Fifth generation of VW Polo Sedan appears in India disguised as a Ford

The world presentation of the new VW Polo Sedan, based on the fifth generation of the hatchback, was expected to happen at the 2010 edition of Auto Delhi, in India, but it didn't. Anyway, India seems to have a love affair with this car and it has appeared there for the first time almost undisguised, as our friends from Source: Motoroids have managed to register. See the images below:



The images indicate the new car may as well be presented in Gandhi's homeland. Its production is already confirmed to take place at the VW Talegaon plant, but India will not be the only country that will produce the new vehicle. China, Russia and Brazil may also see the car produced in their VW plants.

Getting back to the pictures Motoroids has managed to snap, one can initially think this car is a new Mondeo, or a Ford Focus Sedan, if the rear lights and the blue oval badge on the back were to be taken into consideration. But the fact is these are only fake accessories added to hide the car's true identity. With a very small success rate, let's say.




Pay attention to the tail lights. The upper part is made of red tape, only to make them seem like Focus Sedan rear lights. The real thing is much smaller, and the internal lines of these pieces show the same angles the tail lights of the Polo V bear. In the picture below, Motoroids has managed to spot the round space reserved for the VW logo, just under the fake blue oval badge.



Motoroids guys have also made this comparative image below, which confirm the real identity of the new car. It can be stated through the rear mirrors, the radio antenna and the sidelines of the car. In other words, Motoroids managed to get a world exclusive. Hats off for them!



Source: Motoroids

SCOOP! - Peugeot 308 Sedan makes its first appearance in China

Although Europe already counts on Peugeot 308 for the past two years, the Old World is still about to see news of this car family, even though some of them may not reach their shores. And it is a pity, once the forthcoming 308 Sedan seems to be one of the most beautiful hatchback-based sedans the French company has ever managed to produce. Take a look at it below and thank the guys from Che51.com, in China, for it.



Although it is based on 308, the new sedan takes inspiration from Peugeot 407. With a wheelbase of 2.61 m, the new saloon is sure to have a huge luggage compartment, considering the hatchback can carry up to 430 l.

Engines must be the same used by 308 in China, where it will be presented for the first time. In the beginning of next year it will also be produced in El Palomar, in Argentina, from where it will be exported to other markets, such as the entire Latin America, as well as some East European countries. Peugeot may even consider selling it in more traditional markets if its looks really are as promising as the disguised cars seem to anticipate. In Argentina, the car will be built with petrol and flexible fuel 1.6-litre and 2-litre engines.





Source: Che51.com

SCOOP! - Reader photographs Peugeot 207 Pick-Up (based on the 206) in Brazil

Last February the reader Bruno Francisco da Silva sent us a very nice picture of the future Peugeot 207 Pick-Up, the first car-based small pick-up truck from the French automaker. Although it is called 207, it is, in fact, a 206 with a 207 face, a car that will be called 206+ in Europe. And so should it have been called in Brazil, also, but that's another story... Now the reader Vinicius Davoli Rossi has sent us more pictures and they present us to details we had not been able to spot before. Check them out with us.



"I was filling up my gas tank and the pick-up parked beside me to refuel, too. I grabbed my cell phone and took these pictures", said Rossi.

With the same suspension used for 207 Escapade, a sort of a crossover version of 206 SW, the new 207 Pick-Up is currently under development, as you can see by the heavy disguise, and it will be presented by the end of 2009. Exports are certain, or else, this vehicle will also be sold in most South American markets. Besides the 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre flexfuel engines, it will also offer two diesel options, a 70 bhp 1.9-litre and a 90 bhp 2-litre. According to Rossi, it resembles a lot Chevrolet Montana, known in other South American markets as Tornado.

If you manage to find and photograph a new car running around, disguised or not, and want to share you finding with us, do not hesitate to contact us andsend us your pictures. Please do not forget to authorise us to publish them. We will be glad to share them with our other readers, as we have done with Rossi's picture!





Source: Vinícius Davoli Rossi

SCOOP! - Fiat Strada CD, the first small double cab pick-up truck of the world, is seen in Brasilia

Readers of MotorTips are once again ahead of others. Not only because they read this blog, but also because once in a while they have the chance to see cars that have not been released and take pictures of them for us. This is what happened to Rafael Ferreira, from Brasilia, Brazil, who has seen the new Fiat Strada CD pick-up, the first double cab small car-based pick-up truck of the world, in front of a hotel in his city. It is important to highlight that we mean small by Brazilian standards, or else, it is based on Fiat Palio, a car that is much smaller than Honda Civic, for example, which is considered as a compact car in the USA.

More than seeing, Ferreira has photographed the car and its interior (something nobody had seen so far) with his cell phone. Check how the interior of the car will be below.



"I was coming back from work when I saw two pick-up trucks and its passengers in front of a hotel in Brasilia, which is close to my office. After Fiat guys (I guess) went away, I tried to take pictures from the interior of the cars, once they have already been widely photographed with this camouflage", said Ferreira. The pictures of the interior, two of the four he has sent us, are here, in order for everyone to see how the car will be when it reaches Brazilian dealers, in July. Once Fiat always exports its Brazilian vehicles, expect to see the new Strada CD (for Cabine Dupla, double cab in Portuguese) in other South American markets and Mexico very soon.

