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| Sep 3, 2009 |
| Porsche 911 Sport Classic |
 Porsche's exclusive program has produced a special version of 911 Carrera S. It is called 911 Sport Classic. Based on the wide body of 911 Carrera 4S but retaining classic rear-wheel drive, the car is sportier than any Carreras. Its 3.8-liter direct-injection engine has been tweaked to 408 horsepower (23hp up) thanks to a new exhaust and revised resonance intake manifolds. The chassis is also sportier, including a 20mm drop in ride height, a standard LSD and ceramic brakes and the aforementioned wider rear track. To satisfy hardcore drivers, the only transmission available is 6-speed manual. Externally, the modern SC can be distinguished from other 911 Carreras by a "ducktail" rear spoiler resembling the classic 1973 911 RS. Besides, it has a more aggressive lip spoiler, classical black wheels, twin-exhaust pipe (instead of 4 smaller pipes of other Carreras),a double-bubble roof and racing-stripe body paint.  Only 250 units of this exclusive model will be built. Each will be sold at an absurd €170,000 / £140,000, or double of the standard Carrera S. This put the car directly against the superior Ferrari 458 and Lamborghini Gallardo. Unfortunately, with a top speed of 187 mph and 0-60 claims of 4.4 sec, the SC is actually no faster than Carrera S. For the same money, I would rather have an Audi R8 V10 plus a Caterham. |
| Sep 3, 2009 |
| Volvo C70 facelift |
 The C70 has received a new corporate face. Mechanically it remains the same. |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| AutoZine 12-Year Anniversary |
 AutoZine is 12 years old today ! Thanks for your support through all the years. To me, every year is a new milestone ! |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| AutoZine big facelift |
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I would need your help to check if it works properly. If you find any errors or broken links, please report to me. |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| New Saab
9-5 |
 The current Saab 9-5 is one of the oldest cars in our new car archive. Born in 1997, it survives longer than anybody expected because: 1) it is still decent & 2) Saab/GM lacked money to renew it. However, the wait is over. The new generation 9-5 will be unveiled to the public in Frankfurt motor show later this month. Here comes the first set of official pictures and details. As expected, the new 9-5 is built on Opel Insignia's Epsilon II platform but with a stretched wheelbase and much longer rear overhang to let it compete directly with the likes of Mercedes E-class, Volvo S80, Lexus GS etc. Front-wheel drive is default, but some engines can be equipped with Saab-Haldex' XWD system, which offers torque-vectoring at rear axle. Another distinctive feature is HUD head-up display. Otherwise the car is pretty much conventional.  Engines are generally shared with its Opel sister: - 180hp 1.6-liter Turbo - 220hp 2.0-liter Turbo - 300hp 2.8-liter Turbo V6 (note: 20hp more than Opel, but max torque is the same) - 160hp 2.0-liter Turbo diesel In the swedish company's tradition, some of the gasoline engines may drink E85 biofuel. The exterior and interior design is quite pleasing. It has that special Scandinavian flavours while preserving some traditional styling clues of Saab, such as the sloping tail. More pictures below.    |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| Saab to
be sold to Koenigsegg |
  Last month General Motors reached a deal to sell Saab to Koenigsegg Group AB, the mother company of the supercar maker. However, the terms are yet to be finalized. Koenigsegg will need the loan from European Investment Bank and loan guarantee from the Swedish government to finance the takeover. Until now, Christian von Koenigsegg hasn't revealed what big plans he had in his mind. |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| Suzuki
Kizashi |
