MERCEDES-Benz will offer 10 plug-in hybrids by 2017.

Speaking at the Detroit motor show, the car maker’s research and development chief, Thomas Weber, confirmed that a broader range of PHEVs will join the hybrid versions of the S500, the company’s first plug-in, and the C350 Plug-in that was revealed at the show.

Confirmed for electrification is the M-Class successor, the new GLE, which will be shown at the 2015 New York motor show.

“SUVs is where the pressure from the legislation side is heaviest,” Weber said. That suggests that the new GLC, which replaces the GLK SUV, will also be offered as a plug-in model.

Not all SUVs will be hybridised just yet, though, with Weber ruling out a plug-in version of the GLE Coupe: “Why would we combine the most dynamic [SUV] with a plug-in? It’s possible, but it does not make sense.”

Mercedes’ sedans and wagons will also be offered as plug-ins.

“It’s always necessary to combine the new [plug-in] launch with a new model. In a short period of time a new E-Class will come to market – of course there will be an E-Class hybrid, because all cars C-Class and upward we definitely have to prepare for plug-in hybrid.”

The plug-in models are driven by both legislation – which forces carmakers in Europe to have an average of 95g/km by 2020 – and customer demand.

Currently, Mercedes’ fleet average, according to Weber, is an impressive 130g/km ahead of the release of the C350 plug-in at Detroit.

“The last remaining grams are the hardest, so we have to prepare our fleet for further optimisation steps, and plug-ins across our fleet will play a major role,” he said.

“It’s now our job to make these [plug-in models] emotional and affordable.”

THE Hyundai Santa Cruz gatecrashed the Detroit motor show with funky, muscular and edgy design in an intriguing package, and Hyundai Australia boss John Elsworth thinks it will find a place in the heart of Aussie ute owners.

Based on the next Hyundai iX35 platform, the Santa Cruz is much smaller than a Toyota HiLux, and more RAV4 in its dimensions. In Detroit, it looks like a scale model compared with the behemoths that dominate the sales charts, but that’s the point.

“We wanted to make sure that the customer isn’t getting a boxy, traditional pick-up truck that has a lot of towing capacity, because that’s not the story here at all,” said Hyundai North America design chief Chris Chapman.

“The idea here is a unibody, versatile, everyday driver, and when I need it, I have the extra space in the back.”

So Hyundai North America, which developed the Santa Cruz under the name ‘Project Boulder’ after the Colorado city, created a five-seater with suicide doors and a rear tray area that extends like a dining table to carry more gear – an innovation Hyundai wouldn’t reveal in detail because it’s currently patenting the design.

Overall size of the ute is designed for easy city parking and manoeuvrability; it’s not trying to convert die-hard truckers.

“It’s more meant for CUV buyers [Crossover Utility Vehicles, such as the Toyota RAV4 or Honda CR-V],” said Mark Dipko, HMA’s product chief.

That means it will be priced and specced alongside crossovers and is aimed at buyers under 30, as well as young women, led by an entry-level front-wheel-drive model.

“We’d be looking at a diesel for it,” Dipko told Wheels. “The 2.0-litre R diesel that we have already is a brilliant engine. It can deliver pretty much everything that this customer is going to need, and get the nice fuel economy.”

It’s all production-ready, too, so it could be in showrooms swiftly.

“We made sure to make all of those decisions. Everything we see here is on package, except for the wheels; it’s not a traditional show vehicle.

“We think we can get it fairly quickly to market if it’s approved, if the reception is as we hope. This is a love letter to our Korean counterparts to accelerate the process.”

Hyundai Australia chief operating officer John Elsworth will also be sending Hyundai HQ a love letter, as he wants the Santa Cruz for Australia to pick up on the lifestyle buyers currently in locally made Commodore and Falcon utes.

“Big utes aren’t for everybody, and with Holden and Ford not offering that sort of vehicle in the future [with the conclusion of Australian manufacturing], there’s a gap there in the market,” Elsworth said.

“And I think you’ll find there’s a blending of crossovers and SUVs and light commercials and this does fill that gap.”

DUST off the long-lens cameras because Holden’s all-new 2018 Commodore replacement is already testing in Australia.

The as yet unnamed large car, which will be imported and is expected to be a mildly tweaked version of the next-generation Opel Omega, is entrenched in the Lang Lang proving ground south-east of Melbourne, according to General Motors’ consolidated international operations boss, Stefan Jacoby.

“We are driving this car already in Lang Lang,” Jacoby said about the imported car that will replace the Commodore.

“We understand what Commodore is and we understand that better than anybody else and it is very obvious that the Commodore successor needs to be stronger than today’s model – and we will do everything to do that, with modern technology.”

