LEAKED! - MG MG6 images appear before the official presentation in Shanghai

If you liked to see the sketches of MG MG6 we have presented a while ago, you will love to see the first official images of the car, which have leaked before Shanghai Auto Show opens its doors next Monday.



It is a pity we still do not have images of the back of the car nor technical specs. MG6 promises to be the next five door coupe of the market. It is also a pity the new MG cars are sold only in China. Gorgeous vehicles like those should be sold everywhere!



Source: China Car Times

JJAD will share its technology for P1-E with other carmakers

JJAD has presented, back in the beginning of 2008, plans for a new British sportscar. It would be called Project 001 and would be a petrol-powered rear-wheel drive vehicle with a 200 bhp engine, 870 kg, 4.4 kg/cv, 3.89 m long, 1.77 m wide, 1.16 m tall and would have a wheelbase of 2.40 m. It would also cost 35,000 pounds. The name has gotten smaller (P1) and the petrol engine has given place to two electric engines, one in each axle. The car was expected to debut in 2009, but, before that, the company has announced it will share its technology with anyone willing to have it. That would be in responde to Gordon Brown's call for the United Kingdom to become the leading country in electric cars technology and production.



Although the company has decided to present the back of the car, which had not been revealed so far, it has just given some hints on why it really has decided to share its technology. JJAD needs funding to test and produce the sportscar and is willing to cooperate with any British carmaker that can help it achieve that goal.

If it manages to get all the money it needs, the company will be able to develop an all-wheel-drive car able to run 370 km with a single full charge and to accelerate from 0 to 96 km/h in 2,9 s. It would also weight 1,055 kg and would cost 55,000 pounds. This is what P1-E is all about.

The new car is the masterpiece, so far, of Jim Dowle, a man that has already worked on supercars such as Mercedes-Benz SLR, Caparo T1 and McLaren F1. We expect P1-E to be nothing less than these other vehicles, apart from the fact it will not use a single drop of petrol.



Source: JJAD

NOVITEC presents its first car, TuLesto, a very fine-tuned F430

NOVITEC has presented today what it calls its first proprietary car, the TuLesto. Anyway, if don't even have to pay careful attention to it to see this is a Ferrari F430 that has gone through several changes, but still presents that typical Italian way.



NOVITEC will always be able to claim this Italian flair comes from Luca Serafini Stile design studio, which has helped the German tuning company create TuLesto, but that 4.4-litre V8 engine, even pumping out 777 cv (571.8 kW) at 8,200 rpm and 727 Nm at 6,300 rpm with the help of two turbochargers, does not deny it was based on the 4.3-litre V8 from Ferrari.

The car may not be as original as NOVITEC would like it to be, but still drives a lot of attention, especially because only 11 of them will ever be built. Apart from that, the car reaches 100 km/h from standstill in 3.4 s and weighs 1,259 kg. Top speed is above 350 km/h, but the company does not inform how much above that the top speed goes. The interior of the car will be personalised to each of the customers, chosen from the ones that have been with NOVITEC for a long time.

TuLesto is 4.62 m long, 2.04 m wide and 1.22 m tall, a little bigger than F430, and presents 20-inch wheels in front and 21-inch wheels, with up to 355 mm semislick tyres, at the back.








Source: Novitec

Nissan presents the flex version of Tiida/Latio/Versa in Brazil

Livina has anticipated the flexible 1.8-litre engine in Brazil and all over the world for Nissan. The Japanese company seems to be satisfied with the results and has put the same engine also inside of its hatchback, Tiida, also known as Latio and Versa.



