LEAK! - Porsche Panamera appears in its first official image and details

Porsche Panamera was only supposed to be presented next Monday, but, according to Autotelegraaf.nl, Auto Motor und Sport has broken the embargo. This has allowed the Dutch car website to release the first image and details on the new four-door coupe from the German automaker. Check it below.



Panamera is 4.97 m long, 1.93 m wide, 1.42 m tall and has a generous wheelbase of 2.92 m, enough to make all its four passengers feel very comfortable inside. There is also a boot that holds 450 l of luggage, but which can be increased to 1,500 l if the back seats are folded.

In order to make the driver feel good too, initially three engines will be offered: a 3.6-litre V6 with direct fuel injection, able to produce 300 bhp, a 4.8-litre V8, for the Panamera S, pumping out 400 bhp, and a turbo version of the same engine for Panamera Turbo, with an estimated output of 500 bhp. Aerodynamic resistance is only 0.29. All versions will have the dual-clutch PDK transmission available, with extra fast gear changes.

Porsche has also stated a Hybrid version, based on the V6 engine, will soon be offered and will present 350 bhp. Diesel versions are said to be absolutely excluded, but the same has been said for Cayenne and look what we have got now...

Panamera will be built in Leipzig, as well as Cayenne (didn't we say so?), with 20,000 units a year, at first, but a target of 50,000 for the future. The first ones to arrive will be Panamera S and Turbo, with the V6 scheduled for a little later. Of the total production, Porsche estimates 20% of them all will be Turbo units.






Source: Autotelegraaf.nl via AutoBlog and World Car Fans

Porsche will offer its first diesel car from February 2009 on, the Cayenne Diesel

Purists all over the world must now be mourning and tearing their clothes off (if not their hairs). Porsche has just released the information it will adopt a diesel engine in one of its cars for the first time. The chosen vehicle to receive it is Cayenne.



Confirming the idea that Porsche buying Volkswagen would in fact result in Volkswagen taking over Porsche, Cayenne will have a 3-litre V6 turbodiesel engine from Audi. It delivers 240 bhp and 550 Nm, and fuel consumption is as low as 10.75 km/l.

Even though some fundamentalist Porsche fans state Cayenne is no real Porsche, the company says using a diesel engine will help it reduce fuel consumption and help improve sales figures. Initially, the Cayenne diesel will be sold only in Europe, from February 2009 on, for 47,250 euros (56,436 in Germany, VAT and country specific equipment included). The Tiptronic-S automatic transmission will be offered standard.

Since VW also has a fantastic 5-litre V10 engine for Touareg, a half-brother for Cayenne, we can also expect Porsche's SUV to offer the same engine. And diesels may spread through all Porsche line-up, including the upcoming Panamera.






Source: Porsche

Porsche presents the new Boxster and Cayman at Los Angeles Auto Show

Better late than sorry. This suits pretty well this post, once the new Boxster and Cayman have been released last week. We could have left it behind, but since no Porsche can be left that way, we have prefered to bring it to you today.



Porsche claims this is a new generation of Boxster and Cayman, but the new generation of the cars will only be released by 2011, when the new 911 (998) will also be presented. Anyway, the cars have had a great improvement.

First of all, the 2.7-litre engine has gotten bigger. It is now a 2.9-litre engine that produces 255 bhp on Boxster and 265 bhp on Cayman. The previous engine gave these cars "only" 245 bhp.

For the S versions, the 3.4-litre engine has also been improved, but not with a larger displacement. It has received direct fuel injection and now generates 310 bhp on the roadster and 320 bhp on the coupe. Transmissions are a six speed manual gearbox of the seven-speed PDK (Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe, German for double-clutch gearbox).

Performance has also gone through a nice upgrade. Now Boxster accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.9 s and Boxster S does the same in 5 s. Cayman S is 0.1 s faster. Fuel consumption is also lower. The 2.9-litre engine spends only 1 l of petrol every 11 km, or is a 11 km/l car, if you prefer. The 3.4-litre engine spends just a little more and runs 10.6 km with 1 l of petrol.

Both models will be sold from February 2009 on. No price tag has been released so far, but Boxster and Cayman will remain as the cheapest Porsche for sale. At least while Porsche does not decide to sell a VW Golf based hot hatchback...

