2014 Range Rover Sport gets teased by Land Rover with a video

Land Rover has just announced that the next-generation all-new Range Rover Sport (codenamed L494), the third model from the British company to be released in just two years, will have its premiere in the streets of New York one day before the New York International Auto Show, that starts on March 27.

For now we only know that it will be "Land Rover's fastest, most responsive and agile vehicle to date" and since New York saw more Range Rover Sports sold than any other metropolitan area in the world, it makes sense to have its premiere there.

The new RR Sport benefits from a new platform that is lighter several hundred kilograms, meaning that Land Rover could be right and this will indeed be the agile vehicle made by the British car maker. Supposedly the engine will be more powerful, so i can't wait to find out what we will see on the 26th March. Don't miss the presentation here!

2014 BMW 5-Series facelift caught on the open road

BMW seems to take less time to reveal the facelifts of their cars. This time we get to see pictures of the BMW 5-Series (F10) in what seems to be a photo shoot for the new model. Changes are small but includes the look of the car and some mechanical parts. We could even see it at the New York International Auto Show.

From what we can in these spy pictures the headlights seem to be narrower giving it a more aggressive look, with LED lighting and an "angel eyes" with a more squared shape.

The front bumper, which is the only one we get to see, has larger openings with a new chrome piece that could mean it my be different depending on the version. The "kidney grille" has also been redesigned.

Source: chris doane automotive via bimmerpost

new vs old

Alfa Romeo gets ready to return to the USA. Starts with Facebook

Many years ago a young Sergio Marchionne announced that Alfa Romeo was going to return to the United States of America. Time passed by and year after year the return of the Italian brand was postponed to the following year. The latest announcement came in January saying Alfa was (finally) arriving in the North American market later this year, and it seems that might actually happen.

Yesterday a new Facebook page was created with the name Alfa Romeo USA saying it is the official page for North America. The only thing that is weird is that it says that in Italian. For now only images of the 4C are displayed in that page confirming that the small sports car will lead the way into the North American market.

Source: fb alfa romeo usa

The Infiniti JX becomes the 2014 QX60, will come to New York

The 2014 Infiniti QX60 will be the second model from the Japanese company to use the new naming structure and will have for the first time a hybrid version. Since the Q50 had spotlight on the Geneva Motor Show, Infiniti wants the QX60 to have all the attention at the New York International Auto Show.

The 2014 QX60 premium crossover won't have any exterior or interior changes besides the new hybrid version. This new system joins a 2.5 liter petrol engine with an electric motor, a lithium-ion battery and a continuously variable transmission (CVT) for an overall power output of around 250hp (184kW, electric motor helps with 20hp or 15kW).

Infiniti says it has the performance of a 3.5 liter V6 with the fuel economy of a 4 cylinder engine, and since it has a fuel consumption of 9.1 liters per 100km (26mpg US) it is not far from the truth.

This crossover with room for seven people will cost around €2300 ($3000) more than the normal version.

Source: infiniti

2014 Hyundai Equus teaser. Will be at the New York International Auto Show

With all the enthusiasm from Geneva Motor Show gone attentions now turn to the New York International Auto Show. Hyundai is the first one teasing a new model giving us a darkened picture of the 2014 Equus that was already introduced in the South Korean market.

Hyundai promises to give the new Equus an improved interior with higher quality materials, new safety technologies and driver information systems. Outside there will be small changes to the look of the car, which include, from what i can see, the removal of some chrome accents and a redesign to the headlights and taillights.

What do you think? Find out more when the New York International Auto Show starts on March 27.

Source: hyundai

The Ford Tourneo family made its European debut at the Geneva Motor Show

With all the super cars presented there is now more time to write about some of those vehicles that are a little bit less exciting. Ford brought to Geneva the European EcoSport, and a bunch of versions based on the Tourneo, which in turn is similar to the Transit; the Courier, Connect and Custom. But let's concentrate on the Tourneo family.

