New Car Collection Blog's

Volkswagen India has released the first sketch of its new Sedan, the Vento. The saloon is slated to hit the Indian roads later this year. The Vento is essentially the saloon version of the recently launched Polo and it shares a common platform with the hatchback.

Specifically designed for India, the Vento will be tailored to the requirements of the Indian consumer and carry the Volkswagen DNA of German Engineering. The sedan will be manufactured in Volkswagen’s state of the art plant at Chakan, Pune.

Both the saloon (Vento) and the hatch (Polo) are similar upto the B-pillar, except for a different grille and lights to differentiate it from its hatchback sibling. The Vento’s rear section or third box is well integrated with the body. The wheelbase has also been extended by an estimated 50mm for better legroom. Headroom too will be better as the roof doesn’t taper down as sharply as in the hatch.

With its authentic and elegant design coupled with innovative features and driving dynamics, VW is hoping the Vento to set new benchmarks in its class and to act as a key brand pillar for the company to stimulate its growth in the country.

The Vento will be in addition to Volkswagen’s already existing product line-up which includes the Polo, Passat, Jetta, Touareg and the new Beetle.

Thanks to: Autocar India

Toyota has released the most "un-Toyota" vehicle it has ever launched locally, a boxy small car called the Rukus -- and Australia's most popular car maker has openly admitted that it is a "love it or hate it" vehicle.

"I must confess I wasn't sure about the appeal of the Rukus when I first saw it," says Toyota Australia senior executive director of sales and marketing, David Buttner. "I thought cars were supposed to have curves on them ... but suddenly I discover it's hip to be square."

Buttner admitted that the Rukus was designed to appeal to Gen Y buyers, "but that doesn't mean everyone who's young will love it, and everyone who's old with hate it. It's a bit like vegemite, it's an acquired taste."

When Toyota did "blindfold" customer clinics in Australia (where the Toyota badges were covered on a Rukus sample car) most people didn't pick it as a Toyota. They thought it was a Honda or a Volkswagen.

Priced from $27,490 -- a substantial price premium over the Corolla on which it is based -- the Rukus is not intended to be a volume seller for the brand, rather it is "the first of a series of cars that are about brand image, not volume", says Buttner.

"We expect to sell about 150 to 200 a month, which is relatively low volume but important volume. Most of them will be first time Toyota customers."

He said many young buyers will see the car as "a blank canvas, limited by only by their imagination and, of course, what's legal".

To help with its appeal among younger buyers, Toyota will launch the Rukus with a special finance deal starting from $123 per week.

Designed at Toyota's styling studio in Los Angeles, where boxy cars have become cool among younger buyers, the Rukus has about the same size footprint as a Corolla but with the roominess of a wagon.

"Depending on who you talk to it's either a Corolla wagon on steroids or a lowered, front-drive RAV4," says Buttner. "It straddles the line between family car and SUV. It's a small car with a tall roof."

The chief engineer for the vehicle, Hiroya Fujita, describes it as "something of a TARDIS, compact outside, roomy inside".

There are three model grades in the new Rukus range, known as Build One, Build Two and Build Three.

Priced from $27,490 Build One comes with six airbags, stability control, a proximity key, digital speed readout, and four-speed automatic transmission (a manual is not available on any model).

Priced from $29,990, Build Two gains climate control air-conditioning with a digital display screen, six-CD player and a nine-speaker sound system.

Priced from $31,790 Build Three gains a sunroof in addition to the equipment on the other two models.

The Rukus is powered by a 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine with 23 per cent more power and 28 per cent more torque than the 1.8 in the Toyota Corolla, but a 0 to 100km/h is not yet quoted for the car.

The first cars have begun to arrive in dealerships and the first customer deliveries are expected this week.

Despite the arrival of the Rukus, Buttner said that Toyota was not about to introduce the Scion brand locally.

"The Toyota badge is fine," he said. "We were pleasantly surprised about the positive reaction to the car once the people in customer clinics realised the car we were showing them was a Toyota."

Thanks to: Car Point

The new F70 is go! Ferrari has exclusively confirmed to Auto Express that it will definitely build the ultra-light carbon fibre supercar previewed by the 2007 Millechili (1,000kg) concept.

It could be on sale from as early as next year, and will use the 562bhp, mid-mounted V8 from the latest 458 Italia, with the likely addition of twin turbochargers. The newcomer will also borrow the aerodynamics and carbon fibre and aluminium honeycomb body materials from the 2002 Enzo supercar.