Lamborghini presents the new Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder in Los Angeles

Some carmakers just do not need to be very creative in order to amaze its audience. This is the case for Lamborghini, which has just presented the new Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder, a car that, although heavily based on a well-known model, deserves some words of its own. Nice ones.



As usual, the name denounces much about the car: 560 is a reference to the power of the 5.2-litre V10, or else, 560 bhp at 8,000 rpm, and 4 refers to its all-wheel drive system. Spyder, of course, tells us about the car this Gallardo has been based on and its ability to drop its top.

There is no mention on the name about the fact that this Spyder lost 20 kg, what also helped improve its performance, already remarkable (LP means Longitudinale Posteriore, the position in which the engine is mounted, longitudinally rear mid-mounted). Now the car sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in 4 s flat and reaches a top speed of 324 km/h.

The new car will go on sale in the first quarter of 2009, with a price tag of 160,920 euros (including taxes) in the Old World and or US$ 221,000 (MSRP) in the USA.

















Source: Lamborghini

PGO Hemera, the small French shooting brake

The French automaker PGO has never been very original in its designs, clearly inspired by classic Porsche models, such as 356. The first attempt to create a design of its own is what you can seen below. Called Hemera, the vehicle is still very similar to a Porsche 356, and the original part of it will certainly divide opinions.



What will surely be unanimous is the praising about its performance. After all, the 3.75 m long, 1,68 m wide and 1.30 m tall shooting brake, with a wheelbase of 2.26 m, can reach up to 200 km/h and a 0 to 100 km/h sprint in around 7 s due to its low kerb weight, only 980 kg.

Equipped with a front mid-mounted 2-litre Peugeot engine able to generate 140 bhp at 6,000 rpm and 195 Nm at 3,000 rpm, Hemera can use a five-speed manual transmission or a four-speed automatic gearbox.

According to the car’s brochure, it uses McPherson suspension in all four wheels, including the rear ones. No word is said on traction, but the car must be a rear-wheel drive one in order to be as sporty as it seems. Base price is 33,333 euros.









Source: PGO via Car Body Design

Ford Fiesta Sedan will be produced in China next year

Last year, Ford has presented the concept Verve Notchback at the Guangzhou Auto Show. This car was more than a concept: it was the preview of the new Fiesta Sedan, a vehicle that promises to be very popular in the USA and emerging countries, such as the biggest one of them: China. That’s why there is no surprise Ford has chosen to present the production-ready vehicle in Guangzhou again. The good news is that the car is quite similar to the concept.



Unfortunately there are no technical specs so far. We can only expect it to use the same engines used by the new Fiesta hatchback in Europe. The only confirmed news is that the body will also be made from tailored blanks, or else, steel blanks in variable thickness sections. Since we have mentioned the Old World, be aware, European readers: this car will not be sold for you. And this is because compact sedans have never been popular in your countries.

Besides China, where the car will start to be manufactured in the first quarter of 2009, expect the car to be produced in Thailand and Mexico. Brazil may also produce it, but there is nothing confirmed so far, only clues, such as the fact some parts of the car are being manufactured in the country, like rear mirrors and steering wheels, and the new Sigma engines, which will be made at the Taubate plant.




Source: Ford

Ford officially releases pictures and info on 2010 Mustang

As scheduled, Ford has released today a huge list of information and pictures on the 2010 Mustang. The car, a restyling of the previous model, will be officially unveiled at Los Angeles Auto Show.



Equipments such as Ford SYNC, a voice-command for radio, Bluetooth, air conditioning and other systems of the car, 911 Assist and VHR (Vehicle Health Report) will now be part of the pony-car. Rear camera, for safer parking, and MyColor, a gadget that allows Mustang owners to change the colour of gauge lights, are also present.

Since the changes have been mostly aesthetical, there are no relevant differences on dimensions. Engines available will be a 4-litre V6, able to pump out 210 bhp, and a 4,6-litre V8 that generates 315 bhp. Transmissions are automatic and manual, all of them with five speeds. Let’s hope Mustang can ride Ford out of its crisis.














Source: Ford