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| “Art of Speed” Hyundai Genesis Coupe to be on display at SEMA Posted: 31 Jul 2008 08:12 AM CDT  “We’ve been excited about working with Rhys Millen since the minute he walked through our doors at Hyundai Motor America,” says John Krafcik, vice president, product development and strategic planning, Hyundai Motor America. “Genesis Coupe is a rear-wheel drive performance machine we designed to capture the hearts of hardcore automotive enthusiasts, so we can’t wait to see Rhys’ RMR Genesis Coupe on the race track.”  | ||||
| Official info on the 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX Posted: 31 Jul 2008 07:59 AM CDT  By fitting the car with a larger turbocharger, along with a new larger-diameter exhaust and low-density catalyst for reduced backpressure, the WRX engine now produces 265 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 244 lb.-ft. of peak torque at 4,000 rpm – significant increases from the 224 horsepower and 226 lb.-ft. For the 2009 WRX, Subaru engineers developed a revised suspension which, combined with Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) stability and traction control system helps to enhance the WRX model’s road handling safety. The car comes standard with 17 x 7-inch aluminum alloy wheels which now wear 225/45R17 summer performance tires, compared to 205/50R17 all-season tires used on the 2008 WRX. You can check out all the new features of the 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX in the official press release. Also, more photos are available after the jump.
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| Mercedes Benz SLC gullwing spied Posted: 31 Jul 2008 06:50 AM CDT  The Mercedes Benz SLR being discontinued next year and this will also mark the end of the cooperation between Mercedes and McLaren. The German company’s replacement for the SLR will be the Mercedes Benz SLC gullwing, which will be developed by Mercedes and AMG. Scheduled to debut at next year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, the Mercedes SLC was recently caught testing. Though heavily camouflaged, we do have some clues on the SLC’s final appearance, with the long hood, truncated rear cabin and short rear deck highlighting the design. An adjustable rear spoiler is also present, although the final design will almost certainly change before production. Latest rumors say that SLC won’t be in the same class as the SLR, but closer to the SL63 AMG and the final price will be somewhere around €150,000 ($234,000). The sports car will be powered by AMG’s 6.2 liter V8 engine which is expected to develop around 580 hp (433 kW) and which is mounted up front but behind the front axle, for better weight distribution. The SLC will weight around 1,650kg and the expected performances are: 0 to 100km/h (62 mph) sprint in 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 315 km/h (195 mph). After the Frankfurt debut next year, the first deliveries will start in mid 2010 and Mercedes expects to sell between 3,000 and 5,000 units per year.  | ||||
| Fuel prices make US drivers travel less Posted: 31 Jul 2008 05:03 AM CDT  Fuel prices are high and are impacting almost every part of our daily life. Such is the case with US drivers who seem to travel less, due to fuel costs and the economy crysis affecting the country. Statistics from the US Department of Transportation show that americans traveled in 2008 over 40 billion fewer miles than in the same period in 2007. An even more shocking one is that in May, 9.6 billion fewer miles were driven in the US. According to CNNmoney.com, this is the biggest decline in miles travelled since the Department of Transportation have recorded it. Cars are replaced by trains, buses and bicycles in an effort to cut costs but still enjoy a vacation away from home by Americans. A delicate situation is the current stagnation and even lowering of the fuel prices, whether this will make US citizens travel more by car is yet unknown, only time will tell if this would have any impact on them. Another delicate side-effect of the rise in fuel prices is that the tax imposed by the government on the fuel has remained the same since the price has risen, thus the miles less traveled make a pretty big hole in the government budget.
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| New spy photos of the next generation Toyota Prius Posted: 31 Jul 2008 04:58 AM CDT  We all know the Toyota Prius, it’s the most popular hybrid car out there, having conquered almost everyone with it’s eco-friendly nature, being the car to have if you want to help the planet. One thing though has received mixed oppinions, the design, people saying very different things about the exterior of the car. Recently some spy shots appeared of a presumed facelift to the Prius, but it would now seem that it wasn’t just a facelift, Toyota planning a totaly new body for their top notch hybrid. Although there have been talks about the new generation of the Prius, even a launch date of January 2009 at the Detroit MotorShow being fronted, new rumours state that this new model will be available around 2010. This new model will be wider and longer, leaving more space for the passengers in the back and for the trunk. This new space would ultimately be used to develop more vehicles based on this new Prius, and according to Jim Lentz, Toyota USA President, we might see body versions from 2-door coupe to wagon or commuter car. But the design hasn’t been the only thing that Toyota engineers have taken care of, the fuel economy is expected to improve, so is the top speed. Also the NiMh batteries which now power the Prius will be replaced by lighter and smaller Li-ion ones in the effort to increase storage space.