 The production Suzuki Kizashi is less radical than its concept form, but it still breaths a new lease of life into the Japanese company, because this is its first attempt into the C/D segment. Previously, the Japanese small car specialist sourced mid-size cars from GM-Daewoo - Suzuki Verona was a rebadged Daewoo Magnus - but the sales result has never been satisfactory. Now taking the engineering and production in-house in Japan, will it do better ? The Kizashi is a sensibly-sized vehicle. With a wheelbase only 2700mm, length at 4650 mm, width 1820 mm and height 1480 mm, it is about the same size as the current Volkswagen Passat, Acura TSX and Alfa 159 (all have 2700 mm wheelbase). In other words, it is smaller than the mainstream D-segment cars like Toyota Camry, Honda Accord (America), Nissan Altima, Ford Mondeo and Opel Insignia. Like the existing Swift and SX4, Kizashi obviously wants to avoid direct competition with established rivals. Instead, it chose to offer a slightly smaller and cheaper package. This explains why the car offers no more than a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, without any six-cylinder powerplants.  Despite of its small capacity, the all-alloy 2.4 four-pot has variable valve timing and forged crankshaft, expecting to produce in the north of 200 horsepower. That will be 30hp or so more than most 2.4 rivals. Coupling to a 6-speed manual transmission or CVT, performance should be decent. The chassis of Kizashi rides on suspensions by MacPherson struts up front and multi-link at the rear. Like SX4, it is offered with a switchable 4WD system. The packaging seems less satisfying than the specifications. From this pictures it doesn't seem as elegant as we expect for a 2010 model. The interior is quite dull and cheap. Nevertheless, with a price set between conventional C-segment and D-segment vehicles, this is understandable.     |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| Nissan
Leaf: the electric shock |
 Betting against hybrid cars, Carlos Ghosn wants his group to be the first to mass market electric cars (note: did he forget China's BYD ?). He predicts electric cars could take 10 percent of the global market by 2020, or 6 million units in annual sales. By 2012, he wants his companies to produce 200,000 units a year. A large part of them will be Nissan Leaf, the company's first dedicated electric car. Production will start in Japan and followed by Tennessee of USA - as it has got the Federal government's clean car incentive of US$1.6 billion - and probably Sunderland of UK as well to supply the European market.  Leaf is a large hatchback car. With a length of 4445 mm, width of 1770mm, height of 1550mm and a 2700mm wheelbase, it is larger than most C-segment hatches. This is very interesting. Nissan apparently wants it to steal sales from D-segment mid-size cars instead of the C-segment hatchbacks because its price point is much higher than the latter. In the USA, the car is expected to be sold at US$30,000, the same as a well-equipped Toyota Camry V6 ! and that does not include the Lithium-ion battery which would costs another $10,000. To make it easier to swallow, Nissan will lease the battery in the form of monthly service fee. It claims the battery fee plus electricity rate will still be cheaper than fuel cost.  The car is powered by AC motor with a modest output of 80kW (107hp). Torque is more generous at 206 lb-ft. Acceleration performance has not been revealed, but hopefully it will be better than the 140km/h (87 mph) top speed suggested. The car has a driving range of 100 miles thanks to the 24kWh battery. Charging normally takes 8 hours at 200V home socket, although a 30-minute charge is enough to get it 80 percent full. The question is how many people are willing to purchase a car this slow, inconvenient to recharge and so expensive. Even if the Leaf could provide a cabin as roomy as a Toyota Camry, are you willing to sacrifice the more sophisticated suspensions and refinement of big cars and go for this electric hatchback ?  |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| Porsche
ousted Wiedeking, sold itself to Volkswagen |
 The long boardroom
fighting in Porsche has finally come to an end as its CEO Wenderlin
Wiedeking was ousted by the company last month. Wiedeking engineered
the ambitious takeover of the Volkswagen group. He nearly succeeded -
having acquired 50.76% stakes of Volkswagen AG and held another 20%
options. Unfortunately, the global economy crisis hit his plan. Sliding
share prices of both companies and a tightening finance market means he
could hardly refinance the massive loan - which is estimated to be at
least €10 billion. At the edge of bankruptcy, the majority owners of Porsche SE (the holding company of sports car maker Porsche AG), i.e. the Porsche family and the Piech family, discussed for solutions in a board meeting. Chairman Wolfgang Porsche had to surrender to his cousin and arch-rival Ferdinand Piech. He agreed to sack his comrade Mr. Wiedeking in return for Volkswagen group's investment to save the family business. The final deal is as follow:
The cleverest of the deal is, after the merger, the Porsche and Piech family will become the largest shareholder of Volkswagen group ! |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| Volkswagen