Jacoby all but confirmed that, as expected, the Commodore will downsize its current V6 and V8 line-up to four-cylinder and V6 variants, with the V8 duties left to a two-door V8, likely the Chevrolet Camaro.

“With today’s technology, especially with downsizing, we can overperform a traditional six- or eight-cylinder,” said Jacoby.

“We have to ensure with this modern technology, better fuel economy, better CO2, better weight ratio than today’s model, we can achieve the better performance.”

GM president Dan Ammann suggested the role fulfilled by the broad modern Commodore line-up – entry-level fleet cars, high-performance sedans and limousines – could split between multiple models.

“There’s obviously a role for a replacement there, but I think there’s also more segmentation going on in the market,” Ammann said.

Jacoby also essentially admitted the imported Commodore would not be rear-wheel drive, instead relying largely on front-wheel drive, with four-wheel-drive models for some applications.

“I’m coming from a front-wheel-drive group – the VW/Audi Group [referring to his previous posting] – with this company we don’t believe there is a true disadvantage between a front-wheel-drive Audi, at the time, towards a rear-wheel-drive BMW,” he said. “You know that BMW is changing its entire C-segment vehicles to front-wheel drive?”

Despite the shift to front-wheel drive and decades of Holden talking of the advantages of rear-drive – both from a driving and design perspective – Jacoby is adamant the new Commodore will continue the tradition of strong design.

“The Commodore today has specific proportions which makes Commodore a Commodore. We need to match this with a future model,” he said.

Coinciding with the news that the next-generation Commodore is already in Australia, Jacoby said Holden will embark on a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign to reinforce the brand is here for the long term once local manufacturing of the Commodore and Cruze ceases in 2017.

“With all the efforts which we are doing to strengthen our brands … Holden is an iconic brand and it would be stupid to give this up,” Jacoby said.

“Our decision to close manufacturing has nothing to do with how we want to maintain our presence in Australia.”

He admitted the company had not done enough to reinforce the Holden’s brand’s longevity with buyers, something that coincided with another slide in market share and the threat it could drop from second to fourth-bestselling brand during 2015.

“I think I have underestimated that uncertainty from our consumers,” Jacoby said.

“Maybe from the very beginning [when he announced in December 2013 that local manufacturing would end by 2017] we should have made more efforts to clarify that our decision to wind down our manufacturing has nothing to do with our presence.

“We will pretty soon start to clarify that position. We will do that in many, many areas – we do this with traditional communications, we do this across our dealers and we do this with a lot of other announcements that show we want to maintain Holden in Australia.”

There has been speculation GM would shelve the Australia/New Zealand-only Holden brand and replace it with Chevrolet, which is used in dozens of countries as GM’s global mainstream brand.

“There’s no question … it never has been at any point on the table to negotiate or question Holden,” Jacoby said.

The latest VF Commodore will be refreshed late in 2015 before being discontinued by the end of 2017.

GET ready for the Holden Camaro – a rebadged version of the Chevrolet Camaro that will effectively be a V8-powered replacement for the Monaro, one of Australia’s most iconic nameplates.

Holden has confirmed it will sell a V8-powered sports car in Australia as Commodore production winds down in 2017.

Speaking at the 2015 Detroit motor show, the vice-president of General Motors’ Asian-based Consolidated International Operations, Stefan Jacoby, confirmed a high-performance model would step in once the V8-powered Commodores were discontinued in 2017.

“We will bring a Holden sports car in the … near future,” said Jacoby. “It will be something which truly fulfils the requirements of a true Holden sports car.”

When asked if the car would be powered by a V8, Jacoby said: “Most likely, yes”.

Given the high price and low volumes of the Corvette – a car that has a tightly packaged engine that is extremely difficult to switch to right-hand drive – the Camaro muscle car is the most likely option.

The next-generation Camaro is due in 2016 internationally and likely to be produced for a global market with the steering wheel on the right-hand side.

The 2017 Holden Monaro – sorry, Camaro – would sell alongside its long-running rival, the Ford Mustang, which will be offered in Australia from late 2015 with four-cylinder turbo and V8 engines.

The big question is whether Holden will badge the Camaro as a Monaro.

When asked about the future Holden sports car, Jacoby initially said it could revive the Monaro nameplate.

But, cryptically, he later said it would not signal the return of the Monaro.

Either way, there’s little doubt some buyers will see it as the spiritual successor to the legendary two-door Commodore that has not been available for almost a decade.

Jacoby even suggested the new Holden sports car would likely receive Australian design and/or engineering input.

