Volvo takes the teaser business to a whole new level with this ‘Birds on a wire’ clip made for the new V40 hatchback.

It might not have anything to with the car, but it’s full of sense. It’s about being unique, one of a kind, groundbreaking, stuff like that. It tells you not to follow what everybody else is doing and be yourself, even if it means being stupid!

As for the Volvo V40, the car will be revealed at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, as a rival for the BMW 1-Series and Audi A3. Here’s a proper teaser image for you, showing the car’s hatchback silhouette. It seems nice.

Morgan’s styling department might live in 1960s, but their engineers are moving on, preparing a new electric drivetrain for the Plus 8.

They’ve teamed up with Zytek Automotive to develop the Plus E, and apparently, they’re going to make the world’s first manual EV. An electric sports car with a manual gearbox is quite something.

However, it’s not going to have dramatic effect on the car’s performance. It will perform within the confinements of the electric car. For instance, “You are not going to get any benefit from dropping down a gear at high speeds,” according to the project manager. But it will be more fun to drive than normal EVs, which feel like driving a laptop.

The car is said to have a limited top speed of 115mph, which is not exactly impressive. But there will lots of torque at low rpm. That will provide blistering acceleration, and, when the mood takes you, lots of sideways fun. The manual gearbox is especially helpful here.

It will be a fun car for sure, but your fun will be short-lived, as the batteries can hold enough juice for only a 100 miles.

They will be unveiling the car in concept form at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. If enough interest is shown in the car, then a production version might follow.

Source: PistonHeads

Mazda wants to make the best of the current generation MX-5 before letting it go, and they do this by making lots of special editions.

The latest M-5 SE, set for Geneva Motor Show debut, is called Spring 2012 and it’s exclusively for the European market. America gets its own specially limited Miata.

It can be had with soft or hard top four body colors including the Radiant Ebony, Crystal White Pearl, Metropolitan Grey and Brilliant Black. The exclusive ebony color is seen here i these pictures, and it’s super cool.

Mazda MX-5 Spring 2012 edition also gets chrome headlamp inserts, grille surrounds and fog lamp bezels, “Havana Brown” leather upholstery, and a top-notch navigation system as standard.

L’Automobile revealed Infiniti’s new electric sports car, called Emerg-e, through what appear to be patent images.

To be really honest with you, we thought this electric sports car would be a stupid, weird eco-car. But it so isn’t. It looks like a full on supercar this thing, especially from the sides it looks awesome. The Emerg-e appears to be a direct rival for the new Honda NSX.

The face is familiar, as it’s pretty much the same as the Infiniti Essence concept. But from there backwards, it’s all new and amazing. The slightly fat rear-end is where the engine – well, electric motors – are located.

That’s right, the Emerg-e is a mid-engined electric sports car. You can realize that by the little ‘e’ in its name, or by the absence of exhaust pipes at the back.

There’s no details available yet on the powertrain and the performance figures. We shall find out soon enough though, as the car is set for debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, which is less than a month away.

source: Automobile-magazine.fr

Korean car maker SsangYong will be present at the 82nd Geneva Motor Show this March with a new version of their XIV concept car.

An evolution of the XIV-1 shown at IAA back in 2011, the XIV-2 step things up a bit by adding a one-touch automatic opening soft-top roof to provide ‘wind in the hair’ driving enjoyment, according to SsangYong.

That is to make it more appealing to the younger generation. The car itself is a crossover vehicle designed for fun. The XIV stands for eXciting User Interface Vehicle, whatever that means. The car looks too like the new Mitsubishi Outlander to us.

The XIV-2 measures at 4,166mm (length) x 1,820mm (width) x 1,566mm (height) and with a 2,600mm wheelbase. The car’s powered by an eco-friendly, fuel efficient 1.6 litre diesel and petrol engines meeting Euro VI emission regulations.

Mazda will be showing its Takeri concept for the first time to the European public at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show.

The Takeri is quite an important car. Not only its face is a showcase of Mazda’s future design direction (KODO), the car itself is a preview of the new Mazda6. And since the new next Mazda3 will also be similar to this, and that’s Mazda’s best seller, we can conclude the Takeri matters a lot.