China sales exceeds Germany |
 For the first time ever, Volkswagen sells more cars in
China than its home market. In the first half of this year, the group
sold 652,000 cars in China, exceeding the 631,900 units recorded back
in Germany. This is especially impressive when you consider that the
German domestic sales was already boosted by the government's scrappage
scheme. Compare to same period last year, sales in China and Germany
increased by 22.7% and 18.3% respectively. |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| BMW's
first hybrid cars |
 Though advertising the tag line "EfficientDynamics", BMW is until now slow to hybrid technology. However, in this Frankfurt show it will unveil not only one, but two production hybrid cars. The first one is the pictured 7-series called "ActiveHybrid 7". Another is the X6-based "ActiveHybrid X6". The ActiveHybrid 7 is not a new idea. In fact, its hybrid components were developed jointly with Mercedes-Benz and had been applied to S400 Hybrid. Like the Mercedes, it is a mild hybrid only. The disc-style electric motor is so small that it can be sandwiched between the conventional engine (750i's twin-turbo V8) and the new ZF 8-speed automatic transmission. The motor produces only 20 horsepower and 155 lb-ft of torque, so the car cannot run in pure EV mode. Instead, the motor acts as an assistance to the engine when more acceleration is needed. This relieve the load to the engine thus saves fuel. Further more, under deceleration the motor acts as a generator to recharge the small Li-ion battery pack. Not as clever as S400 Hybrid though, BMW places the battery at the boot instead of engine compartment, so luggage space is reduced by 40 liters. Otherwise the car has a package much the same as other 7-series. Neverthelesss, the 4.4-liter gasoline V8 is not exactly the same as 750i. BMW tweaked its output from 408 hp / 442 lb-ft to 449 hp / 479 lb-ft. As a result, combined output from the hybrid powertrain is 465 hp and 516 lb-ft. Besides, the aforementioned ZF gearbox has two extra ratios compared with that of the current 750i. Apparently, ActiveHybrid 7 now replaces Lexus LS600h as the fastest hybrid car in the world. Its 0-60 mph takes only 4.7 seconds. Fuel economy matches that of the Lexus, as is the identical CO2 emission of 219 g/km. Compare with the regular 750i, its fuel consumption is 15 percent lower. Part of the saving is down to the auto start-stop function in its V8. On the downside, the hybrid conversion added 100 kg to the car. Meanwhile, the ActiveHybrid X6 (no pictures here for obvious reasons) employs a different technology - the transmission-incorporated 2-mode hybrid system co-developed with GM and Mercedes. This is a more powerful full hybrid system, thus the fuel saving is higher at 20%. Two motors are incorporated into the heavy electric CVT transmission, one produces 91hp and another 86hp. Mated with the standard-spec 408hp twin-turbo 4.4 V8, the combined output is 485hp and 575 lbft. However, the hybrid X6 weighs a staggering 2450 kg, part of this due to the heavier and cheaper NiMH battery it employs. Its performance is therefore slower than the regular X6. It takes 5.4 seconds to go from 0-60 mph. CO2 emission is 231 g/km, no match with the hybrid 7-series. Seems not a good way to buy a hybrid SUV to show your so-called environmental conscious. |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| FIAT
Punto Evo (not grande anymore?) |
 FIAT has facelifted the Grande Punto, dropped the word "Grande" and added "Evo" to its name. It is refreshed with a new face and new dashboard. Mechanical side remains unchanged except that it introduces a new generation 1.4-liter Multiair engine. No output details has been released.  |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| Renault
Fluence |
 Is it a new line to Renault ? Not exactly. Fluence is basically a Megane sedan in different name. It differs from the latter mainly by a wheelbase stretched to 2702 mm and a conventional 3-box body to please the Eastern European markets it targets at. Styling-wise, it gets a new nose, an odd recessed bonnet and Audi-sque taillights. It shares the same suspensions, powertrains and interior with Megane, so don't expect it to be a new class leader. The car is to be produced in its Turkey plant. By 2011 it will be available in EV form in some European countries and Israel through Project Better Place. Its badge-engineered sister is Samsung SM3. This mean it could be exported from Korea to North America through the new Saturn channel purchased by Penske.  |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| Cool BMW
