Archives: March 2006 - Newswheel.com

London Land Speed record lark

Newswheel staff :: 31 March 2006 :: Filed under Europe & UK, Trade shows

The British Motorshow may be something of an illegitimate backstairs sprog compared to the majesty of the Frankfurt and Geneva shindigs. But hats off to Autocar magazine for attempting to lift the event’s profile. This July, Autocar will be hosting a Land Speed competition at City Airport, timed to coincide with the London show. The Guinness Book of World Records will be on board for the showdown which will involve a rolling start followed by a sprint down the facility’s mile-long runway. And as Autocar Ed Rob Aherne saliently suggests, braking performance will be at a premium. The runway ends next to a dock…

Ford Focus coupe-cabriolet won't be sold Stateside

Alex Ricciuti :: 31 March 2006 :: Filed under Cabriolet, Coupe, Ford, Ford Focus, Europe & UK, US,

Troll your average car-themed site or blog, Stateside, and amongst the usual web-based comment bile the odd clear-headed theme emerges. Try this one for size: why are certain killer European car models is not available in the US? Example required? How about the new Ford Focus Coupe-Cabriolet, intro’ed at the Geneva show earlier in March…

BMW mulls mighty M7

Newswheel staff :: 31 March 2006 :: Filed under Saloon, BMW, BMW 7 Series, Europe & UK, US

Feather-weight sports cars à la Lotus, BMW’s M-Sport range of high performance models most definitely are not. Not when the M5 clocks in at a meaty 1,830kg, the outgoing M3 tops 1,500kg and even the new Z4 M only just squeaks in under that figure. Nevertheless, there are limits. Which is why BMW has never previously produced an M7 limo. Historically, it’s been considered simply not poss to build a big Seven that meets the performance and handling criteria to do justice to an ‘M’ badge. But perhaps no longer. BMW head honcho Helmut Panke has been chewing the M-Power fat. Maybe an M7 doesn’t taste so bad after all…

Audi TT: Lift off on April 6th

Newswheel staff :: 31 March 2006 :: Filed under Coupe, Hatchback, Audi, Audi TT, Europe & UK, US

A trio of V10 mega-models including a mid-engined supercar. An uber SUV. And a mid-sized concept-turned-reality coupe (that’ll be the Nuvolari-inspired A5 coupe). These are just a few of Audi’s recent and upcoming efforts. Oh yes, the German outfit just keeps cranking out fancy new metal. But perhaps the most important model Audi will launch this year, at least in terms of setting out Audi’s style stall, is the new TT. And now the word has come down: it’ll be unveiled at a trio of big money launch parties in Berlin, London and NYC on April 6th…

Buffed up Boxster

Newswheel staff :: 30 March 2006 :: Filed under Mid / rear engine sportscar, Porsche, Porsche Boxster, Europe & UK, US

Purity and grace personified. Not words we’d immediately associate with the second gen Boxster. Especially not compared with the pretty and petite original Boxster prototype of 1993. Whether Porsche’s latest Boxster buffage, in the form of this dubious SportDesign bodykit, makes matters better or worse, far be it from us to speculate. Suffice to say that it will rape your wallet to the tune of €4,060 in Germany as an optional extra at the point of purchase. Existing owners can partake of this arguable aesthetic awesomeness for just €3,422, plus fitting charges…

Chrysler stretches 300C

Newswheel staff :: 30 March 2006 :: Filed under Estate/Wagon, Saloon, Chrysler, Chrysler 300C, US

Probably of more interest to NYC limo drivers than Blighty-based car enthusiasts, Chrysler has taken the wraps off a stretched derivative of its smash hit 300C saloon. The headline figures are an additional six inches of girth (that’s 15cm in Euro-friendly metric money) aft of the B-pillar delivering a three cubic metre boost to interior space. The car will be available in both four-door saloon and Touring variants, while engines are the familiar 3.5-litre 250bhp V6 and 5.7-litre 340bhp V8 items. Something to look forward to for those airport transfers, Stateside? Here’s hoping - we certainly won’t miss those crummy Lincoln Towncars…

Audi CLS for 2009?