As if he was not making us a big favour, Ferreira apologised. "Unfortunately the sun light was reflecting everywhere in the car and a net on the back windows made things a bit difficult, but it was possible to see 'in loco' that the back seats are only for two people. The roof seems to be a little low. I have seen two units of the new small pick-up truck, both of them equipped with a 1.8-litre engine and with Locker, a system that electronically blocks a wheel that has no grip in order to help the other one move the car." Strada CD was developed under the code X4, indicating it would only have four seats in order for the car not to compete with other Fiat products, such as Siena (a small sedan) and even Palio itself.

Besides the Adventure version, which is the one Ferreira has spotted, there will also be a more simple trim level for Strada CD, created for direct sales and big companies that need a vehicle for maintenace teams, for example. Engines, therefore, will be a 1.4-litre and a 1.8-litre engine. The 1.9-litre engine that powers Fiat Linea, meanwhile, will remain in this Punto-based sedan.

If you manage to find and photograph a new car running around, disguised or not, and want to share you finding with us, do not hesitate to contact us andsend us your pictures. Please do not forget to authorise us to publish them. We will be glad to share them with our other readers, as we have done with Ferreira's picture!





Source: Rafael Ferreira

SPY PHOTOS! - Citroën already tests the C3 Picasso in South America disguised as C3

When Gustavo Rodrigues Carvalho sent us these pictures, he was in doubt about what this car would be. "If we pay careful attention, it is easy to see the tracks are bigger! Can it be the next C3 in tests?", he has asked us. The rear and front tracks of the car are really bigger, hence the extensions on the fenders. The explanation for that is simple: these cars (more than one in the pictures) are not C3 units, but C3-mules used to hide the real car, the new C3 Picasso minivan. It was expected to be presented in Brazil in 2009, but, since it is still riding with the help of mules, development must take a little more to be completed. South American readers show wait for the car by 2010.



The new minivan uses the same platform used by 207 (the real one, sold in Europe) and is 4.08 m long, 1.73 m wide and 1.62 m tall, with a luggage compartment of 500 l. In Brazil, it should be equipped with 1.4-litre engines, pumping out 80/80 bhp (petrol/ethanol), and 1.6-litre units, able to generate 110/113 bhp (petrol/ethanol).

The small minivan will be the first vehicle of the new small range from Citroën. After it we can expect to see a hatchback based on the concept car DS Inside, a small sedan and a crossover based on C3 Picasso.

If you manage to find and photograph a new car running around, disguised or not, and want to share you finding with us, do not hesitate to contact us andsend us your pictures. Please do not forget to authorise us to publish them. We will be glad to share them with our other readers, as we have done with Carvalho's picture!







Source: Gustavo Rodrigues Carvalho via MotorDicas

2011 Fiat Uno, known as project 327, appears in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Most of you must know Fiat intends to bring back the name Uno. The car is still being generated under the codename "Project 327". What you still did not have was an image of this car, but Marlos Ney Vidal, from the blog Autos Segredos, has fixed this problem with over one month waiting for the car to show up. And it has eventually happened, as you can see below.



The car will hit the Brazilian market in 2010 as a 2011 model and will present front airbags as a standard equipment, something the Brazilian law has just recently demanded. Expect for three and five door versions. Besides that, Vidal also tells us the car will share its platform, or architecture, if you prefer, with the next generation of Panda. It is not clear if the next Panda will adopt the name Uno in Europe or if there will be a Uno and a Panda in the Old World, besides the next Topolino.

These vehicles will have different interior versions. The European will be based on the interior of 500, while the South American Uno will share some parts with Fiat Palio. Since we have mentioned this car, it's new generation is also being developed in Brazil and Vidal promises to bring us the images of the so called "Project 326" very soon. We will be waiting!



Source: Autos Segredos

Citroën C4 Pallas is seen in China with a different tail

Citroën C4 Pallas, the sedan version of C4, has been first presented in China as the C-Triomphe in June 2006. It is from there that the first images of a possible "taillift", or restyling, if you prefer, have arised. They present a smaller tail segment, inspired in the back of the new C5.



There is no word on when the new car will be presented (at least not one that we understand). We would not doubt the car to be sold in the Chinese market along with C-Triomphe, but the new vehicle can be a replacement for C4 Pallas in South American markets. This may take a while to happen, only when the car needs a little change, especially after the new C5 start to be sold in these markets. C5 is expected to reach dealerships by the second half of the year.










Source: Xcar via China Car Times

Renault Mégane III Sport Tourer appears with no disguise in Portugal

Car advertising shootings must normally be made in desert areas. When they are made in the streets of a big city such as Lisbon, in Portugal, there will always be a car lover with its camera ready to register the moment. This is what happened to Nando.PT when he saw the new Renault Mégane III Sport Tourer, about to be presented at the Geneva Motor Show, in the middle of a street in the Portuguese city.