concept car |
 The "Vision EfficientDynamics Concept" (a silly name, by the way) to be shown in Frankfurt is not destined to be a new-age M1. It is a demonstration how green technologies and sports car performance can come together. This mid-engined 2+2 sports car is powered by an unexpected powerplant - a 3-cylinder 1.5-liter turbo diesel engine, aided by two electric motors and Li-polymer battery. It is a plug-in hybrid car, capable of travelling by electricity alone for 50 km - remarkable considering your new Prius can do no more than 2 km. The ultra-efficient diesel engine is not just a concept. It is destined to arrive in the new generation 1-series next year. Producing 163 horsepower, it is as powerful as today's 2.0-liter turbo diesel in 320d, yet the reduced friction of 3-cylinder design cut fuel consumption and emission dramatically - we are talking about 99 g/km of carbon-dioxide and 75 mpg EU combined cycle ! Powered by diesel alone, it has a range of 650 km.  The two electric motors drive different axles. The front motor produces 107hp / 162lbft, or at most 140hp in a 10-second "overboost". The rear motor is sandwiched between the engine and 6-speed twin-clutch gearbox. It produces 34hp (or 51hp overboost) and 214 lbft of torque. It also facilitate regenerative braking. When travelling in electricity alone, its well-to-road emission will be an equivalent to 50 g/km for a typical electricity generation method in EU countries. As a concept car, the Vision EfficiencyDynamics concept could showcase expensive lightweight technologies such as a full aluminum spaceframe chassis, which offsets the additional weight of hybrid components and result in a kerb weight of 1395 kg. The roof and doors showcase a new polycarbonate material that darkens according to the level of sunlight - like transition lens - so to reduce air-con power consumption.  Another area which it experiments is advanced aerodynamics. Thanks to some aero guides on the bodywork, a flat undertray and on-demand air intakes by means of movable flaps, drag coefficient is reduced to merely 0.22. The unusually narrow tires of 195/55R21 are also clearly chosen to minimize drag. Put all things together, the car has a combined maximum output of 356hp and 590 lbft of torque. Hopefully during the 10 seconds availability of such power, it can storm from zero to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds. Even when the power drops back to a constant 304hp, it can still easily touch the 155 mph limiter. Will BMW put this car into production ? Of course not. Its price would have been too expensive to do so. As a technology showcase, however, it is very successful.  |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| Volkswagen
Polo 3-door |
 This picture says all - it looks better than the 5-door. What a pity GTi version is not available yet. |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| Mini
Coupe |
 Dubbed as a concept car, the Mini Coupe is likely to get greenlight for production next year. Admittedly, the car is not that much different from the hatchback, save a new aluminum roof (which is easily converted from Mini Cabriolet), faster windscreen and rear window. The show car is based on Mini John Cooper Works, sharing its highly-tuned, 211hp version of the 1.6-liter turbo engine. The Coupe is a strict 2-seater, so behind its front seats extra cross bracings can be added to improve chassis rigidity. The lightweight roof, which also stands 47mm lower than other Minis, lowers center of gravity. However, its unaltered nose still doesn't look very much like a coupe. Some kind an odd ball to me.  |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
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| Porsche
911 Turbo 2009 update |
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 Porsche updates its 911 range every 3-4 years. Following Carrera and GT3, the 997 Turbo has also received a mid-life update. The latest round of improvement is evolutionary:
 Compared with Ferrari 458 Italia or other rivals, the power and performance upgrade is disappointing. It seems that the priority here is to produce a greener sports car while leaving room for cost performance upgrade, such as Sport Chrono pack or a future Turbo S. As the new Ferrari now produces 70 more horsepower - having stretched its lead from merely 10 hp in F430 - Porsche had better to up its effort. Below is a comparison between the two cars.
