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Saturday 6 September 2008

Bizzarrini P538, the new Italian supercar, is about to be introduced

Many supercars are announced every year, but only a few manage to make it into production. We are glad to say that one of the most promising ones, the new Bizzarrini P538, is on its way to be introduced in Novembre at Nardo, one of the most famous high speed tracks of the world. Exactly as Scuderia Bizzarrini has planned to do.



The new car bears a mythical name, but this is not the only special thing about it. This Italian wonder is 4.46 m long, 1.95 m wide and 1,16 m tall. Entirely made of carbon fibre, the P538 weights less than 800 kg. It would be enough to make its stock engine, Corvette's LS7 V8 with a higher output, 500 bhp, shine like gold, but the same engine can be improved to 1,000 bhp with a Lingerfelter Twin Turbo kit. Its gearbox will be made by CIMA, its brakes, by Alcon, Penske will take care of the shock absorbers and Recaro seats will hold the driver and the passenger. Everything else will be developed solely for the P538, which will have only 100 units produced.









Source: Serious Wheels via AutoBlog

Nissan will present a new city car in Paris, Pixo, built in India and aimed at Europe

Some cars produced in emerging countries will start soon to flood Europe. Besides VW Fox, produced in Brazil, soon a little car from India will also go to the Old World. And we do not mean Tata Nano, which is facing huge problems to have its production started. The city car we are talking about is the one below, called Nissan Pixo.



Built in a partnership with Suzuki, what means it must use a Suzuki engine and platform, possibly the same ones adopted for the new Suzuki Alto, Pixo is 3.57 m long, 1.47 m high and 1.60 m wide, or else, small enough not to have a problem with its small three cylindre 1-litre engine. Pixo can carry four people and will be exported to Europe in 2009. Besides the traditional five-speed manual gearbox, the small Nissan will also have a four-speed automatic transmition.

Pixo is just one of the attractions from Nissan to Paris Motor Show. Another one will be the Nuvu concept, still with no images available, and the renewed Note.





Source: Nissan via AutoBlog

Friday 5 September 2008

Mazda will present the Kiyora concept at the Paris Motor Show

What would a small and clean car look like if it was created by Mazda? The company's answer to this question will be presented at this year's edition of the Paris Motor Show. And it will be known as Kiyora, or "clean and pure", in Japanese.



Besides being light, Kiyora intends to help preserve the environment with a small petrol engine with direct injection and the Smart Idle Stop System, a start-stop system to avoid throwing away fuel while the car is stuck in traffic. We only hope its design ever makes it into the streets, in order to bring back the days when cars were easily recognisable from a long distance.





Source: Mazda

Thursday 4 September 2008

Chevrolet Corvette Centennial, the future C7 Corvette?

The movie "Transformers 2" may not be a masterpiece, but it will feature many important cars for the future of GM. Besides the production-ready Volt, it will also present the so called Corvette Centennial Concept, but we bet this car is the base for the next generation of the mythical North American sportscar.



These images, obtained by Jalopnik.com, show the car has many design cues from historical models, such as the Splitwindow and Stingray. The new car may be officially presented only at the movie première, but, as our friends at World Car Fans, we bet on a sooner introduction, at GM's 100 years celebration.



Source: Jalopnik via World Car Fans

Honda presents its Prius opponent, the new Insight, as a concept

Honda has revealed today the first images of the new Honda Insight, although the Japanese automaker still calls it a "concept". The good part about this speech is that Honda recognises the concept, which will be officially presented to the public at the Paris Motor Show, is very close to the production version, a five-seater five-door hybrid hatchback that promises to be much more affordable than similar vehicles.



According to Honda, the new car will benefit from a "significant cost reduction in Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) components". IMA is the name Honda gives to its hybrid system. In other words, when the car reaches the market, it will be so cheap, compared to others, that the Japanese automaker expects it to reach annual global sales of 200,000 units per year, half of that in the USA. The new Insight will be produced in Suzuka, Japan.



Source: Honda

Wednesday 3 September 2008

LEAK! - Mazda MX-5 will receive a revised front fascia

The Spanish website km77.com has done it again: here's one more leak they have provoked by showing images of the new Mazda MX-5 for the first time.



As you can see in the zoom below, all major aesthetical changes have been concentrated on the front fascia, with a new bumper, new headlights and new fog lamps. Mechanical improvements, as usual, will only be known at the official presentation, which is very likely to happen in Paris.



Source: km77.com

Hyundai will present the all-new i20 at the Paris Motor Show

Hyundai has proven it can create cars that are luxurious and affordable at the same time, but it has not forgotten small cars also represent a huge amount of its market share. This is why the company decided to reserve the world première for the 2008 edition of Paris Motor Show. And this is the first image of the substitute of Getz.



No technical info has been released on the small car, but Hyundai managed to give us some tips by disclosing data on the concept car i20 blue. It will use a six-speed manual gearbox and a 1.4-litre CRDi diesel engine, able to make it run 25 km/l and to emit 99 g/km of CO2. Considering it pumps out 90 bhp and 220 Nm, these numbers are fantastic.

Besides the i20, Hyundai will also present Genesis, a Coupe showcar, a hybrid Santa Fe and the ix55, a Veracruz modified for European tastes.

Source: Hyundai

Citroën presents the Hypnos, a hybrid that intends to hypnotise you

Citroën has taken all recent trends in the car industry and transformed them into a concept car it has presented today. The Hypnos, according to the French automaker, is quintessential crossover, since it unites the "dynamism of a coupe, the elegance of a sedan and the size of an SUV". But it goes a little further, with its hybrid powertrain.



Pushed by 200 bhp, Hypnos is able to run 22.22 km with a litre of fuel (probably diesel, since PSA-Peugeot Citroën supports the idea of a hybrid powered by this fuel and electricity) and of emitting 120 g/km of CO2.