The name Sport Tourer really represents the daring style of the new station wagon, with back lights that are transparent in some sections and a high "waist line" that promises a high performance vehicle. Engines should be the same ones used by Mégane III, or else, five petrol engines (two 1.6-litre units generating 100 bhp and 110 bhp, a 2-litre pumping out 140 bhp and two turbocharged engines, the 130 bhp 1.4TCe and the 180bhp 2.0TCe) and seven turbodiesel powerplants (all 1.5 dCi generating 85bhp, 90 bhp, 105 bhp, 110 bhp, 130 bhp, 150 bhp and 160 bhp). Dimensions and boot compartment capacity will only emerge next week, what is not that far.







Source: AutoHoje.com via CarScoop

SCOOP! - Reader snaps Peugeot 207 Pick-Up in Rio de Janeiro

The Brazilian Peugeot 207 did not deserve to be called 207. After all, it is just a facelifted 206. Anyway, there is a new version of the car being prepared by Brazilian engineers that could bear that name with no shame, since there will be no other model like it for sale with the same name. Gentlemen, thank our reader Bruno Francisco da Silva for the picture below. It was taken in January 30 in Resende, Rio de Janeiro, and proves Peugeot is developing its first small pick-up truck in the world. It will probably be called 207 Pick-Up. Check it out.



With the same suspension used for 207 Escapade, a sort of a crossover version of 206 SW, it is currently under development, as you can see by the heavy disguise, and it will be presented by the end of 2009. Exports are certain, or else, this vehicle will also be sold in most South American markets. Besides the 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre flexfuel engines, it will also offer two diesel options, a 70 bhp 1.9-litre and a 90 bhp 2-litre.

If you manage to find and photograph a new car running around, disguised or not, and want to share you finding with us, do not hesitate to contact us andsend us your pictures. Please do not forget to authorise us to publish them. We will be glad to share them with our other readers, as we have done with Silva's picture!

Source: Bruno Francisco da Silva

Peugeot 408 is photographed with no disguises at all

Peugeot 407 is about to be replaced. Whenever Forum Peugeot brings pictures of a car so uncovered with disguises (in fact, this one is completely naked), we can expect an official presentation for the next few days. And what a presentation we will have. The new 408 looks a very nice addition to mid-size sedans.



Although the pictures do not present much, the shape of the new car is clearly inherited from Citroën C5. The resemblance has a good reason: both cars are built over the same platform. With that in mind, they should also share engines, so expect the new sedan from Peugeot to be powered by three petrol engines (1.8-litre with 127 bhp, 2-litre with 143 bhp or 3-litre V6 with 215 bhp) and four diesel powerplants (2-litre with 110 bhp, 2.2-litre with 138 bhp, 2.2-litre with 173 bhp and 2.7-litre V6 with 208 bhp). Dimensions should also be very close: 4.78 m long, 1.86 m wide, 1.45 m tall and a wheelbase of 2.82 m.

As we have said, we will very likely have the confirmation to all these ideas very soon. Any delay will not be due to the car development, but to business conditions. The official presentation is almost sure to happen at the Geneva Motor Show, where Peugeot will also present its "crossover", the 3008.




Source: Forum Peugeot

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)

BMW Z4 appears in movie shooting in the USA

BMW will unveil the new Z4 this month, but images of the new vehicle have already surfaced, even if not officially. The one you see below was obtained by Jason, from ZPost.com.



It was taken in a BMW dealer where a new movie, with Michael Douglas, Solitary Man, is being shot. Though it did not come with any news about engines or dimensions, it gives us a pretty fair idea of what the car will look like. We're glad it is not only a movie that was being shot there, but also pictures!

Source: ZPost.com via AutoBlog.nl

So called Ford concepts at Sao Paulo Auto Show present new Fiesta pieces

Let's check if you are a good observer. Pay attention to the images below and say: what do these cars have in common? Obvious answers, such as "they are Ford cars" or "they are concepts", do not suit.





The answer is that they are Fiesta predecessors. Verve was the concept model over which Fiesta was conceived. As for the green and orange and black vehicles, respectively Ka Beauty and Ka Beast, they anticipate the new generation of Fiesta in Brazil and South America. External rear mirrors in the concept-Ka vehicles are identical to Verve's. Better saying, they are a little different, since they have changed when they became mass-production pieces in order to fit the new Fiesta. Have a look.





Now, check the same rear mirror in Ka Beauty. Even the colour is the same:



Beast uses the same rear mirrors. This is an indication suppliers in Brazil have developed these pieces. Since the car will be built in Mexico, it means one of these two things: or Brazilian suppliers will send the rear mirrors to Mexico or Brazil will produce Fiesta for South American countries, while Mexico will take care of North and Central America.

Another common part among the car is the steering wheel, the same one used in Fiesta. Have a look:







If any of you has any information on this, please feel free to contact us at the e-mail address at the top of the page. As for the readers that do not have any information but the one we have, especially if you are from South America, be aware: the new Fiesta will soon be around, and it has already taken too long.

Source: Ford and MotorTips