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| Sep 1, 2009 |
| Porsche
911 GT3 RS update |
 911 GT3 RS has always been the hardcore choice among hardcore drivers. The latest car follows its tradition to offer a race-ready roll cage for gentleman drivers to take part in circuit racing. Compared with the recently upgraded GT3, RS version offers slightly more power from its highly tuned 3.8-liter six-cylinder boxer. The exact figure is 450 horsepower at 7900 rpm, compared with the GT3's 435 hp at 7600 rpm. The downside is the same 317 lb-ft of torque now peaks 500 rpm later at 6750 rpm. Changes to the engine include smoother intake (by means of new air filter, reshaped intake manifolds and additional intakes to increase ram air effect), and by raising compression ratio from 12.0:1 to 12.2:1.  The chassis of RS is more track-biased, of course. You can easily see its wheel arches extensions, which adds 26mm and 44mm to front and rear tracks respectively for the better of handling. A huge carbon-fiber rear spoiler mounted on aluminum brackets produces much higher downforce to stick the car on ground in cornering. The 19-inch wheels ride on wider tires, 245/35ZR front and 325/30ZR rear, and houses bigger brakes, 380mm front and 350mm rear. Sadly, ceramic discs is still a priced - and pricey - option, as is a 10 kg-saving Li-ion starter battery. Part-time racing is never a cheap hobby. The transmission of RS is still that good old 6-speed manual gearbox, without magical semi-automatic or twin-clutch mechanism. However, shorter ratios in the first 5 gears do sharpen acceleration response. At 1370 kg DIN, the whole car is 25 kg lighter than the standard GT3, so we are not surprised to hear it accelerates from 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds, or a scant 0.1 less than the standard car. Nevertheless, the big downforce compromises its top speed a little, dropping that by 1 mph to 193 mph. |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| Citroen
DS3 |
 Until now Citroen has yet to convince me why it believes the new DS "premium" lines workable. Take the DS3 as an example, it might look funky, and it can be customized with different roof color, door mirrors, wheel design and interior color etc., but will you really see it as cool as a Mini or Smart ? especially when you know underneath its skin is the same mechanicals as the company's bread-and-butter new C3 ? Even the interior architecture looks the same as the new C3, save a body-color-matching dashboard panel. The 3-door DS3 aims squarely at BMW's Mini. BMW might be unhappy about that, because both cars share the same powerplants designed by itself - 1.4-liter VVT with 95hp, 1.6-liter VVT Valvetronic 120hp and 1.6-liter direct-injection turbo 155hp. I suppose when BMW consceived the engine joint-venture it did not foresee a Citroen would target at its own Mini.   |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| Peugeot
RCZ |
 We had seen this gorgeous coupe a couple of years ago in concept form. Now this is the production form. Judging from styling alone it could be a serious threat to Audi TT. Scanning through the spec. sheets, however, will see a less promising basis. Its 308 platform still drives the front wheels and rides on semi-independent torsion-beam suspension. To save the game, Peugeot lowers its ride height by 20mm, widens its front and rear tracks by 54mm and 72mm respectively. Furthermore, if you tick the optional carbon-fiber double-bubble roof, its center of gravity could be 40 mm lower than the sportiest 308 hatchback. Besides, to improve steering feel, the electric power steering is reverted to hydraulic one. The TT-style body profile is likely to generate a great deal of aerodynamic lift at speed, so Peugeot equipped it with a pop-up rear spoiler, which adjusts its height between 2 positions depending on speed.  The engine range is not as versatile as Audi though. You can choose among the base 156hp 1.6-liter turbo, 200hp high-pressure version of the same engine and 163hp 2.0HDi turbo diesel. The range-topping 200hp engine produces 188 lb-ft from 1700 rpm, or 203 lb-ft on overboost. 0-60 mph can be done in a claimd 7.2 seconds. Such performance is definitely not as wild as its looks suggested. |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| Bentley
Mulsanne succeeds Arnage |