Newswheel staff :: 29 March 2006 :: Filed under Four-door coupe, Audi A7, Europe & UK, US

“Jaguar fighter” was how Mercedes-Benz insiders imagined the super-slinky four-door coupe, the CLS. So, what does that make this possible four-door Audi coupe, as rumoured by German rag Auto Motor und Sport? Jag-fighter once removed? Whatever, it’s expected to launch some time in 2009…

R8 is Le Mans dead ringer (UPDATED)

Newswheel staff :: 29 March 2006 :: Filed under Mid / rear engine sportscar, Audi, Audi Le Mans, Audi R8, Europe & UK, US

Concept cars, eh? Usually an opportunity for manufacturers to remind you just how dreary their production line up is by dangling something impossibly sleek and sexy below your nose. But not Audi. The TT is the original latter day concept made manifest and with the upcoming R8, the German outfit has done it again. As the latest spy shots prove, it’s a dead ringer for the disgustingly desirable Le Mans concept of 2003.

First drive: VW Polo Dune

Newswheel staff :: 29 March 2006 :: Filed under Hatchback, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Polo, Europe & UK

Fact: V-Dub has just launched a new soft-roader based on the Polo. Question: Do you care? Answer: Almost definitely not. But that hasn’t prevented we intrepid souls at Newswheel from racking up a few miles in the new Polo Dune. Purely in the name of scientific research, you understand…

70% of UK garages overcharge

Newswheel staff :: 28 March 2006 :: Filed under Europe & UK, Safety

Pope prays. World turns. Day follows night. That a recent survey conducted by independent car warranty provider Warranty Direct found that 70 per cent of UK garages over charge when secret-shopped by a member of the public is hardly shocking news. And given the nature of Warranty Direct’s business, the cynic would argue it has a vested interest in trying to shame garages into charging less. But it’s not exactly reassuring, all the same…

Product placement false alarm

Alex Ricciuti :: 28 March 2006 :: Filed under SUV, Porsche, Porsche Cayenne, Europe & UK, US,

Blatant product placement? Metaphorical use of the motor car as social commentary? Or just a TV show about a fat, insecure, homicidal maniac who bought his wife a new car? In the recent season opener of the Sopranos, mafia family patriarch Tony Soprano wheeled out a new Porsche Cayenne Turbo for his wife Carmela. Cue condescending finger-wagging for shameful product placement…

Volvo XC90 updates

Newswheel staff :: 28 March 2006 :: Filed under SUV, Volvo, Volvo XC90, Europe & UK, US

Move along folks, nothing to see here. Well, not much new, anyway. Volvo has unsheathed its tweaked 2007 model year XC90 SUV. And it ain’t exactly revolutionary. The list of near-invisible incremental updates includes new headlights, a dash of body coloured cladding and a slice of improved plastics quality inside. In fact, the only item of real interest is the addition of Volvo’s fancy pants compact 3.2-litre straight-six.

Pininfarina preps Enzo-based project

Newswheel staff :: 27 March 2006 :: Filed under Mid / rear engine sportscar, Ferrari, Ferrari 612 P4/5,

Italian car couture house, Pininfarina, is preparing to wheel out a new Ferrari-badged project at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in So-Cal on 20th August. Cue rampant speculation, headless chicken impressions and all round Fezza-fueled, foam-filled, mouth-frothing madness. Problem is, the car is a one-off commissioned by a private (and, one assumes, hilariously wealthy) US client. So it goes…

Spyker ramps production

Newswheel staff :: 27 March 2006 :: Filed under Mid / rear engine sportscar, SUV, Spyker, Europe & UK, US

A loss of 1.9 million euros. 48 cars sold. That was 2005 for Dutch sports car maker Spyker. But thanks to a successful floatation on the Amsterdam stock exchange last year, which generated a cash injection of around 14 million, as well as increased demand, Spyker is tooling up to boost production to 100 cars for 2006. Meanwhile, development continues on the company’s batshit SUV model, the D12 Peking-to-Paris, first seen at the Geneva show earlier this month…

Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione: Will they, won’t they?

