LEAK! - Kia Soul'ster appears before its official presentation

Kia has followed the same strategy Ford used to present the 2010 Mustang with its concept car, Soul'ster. Before officially showing it at Detroit Auto Show, the Korean company has released pictures of parts of the new car. Kia only did not manage to keep the secret as long as Ford did and now a picture of the entire car has leaked on internet. Check below what it will look like:



Based on Kia Soul, which will start its sales in the USA in February, Soul'ster (a clear joke with the word "roadster") brings back a sort of body that has been widely used by some off-roaders such as Ford Bronco and Isuzu Rodeo, among others. It may also become a sort of pick-up truck if its back seats are removed.

Although the first picture has leaked, no additional information on the car has had the same fate. This is why we can only try to guess which engine it is powered by. It is very likely that it uses a petrol 2-litre four-cylinder engine able to produce 142 bhp at 6,000 rpm and 186 Nm at 4,600 rpm, mated to a four-speed automatic gearbox.

The other choices for the concept car would be two 1.6-litre engines, a petrol and a diesel one. Both generate 126 bhp, but the diesel unit is more powerful in what relates to torque: 255 Nm at 2,000 rpm, against 156 Nm at 4,200 rpm of the petrol powerplant. Dimensions should be pretty much the same ones from Kia Soul, or else, 4.11 m long, 1.61 m tall, 1.79 m wide and 2.55 m of wheelbase.

Source: Automarket.ro via AutoBlog

EXCLUSIVE! - First shots of uncovered BMW M7

One of our readers, Francisco Maciel, lives in Germany and has kindly sent us images of what appears to be final version of a car many did not expect to see, but the fifth generation of BMW 7 Series was expected to bring to life: the brand new M7.



"I was shopping in a supermarket in Ulm, about 100 km west from Munich, and this car was parked right beside me", said Maciel. At first, he thought it was the 2011 5 Series because the car looked smaller than the new 7 Series. Besides that, the car had a very sporty appearance, with black wheels and dual exhaust on each side of the car. It could be an M5, but it is just too soon to have this car so undisguised. Since 7 Series cars never had that ambition, it was difficult to know what vehicle this could be, but the brand new F01 7 Series was expected to have a version to compete with S 63 AMG. Someone could also have changed a 7 Series, but why would the owner cover the badges with black tape?

The new M7 is expected to have a twin-turbo V12 and to be lighter than the regular sedan, what would make it have an overall better handling that does not count only on a huge load of horsepower. Anyway, expect it to have more than 600 bhp.

Considering M7 looks ready for dealerships, we would bet on an official presentation to happen in March, at this year's edition of Geneva Motor Show.

If you see any new car around, manage to make pictures of it and would like to share it, please to not hesitate to send us your images. We will be glad to publish them and to tell your history to our other readers, just as we have told Maciel's!




Source: Francisco Maciel (pictures)

Cardi turns a Porsche Cayenne into a Russian classic, Volga GAZ-21

If you had a car such as Porsche Cayenne, what would you do? Would you drive it as it is (and enjoy it)? Would you tune it? Well, if you were the Russian company Cardi, you would surely turn it into a Volga GAZ-21, a classic car from Russia. Do you doubt it? Then check the pictures below. Believe it or not, it is a Cayenne. At least underneath this fiberglass skin.



Cardi has used a Cayenne Turbo, with all its 450 bhp, as a basis for the transformation. All the original body has been removed and a Volga GAZ-21 has been electronically mapped, with the help of lasers, in order to obtain a 3D model of the classic Russian car. After that, the 3D model of Volga has been adjusted to Cayenne's structure, much bigger than Volga's.

The body, made of fiberglass, has kept the same appearance of GAZ-21, transforming the German SUV into a sedan with a luggage compartment of 370 l. Volga Cayenne, as Cardi has named the project, is 5.09 m long, 2.09 m wide, 1.74 m tall and has a wheelbase of 2.86 m.

Windshield and all glasses of Volga Cayenne have been tailored made, what gives an almost exact idea of how much money has been spent on the project. A lot. Therefore, it is very likely the company believes a lot of Cayenne owners will decide to have their Volga GAZ-21 in a more modern style very soon. Let's wait to see if Cardi will really offer the transformation to anyone interest. And how many would be willing to change their Porsche badges on the hood for a Volga GAZ-21 appearance.





















Source: Cardi via CarScoop

Bentley presents its most powerful convertible, GTC Speed

For a lot of people, accelerating a vehicle with a retractable top is a pleasure no matter which speed this vehicle can reach. For others, if it is possible to make speed match with this contact with the sun, riding this way becomes even better. It is for these customers Bentley has developed its most powerful convertible, GTC Speed, which counts on 610 bhp to move ahead. The car will be presented at this year's Detroit Auto Show.



GTC Speed is 4.80 m long, 2.19 m wide, 1.39 m tall (with its top on) and counts on a 2.75 m wheelbase. All the power that is available for the superconvertible comes from a 6-litre W12 biturbo petrol engine. Even though the car is very heavy (it weighs 2,485 kg), its powerplant proves to be very efficient. Top speed with the top on is 322 km/h and 312 km/h if the top it down. It also takes only 4.8 s to sprint the car from 0 to 100 km/h.

Besides the stronger engine (the "entry level" GTC is only 560 bhp), GTC Speed is 1 cm lower in front and 1.5 cm lower in the rear in order to have a better handling. Brakes have also been upgraded and, as an option, buyers can choose carbon-ceramic discs, the biggest ones ever fitted to a production series automobile: 420 mm in front and 356 mm in the back. The system also features eight-piston calipers.













Source: Bentley

Protoscar will present the new Lampo at 2009 Geneva Motor Show

Geneva Motor Show has long been one of the most environmental friendly car events of the world for a while. Besides that, it happens in Switzerland, what explains why Protoscar, a company based in the same country, has decided to present there its concept car, Lampo. This cabriolet, totally powered by electric engines, is an example of what future cars can be.



It would be fun enough just by being a convertible, but there is more fun behind the apparently nice looks of the car. Lampo also has 268 bhp and 440 Nm from 0 to 5,000 rpm to perform in a superb way on roads. The car has two electric engines, produced by BRUSA, each of them installed in one of the car axles, front and rear. With lithium-ion batteries able to provide 35 kWh, Lampo can run up to 200 km with a full charge.

The cabriolet from Protoscar can be recharged on any regular power outlet, on a remote 16kWp photovoltaic plant or through its regenerative brakes.

The idea with Lampo is not to turn it into a production vehicle, but to use the solutions proposed by it to improve real cars. Since we still do not have any idea on how the car really looks, we will wait for better images in order to be ok with that. Or to be sorry.

Source: Protoscar via CarBodyDesign