 This imposing car is Bentley Mulsanne, the successor of the recently ceased Arnage. According to Crewe, it is a clean-sheet design and engineering. It continues to be sold at the level of £200,000. Each year only 700 cars are expected to find very rich owners. The exclusivity means Bentley has to use more human hands to build the car. Surprisingly, each car will take 400 hours to build, 15 percent up from Arnage. Among that 200 hours will be done by hands. Technical data is scarce until now. We know the only element it succeeds from the previous Arnage is the 6.75-liter push-rod V8, which is nearly half a century old now. The super engineering power of Volkswagen group will improve it again - the last major modication was done in 2002 - giving it lighter internals and reducing its friction to cut weight and fuel consumption. It is likely to feature cylinder deactivation, too. Many components will come from the group, such as the adaptive air suspensions, 6-speed automatic transmission and power steering. The Mulsanne will have a top speed near 180 mph, so its aerodynamics is better taken care than the old car. The new Muslanne will compete with both Rolls-Royce Phantom (priced at £264,000) and the new Rolls-Royce Ghost (£170,000-180,000).    |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| New
Infiniti M |
 -Earlier last month Nissan revealed the first details of its new generation Infiniti M. The new car has a more dramatic - if not exactly tasteful - exterior styling than the conservative design today. As before, it will be rear-drive and offers rear-wheel steering as option. The new car emphasizes strong performance. Base engine will be G37's 3.7-liter V6 with 320hp, coupling to a 7-speed automatic transmission. Flagship model M56 will be powered by a 5.6-liter V8 currently serving Nissan's SUV and trucks, but tuned to produce at least 400 horsepower (UK's CAR magazine reported it will be 420 hp). If so, the car will be more powerful than any of its existing rivals. In Europe, the car will drop the thirsty V8 and offer a 240hp Renault 3.0-liter turbo diesel V6 instead.  |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| SEAT
Leon Cupra R |
 Another performance version of Volkswagen group's hatchbacks. As before, Cupra R is the hottest version of the Leon range. Thanks to easy turbocharging tuning and higher pressure direct injection, it gets 265 horsepower from the same 2.0 TFSI engine. This is a real 155 mph hot hatch, and 0-60 mph is achieved under just under 6 seconds ! Chassis upgrade is what you can predicted. There is wider tires (235/35ZR) wrapped around 19-inch alloys, larger brake discs (345/286mm) and stiffer suspension setup. Three extra holes are opened at the nose to remind you its fire-breathing manner. But I am more interested to know if it can tame the torque with its front-drive chassis. Unlike its cousin Audi S3, 4motion is not offered in this car. |
| Sep 1, 2009 |
| Noble
M600 supercar |
 British sports car specialist Noble has been disappeared from the world since founder Lee Noble sold his company a couple of years ago. The rights of M12 was sold to American. The M14 and later M15 replacement never materialized. In the hands of new owner, M15 has been redeveloped into this M600. It enters a much higher performance league than originally planned - top speed is an eye-popping 225 mph, 0-60 mph takes less than 3.0 seconds. Unfortunately, the price also tripled from £75,000 to £200,000. This mean now it has to convince the customers of Lamborghini Murcielago and Ferrari 599GTB to consider the little-known marque.  What the M600 offers are quite conventional. A chassis by tubular steel spaceframe and stainless steel tub dressed in a carbon-fiber bodyshell. Its dry weight of 1275 kg is light enough, but it goes without most of the modern electronics we expected, even as simple as ABS or stability control. It does offer a traction control though, because that is part of the engine management system. Mounted in the middle of the car is a 4.4-liter V8. It is based on the one Yamaha built for Volvo S80, but American tuner Motorkraft rebuilt it, adding twin-turbocharger to lift its output to 650 horsepower and 604 lb-ft of torque. The motor is mounted longitudinally in the M600, driving a Graziano 6-speed transaxle directly and channels the power to the rear wheels.  As its lacks electronic safety aids, M600 offers two more engine mappings for the driver to select according to road conditions and driving mood. They limit maximum power to 450 hp and 550 hp respectively. Nevertheless, for a car costing so much money, the M600 clearly leaves a lot to be desired. It should have been more handsome, better built and more sophisticated. Worst of all, it looks too much like a kit car, blame to those mass production parts it sourced. I would be very surprised if it managed to find 50 buyers a year as planned.   |