Saturday, May 23, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Wimmer RS Presents Porsche 911 GT2 Bi-Turbo with 680HP
Feeling the need for more speed? Don't worry, German tuning house Wimmer Rennsporttechnik Solingen (RS) has it all figured out for you as long as you have a Porsche 997 GT2 and something in the likes of €29,800 or about $40,500. The tricked out GT2 gains reworked twin-turbochargers, an improved ECU, sport camshafts and a custom made sport exhaust system for a total output of 680HP and 870Nm or 641 pounds of torque, up from the stock car's 530HP and 505 lbs/ft.Porsche 911 GT2 Wimmer - Carscoop Together with a new sport clutch system, Wimmer RS' 911 GT2 accelerates from zero to 100km/h (62mph) in 3.4 seconds, to 200 km/h or 124mph in just 9.78 seconds and to 300km/h or 186mph in 25.8 seconds. The modified GT2's top speed is said to reach 356km/h or 221mph.
Other improvements included in the package are new 20-inch Sportec alloy wheels in Dunlop tires size 235/20 up front and 325/25 at the back, upgraded suspension and carbon fiber door mirrors and rear lip spoiler along with new decals.
GM Launches Police-Specification Insignia with up to 260HP
General Motors' UK Special Vehicles division has pulled the wraps off the all-new police specification version of the Vauxhall Insignia that is available with all three body styles - four-door sedan, five-door liftback and the Sports Tourer estate pictured above. Police fleets throughout Britain can opt among three versions of the car equipped with either 2.0-litre 220HP turbo or a 2.8-litre 260HP petrol engine and all-wheel drive, or a 160PS 2.0 CDTi diesel with front-wheel drive.The Police-spec Insignia comes equipped from the production line with all of the usual patrol car knickknacks including Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) cameras, Automatic Numberplate Recognition (ANPR) system, roof lightbar with 360 blues, side alley lamps, sirens and full comms radio equipment.
Hyundai to Bring 100 Equus Sedans to U.S. Dealerships this Summer
It looks like New York Auto show goers must have been quite impressed with Hyundai's new Equus luxury sedan as the Korean firm is planning to ship 100 examples of its Mercedes-Benz S-Class rival to U.S. dealerships this summer. This could explain the recent sighting of an Equus with California distributor licenses plates that was spotted just outside Los Angeles. According to a report from USA Today, the idea behind Hyundai's decision is to gauge what American consumers think about the company's flagship model that was recently launched in Korea.Hyundai believes that if it the Equus were to be successful in the States, it would hugely benefit the image of the company. "It would decisively shift public opinion in our favor. It would be the capstone," told the newspaper Oles Gadacz, a Hyundai spokesperson at the company's Research & Development complex outside Seoul.
The rear-wheel-drive Equus sits atop the Genesis in Hyundai's range and is offered with a 290HP 3.8-liter V6 and a 366HP 4.6-liter V8 while a long-wheel-base version with an even more powerful 5.0-liter V8 engine is also in the works.
The Genesis, which was Hyundai's first serious attempt in the luxury sedan segment, has sold just over 6,000 examples this year through April, according to figures released by Autodata. That's not a lot of cars if you consider that the Korean sedan is priced very competitively at $32k for the base V6 model to about $40k for fully packed V8 model. In comparison, the smaller BMW 3-Series Sedan starts from $33,600 for the entry-level 3.0-liter 328i while the rivaling 5-Series from $45,800 for the 528i.
Makes you wonder how many buyers in the U.S. would actually go well above $50k, maybe even up to the $75k range as the USA Today speculates, for a Hyundai-badged model.
In its home market, the Equus is priced from 63.7 million won (around US$51,200) for the entry level, V6-powered VS380 model and tops out at 105 million won (about US$85,000) for the V8-powered VS460 Prestige.