“I think it was a wise decision to maintain our Lang Lang proving ground,” he said.

As for timing, Jacoby said it will most likely arrive after Commodore production ends, which is slated for 2017.

HEY Falcon and Holden fans, worried what you’re going to buy once the tap turns off on Australian ute production? Hyundai reckons it has the answer with this, the Santa Cruz.

Unveiled overnight in Detroit, the Santa Cruz concept is a small, car-like ute based on the ix35 small-SUV platform, and able to seat five adults.

The new, urban-friendly concept shows the ambitious Korean carmaker is keen to plug an important gap in its model line-up that includes traditional passenger cars and light commercial vehicles – but no ute.

It was developed largely in response to demand from the US, which wants a practical load-lugger in its showrooms, but also something that diverts from the usual cookie-cutter approach to pick-up truck design.

Hyundai Australia – which knew of the Santa Cruz’s arrival in Detroit but did not expect it to be passenger-car based – is more than interested in it.

John Elsworth, Hyundai Australia’s chief operating officer, told Wheels the Santa Cruz was a lifestyle vehicle that could pick up from where the Ford Falcon and Holden utes would leave off once local production ended by 2017, although it would be a niche seller.

The concept, which features suicide doors that open up to the rear seats, is aimed squarely at younger buyers aged around 30.

The idea behind it is that adventure-focused owners can cash in on the rugged, squared-off looks and limited off-tarmac ability via its soft-roading all-wheel-drive system, using the tray to carry bikes or stash muddy equipment or clothing without having to worry about bad smells or dirt.

Hyundai was coy about showing details of an extendable tailgate system that expands its length like a modular table to provide load space for longer items such as bikes. The tray also includes multiple tie-down points.

Not much has been said about what is under the bonnet, but reports from the US suggest it will feature a twin-turbo diesel.

Hyundai’s next-generation ix35, due in the next couple of years, is also expected to prepare the small SUV for hybrid and fuel-cell drivetrains.

Ironically, Hyundai’s research shows the US market is more than ready for a small ute with a lifestyle focus – something that could have saved the Holden ute from extinction.

According to Hyundai, the Santa Cruz could be in production within two years.

After what could be the longest-burning reveal in automotive history, the second-generation Honda NSX has lobbed at the Detroit Auto Show.

Acura-badged and US developed, the successor to Japan’s original ground-breaking supercar is powered by an all-new 75-degree DOHC dry-sumped twin-turbocharged V6, with drive via its exhaustively named Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system complimented by a trio of electric motors.

The combined power output of the hybrid system is said to be north of 410kW, with an independent electric motor-per-wheel providing drive to the front axle, while the third electric motor supplies ‘direct drive’ and is housed between the longitudinally mounted V6 and a newly developed “synapse-quick” nine-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Essentially rear-driven with instant on-demand front-wheel torque featuring torque vectoring to enhance handling performance, the raw numbers suggest acceleration prowess equal to that of Porsche’s 911 Turbo, or around 3.0sec for the 0-100km/h sprint.

“Leveraging new technology (NSX will) deliver incredibly vivid performance in a vehicle that responds intuitively and immediately to the will of the driver,” says chief engineer and NSX development boss Ted Klaus.

The NSX is slightly longer, taller, wider and has a lengthened wheelbase compared with that of 2012’s NSX Concept car, and has a more cab-forward design – much of it facilitating a change from initial transverse to current longitudinal engine orientation.

A departure from the original NSX’s ground-breaking all-aluminium construction, its successor adopts a spaceframe design with a multi-material make-up of aluminium, steel and carbonfibre, the latter used for the floor, while body panels are predominantly aluminium and what Honda calls “sheet molding composite” or SMC.

NSX’s styling has also been revised in showroom form, most notably the move away from chrome and polished metal surfaces and the introduction of more aggressive air inlets to aid aero efficiency and cooling.

The trim displayed at Detroit Auto Show adopts a staggered wheel design featuring 19 x 8.5-inch rims shod with 245mm-wide rubber up front with 20 x 11-inch rims and 295mm-wide rubber in the rear.

Braking comes courtesy of a carbon-ceramic package featuring huge six-piston calipers up front and four-piston unit in the rear, with dynamic brake vectoring key to a suite of electronic handling enhancements governed by a four driver-selectable drive modes (Quiet, Sport, Sport+ and Track).

American-built in Marysville, Ohio, the Acura-badged NSX is due to land in US showrooms later this year at an estimated pricepoint of around $US150,000.

There is currently no confirmation if and or when a right-hook version will make it to the Australian market.

THE star of the 2015 Detroit motor show – the Ford GT concept that has already been slated for production – was designed by an Australian as part of a top-secret project held back from all but those close to the 12-month project.

