Car News
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The maker of some of our favorite performance wheels, BBS, has been sold to Belgian holding company Punch International. Though full details of the acquisition are yet to be finalized, some employees will be losing their jobs in an effort to turnaround the rim manufacturer’s poor financial results. Back in February, BBS voluntarily entered an insolvency request following a loss of €3.8 million last year because of a sharp rise in the price of aluminum. This latest deal is regarded as a success by most of BBS’ 1,200 odd staff, who were notified today of the latest...
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PSA Peugeot-Citroën partners with China’s HafeiPSA Peugeot-Citroën and Chinese carmaker Hafei today signed a memorandum of understanding to start a feasibility study of a 50-50 joint venture creation. The new venture will manufacture a range of small people movers for the Chinese market with the cars constructed at Hafei's plant in Shenzhen...
Kenneth Hall -
Abt’s supercharged TT RoadsterThe Audi TT is a favorite at Abt Sportsline, so it’s not surprising that engineers have left no model in the TT family untouched. The tuner is also heavily involved with the German Touring Car Championship and it has used the knowledge gained from racing to develop its latest line of...
James Martinez -
Honda Tops J.D. Power And Associates' APEAL StudyHonda has topped this year’s J.D. Power and Associates' APEAL study, taking out the most best-in-segment awards of any carmaker. The yearly Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) study rates consumer opinion on car design, content, layout and performance and ranks cars based on...
Alex Kaufmann -
EU confirms 120g/km CO2 emissions target for 2012European Council members met yesterday at a meeting in Luxembourg and have voted unanimously in favor of cutting fleet average carbon-dioxide emission levels for cars sold in Europe to 120g/km by 2012. "This sends a clear message to the car industry that current efforts to reduce emissions must...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Holden Efijy Voted America’s 2007 Concept Of The YearHolden’s hot-rod Efijy concept car has taken top honors at the 2007 North American Concept Car of the Year awards held in Michigan’s Automotive Hall of Fame last week. The car was picked from a field of the 34 of the world’s top concept cars by a panel experts, with most cars...
Kenneth Hall -
Audi’s four interlinked rings, a symbol of the merger of Germany’s Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer carmakers on the 29th June 1932, is now celebrating its 75th anniversary. Back then, the group was known as the Auto Union AG and the four-ring badge was worn by one out of every four cars sold in Germany at the time. To ensure no one treaded on each others toes, each of the four brands were assigned a specific market segment. Motorcycles and small cars were produced by DKW, midsize cars for Wanderer, cars in the deluxe midsize segment for Audi, and luxury cars at the top end of the...
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Honda reveals Civic Mugen RR sports sedanHonda is currently prepping a new performance version of the Civic sedan that’s set for release in the Japan this September. Based on the already sporty Type R, the new Honda Civic Mugen RR was transformed after undergoing a power upgrade and weight reduction program in collaboration with the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Continental enters record books with world's fastest tireContinental has been officially recognized as the maker of the world's fastest standard production road tire and has been entered into the Guinness Book of Records with a top speed of rating of 242mph (388km/h). The result was achieved using a 9ff modified Porsche owned by German Jan Fatthauer, who...
Siddarth Raja -
FIA reveals its future plans for F1Motorsport's governing body, the FIA, has unveiled a list of proposed changes to Formula One’s technical regulations that it would like to see implemented by 2011. The changes are part of a push by the FIA to make F1 more road-relevant, eco-friendly and cost-effective. The FIA published a...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
More details on Alfa Romeo’s new modelsAt a recent presentation Alfa Romeo CEO Antonio Baravalle revealed details about two new hatchback models that are in development, an entry-level three-door and a C-segment five-door. The first car will be the replacement for the 147 hatch, which will be dropping the numeric naming pattern and...
Ralph Hanson -
Volvo releases R-Design sports packageVolvo has released a range of performance and styling enhancements for its C30, S40 and V50 wagon, which are due to go on sale by the end of the year. Labeled R-Design, the new kits replace Volvo’s current Sport trim levels and is similar to the S-line packs offered by Audi. Additions to the...