What’s more, this car features  Mazda’s new and unique i-ELOOP regenerative braking technology. This is Mazda’s first regenerative braking system and uses a unique solution that converts kinetic energy to electricity during deceleration and stores it in an electric double-layer capacitor.

The Takeri will be joined by the new CX-5 crossover, which is a production showcase of the KODO design language, and Mazda’s latest technologies, including SKYACTIV and Mazda SCBS.

Mazda’s exhibits at the 2012 Geneva International Motor Show

The Swedish hyper car maker Koenigsegg is working on something radical to solve its environmental issues.

They are, reportedly, developing a new generation of camless engines which utilizes pneumatic-controlled valves for each cylinder. How it works is incredibly boring to explain, but the results will be a significant cut in fuel consumption.

The idea of a camless engine is not new, but so far there hasn’t been a mass produced system that works properly without glitches. This is a bold move by the company, especially as they’re applying it to that massive twin-turbo V8 engine.

This will also help the engineers to come up with an integrated cylinder deactivation system, further boosting the car’s efficiency.

Koenigsegg is also said to be working on new tricks to go round the rules and use airbag exemption to sell the Agera in the States. They will also be celebrating production of their 100th vehicle at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show.

via: Car & Driver

Rumors of the Bentley SUV are getting a bit old to be honest, but it seems the top brass has finally made up its mind.

Reports are strongly suggesting that Bentley’s long-awaited sport utility will be unveiled, at least in concept form, at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show in March. They are even suggesting ‘John o’ Groats’ as the name of the car. Bentley, apparently, has decided to name its cars after places in Britain.

As for the details, well they are scarce at the moment. But you can be sure it is based on the Audi Q7′s platform and will have the same sort of off-road capability. It will also get same W12 engine as the Continental – to have a distinguishing feature over the competition – and will probably get the new V8 as well when it’s set for market launch.

With the Maserati Kubang and Lamborghini SUV in the picture, it’s time for Bentley to hustle and out with it, if they’re going to make the car or not.

via: Autoweek

ABT, German tuner of VW Group vehicles, announced its Geneva-bound lineup of cars, and it includes cars from Audi and Volkswagen.

The VWs ABT is bringing to Geneva include the new 2012 Beetle, which judging by the teaser image comes with a rather thorough package consisting of carbon fiber accents and red garnish all over it. They will also introduce new 20-inch wheels and performance upgrades for the 2.0 liter TFSI model.

Then there’s the new VW up! which has been given a treatment. We;re quite keen to see what they’ve come up with for the little up! It must have been tricky, given the size of the car.

Highlights of the Audi lineup include packages for the Q3 and A6. Apart from the usual visual upgrades that are sure to come, these cars will each get a decent bump in power as well. The Q3′s 2.0 liter TSI engine will pack a 270hp punch, while the A6′s meaty turbodiesel V6 will get a boost to 360hp.

More details closer to 2012 Geneva Motor Show.

BMW decided to reveal the new M6 coupe and cabrio over the weekend, so it’d have all the media’s attention to itself.

Set for debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, the new 2013 BMW M6 is such a stunner. Based on the current 6 Series, which is one of the best looking coupes in the market, the M6 gets the usual M treatment of added power and style, but you have to say, it is the most tastefully done M car possibly ever.

It is a very perfect car and really hard to fault. The new M6 makes Mercedes job harder with the new SL63 AMG. It has to be something unbelievably good to match this M6, and even if it is, we’re not sure it’ll look just as good as the Bimmer.

In both coupe and convertible form, the new M6 boasts a magnificent design which is the result of some subtle, yet effective, changes over the normal models.

They include three-section, strikingly modelled lower air intake with aerodynamically optimised flaps; new M kidney grille with black double slats; flared wheel arches; hallmark M gills with integrated direction indicator bars; aerodynamically optimised exterior mirrors and side skirts; BMW Individual High-gloss Shadow Line; exposed reflectors below the rear lights; aerodynamically optimised rear apron with diffuser between the right and left-hand pair of twin exhaust tailpipes; 19-inch (standard) or   20-inch (optional) forged M light-alloy wheels, each with a distinctive interpretation of the familiar M double-spoke design.

The design manages to be elegant and sporty, and that’s a hard trick to pull.