In Tiida, the engine develops 125 bhp with petroland 126 bhp with ethanol, both at 5,200 rpm, a little better than the 124 bhp at 5,500 rpm of the previous version. Torque is still the same: 172 Nm at 4,800 rpm for both fuels. So is the compression ratio, 9.9:1, too low for an ethanol powered engine. The best flex engines of the Brazilian market easily reach 15:1. Ethanol already is a fuel with less power than gasoline. If the car does not make the best of it, there is a huge chance the car will turn into an "ethanol guzzler". Check out the fuel consumption numbers for Nissan Tiida Flex Fuel below (according to Brazilian standards):

Six-speed manual gearbox:

Ethanol

Urban: 7 km/l
Road: 9.6 km/l

Petrol

Urban: 11.7 km/l
Road: 16 km/l

Four-speed automatic gearbox (four speed):

Ethanol

Urban: 6.9 km/l
Road: 10.3 km/l

Petrol

Urban: 11.4 km/l
Road: 17.1 km/l

Since ethanol also presents a better performance than petrol, the fact that Tiida has similar performance numbers with both fuels also state that Nissan is still very careful about the flex fuel technology. Check the numbers below:

Six-speed manual gearbox:

Ethanol

Top speed: 196 km/h
0 to 100 km/h: 9.6 s

Petrol

Top speed: 194 km/h
0 to 100 km/h: 9.7 s

Four-speed automatic gearbox (four speed):

Ethanol

Top speed: 178 km/h
0 to 100 km/h: 11 s

Petrol

Top speed: 177 km/h
0 to 100 km/h: 11.1 s

Tiida also presents new equipment, such as power door locks that lock automatically when the car reaches a certain speed, a new board computer and a CD Player able to play MP3 files with an iPod interface.

Nissan also intends to present the a flexible fuel Sentra in the next few months. As soon as it does it, will bring you all the info about it.













Source: Nissan

Nissan presents the Skyline Crossover, aka Infiniti EX, in Japan

Nissan first had the Skyline. Then it has become the Skyline GT-R, a car that was so special it eventually got apart from Skyline. Now Nissan presents a new sibling from Skyline, but not necessarily so deeply involved with the car, as GT-R once was. Japan now can buy the Skyline Crossover, an Infiniti EX with a Nissan badge.



The new crossover, still limited to Japan, will be equipped with the VQ37VHR engine, a 3.7-litre V6 that is able to generate 333 bhp at 7,000 rpm and 365 Nm at 5,200 rpm. We only hope to see it in markets where Infiniti is not available.




Source: Nissan

GM presents the new Opel Insignia OPC and Vauxhall Insignia VXR

The new Insignia, both under Vauxhall or Opel badges, has already been named the Car of the Year 2009. It would not need much more than that to be considered a great car, but then there comes much more, under the names VXR, if as a Vauxhall, or OPC, if as an Opel.



Besides the turbocharged 2.8-litre V6 that produces 325 bhp (239 kw), the car also features the Adaptive 4x4 traction system with eletronic limited slip differential and is 1 cm lower than an Insignia SRi. It will be offered in six colour options: Arden Blue, Power Red, Carbon Flash Black, Silver Lake, Olympic White and Technical Grey. Top speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h, but the car still accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 6 s sharp. Recaro front seats and standard 19-inch wheels give a good idea of what the car can do, but it would please us to test the car where it was developed, in Nürburgring. Someday...








Source: Opel and Vauxhall

Audi will reveal facelift for Q7 at 2009 Shanghai Auto Show

Audi has announced the new generation of Q7 for the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show, but it is the one that first admits "subtle modifications" on the SUV. What we can say about it, after all, is that using words for something they are not makes them lose their meaning. In other words, if "subtle modifications" produced a new generation, old ladies wearing make-up will eventually get become desirable young women again. We can also say the make-up used in Q7 has made it more attractive, but definitely not a new generation car.



The most noticeable changes have been in the headlights and backlights, which are now up tp date with most of Audi's new vehicles. Engines are still the same, two petrol units (a 3.6-litre V6 that generates 280 bhp, or 206 kW, and 360 Nm and a 4.2-litre V8 that produces 350 bhp, or 257 kW, 440 Nm) and four diesel powerplants.

The three previous ones (3.0 TDI, 4.2 TDI and V12 TDI) have been joined by a clean diesel unit of 3.0 TDI, which is more economical. Slightly more: instead of 11 km/l, it runs 11.2 km/l. If prices are much different, the clean diesel version will not add much to Q7 line-up.

Have a look at the new Q7 and admire what Audi claims to be a new generation. When a real new generation shows up, Audi will call it a revolution.


























Source: Audi