Thursday spy-shot round-up

Newswheel staff :: 26 May 2005 :: Filed under Coupe, Mid / rear engine sportscar, Saloon, Audi, Audi A6, BMW, BMW 3 Series, Infinity, Infinity G35, Lamborghini, Lamborghini Murcielago, Nissan, Nissan Skyline GTR, Porsche, Porsche 911, Europe & UK, US

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More mules than you can possibly imagine

Hans Lehmann, undercover snapper of unparalleled ubiquity, has once again been raking it in. This week it’s The Car Connection who’ve ponied up for his pictures of an ever-so slightly tweaked Lamborghini Murcielago dancing round the Nurburgring in Germany. Changes seem limited to front and rear bumper remodelling, no doubt removing whole pounds of lift… Of more interest is news from Autocar Magazine, currently carrying similar snaps, that this development car is packing an all-new V12 engine. Autocar suggest power is up by 50bhp, giving a reasonably useful 620bhp total. The Murcielago’s current lump can trace its origins back to the 60s. Ironically enough, however, we don’t know many people who think that monumental mill needs an update. Which is more than we can say about the Murci’s relatively ancient chassis underpinnings. It was ever thus.

Linkage:
The Car Connection

Jap attack
Meanwhile, across the pond Mr Lehmann is busy milking US weekly AutoWeek with snaps of both a V8 Lexus IS and what could be a development mule for the next version of the mighty Nissan Skyline GTR. Launched back in March, the new IS currently tops out with a 3.5-litre V6, but Autoweek reckon the car caught testing  will go toe-to-toe with the next BMW M3 thanks to a 4.3-litre V8 stacking around 400bhp. That said, news that Lexus has registered the “IS460” moniker could point towards a version with a 4.6-litre lump. Arguably even more exciting, however, is the prospect of a new Skline GTR from Nissan. The car was caught once again by you-know-who (no, not Lord Voldemort),  and uses a slammed and blistered Infinity G35 coupe body (a very pretty car which we wish Nissan would bring to Europe) rather than any version of the final car. Nevertheless, it’s thought to harbour the 450bhp twin turbo V6 drivetrain and all-wheel-drive chassis of the upcoming supercoupe. AutoWeek reports the car will have chassis tuning by Lotus and should be ready to roll for the Tokyo show in 2007. We simply can’t wait.

Linkage:
AutoWeek

The Germans are coming
Finally, AutoWeek also has pictures of a trio of German uber-cars, including the Audi RS6 (or could it be the S6, nobody seems to be able to agree on that one), Porsche’s upcoming GT3 iteration of the new 997-edition 911 (reportedly powered by a 400bhp 3.8-litre flat six) and some pretty unrevealing images which purport to depict BMW’s new 400bhp V8-toting M3 coupe. Enjoy.

Linkage:
Autoweek