We also love what they’ve done to the interior. It is still very BMWish with lots of button and a rather unfathomable iDrive system, but the new steering wheel that harks back to the old Bimmers, and the carbon fiber package, make it such a nice place to be in.

Other features of the M6 cabin includes: M gear selector and car set-up controls on the model-specific centre console; exclusive M sports seats with integrated belt system (optional: M multifunction seats); Merino leather upholstery with extended features; exclusive carbon-fibre interior trim strips; illuminated door sill finishers with model lettering; M-specific instrument cluster with black-panel technology; 2-zone automatic climate control with extended features, ambient lighting.

As for the engine, the new M6 gets the same 4.4 liter biturbo V8 as in the BMW M5 F10. It makes 412 kW/560 hp at 6,000 – 7,000 rpm and maximum torque: 680 Newton metres (502 lb-ft) from 1,500 rpm; maximum engine speed: 7,200 rpm. Performance is, as you’d expect, awesome. Check out these numbers:

Acceleration: 0–100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.2 seconds (BMW M6 Coupe) or 4.3 seconds (BMW M6 Convertible); 0–200 km/h (124 mph) in 12.6 (13.1) seconds; electronically governed top speed: 250 km/h (155 mph) or 305 km/h (189 mph) with M Driver’s Package.

That’s, to all intents and purposes, super car performance. Yet, the fuel economy is a very respectable 9.9 litres per 100 km / 28.5 mpg imp (BMW M6 Coupe) and 10.3 litres per 100 km / 27.4 mpg imp (BMW M6 Convertible). That’s because the M6 comes with Auto Start-Stop function and further Efficient Dynamics technology as standard.

The car features a special M-calibrated seven-speed M Double Clutch Transmission with Drivelogic; Launch Control and Low Speed Assistance; and an active M differential. What’s more, it features M-specific Dynamic Damper Control as standard; DSC stability control incl. M Dynamic Mode and M Servotronic steering.

I know they sound like a bunch of meaningless acronyms to most of you, but if you’ve ever driven an M car with those system, you’d know they make a huge difference in the feel and performance of the car.

With all the attention paid to the new M6′s performance and technicality, you might imagine BMW has skimped on luxury and comfort. Not so. The car comes with every luxury amenities the standard 6-series is blessed with, and then some.

The list includes adaptive LED Headlights fitted as standard, extensive range of BMW ConnectedDrive features, some unmatched by any rival: BMW Head-Up Display with M-specific information, High Beam Assistant, BMW Night Vision with pedestrian recognition, Lane Change Warning, Lane Departure Warning, rear-view camera, Surround View, Speed Limit Info, internet access, extended integration of smartphones and music players, Real-Time Traffic Information and apps for receiving web radio and using Facebook and Twitter.

There is also an options list by which you can spec up your car further. It offers Comfort Access, active seats, heated steering wheel, doors with Soft Close Automatic function, Navigation system Professional, Bang & Olufsen High- End Surround Sound System.

Italian design house Bertone released sketches of its new concept car to be unveiled at the 2012 Geneva Motor show.

Dubbed the Nuccio, this fancy looking thing is part of the company’s plans to mark its 100th Anniversary in style. The car is a tribute to Nuccio Bertone who founded the Stile Bertone, the special design branch of the company, and separated it from the coachbuilding business.

Details of the car are scarce at the moment, but the sketches show a massive, futuristic concept car with a very muscular look and amazing details. After its debut at the Geneva show, the Nuccio Concept will be heading to Beijing for the Chinese motor show, and after that it will be back home to go on display at Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile in Turin.

via CarBodyDesign

Subaru announced its lineup for the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, and it includes the 5-door hatchback version of the fourth-gen Impreza.

Sure it’s not the coolest or more desirable hatchback today, but it does have some redeeming features, chief among which is the superior quality and reliability. What’s more i benefits from Subaru’s acclaimed Symmetrical AWD (All-Wheel Drive) system with the Horizontally-Opposed Boxer engine technologies.

It’s available in Europe with a 1.6-litre petrol engine.

Subaru will also be showing its BRZ sportscar at the Geneva show, introducing its Pure Handling Delight to the Europeans. This year Subaru is also celebrating the 40th anniversary of its core technology “Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive (SAWD)”.