“This model won’t be as big as the Enzo,” said Roberto Fedeli, Ferrari’s technical director, “more in line with the 328 or the old model [288] GTO. Theoretically, this is a practical car.” Weighing only one tonne, the F70 should top 200mph and sprint from 0-60mph in three seconds flat. It will be faster than the 458 but also, in line with the project’s emission-cutting aims, more economical. Combined fuel returns could be as high as 25mpg, and better than the 458’s 21.2mpg.

There’s no word on price, but expect it to be around £350,000.

The parallel development of a hybrid model – using Ferrari’s F1 Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), and previewed by the 599 HY-KERS set-up at March’s Geneva Motor Show – is causing some technical headaches. “The most important thing is to lose weight,” said Fedeli of the system. “We’re trying to cut 80kg out of the car and 20kg out of the hybrid drivetrain. It’s difficult.” For more details click here.

Thanks to: Auto Express

Land Rover’s family album for 2010 is complete!

autoexpress.co.uk has got the first undisguised images of the eagerly anticipated Compact Range Rover and the first pictures of the new, facelifted Land Rover Freelander.

Lightly disguised with a psychedelic paint job, these world first shots of the Range Rover reveal just how faithful to the design of the original Land Rover LRX concept car the new Range Rover will be.

It’s distinctive three-door bodywork and bold profile is virtually identical to the 2008 Detroit Motor Show star, as is the dramatic face, which gets pinched headlamps and a bold honeycomb grille.

Under the skin, Range Rover is promising to offer the very latest fuel saving technology. That means drivers will be offered a choice of 2.0-litre petrol and 2.0-litre diesel engines – both of which will offer stop and start technology.

First versions of the car will feature four wheel drive transmissions, though parent firm Land Rover has announced that a two-wheel drive edition is also under development.

The first front wheel drive model in its history, the two-wheel drive machine will be an addition to the range of all wheel drive compact Range Rovers. Serving as an entry level model that will focus on lower running costs and improved fuel efficiency.

Low emmissions are also promised, with the car producing less than 120g/km of CO2 - all of which will be achieved without the need for hybrid technology. For more details click here.

Thanks to: Auto Express

It's no more unusual for siblings to imitate one another in the automotive world than it is in the human world and our latest spy shots illustrate the phenomena nicely. But what's really going on with this Aston Martin?

Hindustan Motors -- India’s oldest carmaker is in talks with some foreign powertrain manufacturers to source a new diesel engine to replace the 1.5 litre diesel for the Ambassador.

Its 2.0 litre diesel is currently undergoing tests at the ARAI. Ambassdor’s petrol, CNG and LPG engines have been upgraded to be BS IV compliant. HM also plans to monetize some of its non-core business/assets to strengthen itself financially. There could also be an equity partnership with its Japanese partner – Mitsubishi. Replying to a query from Autocar, an HM official said “plans have been there but we cannot specify any timelines”. He also said that Mitsubishi will have a ‘couple of new launches’ during this financial year. Mitsubishi dealership and service centres will be hiked to 50 during 2010-11, from the current level of 36 dealers.

Hindustan Motors recently reported itself to the BIFR (Board for Industrial & Financial Reconstruction), as its net worth eroded more than 50% of its peak net worth during the immediately preceding four years.

Its losses mounted to Rs. 42.85 crores in the year that ended on March 31, 2010. Losses during the previous year stood at Rs. 37.78 crores. HM says even though its networth has gone down, its flagship Ambassador’s production will not be affected. The company expects to sell around 1,000 Ambassadors monthly during this year. With the new plans HM says it is ‘confident’ of making profits this year.

Thanks to: Autocar India

Suzuki has recalled about 10,000 units of the Alto in the Europe – sold as the A-star in India – due to a problem that leads to the tail lamps not working properly. Maruti has exported 1.27 lakh units of the A-stars in the last fiscal.

However, the A-star models sold in India are not a part of the recall. A Maruti source has confirmed the development, although no official statement has been released by the company. This is the second recall concerning the A-star. Earlier this year, Maruti had recalled 100,000 units of the A-star sold in India due to a fault with the fuel pump. The batch recalled were vehicles made till August 22, 2009.

Thanks to: Autocar

BMW will abandon decades of tradition and launch its first front-wheel-drive hatchbacks in 2013 as new entry-level models to its range.

The new cars will be based on the next-generation Mini platform and be positioned below the 1-series, which will continue in production as a rear-drive family of hatches and saloons.