First we have the smaller family member, the Courier. Based on Ford’s latest global small-car platform used by the Fiesta and B-Max, it measures 4.16 meters long. It comes with two sliding doors and has room for five people inside. You will be able to choose between a 1.5 liter (75hp) and a 1.6 liter (95hp) Duratorq TDCi diesel engine, and the 1.0 liter EcoBoost petrol engine with 100hp.

Then we have the Connect that uses the same C-segment platform that is also used by the Focus and the new Kuga/Escape. The regular version of the Connect has five seats and is 4420mm long, while the Grand Connect has seven and is 400mm longer (4820mm). Because it is a larger vehicles, therefore it is heavier, it also needs more powerful engines. The range of choices include several versions of the 1.6 liter Duratorq TDCi diesel engine (75hp, 95hp and 115hp), and the same 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine also used in the Courier. There is also available the 1.6 liter EcoBoost engine with the optional six-speed automatic transmission.

Finally we have the Custom, the larger Tourneo is also available in two versions, one with 4970mm and another with 5340mm that can sit eight or nine people, depending on your choice. The Custom also comes with sliding doors and like the rest of the Tourneo range it has available several things that make your life easier while driving like Ford'ss SYNC, Rear View Camera, Driver Alert, Speed Limiter, Auto High Beam, Lane Keeping Alert and SYNC Emergency Assistance. Power comes from the latest 2.2 liter Duratorq TDCi diesel engine with several power outputs; 100hp, 125hp and 155hp. You can only have a manual six-speed gearbox and it comes with the Auto-Start-Stop system.

Source: ford

Peugeot Portugal will restore a GTI to one lucky owner

If you live in Portugal and you have a Peugeot GTI in dire need of being restored, Peugeot will do this in a completely free way, you just need to participate in a small contest and if you are the winner or GTI will look completely new. The contest is limited to the owners of the GTI version of the 106, 205, 206, 306 or 309.

All you need to do is "like" Peugeot's Portuguese Facebook page, send two pictures of your Peugeot GTI (or a friends car) and fill in a form that you can find here (it helps if you understand Portuguese). If you are lucky enough to win, you will end up with an almost new car.

But if you don't have a GTI don't worry, you can still win a weekend with the brand new Peugeot 208 GTI. All you have to do is once again go to this page, and follow the instructions. Hurry up, entry's end close to the end of this month.

Source: peugeot portugal

2013 Aston Martin Rapide S is just an upgraded version

The S after the Rapide name doesn't mean it is a sportier version of the four-door car, but just an improved version, a restyle if you want. Still it does get a bump in power and if you thought that Audi made cars with the bigger "mouths", wait till you see this new Aston Martin with an even bigger one-piece front grille. Already previewed here.

Otherwise the Rapide S did not had any significant changes in appearance besides that front grille, but you still notice its amazing profile and aggressive look if you are lucky enough to be near one.

The all-new Rapide Gen 4 AM11 6.0 liter V12 engine now produces 558hp (410kW) and 620Nm (457lb/ft) of torque. That means the power was increased by 17% from 477hp (351kW) and a smaller but also important increase in torque which stood at 600Nm (442lb/ft).

The 0 to 100km/h (62mph) is reduced by 0.3 seconds dropping from 5.2 seconds to just 4.9 seconds. The top speed increased to over 306km/h (190mph). But besides being more powerful it is also more fuel efficient. The Rapide S now emits 332g/km (the previous version emitted 355g/km) and consumes just 14.2 liters of petrol/gasoline per 100km (19.9mpg UK or 16.6mpg USA).

All of those improvements are justified by Aston Martin by the use of a lighter and hollow cam shafts, dual variable camshaft timing, knock sensing and fully CNC machined combustion chambers.

The chassis of the car is based on the new Gen4 VH architecture and includes the new dynamic stability control (DSC) and the latest Gen4 iteration of Aston Martin’s hi-tech Adaptive Damping System (ADS) that has three modes; ‘Normal’, ‘Sport’ and ‘Track’.

Pictures of the UK-Spec Aston Martin Rapide S.