On this Occasion Subaru will create and showcase various items at the Subaru booth: they include a special logo embodying “Responsive handling of the driver’s intents”, which is a value of SAWD and graphics illustrating the history of Subaru’s SAWD. Also visitors will experience the benefit of SAWD uniqueness through the 3D virtual game.

This weird sketch you see above shows the silhouette of the Toyota FT-Bh, the Japanese car maker’s concept car for this year’s Geneva Motor Show.

FT-bh is an ultra-lightweight, full hybrid city car study. It is supposed to simple and ingenious, which is why Toyota steered clear of using high-end expensive materials in making it. They say it uses only materials that are already commonplace in the auto industry.

Toyota has also avoided complex manufacturing processes for this concept. Simplifying will make things more efficient.

The FT-bh is only part of Toyota’s Geneva offensive this year. They will also bring along the Yaris hybrid in its production-ready form, and the GT 86 sports car.

Toyota’s NS4 and FCV-R concepts are also being shown in Europe for the first time. NS4 is a next-generation plug-in hybrid vehicle, designed to address customer demand for added value from hybrid motoring, together with advanced design and a more involving drive. FCV-R represents Toyota’s next step towards mass production of hydrogen-powered vehicles, paving the way for the launch of a saloon-type fuel cell vehicle by 2015.

The strange but interesting Toyota Fun-Vii will also be present in Geneva, but it’s renamed to ‘diji’. The car is basically a smartphone with wheels.

Mitsubishi will show up at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show with a new version of the Outlander SUV.

This Outlander looks very outlandish with that weird grille and headlights. But they say it’s a very tough and solid car and has excellent quality. It has a particularly nice interior with high grade materials such as padded surfaces, soft-touch finish, silver accents, gloss black appliqués, plus ergonomic steering wheel controls as well as high-resolution and easy-to-read instrument displays.

In Europe, the New Generation Outlander will offer at launch the choice between two low impact engines (whether in 2WD or 4WD): 2.0 l MIVEC petrol or 2.2 MIVEC Clean Diesel (MMC’s own 4N14 engine) Depending on market, model, engine and specifications, Auto Stop & Go will be available, as well as an all-new 6-speed automatic gearbox.

In 2013 there will be an EV-based plug-In hybrid powertrain added to the range, promising over 800 km of range and CO2 of below 50 g/km.

Mitsubishi will first launch the car in Russia this summer, prior to European (late summer), Japanese, Oceania, Chinese and North American debuts.

Chevrolet Cruze family gets expanded even further at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, with the introduction of the new Cruze Station Wagon.

So from 2013 you will be able to choose between the sedan, hatchback, coupe (if it gets the go ahead) or station wagon, depending on your needs. That is of course if want a Cruze in the first place. Most people do, as it was Chevrolet’s most successful model last year.

Chevrolet has tried its best to make sure the station wagon version is not a disappointing car, so they give it some very impressive features. It has, for example, 1,500 litres of load space and will be getting a a new 130bhp 1.7-litre VCDi diesel engine, with start-stop technology as standard and CO₂ emissions of 119g/km.

A number of exterior and interior styling changes are being introduced in 2012 for all Cruze models. These include a remodeled front fascia, modified head-lamp interiors and fog lamps, and new wheel styles on the exterior and refinements to the center console and a greater choice of seat finishes for the interior.

More details closer to the 2012 Geneva Show.

Opel/Vauxhall revealed their plans for this year’s Geneva Motor Show, and while there are some nice cars in there, the main features is an e-bike.

Here’s it is, revealed partially in the image below, the Vauxhall/Opel’s RAD e concept vehicle. It is a a futuristic e-bike that designed to look like Opel cars, powered by a 250 watt motor. How many people you think will bother to visit Opel’s stand to see a weird-looking bicycle? Fortunately, they’re also bringing their best cars along.

The best highlight of Opel’s booth, for us at least, is the new Astra VXR/OPC. It’s a sportier version of the gorgeous GTC, featuring a 280PS and 400Nm of torque 2.0-litre turbocharged direct injection engine. This 155mph mega hot hatch also inherits the GTC’s sophisticated HiPerStrut (High Performance Strut), and the LSD to keep it in check.

