Citroën reveals first pictures of the new AirCross, the adventure version of C3 Picasso

Citroën has announced last year it intends to present a lot of new vehicles. Most of them will be versions of existing cars, such as the new AirCross, an "adventure" version of the C3 Picasso. The company will first present it in Brazil, possibly in the second semester of 2010, but its first official images have been presented today, through its Twitter. Check them below.



The AirCross, codenamed A58, is only different from the C3 Picasso due to a higher suspension and to some external aspects, such as the front grille, entirely new, the spare tire, fixed on the back door of the car, side skirts and inscriptions with the name of the car all around.

Due to the spare tire, its total lenght must be a little bigger than 4.08 m. The higher suspension must have also contributed to make it taller than the regular 1.62 m tall C3 Picasso, but it must still be 1.73 m wide. Its luggage compartment, able to hold 500 l, must be a little bigger, considering the space reserved for the spare tire must have been seized to carry small stuff.

Engines must be limited to one choice, the 1.6-litre 16V flex unit already in use in Brazil, if it is not a little bigger, or else, the 2-litre unit already in use by the C4 family, also capable of running on ethanol or gasoline in any proportion. We'll be sure about all data when the car gets its official presentation, in some months from now.



Source: Twitter

Lotus releases images and info on its first electric car, the Evora 414E Hybrid

When people say electric cars can be exciting, some will doubt it. Tesla has already tried to prove them wrong with the Roadster, but the final statement on that must come from Lotus, a company that is widely known for its sports cars with superb handling. That final statement is called Evora 414E Hybrid.



Lotus calls it a hybrid, but only because it also uses a combustion engine. Since it is a mere range extender, we do not understand it is a hybrid car, but a full electric car with some old timer's help.

The new machine will be able to accelerate from 0 to 97 km/h in under 4 s, something that can be credited to its two electric engines, which drive the rear wheels in an independent way.

The number 414 is due to the power of the car, 414 ps/306 kW, since each engine has been limited (yes, that's right) to produce only 207 ps/153 kW each. Torque is 400 Nm, 200 Nm in each engine.

Since range is what electric car detractor more fiercely attack, the Evora 414E Hybrid can run up to 483 km with the help of its range extender, a 1.2-litre three cylinder engine designed by Lotus specifically to generate electric energy. Able to generate 48 ps/35 kW, it weighs only 85 kg, in accordance with the low weight philosophy from Lotus.

Since this is a plug-in car, the Lithium Polymer batteries can make the car run up to 56 km, more than enough for most people to go from work back home, and home to work, on a day-to-day basis. No word on how long they take to recharge, but surely no more than 8 hours, or a good night of sleep.

Lotus treats the car as a concept, one of its biggest attractions for Geneva, but the British carmaker can surely come up with a production version of this beauty very soon. That's the advantage of a small and agile structure.

Source: Lotus

Pininfarina will take 2-seater spider concept to Geneva

Pininfarina has just released the first official image of its next concept, a 2-seater spider built over an Alfa Romeo platform in order to celebrate the studio's 80th anniversary.



We still do not have any technical specs on the vehicle, but its rendering already leaves us mouthwatering for a production version of the car. It may help save the Cuore Sportivo, who knows?

Source: Pininfarina

LEAKED! - 2011 Kia Sportage appears ahead of Geneva

These images from the 2011 Kia Sportage have leaked from the European patent office and they present the car in full details. They would only be better if the interior of the vehicle had also been revealed, but the images already allow us to know what to expect from the new crossover when it is officially released at the Geneva Motor Show, which will take place in March.



Based on the Hyundai ix35, also named Tucson in some markets, such as the USA, the new Sportage is ahead of its sibling due to the visual identity Peter Schreyer has given Kia (and Hyundai still did not manage to present). We can see the high waistline as a promise for a crossover that has a good handling, but this is something we will only be sure about when we drive it.

Considering ix35 and Sportage have so much in common, we can try to guess its final technical specifications: 4.41 m long, 1.82 m wide, 1.66 m tall and a wheelbase of 2.64 m. Engines will probably be a petrol 2-litre four-cylinder able to generate 123 kW (165 bhp) and a turbodiesel 2-litre four-cylinder that produces 135 kW (180 bhp), both managed by a 6-speed automatic transmission.

If the new-generation Sportage is not presented at the Geneva Motor Show (what is not very likely, considering these images have leaked from the European patent office), it will make its world premiere in April, back in its homeland, South Korea.







Source: Autoblog.bnl

LEAKED! - First picture of new Fiat Uno emerges

Emerging countries (and possibly Europe) have been hearing rumours of a new Fiat Uno to come up in the next few months. Well, the rumours are true, as these pictures, obtained by Novidades Automotivas in a Brazilian registry office, INPI, have confirmed. Check it below:



The picture confirms the renderings our friend Marlos Ney Vidal, from the blog Autos Segredos, has already presented about a month ago, but also presents a few important differences, such as the hood fold that goes from the front to the windshield of the car following the forms of Fiat shield. The three air scoops between the headlamps (by the right side of the car, when looking at it from the front) are also bigger and more aligned to Fiat's logo. Below these air scoops there is the main air entrance, trespassed by a bar in which the front plate will be placed. It will be black, not in the body colour, what makes it look like a big mouth.

Another sensible difference is in the rear mirrors, similar to the ones once used by Fiat Punto. Although there are differences, the renderings, which you can see below, give us quite a good idea of what the car will be like when it goes on sale, next March, in Brazil.



The image above presents us the back lights of the car. The central part will be for the brake lights, while the upper part will be dedicated to turning lights. The lower niche will be reserved for rear lights and possibly for a fog lamp in one of the sides of the car, something we would not like to see. If the car is to have a fog lamp, we hope it to be somewhere else.

There will be two flexible fuel engine options: a 1-litre able to generate 75 bhp on ethanol and a new 1.4-litre engine, which will be called Evo, based on the current 1.4-litre Fire. The luggage compartment will not be exactly big, with 200 l, but the fuel tank will hold 48 l, something important due to the smaller range of ethanol.

The new Uno will be sold in other South American countries and may be produced in other BRIC countries, such as India, China and Russia.




Source: Novidades Automotivas via Autos Segredos