The rebirth of the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante aka Flying Saucer [Video]

The Alfa Romeo Disco Volante also known as the Flying Saucer or the 1900 C52 was a car thas was produced in 1952 and 1953 which had a curious looking body. At that time it was made in collaboration with the Milan based coachbuilder Touring Superleggera, that now has brought to us the modern version of the Disco Volante.

The car was presented at the Geneva Motor Show and it is surely a head turner. Some of the more round shapes of the original car have been replaced by sharper lines that best suit our modern tastes but it still looks classic and classy.

The original Flying Saucer used the 2.0 liter engine with 160hp (118 kW) from the Alfa Romeo 1900 but the modern car uses the chassis, engine and gearbox of the Alfa Romeo 8C. For those who can't remember it's a 4.7 liter V8 that produces 450hp (331kW) and 485Nm (354lb/ft) that is connected to a six–speed semi-automatic transaxle gearbox.

Buy one while you can, production is limited to an undisclosed number of cars.
  
Pictures: autowp

Pininfarina Sergio Concept also had its reveal in Geneva

This concept is named Sergio, after the man who led Pininfarina for 40 years and conceived some of the greatest car legends, the Life Senator Sergio Pininfarina. The future-looking two-seater barchetta has the Ferrari 458 Spider mechanicals and could easily be produced in limited series of a few units.

Chairman Paolo Pininfarina, said that “My father would be proud of this concept car”, “because it expresses the aesthetic values that always inspired him: the purity of the lines, the harmony of form, and balance. Furthermore, he would be happy with this latest concept on Ferrari base, a brand to which we are related by a history that has helped define the most beautiful cars of all time in an evolution that has lasted 60 years and shows no sign of ending".

The design of the car is inspired by the ‘60s Ferraris, including half doors with vertical rotation opening, the headlights inspired by the Dino Berlinetta Speciale 1965, the rear lights reinterpret the circular themes of Pininfarina-Ferrari history and the rear bonnet borrows the iconic round graphic holes of other historical Pininfarina achievements.

Like i said before the car uses the Ferrari 458 Spider mechanicals, so it has the same 4499cc V8 engine with a seven-speed sequential gearbox. Weighs about 1280kg, has a top speed of 320km/h (200mph) and will accelerate from 0 to 100km/h (62mph) in 3.4 seconds.

Infiniti Q50 revealed at the Geneva Motor Show

The Q50 is the first car from Infiniti that uses the new Q naming structure and wants to be a serious rival for to all the other top level cars in the premium D-segment. To help achieve that Infiniti made a collaboration agreement with Daimler AG in which the German company would supply the engines to the Japanese company (Infiniti is Nissan's luxury vehicle division).

The entry-level Q50 has a 2.2 liter direct-injection four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine producing 170hp (125kW) and 400Nm (295lb/ft) connected to a six-speed manual or a seven-speed automatic gearbox. The rear-wheel drive car emits an estimated 112g/km of CO2 while the average fuel consumption sits at just 4.4l/100km (53.5mpg USA or 64.2mpg UK). The top speed of 230km/h (143mph) and the 0 to 100km/h (62mph) time of under 9 seconds means this wont be a slow car.

The other choice available is the Q50 3.5 Hybrid. It uses a 3498cc petrol engine with 302hp (225kW) and 350Nm (258lb/ft), and a 50kW (67hp) electric motor for a combined power output of 364hp (268kW). With this combination you can only have the seven-speed automatic gearbox but you will be able to choose if you it to be all-wheel drive or just rear-wheel drive. Top speed is limited to 250km/h (155mph) while the 0 to 100km/h (62mph) run is done in under 5.5 seconds. The low value of 6.2l/100km (37.9mpg USA or 45.6mpg UK) combined fuel consumption and the also low CO2 emissions of 145g/km are achieved thanks to the hybrid system.

Besides the engines there are other things worth mentioning. It will be one of the first cars ever to use a driver-selectable steering weight and gearing with the world-first Direct Adaptive Steering, dual touch-screens for totally intuitive control and new comfortable seat designed with spinal support inspired by zero gravity research by NASA.