Opel Mokka is also worth a look at if you are planning to visit the Geneva show. The European version of Buick Encore might be named after Mochachino, but it’s a serious contender in the compact crossover segment. It comes with three efficient engines, all equipped with fuel saving Start/Stop technology. The petrol range comprises a 115PS, 1.6-litre naturally-aspirated engine or a 140PS 1.4-litre Turbo with 200Nm of torque. The diesel is a 130PS 1.7 CDTI turbo with 300Nm of torque. Both the 1.4 Turbo and the 1.7 CDTI can be combined either with six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmissions.

Vauxhall will also bring along its Insignia BiTurbo, with the most potent diesel engine they’ve ever built, developing 195PS, 400Nm of torque and emissions as low as 129g/km.

The replacement for Ferrari 599 GTB will finally be revealed at the 2012 Geenva Motor Show, and it’s called the F620.

That 620 does NOT refer to the car’s power output. That is in fact 710hp. The engine is the same 6.3 liter V12 first used in the Enzo, but it’s been tweaked and refined to make that colossal amount of horsepower.

That extra 10hp over 700 is probably just there to be rubbed in Lamborghini Aventador’s face!

The power will be transmitted using Ferrari 458′s seven-speed dual-clutch transmission to the rear wheels. That is not the only similarity between this and the 458, it will also look very like it, especially at front. It gets the same sort of headlights and bumper, but the rear remains pretty much the same as the current 599, with a touch of FF.

There has been rumors about this car sporting KERS or some sort of hybrid technology. But that is not the case, not at least for now.

via: Autobild

Toyota released further technical details on the new Yaris Hybrid as we get closer to the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, where the car makes its debut.

This hybrid hatch features a a petrol engine as the main source of power, coupled to an electric motor for a combined output of 99bhp  (74kW). This is a compact version of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive system that is used in larger models, such as Prius and Auris Hybrid.

The petrol engine is a 1.5 liter unit, a smaller version of Prius and Auris’ 1.8 liter. It’s also 16.5 lg lighter than that, which helps with the overall efficiency of the car.

Likewise, other major components such as the electric motor, power control unit and transaxle were also made lighter and smaller: the size of the motor has been reduced by 20 per cent and thePCU12 per cent, compared to those in Auris Hybrid; and the transaxle has shed 11kg and is six per cent shorter.

The battery pack, consisting of nickel-metal components, is clever too. This and the fuel tank are both located under the rear bench seat in a compact package, so neither the interior nor boot space are affected by the hybrid system. You get the same 286 litre luggage capacity as the conventional models.

Sales of the Yaris Hybrid begins from June 2012.

Kia released the first official picture of its new concept car for the 2012 Chicago Autoshow, and, well, it’s actually less revealing than this rendering they had released before. The Track’ster is based on a jacked-up version of Kia Soul’s chassis and is a sort of small crossover like the Nissan Juke. Kia has not yet confirmed any production plans for this car.

More details and picture will be released in the coming days.

Nissan announced the 2012 Geneva Motor Show lineup, and the most important part of it is a near production concept car called the INVITATION.

That’s a silly name, yes, but the car itself isn’t. It’s a classy little hatchback that will soon join Nissan’ lineup of compact cars including the Micra and the Juke. The car is due to hit the market in early 2013.

The invitation has a very interesting design with elegant sweeping lines everywhere. We particularity like the rear-end and those fancy tail lights. The side of the car is dominated by a distinctive character line, known internally as the ‘Squash Line’, which adds a powerful dynamism to its profile.

All in all, it’s a great design for a B-segment car. Not as mad as the Juke, but not as boring as the Micra either. The interior is nice too, although looking a bit conceptual here, and showcases some of the technologies that will be featured in the production car.

The car’s powertrain options are yet to be decided, but Nissan is aiming for an ultra-low CO₂ emission target of under 100g/km for the most frugal model. The car will also be packed with advanced safety features.

Among the features is Nissan’s advanced Around View Monitor (AVM) safety technology – seen for the first time on a B-segment car – which makes reversing and parallel parking as stress-free as possible. In addition, INVITATION also incorporates the Nissan Safety Shield Technologies, which interacts with the driving environment keeping the driver aware of what is happening around the car.

The INVITATION seems to have all the right ingredients for a successful premium hatchback.