Newswheel staff :: 22 March 2006 :: Filed under Coupe, Front engine sportscar, Alfa Romeo, Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, Europe & UK, US

A swoopy carbon fibre body bolted to a space frame chassis. And a screaming Ferrari-derived V8 mounted up front and driving the rear wheels. Yup, the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione concept, first shown at the Frankfurt show back in 2003, is a bit of a no brainer. The sort of car you’d think Alfa would be desperate to build. And so it is, according to Alfa’s new CEO Antonio Baravalle. In fact, he’s even willing to slash Alfa’s advertising budget in order to divert funds to the project. That’s the kind of fighting talk we like. Problem is, it seems the suits at Fiat HQ aren’t reading from the same script…

Who wants a hugola hybrid?

Newswheel staff :: 22 March 2006 :: Filed under Hybrid, SUV, Lexus, Lexus RX, US

Not Americans, according to a report by Stateside daily USA Today. While compact petrol-electric hybrids such as Toyota’s Prius and the Honda Civic continue to fly off forecourts in the US, registrations of bigger beasts including Ford’s Escape hybrid and the RX 400h from Lexus are stodgy enough to have the marketing men prepping sales incentives.

Next Jag X-Type lives?

Newswheel staff :: 21 March 2006 :: Filed under Estate/Wagon, Saloon, Jaguar, Jaguar X-Type, Europe & UK, US

Flagging sales. A chintzy product line up. A near-destitute sugar daddy in the form of Ford Motor Company. And the indefinite postponement of the platform technology that might just have turned things around. Things are not looking too clever for the rather pitiful pussy that is Jaguar Cars. So, you’ll forgive us for not getting overly juiced up by news that Jag is considering replacing the X-Type with an alternative-concept, shooting brake-style model. At a fundamental level, we’re not convinced the brand is a goer under Ford ownership…

Ford puts a price on Galaxy

Newswheel staff :: 21 March 2006 :: Filed under MPV / People carrier, Ford, Ford Galaxy, Europe & UK

A depressing double dose of dreary driving dynamics coupled with the humbling realisation that your filth-'n-fungus-infested family ride is about as foxy as a used colostomy bag. That’s MPV ownership for you. But if your over-active loins have boxed you into a people carrier-shaped corner, you may as well salvage some self respect by bagging the best of the breed. Whether the all new Galaxy is just that, no-one outside Ford currently knows. But it is big and extremely well appointed inside. So, for now we’ll settle for the pricing info Ford has announced for the UK. The Galaxy can be yours for as little as £19,495…

Mini: Next gen details emerge

Newswheel staff :: 15 March 2006 :: Filed under Hatchback, Mini, Europe & UK

Spy shots of the upcoming second-gen BMW Mini (known internally at BMW’s sausage-side HQ as the R56) tell a predictable tale of same-again styling. But new technical details are emerging that provide grounds for cautious optimism. Yes, the next Mini will be bigger. But it will also be lighter and “even more go-kart like.”

V-Dub heads down market

Newswheel staff :: 14 March 2006 :: Filed under Hatchback, Volkswagen, Europe & UK, US

Affordable German engineering. Nice idea and certainly something VW used to aspire to. Thanks in no small part to the ambitions of one Ferdinand Piech, however, VW’s offerings have been gradually creeping upmarket, culminating in the limo-sized flop that is the Phaeton luxury saloon. But apparently there’s been some coffee sniffing going on at VW headquarters – VW brand head honcho Adrian Hallmark has been talking up cheaper V-Dubs…

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