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| First Maserati MC12 road legal car for sale Posted: 30 Jul 2008 03:28 PM CDT  Maserati has built just 12 copies of the Maserati MC12 Corsa, a 755 hp track-version of the Maserati MC12 priced at 1.5 million Euros. Edo Karabegovic, founder of Edo Competition, has made the MC12 Corsa road-legal resulting in an absolutely unique super car. Nick Hall took the car for a spin last year, and said: "Seeing it was good, but driving it, well this might just be the ultimate test drive of the fastest weapon on the road today." MC12 Versione Corse is powered by a V12 engine that delivers 755 at 8,000 and a peak torque of 740 at 5,500. It makes the 0 to 200 km/h (125 mph) sprint in 6.4 sec and hits a top speed of 330 km/h (205 mph).  | ||||
| Corvette ZHZ, “Check, please!” Posted: 30 Jul 2008 03:24 PM CDT  What would you do if on your cash note you see this: one limited edition Corvette and one terrace restaurant? Especially if the car is not yours, but is rented from Hertz. Probably when they’ve ordered 500 Corvette-ZHZ, limited edition, dedicated exclusively to the well-known car rental companies, they never imagined this. One of the customers lost control of the 436 hp Corvette at Lemmon Avenue in Dallas and slammed it onto the sidewall of the La Madeleine restaurant. I think the driver loved the restaurant so much, that he parked the Corvette directly in the restaurant’s sidewall, which led to this damages with unknown values yet. It must have been one cold frappe or a Mojito, or…who knows…one Guiness Draught, that made him do such a thing?  | ||||
| GM workers to get a sneak peek of the Volt Posted: 30 Jul 2008 01:35 PM CDT  According to DetroitNews, General Motors plans on allowing their workers to get a first look at the near-production version of the highly anticipated Chevrolet Volt. This will happen in September, during GM’s 100th anniversary celebration. Ever since the concept was first presented last year at the Detroit Motor Show, GM has been working hard to manage to launch it into mass production, most probably sometimes during 2010. The electric car will be assembled at GM’s Hamtramck plant and the Detroit carmaker announced that it plans on investing $326 million in a plant where the 1.4 liter turbo engine will be built, alongside the Chevrolet Cruze. So far, GM, which recently showed a near-production version of the Volt to a focus group in southern California, didn’t announce when and where the Volt will be revealed, but spokeswoman Karla Coleman said, “It’s going to be soon.” After the employees will have the privilege of seeing the car, the rest of the world will also get to see the Volt at the LA Auto Show in November or the Detroit Motor Show in January. Currently, more than 200 engineers, 50 designers and 400 other workers (on related subsystems and electric components) are working on the Volt, which will be different from the concept car, because GM says that that one wasn’t aerodynamic enough. The GM workers which will get the chance to see the Volt won’t be allowed with any cameras because of concerns about the competition, but we definitely hope someone will take some photos so we can all see it. So, if you’re working at GM and will take part at the event, we’d really appreciate it if you’d take some photos.  | ||||
| New 2.0 TFSI engine for the Audi A5 Posted: 30 Jul 2008 11:40 AM CDT  Audi recently announced that the entry-level Audi A5 will get a new engine. The current 1.8 liter TFSI will be replaced by a 2.0 liter TFSI engine developing 178 hp. Besides the extra power, the new engine develops more torque, 236lb-ft (320Nm) (52lb-ft (70Nm) to more than the 1.8 liter), has a 7.5% improved fuel economy and produces 9% less CO2 emissions. The engine is derived from the 208 hp 2.0 liter four-cylinder engine and features Audi’s improved valveshift technology. Equipped with the 2.0 litre TFSI engine, the Audi A5 sprints from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 7.8 seconds (0.6 seconds faster) and reaches a top speed of 238 km/h (148 mph).
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| Posted: 30 Jul 2008 10:20 AM CDT Car Magazine did a very interesting comparison between the first generation Ford Focus RS and the 2009 Ford Focus RS, together with the man which was in charge of developing both cars, Ford Team RS chief, Jost Capito. After driving around in the old Mk1, Jost and Chris Chilton headed to Ford’s studio where they compared the cars. Though still under development, Jost is very confident in the new RS, saying that it will probably beat the Mk1 around Nurburgring by about half a minute. The new Ford Focus RS was introduced at the recent London Motor Show and, as we said, the car is still under development, so all we know so far is that it will develop around 300 hp. More details about it when Ford will make it available. Meanwhile, check out the video, it’s really worth it. Enjoy! Car Magazine (Via Carscoop)  |
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