Alex Kaufmann -
Volkswagen has revealed the first images of its Tiguan, the new compact 4x4 that will go on sale in early ‘08 following its world public debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Slightly larger than the Volkswagen Touran compact MPV, the Tiguan is 4.4 m long, 1.8 m wide and 1.6 m in height. The Tiguan will initially be available with two engines, a 2.0L 140hp TDI and a 1.4L 150hp TSI petrol unit. Later in 2008 a 170hp TDI and two further petrol engines will become available to order. Both diesel engines meet the stringent Euro 5 emissions standard that comes into effect in 2009...
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Spain’s Sunred SR08 supercarSpanish motorsport company Sunred is developing a new race car for the FIA GT1 series, which will also be produced in a limited batch of ten cars for homologation purposes. A prototype was unveiled at the recent Barcelona Motor Show, where it was confirmed that the car would enter production next...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Toyota’s FSC Concept entering productionToyota is reportedly developing a production version of the FSC, which was first displayed back at 2005’s Tokyo Motor Show. Touted as a ‘Flexible Saloon Concept’, the showcar's design was sedan mixed with MPV and is essentially what we’d describe today as a crossover. The...
Siddarth Raja -
Update: 2008 BMW 1-series coupe official detailsFollowing the reveal of the new 1-series Coupe in spy shots earlier today, BMW has just released an official press release with more details about the car. The flagship of the range is the BMW 135i with its 3.0L twin-turbocharged petrol powerplant. Offering 306hp and 400Nm of torque from its light...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Preview: 2009 Mercedes-Benz GLKUpdate: Official GLK concepts here and here. These are the latest renderings of Mercedes’ upcoming midsized SUV, which is scheduled to enter production in the second half of next year. This rendering, compiled with information sourced from insiders close to the project, show that the new GLK...
James Martinez -
Production Ford Flex to look like conceptA near-production test-mule of Ford’s upcoming Flex crossover has been spotted testing, which reveals that designers have created an almost exact copy of the concept car (pictured), which appeared at April’s New York Auto Show. The only major difference will be a slight alteration to...
Ralph Hanson -
BMW has added the world’s most powerful production six-cylinder diesel engine, the potent twin-turbo 3.0L six, to its SUV range with the introduction of the new X5 3.0sd. The motor provides the driver with 286hp and a flat torque curve with a peak of 580Nm from a low 1,750rpm. This enables the diesel SUV to accelerate from 0 to 62mph in seven seconds and reach a top speed of 146mph. The drivetrain in the BMW X5 3.0sd is unique in its segment as it utilizes two differently sized turbochargers operating sequentially. The turbos deliver a constant 2.85bar of boost, which gives the driver...
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Fiat planning Uno revival and new crossoverFiat will launch several new models over the next couple of years, including a new B-segment car, a midsized crossover and a redesigned Panda hatch. The first of the new models will be a small hatch that’s rumored to revive the ‘Uno’ badge in Western markets. The Uno will utilize...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Official details for Peugeot’s new 308Peugeot’s new 308, now in its eighth-generation, will be appearing in showrooms across Europe in September and will be available with ten different powerplant options. The new styling offers a slippery drag coefficient of 0.29, which enables the ultra-efficient 1.6L HDi variant to emit only...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Nothelle builds a 520HP Audi TTAudi tuning specialist Nothelle, a performance house with a forty-year history of vehicle customization, has released a new package for the Audi TT. Nothelle’s new kit is designed for either the Coupé or Roadster, and includes enhancements for both the 2.0L TFSI or 3.2L V6 variants. The...
Alex Kaufmann -
Mercedes and HWA prepping second sports carMercedes-Benz and its performance divisions AMG and HWA are planning to release several new models in coming years with the first car likely to be a high-performance coupe slotted between the SLR and the SL55 AMG. Despite its racing background, HWA has produced several production vehicles for...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Volvo not for sale according to Ford Americas bossVolvo won’t be dropped from Ford’s Premier Auto Group (PAG) despite reports that other carmakers included BMW were interested in its acquisition. The same can’t be said for the Jaguar and Land Rover brands, which are likely to be sold off in an effort to raise funds for...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran