Ferrari Quattroporte Concept Expertly Rendered

Automotive design student Alex Imnadze has followed up his awesome Lambo design study with a Ferrari super saloon concept.

Following his exceptional design study of a future Lamborghini, aspiring automotive design student Alex Imnadze has dreamed up an equally impressive future Ferrari super saloon. Where his Bull remained nameless, Imnadze has dubbed his Prancing Horse concept the Quattroporte, apparently oblivious to the family feud that would create with supercar cousin Maserati. The focus was on creating a luxury sedan to sit with the likes of the Rolls-Royce Phantom and Bentley Mulsanne.

Blending design cues from the Ferrari FF and F12 Berlinetta, the four-door Ferrari concept has been given a liftback-style body with a seriously sloping roofline and what appear to be suicide doors. A front-engine rear-wheel drive configuration isn't stated but can be assumed by the car's proportions and lack of side air vents.

Read more »

Suzuki to Import 2,500 Cars from Japan to Meet Increased Demand in the U.S

In November, Suzuki's automotive division in announced that it would be shutting down its operations in the United States. On Thursday, December 20, American Suzuki Motor Corp successfully filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, in Santa Ana, California, winning permission to close its automotive operations, while re-organizing its motorcycle and boat businesses.



But that's not all that went down in the court as U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Scott Clarkson also approved Suzuki's request to borrow $50 million to import extra cars from Japan. Confused? Well, allow us to explain.

Suzuki saw its car sales jump 22 percent to 2,224 units in November, while the company's dealers reported that the sales are up in December as well, mainly due to big incentives and a seven-year warranty program, so the company decided to offer its dealers one last gift.

"When we told dealers, ‘We have one last chance,’ the dealers said, ‘Go get them,’" M. Freddie Reiss, Suuzuki's chief restructuring officer, told BusinessWeek. However, he added that, "No more cars are being manufactured for the U.S. market."

According to Reiss, this won't change Suzuki's decision to exit the car market in the U.S., as the company will only sell around 22,000 cars in the States this year, compared to 120,000 in 2007.

 

PHOTO GALLERY

Read more »

Schwabenfolia Squeezes Some Color on the BMW 1-Series M Coupe

Leave it to a German tuner with a tongue twister name like Schwabenfolia to go all lime green with a limited edition sports car like the BMW 1-Series M Coupe, of which a little over 6,300 units were produced during a ~1-year run.

But fear not, as Schwabenfolia didn't actually paint the Bavarian coupe, instead, it applied a lime green foil wrap, which is priced at €2,150 (US$2,850).



The black foil wrap for the side indicators, double kidney grille, and roof along with the carbon-mirror mirrors will cost you extra, as will the black powder coated alloy wheels with lime green accents (€800 / US$1,100 for the latter).

Some additional extras offered by Schwabenfolia include front and rear wheel spacers (€99 and €109 respectively), a Bilstein sports suspension (€2,499 / US$3,300), a titanium exhaust system (€2,299 / US$3,000) and an engine kit that lifts output from 335hp (340PS) to 402hp (408PS) for €1,299 / US$1,700.

 

PHOTO GALLERY

Read more »

Volkswagen Reveals Production Golf R Cabriolet

It's been a year and a half since Volkswagen displayed the Golf R Cabriolet Mk6 Concept at the 2011 edition of the Wörthersee GTI meet in Austria, and even though the company has already presented the hatchback versions of the seventh generation Golf, it appears that the Germans will finally go ahead and produce the car.

VW released a video in which it simply states, "Take a look at the new Golf R. It boosts the level of adrenaline in just a few seconds and is now open to the top. The Golf R Cabriolet."

Like the prototype models we saw in the summer, the only changes made to the concept is the fitting of a deck lid spoiler, and the corner- instead of center-mounted tailpipes.

What is likely to be the last hurrah for the Golf Mk6 series features the same 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 267hp (270PS) as the Golf R hatch, possibly linked to VW's 4Motion all-wheel drive system.

During the presentation of the concept, VW had said that the Golf R Cabriolet should be able to complete the 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint in less than 6.0 seconds and top out at 250km/h (155mph).

The German carmaker is holding back on information, but we assume the Golf R Cabriolet will receive its official premiere either in Detroit in January or in Geneva next March.

VIDEO

 

Read more »

Subaru Refines Stella Kei Car for 2013 in Japan

This morning, Subaru issued a release on its updated for the new model year Stella kei-car that goes on sale in Japan on January 5, 2013.

Enhancements include the introduction of a new "Smart Assist Collision" system that alerts the driver when a potential collision with another vehicle, a motorcycle or even a pedestrian ahead is detected via visual and audio notifications.



Both the naturally aspirated and turbocharged versions of Subaru's 0.66-liter three-cylinder engine feature a new start and stop system that helps reduce fuel consumption as well as CO2 emissions.

A re-tuned suspension for 2WD models (the Stella is also offered with AWD), along with minor changes to the exterior and interior trim, the availability of LED tail lamps, and the updated instrument panel, complete the changes for the 2013 model.

 

PHOTO GALLERY

Read more »

Get Ready for the Four-Door Corvette

GM is staying true to its word by not only relaunching the Holden Commodore as the Chevy SS in the US, but that will also be a true high-performance sedan.

Many customers looking for a rear-drive performance sedan found what they were looking for in the Pontiac G8, but when GM shut down the brand, the sedan went with it. That left American buyers flocking to the Dodge Charger, but GM is getting back in the action with the upcoming new Chevrolet SS. Like the G8, the SS borrows its underpinnings from the Holden Commodore, a vehicle which GM continues to offer in Australia - and which also lent its platform to the Chevrolet Camaro.

The SS will serve as something of a halo car for Chevy, demonstrating its performance capabilities. But if you thought that role belonged to the Corvette, you're right. According to GM's North American president Mark Reuss, the SS will be positioned as something of a "four-door Corvette". Power will come from the new LT1 V8 which the SS will share with the upcoming Corvette C7, mated to a manual transmission. Despite its standing as a halo model, GM won't limited production of the Chevy SS, building and selling as many as customers demand. The General figures that will amount to about 10,000 to 15,000 units each year.

Read more »