Surprisingly, the new front-drive hatches are also tipped to carry 1-series badges, giving buyers the choice of BMW’s entry level with either front or rear-wheel drive.

Despite carrying the same badges, the two families of models will be distinguished by unique sheetmetal and price positioning; the rear-drive car will be pitched higher in price and quality than its front-drive stablemate.

Despite the clear overlap with the Mini, BMW is not concerned that its own front-wheel drive models will cannibalise sales of the third generation of the British car, due in 2014.

“Both brands possess a clear and individual image,” a BMW insider told Autocar, pointing to the sales success Volkswagen and Audi have achieved with both the Golf and A3. “Our research shows BMW and Mini appeal to different buyers.”

Just as VW and Audi appeal to different audiences, BMW will aim its front-drive and rear-drive 1-series at different buyers.

The front-drive model will be designed to attract new customers to the brand. The BMW source said, “We want a car that will appeal to non-BMW buyers with a focus on roominess and interior flexibility, yet like our existing entry-level model it will be fun to drive and cheap to run.”

The first of the new front-drive BMWs to appear in UK showrooms will be a tall five-door, five-seat hatchback, a rival for the upcoming Audi A2 and next-gen Mercedes A-class. It will offer the sort of interior space and overall practicality not found in the rear-drive 1-series.

The keys to the front-drive car’s spaciousness are a transversely mounted engine and gearbox. These have allowed engineers to create an uncharacteristically short bonnet for a BMW. This flows into A-pillars positioned well forward of the front wheel arches.

The altered front-end architecture helps to free up cabin space by moving the bulkhead closer to the front axle than in any existing BMW model.

The driving position also moves forward within the wheelbase, and the seat is positioned higher to give a more commanding view of the road.

While we’ve yet to get a glimpse of the new car’s exterior design - prototypes are not planned to start testing until this time next year - it is already clear that the looks of the first of BMW’s front-drive models will be quite different from those of next year’s second-gen 1-series.

A second model under development at BMW’s FIZ R&D centre in Munich is a more sporting variant, conceived to go head to head with the soon-to-be-launched Audi A1.

Clothed in a sleeker body — BMW is undecided on whether it will offer both a three and five-door or just a three-door — the second of the front-drive models is aimed at typical BMW customers looking for a less expensive alternative to the 1-series.

Thanks to: Autocar

After two-and-a-half years in the oven, we have our first partial picture (farther down in this post) of the next Ford Explorer, along with chief engineer Jim Holland's assurance that the new unibody crossover will be just as capable as the body-on-frame rig it's replacing.

Mazda is working on a new rotary engine for an RX-7 successor that can run on petrol or diesel - and offer much-improved fuel consumption compared with the recently discontinued RX-8.

The two-stroke 16X engine is designed to rectify the shortcomings of Mazda’s most recent rotary powerplant, including its high oil consumption. Sources in Japan say the new unit has achieved significant improvements in fuel efficiency.

But the final go-ahead has not yet been received from Mazda’s top executives. The firm is still working out how to attain the best combination of performance, economy and emissions, and needs to address the rotary’s lack of torque in the mid-range. In its current state the 16X is expected to give the RX-7 around 300bhp and enable it to reach 60mph in under five seconds.

Mazda’s R&D department has invited several external drivers and racers to test RX-7 mules, and the design team has sought feedback at customer clinics.

Much of the push towards another rotary-engined sports car comes from Mazda USA. A recent independent survey revealed that demand for an affordable rotary-powered sports car is still as strong as it’s ever been in the US. It’s been suggested that were it not for American demand for the car, the project would have been shelved.

Thanks to: Autocar

It's the storming hatchback that’s heading to the top of the family car leaderboard. This is VW’s sensational new Golf – the seventh incarnation of one of the world’s most enduring and popular models. And this latest version is set to be the best yet.

Boasting a striking fresh look, all-new lightweight platform and an even more efficient range of turbo engines, the Golf MkVII will be the most desirable compact family car you can buy. What’s more, it will spawn a wide range of variants, including a four-door coupé and soft-top convertible.

Reinventing the Golf is oneof the toughest jobs in motoring design – and, as you can see from our images, inspiration is likely to come from VW’s New Compact Coupé (NCC) concept, displayed at this year’s Detroit Motor Show.