2011 Hyundai Sonata Partially Spied in Garage
It's no secret that Hyundai is currently working on the successor of its mid-size Sonata sedan that is rumored to make its debut in production form at either the 2009 Los Angeles auto show or the 2010 Detroit Show next January with sales said to start sometime in the first half of the year. These latest photos, courtesy of a reader over from the Hyundai-Blog that appears to have snapped the test car in some kind of a garage, give us a fractional look of the new Sonata's fascia and profile. Not much to go by, but we'll keep a close eye for any newer spy shots.Based on a newly developed platform, the next-generation Sonata will be offered with an updated engine lineup. Depending on the market, buyers will be able to choose from four-cylinder and V6 gasoline units plus the Korean firm's newly developed 2.0- and 2.2-liter turbo diesels with outputs of around 185HP and 200HP respectively.
Audi Confirms A5 Sportback and new A8 for 2009, Q5 Hybrid also in the Works
During his speech at Audi AG's annual shareholders meeting in Germany, Audi Chairman of the Board, Rupert Stadler, revealed that the automaker is planning to present the next-generation A8 in November and extend its range with the new A5 Sportback sometime in 2009. Furthermore, Stadler confirmed earlier reports that Ingolstadt based company is also working on a hybrid version of the Mercedes GLK rivaling Q5 SUV and that the A1 minicar is due for a 2010 market launch with the Q3 small SUV following in 2011.This means that unless Audi has another surprise up its sleeves, the four-door coupe derivative of the A5 is most probably the new model that the maker said its preparing to unveil during the celebrative festivities for the firm's 100th anniversary in Germany on July 16.
The A5 Sportback is in essence the production version of the sleek-looking Sportback Concept that was first shown in Detroit in the beginning of the year. Expect to see a familiar Audi engine lineup, including the latest 2.0-liter TSI with 211HP, the 3.0-liter supercharged V6 with 290HP and a 3.0-liter V6 diesel cranking out 240HP.
"The A4 has attracted the largest share of customers loyal to the Audi brand. And a great number of them want to move further upward while carving out their own unique identity," said Stadler.
"The A5 Sportback is precisely what they're looking for. This vehicle will pose a genuine innovation in the B segment: a revolutionary vehicle concept offering the ideal blend of functionality and aesthetics"
As for the brand new A8 sedan (see the spy shots here), Stadler said claimed that it will be the sportiest model in its segment and that it will redefine people's notions of a luxury car's interior.
"We will also be presenting the next-generation Audi A8 and rest assured, Ladies and Gentlemen, it's going to be a sensation. The A8 remains Audi's flagship: it embodies our understanding of the word "premium"," Stadler told Audi's shareholders.
"The A8 will be the sportiest luxury sedan in its class – and set new standards with regard to interiors. Its precision and build quality are second to none. This model naturally means a great deal to us, because it played a greater role than any other car in the rise of the Audi brand. And we will unveil it to the world in a remarkable fashion in late November."
Alfa Romeo Berlina Da Corsa Concept Study
The Berlina Da Corsa is a design exercise for an Alfa Romeo sports sedan penned to feels at home on both the track and public roads that was created by Seongjun Ko, a Transportation Design graduate from Hongik University in South Korea. The Berlina Da Corsa which roughly translates to Racing Sedan in Italian, borrows heavily in design from classic Alfa Romeo models such as the GT 1300 Junior and the 1750 GTV from the '60s and '70s.Alfa Romeo Berlina Concept - Carscoop One of the most prominent features of Seongjun's design is the unique roof system that employs a 'stretchable metal' housing flexible wires that change shape through the use of an electric current. The system applied on the Alfa Romeo concept study, which appears to be similar in design to the one used on the BMW GINA roadster, allows the rear section of the roof to be lowered for use on track or raised to enhance rear passenger space.
We're no design specialists, but in his attempt to create a car long enough to provide enough room for the rear passengers, Seongjun seriously messed up the Berlina Da Corsa's proportions - not to mention that the styling of the front and rear part of the car look like they belong to two totally different vehicles. And what's up with the total absence of rear windows? Isn't the Berlina Da Corsa supposed to be a sedan that can accommodate rear passengers with some sort of comforts? Not a bad idea overall, but we reckon that the study needs work not only to look the part but also to make some sense.
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