besides India, China has also already seen the new car:



Taken by PC Auto near Chengdu, the pictures confirm the basic lines of the car as very similar to Civic's, what makes it a mini-Civic and may give the new compact sedan the same market success its bigger brother faces in most of the countries were it is sold.

Powered by a 1.3-litre engine that generates 100 bhp and a 1.5-litre that produces 120 bhp, the Aria/City will soon be officialy presented. For Asian markets, it will probably be built in India, while the South American version will be produced in a new factory in Argentina.








Source: PC Auto via China Car Times

McLaren F1 replacement may have leaked into the internet

The supercars era must be this one. If it is not, it will soon become, as most automakers' efforts reveal. The latest one has been from McLaren, which has announced to be developing a new supercar. Since Gordon Murray is developing its own supercar, the father of the new vehicle will surely be a new designer, possibly Frank Stephenson. The fact is the car may have already leaked into the internet, directly into the Slovenian website avtomanija.com. World Car Fans
has also shown the images, but they may not be true, as the Finnish website points out.

Internally called F12, the new supercar's details are scarce, but it will almost surely not get a Mercedes-Benz engine. Since the partnership between the two companies has ended, the doubt about what will power the new vehicle is yet to be solved. If you have any light on the subject, please get in touch! And check below more images of what may become the new dream of a whole generation of car lovers.








Source: avtomanija.com via World Car Fans

Bugatti presents the new Veyron Grand Sport in Pebble Beach

The first images of the new Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport were very few, but the official unveiling of the car, in Pebble Beach, made our search for details a lot easier, the first one being the final looks of the car. Check them out:



Most of the ideas we had about the car remained true: its top speed still is 407 km/m with the roof on, 360 km/h with the roof off and 160 km/h with a special roof made to protect the driver and the passenger in case of a sudden rain.

Only 150 units will ever be made, with only 99 offered to the general public. That's because 50 of them will be offered exclusively for other Bugatti owners and the first one will be auctioned and offered to charity. Prices will surely skyrocket and the poor people helped by this car could certainly become rich, if they are few...









Source: Bugatti

New Renault Symbol will be presented in Moscow

There have been some image leaks of the new Renault L35 into the internet, but now we have the real car images, presented today by the French company. The new car will be named Symbol and Thalia, the same names it had in most countries apart from Brazil, where it was named Clio Sedan (what, in fact, it was and still is). Although it will also be produced in Argentina, the first place to meet the new car will be Russia, more precisely at the Moscow Auto Show. Check out the first image:



Considering the names the car will have, it is very likely the previous versions of Symbol, Thalia and Clio Sedan will disappear, since there is no need for an entry level sedan in the markets where this car is sold. Logan already plays this role with a lot of success.

The new car is 4.26 m long, or else, 7 cm bigger than the previous Symbol (4.19 m). A lot less than the 4.60 m spy photographers have said it would have, with no gains on internal space, since the wheelbase has been kept the same, at 2,47 m. Check out the other images of the car.









Source:Renault