Although the body takes on a more square shape, the headlight lenses house twin circular LED units which help to give the Golf a familiar face. The two-bar upper grille is an evolution of the MkVI’s, but at the rear, the tail-lights are again inspired by the sporty NCC, and feature an intricate LED arrangement. As ever, the overall design is chunky yet taut with simple surfaces.

Under the skin lies an all-new platform, which is currently undergoing development. This lightweight chassis, which will also underpin the next Passat, will ensure the Golf is more efficient than ever.

Power will come almost exclusively from small-capacity turbo units, such as the recently launched 103bhp 1.2 TSI found in the Polo (tested on Page 66). Expect to see petrol and diesel three-cylinder motors, too.

BlueMotion diesels will be the stars of the line-up, offering sub-100g/km CO2 emissions and fuel returns of 80mpg. Also likely is a diesel hybrid, plus an electric version (see Page 10). At the top of the range, the GTI will continue alongside a GTD hot hatch diesel and four-wheel-drive Golf R.

In addition to the five-door shown here, there will be a three-door, estate and four-door coupé – the latter taking inspiration from the Passat CC. Sun-loving buyers will be pleased that VW is planning a desperately needed, all-new soft-top version, too.

All models will benefit from a wide range of gizmos including automatic parking and traffic sign recognition. The most exciting gadget will be a sat-nav system capable of warning the driver of sharp turns, speed limits and steep hills. But as the current Golf is selling well – and was only launched last year – the new version isn’t expected in dealers until 2012 at the earliest. For more details click here.
Thanks to: Auto Express

Halloween is still several months away, but Kia decided to give its fourth (and possibly final) special-edition Soul a spooky touch, dubbing the finished product the 2010 Soul Ghost.

Somewhere beneath all that heavy black camouflage is the next Volkswagen Passat pulling that trailer. Our spy shooters caught this mule testing in poor weather conditions in some of Europe's higher elevations.

Blink and you’ll miss it! Porsche has unleashed official pictures and details of the new 611bhp GT2 RS – its fastest and most potent street-legal car to date.

Engineers used the 204mph GT2 as a starting point, but cut 70kg in weight and found an extra 89bhp. The result is a power-to-weight ratio of 446bhp per tonne – better than the Bugatti Veyron.

Sitting over the rear axle is a reworked version of the GT2’s twin-turbo six-cylinder 3.6-litre engine, with the boost cranked up from 1.4 to 1.6 bar.

But despite the massive step up in performance, fuel consumption and CO2 output have fallen by about five per cent, to 23.7mpg and 284g/km respectively.

As with all GT2s of the past, power is sent to the rear tyres through a six-speed manual gearbox capable of coping with the 700Nm of torque.

Straight-line performance is impressive, with the sprint from 0-62mph completed in 3.5 seconds, and 0-124mph in 9.8 seconds. The car goes on to a 205mph top speed.

In a bid to tame the RS, Porsche has fitted a variety of hi-tech electronic safety nets – including its Adaptive Suspension and Stability Management. And to ensure it’s just as quick through corners, it features sportier suspension settings and uprated anti-roll bars.

Key to the pace is its slimmed-down 1,370kg kerbweight. A number of lighter carbon-reinforced components are visible on the exterior, including the bonnet, rear engine cover and front spoiler. Light centre-locking wheels sit inside flared arches, while GT2 RS graphics on the doors and engine cover leave you in no doubt that this is the performance flagship.

Wafer-thin bucket seats help to reduce the weight, and give the interior a road-racer feel. Fabric straps replace the door handles for the same reason.

The basic colour inside is black, with red Alcantara trim on the seats and headlining, as well as the steering wheel, gearlever and handbrake.

Porsche intends to produce only 500 examples of the new GT2 RS – giving UK customers lucky enough to be able to afford the £164,107 price an alternative after Ferrari sold
all planned 599 models of its 599 GTO For more details click here.

Thanks to: Auto Express

This is the production-ready Porsche 911 GT2 RS.

Although the car has not been officially launched, these images were taken at a presentation to Porsche dealers.

The pictures reveal that the hardcore Porsche 911 gets a wider body, additional spoilers, numerous carbonfibre parts and air intakes behind the door.

The interior has been stripped out to save weight, while it has been finished in a red trim. Reports suggest the weight-saving programme has shed around 100kg from the 911 GT2.

Although there has been no confirmation, reports suggest the car will be powered by a twin-turbocharged flat six producing more than 600bhp.

Porsche is expected to reveal full details of the car this week.

Thanks to: Autocar