Anyway, this four-seater will really draw attention to its interior, which combines lots of colours and, according to Citroën, "the driver and its three passengers are assured to have a sensorial experience close to wonder, to pure magic". Considering its colorful interior, which resembles a rainbow, it would surely not be a car in which straight men would like to be seen. Check the interior image below:



Anyway, the car looks good on the outside and will point out future design solutions for the company. We are still waiting for a concept car based on Citroën 2CV. Let's see if Citroën really has not prepared anything to pay hommage to its successful little car.

Source: Citroën

Camaro SS officially appears at GM media website

Lots of Chevrolet fans have been waiting for this car since the concept was first presented, back in 2006. Waiting is no longer necessary: here are the first images of the new Camaro SS, a vehicle that, besides looking very good, will also be powered by one of the most respectable engines GM currently produces, the LS2, or else, the same 6.2-litre V8 that powers the Corvette.



We still miss more technical specs of the car, but the disclosure of the pictures surely precedes them. Anyway, it would be just a means to have Camaro around here a little more. All you need to know is already there: the car looks fantastic and must behave accordingly.









Source: AutoBlog

Tuesday 2 September 2008

Aston Martin confirms Lagonda will get back to the market

The next few years will see many automakers celebrating 100 years. GM will do so this year. If Lagonda still existed, it would have celebrated it in 2006, but the good news about this British brand is that it will ressurect in its 103 anniversary, or else, in 2009, when Aston Martin intends to present, at the Geneva Motor Show, a concept car that will showcase what to expect from Lagonda for the next few years.



A production car from the British automaker will be ready by 2012 and will help Aston Martin to be present in more countries than the current 32. In fact, Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin's CEO, expects Lagonda to help the company's presence in more than 100 countries, what would include many emerging markets, such as Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and India. Aston Martin already has dealers in China, Russia and South Africa.

The help Lagonda would provide consists of a bigger product range, not exclusively focused on sportscars, but also on "exclusive, luxurious and truly versatile products with high quality and usability and suitable for both existing and emerging markets".

Although Aston Martin will also present the four-door Rapide in 2009, it will not be branded as a Lagonda, even considering the name Rapide was originally used by the ressurecting brand. In other words, Lagonda will have something different to offer, with its own identity. Tradition is sure to rule some paths, but Lagonda will certainly allow Aston Martin to be more daring and try new ideas. Let's wait for Geneva!

Source: Aston Martin

Monday 1 September 2008

First images of Renault Mégane leak into the World Wide Web

The new Renault Mégane has been seen lots of times, but km77.com has managed to obtain the first official images of the car:



The new hatchback is more conservative than its predecessor, with tail lights that are integrated to the back door. No official information on engines or size has emerged so far, but we can expect for a wide turbo presence, as well as a bigger, roomier car.

Built over Nissan Qashqai's platform, the new Mégane will give birth to a sedan, a station wagon, a coupe cabriolet and an SUV (or a crossover, as people prefer nowadays). The first variants of the car, anyway, will surely be the new 5-seater and 7-seater Scénic minivans.









Source: km77.com

Sunday 31 August 2008

What DMC could have given the world if it was still on business

John DeLorean died in 2005. Before his death, he tried to put his company, DeLorean Motor Company, or DMC, back into business after it went bankrupt. This was due, among other things, to the fact that he was accused of drug dealing and nothing was ever proved against him. For the ones that do not know DeLorean, he is the man that created Pontiac GTO and DMC 12, also known as the time machine from the movie "Back To The Future". Look below what else this man could have offered us:



This car would have been a supercar, with a 13-litre V12 engine that, nowadays, would probably be able to challenge Bugatti Veyron, SSC Ultimate Aero and others alike, with charming gull-wing doors. Besides this wonder, DeLorean was also interested in offering another affordable sports car. It would weight something below 800 kg, would be powered by a 265 bhp and would cost US$ 30,000 or less. A meeting with investors interested in bringing DMC back was scheduled to happen in New York in September 11 2001. This is one more loss to be credited to this tragic day. Unfortunately, not the worst of them.

Source: Flickr

Toyota will have three world premières at Paris: Avensis, iQ and Urban Cruiser

Toyota has already announced what it will take to Paris in October. The new Avensis, iQ and Urban Cruiser will be at the 2008 Paris Motor Show as world premières, all of them very important for the Japanese carmaker's plans for Europe.



Avensis, the flagship for Toyota in the Old World, has had very few details disclosed. Only the regular sayings on better fuel economy, more muscular lines blah, blah, blah, blah...



As for the iQ, it will be an important weapon to fight Fiat 500's popularity and the future Topolino. Toyota has said more about this little car. The company calls the iQ the "smallest premium 4-seater ever built" and says it emits only 99 g/km of carbon dioxide. That's not much, considering Seat Ibiza Ecomotive achieves just the same and is considerably bigger. Something interesting about the iQ is that it will have the first rear window curtain shield airbags.



Toyota's Urban Cruiser features AWD and an 1.4-litre D-4D diesel that emits 133 g/km of CO2. Also no word on size or other interesting technical information. Ok, Paris is getting closer anyway.

Source: Toyota

Seat Ibiza Ecomotives shows the automaker's environmental concerns

Although the design of its cars is really sporty, Seat is also concerned about the environment (or else, about selling cars to customers that are concerned). The Spanish automaker's idea to handle this question is Ibiza Ecomotive.



Powered by an 80 bhp 1.4-litre TDI engine, the car emits only 99 g/km of carbon dioxide. Aerodynamics, according to Seat, also help the new car, offered in 5 or 3 door body, be so fuel efficient.





Source: Seat