Alex Kaufmann, Author
Articles
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Following last week’s controversial post about Porsche’s new 997 GT2 lapping the Nurburgring’s Nordschleife in an amazingly low 7 minutes and 32 seconds, comes the latest track time... -
Mini to show new Challenge racer at FrankfurtFor the 2008 Mini Challenge, the series’ eighth year of competition, Mini has developed a new version of the John Cooper Works prepped racer scheduled to be unveiled at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show. The new racecar features a 206hp (154kW) turbo engine that develops up to 280Nm...
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Ford developing new engine tech with MITFord is testing a new engine that injects small amounts of ethanol into the cylinder during high loads that’s said to develop up to three times the torque of a conventional petrol engine. The technology was pioneered by a start-up company at MIT and is just one avenue that Ford is...
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Volvo celebrates 80 years of building carsEighty years ago the first Volvo car, the ÖV4 ‘Jakob’, left the factory in Gothenburg, and to celebrate the anniversary Volvo in the UK will be hosting an event showcasing more than 120 classic models. Founded in 1927 in the city of Gothenburg, Volvo started off as a subsidiary of a...
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Toyota delays next-gen Prius until 2011The 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid has officially been revealed at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. Click here for all the details and images. Toyota will be delaying the introduction of its next-gen hybrids models because of fears that the new lithium-ion technology is unsafe. There were plans to launch more...
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GM China sales to top one millionGM is expecting to sell more than a million cars in China for the first time this year on the back of strong demand for new cars in the country. Combined vehicle sales are up by 21% on last year’s figure, and should top out at 8.4 million by the end of the year. Despite the positive result...
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Peugeot will unveil a concept version of a new diesel-hybrid powered 308 hatchback at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show. Until now, most carmakers relied on petrol engines for their hybrid cars... -
50 Years Since Stirling Moss Breaks Land Speed RecordIt was fifty years ago that British racing legend Stirling Moss broke the class F land speed record at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats in the streamlined MG EX181. The Class F rules stipulated that the engine had to displace between 1.1 and 1.5L. Moss reached an amazing 245.64mph in the tadpole...
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GM Europe gets new design chiefGM has appointed a new director of exterior design for its European division, whose job it’ll be to spearhead design work for the Opel, Vauxhall and Saab brands. Filling the role is Phillip A. Zak, the man behind models such as the Chevrolet Cobalt, Pontiac G6 and GXP sport model. Though Zak...
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Preview: 2009 Ford Kuga CrossoverFord has already released its own official drawing of the new Kuga crossover as a concept, and, we now have a new image that reveals what a closer-to-final production version may look like. The new Kuga is scheduled to enter production at Ford’s Saarlouis plant in Germany early next year and...
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Spy Shots: 2008 MG3MG under the guidance of China’s Nanjing has developed a new hatchback model based on the original Rover 25 that was sold up until 2005. When MG and Rover were split, Nanjing Auto managed to scoop up the tooling for the car and as evidenced by these latest spy shots a new MG3 has already...
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Hummer to produce Jeep Wrangler-sized H4Execs at GM have given the green light for the Hummer H4, a new baby SUV similar in size to the Jeep Wrangler that’s expected to go on sale in the 2009 model year. Hummer has been experiencing strong sales outside of the US and the addition of a new smaller model will only cement that...
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The replacement for Hyundai’s FWD Tiburon sports coupe will feature a RWD layout when it arrives in early 2009. The new coupe will be the second model to be based on Hyundai’s new RWD... -
Teaser released for the Audi A7Audi has released a teaser sketch of its upcoming four-door coupe that’s due to hit showrooms by September of 2009. Before that, we should see a near-production ready concept version, most likely at the 2008 New York Auto Show. According to the Audi source that leaked the sketch, the A7 will...
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Lumma launches BMW M6 based CLR 600 SFollowing the release of its M5 derived CLR 500 RS and its more recent styling kit for the E92 BMW Coupe, Lumma Design has announced the addition of the M6 based CLR 600 S. The German tuner already had experience modifying the M6, having designed a unique wide-bodykit, and, now, it has used that...
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Another private equity firm to bid for Land Rover and Jaguar, announcement to be made next weekPrivate investment in car companies is all the rage these days, so it’s no surprise to see equity firms circling the Land Rover and Jaguar sales like vultures. The last firm to express its interest is TPG, an American firm that owns stakes in MGM, Neiman Marcus, Alltel Wireless and is even...
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Ford Kuga and C-max destined for US?Yesterday, Ford revealed a drawing of a new compact crossover model that’s scheduled to hit European showrooms early next year where it joins other spectacular Blue Oval models such as the C-Max MPV as well as the new Mondeo sedan and Focus hatch. Now, Ford CEO Alan Mulally and product...
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Magic box turns exhaust into biofuelA small development team in North Wales has created a box, which they claim can convert captured car exhaust gases into usable biofuel. The device fits underneath the car and replaces the catalytic converter by trapping greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide and emits mostly...
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You'll have to forgive us for being just a little skeptical about the Natalia SLS 2, a hyper-luxury land yacht being developed by DiMora Motorcar that aims to out-Maybach the Maybach and become one... -
Chrysler 300 production to start in Ontario in 2010Following the announcement that Chrysler is scrapping plans to build the Imperial sedan at its Brampton plant in Ontario, the carmaker says it will instead use the facility to build its 300 model starting from 2010. An updated version of the 300 has been pencilled in for a 2010 or 2011 launch, but...
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Renault prepping flood of new modelsRenault is preparing to launch a host of new models over the next couple of years, spearheaded by the release of the new Twingo and Laguna models. The French label has previously announced that it plans to introduce no less than 26 new or updated models between 2006 and 2009 including the launch of...
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Volkswagen updating its logoVolkswagen will be updating its ‘VW’ logo for the launch of the new Golf Mark VI, following the wishes of CEO Martin Winterkorn to make the badge more prominent. It won’t be a complete redesign. Instead the logo will grow in size compared with the current one and protrude further...
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J.D. Power finds interest in hybrids sinkingA recent study conducted by J.D. Power and Associates has found that 50% of prospective car buyers in the US are considering a hybrid model, down from 57% one year ago. By contrast, the level of interest surrounding new diesel models has risen sharply with 23% of respondents claiming they’re...
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BMW: We’ll sell more than 100,000 M3sBMW’s iconic M3 is already nudging the point of ubiquity but the company feels it can do even better in the sales charts. Each progressive M3 has sold more units, from the first-gen E30 model moving 18,000 units, to the latest E46, which found 90,000 lucky buyers. At the recent launch of the...
Alex Kaufmann