forbidden fruit

  • The U.K.-only Subaru WRX STI 340R

    In the United States, Subaru’s ultimate all-wheel-drive hoon-mobile, the WRX STI, comes packing 305 horsepower and 290 pound-feet of torque. While that’s nothing to sneeze at, it’s nowhere near as impressive as it was just a few years back. These days, even a base V-6 Ford Mustang or Chevy Camaro makes more power. Subaru buyers in the U.K., however, have options that we don’t get on this side of the pond. One such choice is the Subaru WRX STI 340R, named for its output of 340 ps (the equivalent of 335 horsepower). The car also makes 361 pound-feet of torque, a gain of...

  • 2013 Volkswagen Golf R Cabriolet spy shots
    2013 Volkswagen Golf R Cabrio Spy Shots

    The Golf R Cabrio is the final hurrah for the MkVI line, though like the Golf Cabrio, on which it's based, it won't be sold in the U.S.

  • 2012 FPV Falcon GT RSpec
    Forbidden Fruit: FPV Launches Ford Falcon GT RSpec Muscle Sedan

    First teased as a concept in 2011, Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV), the official tuner to Ford in Australia, has released a new special edition model based on its line of Falcon GT muscle sedans. Though not as extreme as the sinister looking concept, the production version, labeled the Falcon GT...

  • 2012 HSV Clubsport sedan
    HSV Updates Lineup For 2012, Revives ClubSport And Maloo Names

    Official tuner to Holden, HSV has introduced a range of updates to its lineup of high-performance sedans, wagons and utes, with the updates coinciding with the company’s 25th anniversary taking place this year. HSV’s model lineup, sold primarily in Australia though available elsewhere...

  • 2014 Audi RS 6 Avant spy shots
    Audi's New RS6 Will Outgun The BMW M5: Report

    Those of us on this side of the pond have long had a love / hate relationship with the Audi RS6. While we loved the idea of a twin-turbo V-10 station wagon (the RS6 Avant) with 580 horsepower, we hated that fact that we could only read about how good the car was. The RS6 Avant was not for U.S...

  • BMW's M135i hot hatch
    BMW Teases Its Not-For-North-America M135i: Video

    We’ll admit it: we’re smitten with BMW’s M Performance hatchback, the M135i. It’s the right size, it offers hatchback sensibility and it looks to be a whole lot of fun on twisty roads. In fact, there’s only one problem with BMW’s hot hatch: it’s not for...

  • 2013 Jaguar XF Sportbrake live photos

    It’s human nature to want what we’re told we can’t have. On this side of the pond, we’re blessed with the Cadillac CTS-V Sportwagon, a 556 horsepower grocery-getter than can put a surprising amount of sport sedans to shame, yet we lament that we won’t get the Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG Shooting Brake. There are no guarantees we’ll get a Porsche Panamera Estate here, either, should Porsche decide to produce and build such a concept, as it would likely pirate sales from the Cayenne SUV. Adding insult to injury, we know with relative certainty that we won’t...

  • 2011 Audi RS3 Sportback
    Audi Swayed To Build More RS 3 Sportbacks Due To Popular Demand

    It still isn’t coming to the U.S., at least in this generation, but a few hundred buyers in the UK will be able to drop their hard-earned on an Audi RS 3 Sportback even though production of the car officially came to an end last year. Demand for the car was so strong that Audi decided to...

  • Japanese-market Mitsubishi Proudia is a rebadged Infiniti M
    Mitsubishi Selling Rebadged Infiniti M Sedans In Japan

    As hard as it is to believe, there are two virtually identical versions of the Infiniti M sedan sold in Japan--one wearing Nissan badges and the other badged as a Mitsubishi. An Infiniti M being sold as a Nissan in Japan is nothing out of the ordinary, as this has always been the case with Infiniti...

  • 2012 Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept
    Renault Seeks Partner For Alpine Sports Car Revival

    French automaker Renault is investigating the launch of two new sub-brands in its quest to expand into new markets and quell its overcapacity issues back home in Europe. One of these brands is to be a luxury line using platforms borrowed from alliance partner Mercedes-Benz. The other, and more...

  • Tauro V8 Spider based on the Pontiac Solstice
    Spain’s Tauro V8 Spider Based On The Pontiac Solstice

    Spain is quickly proving to be a hotbed for sports car development. Following the launch of the stylish Spano supercar from GTA Motors back in March, and the announcement last month of a new model from Aspid, another company based in Spain is now celebrating the launch of a new V-8 powered...

  • 2012 Opel Astra
    Updated 2012 Opel Astra Revealed

    Joining the brand new Astra Sedan in European showrooms later this year is the updated 2012 Opel Astra range, which has been revealed today ahead of its official debut at the 2012 Paris Auto Show this September. The current generation of the Opel Astra has been on sale since 2009 and this is the...

  • 2012 Audi A1 Sportback amplified

    While the Audi A1 isn’t sold in the U.S., new upgrades for the car overseas may hint at some new trim options to be offered on some of the Audi’s other models, including ones sold here. The new upgrades are designed to add a sportier touch to the A1 premium hatch and carry an ‘amplified’ tag. The upgrades are available on both the A1 three-door and A1 Sportback five-door and can be broken down into three different levels, helping to offer something for everybody. They can only be ordered in Misano Red or Glacier White, however. The first level is known as amplified. On...

  • 2013 Opel Astra Sedan
    2013 Opel Astra Sedan Revealed

    Following last month's spy shots, Europe's Opel Astra range is set to expand this fall with the 2013 Opel Astra Sedan. The new sedan joins the five-door hatchback, Sports Tourer station wagon and GTC coupe in the Astra range, before a convertible version also joins the ranks later this year. While...

  • Volkswagen's Scirocco GTS
    Volkswagen Showing New Scirocco GTS In Leipzig

    When it comes to the world’s great auto shows, Leipzig is rarely mentioned in the same breath as Paris, Frankfurt, Detroit and Tokyo. Nonetheless, it’s a significant show for German automakers, especially since both Porsche and BMW have manufacturing plants in the former East German...

  • 2010 Renault Latitude
    Renault Looking To Launch Luxury Sub-Brand With Help From Mercedes: Report

    In Early February we first brought you details about an alleged plan from French automaker Renault concerning the launch of a new high-end model that would borrow technology from Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes, as we’ve known for a while now, has formed an alliance with Renault and Nissan, and...

  • 2012 Peugeot 301
    Peugeot Revises Naming Policy With Launch Of New 301

    It was in 1929 with the 201 that French automaker Peugeot began its characteristic three-digit numbering system based around the central ‘zero’. This naming policy, which would later force Porsche to drop its intended 901 name for the iconic 911, was structured so that the central zero...

  • 2012 BMW 1-Series Hatchback (three-door)
    BMW 1-Series Three-Door Revealed, Includes M135i Range-Topper

    BMW has finally revealed the three-door version of its latest-generation 1-Series Hatchback, which has been on sale in Europe since last year. The car is unlikely to be launched in the U.S. though coupe and convertible variants will arrive in the coming year or so, possibly badged as a 2-Series...

  • BAIC C70G

    While Saab is no longer building cars, its technology will live on for years to come in a handful of models from China’s Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. (BAIC). BAIC bought the rights to several Saab technologies back in 2009, including the use of the previous-generation Saab 9-3 and 9-5 platforms, from then owner GM. Two of the new models from BAIC riding on old Saab tech are the C70G and C60F sedans. Both of them were revealed for the first time at last month’s 2012 Beijing Auto Show. The C70G, which is based on Saab 9-5 running-gear, has just entered production and...

  • 2013 Opel Astra Sedan
    2013 Opel Astra Sedan Spy Video

    Despite its recent financial doldrums and oversupply issues, Opel, the European arm of GM, is continuing the development of new models like this sedan version of the Astra hatchback. Spotted testing in Germany, the Astra Sedan prototype appears almost complete and should be hitting showrooms in...

  • 2012 BMW 135i three-door hatchback spy shots
    2012 BMW 135i Three-Door Hatchback Spy Video

    The 2012 BMW 135i three-door hatchback won't be offered in the U.S. but its drivetrain will with the arrival of the next-generation 1-Series Coupe and Convertible models.

  • 2012 Seat Ibiza Cupra Concept
    2012 Seat Ibiza Cupra Concept: Forbidden Fruit

    Volkswagen’s Spanish unit Seat has rolled out a hot little hatch concept at this week’s 2012 Beijing Auto Show, which despite being labeled concept is actually a preview of a planned facelift for one of the automaker’s most popular models. That model is the sporty 2012 Seat Ibiza...

  • Infiniti's M35hL extended wheelbase hybrid sedan, from the 2012 Beijing Auto Show
    Infiniti Debuts Long Wheelbase M35hL

    Are you an environmentally aware captain of industry? Is it awkward being chauffeured to Greenpeace meetings in a Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended Wheelbase? Fear not, because we have good news for you: Infiniti is building an extended-length version of its M35h hybrid luxury sedan. Dubbed the M35hL...

  • Volkswagen Scirocco R
    Volkswagen’s U.S. Chief Wants To Sell Scirocco Coupe: Report

    It’s no secret that Volkswagen’s U.S. chief Jonathan Browning is a fan of the sporty Scirocco coupe. He’s openly admitted that he’d love to see the car here in the U.S., and now he’s given the strongest indication yet that it may be coming here eventually. Speaking...

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