The look of the radical two-seater, V6-powered supercar – designed to take on Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini, and a direct rival to the next-gen, Holden Ute-skinned Chevrolet Corvette already under development – was created by Ford’s Australian-based Asia-Pacific design boss Todd Willing.

The Ford GT, a modern day interpretation of the GT40 made famous at the Le Mans 24 Hour race, was completed by a skunkworks team working in a dedicated studio at the company’s Dearborn head office in Detroit.

“We decided to do it quickly, decided to do it quietly and decided to do it without interference,” said Ford’s global design head Moray Callum, who praised the Australian-based design team.

Callum said the GT was sketched by Willing, a native Tasmanian who was based in Detroit for two years before moving back to Australia in July 2014.

“Because it was a very secretive program, we had a very select group of designers; it wasn’t an open exercise and we did it in a studio removed from the main activity,” Willing said.

“We had teams from design, engineering, from marketing that knew, but a very small number of people, a very nimble team. Certainly we were reminded regularly of the importance of maintaining security.”

Unlike previous GTs, which were powered by V8 engines, the new one – – which will be more expensive and exclusive than previous iterations when it arrives US and European dealerships – uses a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 producing about 450kW.

“It’s a dream; it’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to be involved on such a project,” Willing told Wheels.

“It’s easy to make something like this look dramatic and exciting… it’s like a shooting a penalty without a keeper, you can make it look pretty good.”

He said the experience gleaned from the Ford GT project would help him in his current role, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region but designing global cars for the Ford world.

“Working on a project like this, it’s so advanced, the concept, the materials, it really allows a lot of flexibility and what you can do with the design when it’s constructed in this way, so that was a very new experience.”

The Ford GT prototype on display in Detroit is said to be “95 per cent” production ready.

Australians shaped at least three of the key show cars at the Detroit show; General Motors showed its Buick Avenir and Chevrolet Bolt concepts, each of which was a product of Holden’s Melbourne-based design studio.

Ford has kicked off what’s set to be a strong year for Blue Oval performance car releases (Focus RS, Shelby GT350 and GT350R Mustangs, et al) by unveiling a revamp of its flagship muscle-cum-supercar, the GT.

Due for production in 2016 to mark the 50th anniversary of the original GT’s historic 24 Hours of Le Mans whitewash of 1966, its maker claims the nameplate revival is all-new affair.

The jewel of the Ford Performance fleet will serve as a halo car to showcase the Blue Oval’s engineering talents and to spruik its EcoBoost brand through high-performance powertrain technologies.

Gone is the old-school supercharged V8 of the old ‘new’ GT, replaced by a ‘next-generation’ twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 featuring architecture derived from Ford’s IMSA Daytona Prototype racing heritage.

Its maker claims the most-powerful unit yet to wear an EcoBoost badge features a dual port-and-direct fuel injection system and is good for “more than 600 horsepower,” or around 450kW plus.

Mounted mid-rear-ship, the engine plies its formidable energies through a seven-speed dual-clutch transaxle assembly rather than the convention H-gated manual found in the old GT.

Designers have also foregone the homogenized retro-infused styling of its forebear, introducing a more radical and aero-aggressive exterior treatment that aligns the American hypercar’s appearance more closely to that of Italian-bred exotics.

Most striking is the cocooning, almost jet fighter-like glasshouse, while the old GT’s classic gullwing door arrangement has been replaced by a more practical yet no-less-dramatic up-and-forward-rotating design.

While promising “one of the best power-to-weight ratios of any production car,” the new GT is largely constructed with a combination of aluminum, which is used for both front and rear subframes, and carbonfibre, which makes up the passenger cell and structural panel work.

Furthering the technology showcase includes an active aerodynamics enhancements (such as the auto-adjustable rear wing) and pushrod-style inboard-damper suspension featuring a suite of active trickery such as active ride height adjustment.

Huge carbon-ceramic brakes framed by 20-inch wheels shod with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber are featured on the Detroit show car.

The minimalist cabin, with stalkless steering column and paddleshift F1-style steering wheel, nods to contemporary hypercar tastes, the absence of electrified power boosting or energy recuperation systems pegs the new GT, to a degree, towards lovers of old-school supercar simplicity.

Due in US showrooms late 2016, the likelihood that Ford’s new ultimate performance weapon making it Down Under in left-hand drive form thereafter is highly questionable.

BENTLEY has finally settled on a name for its luxury-laden SUV that will fight the likes of Range Rover and the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class: Bentayga.

According to the luxury British marque, Bentayga is a name “inspired by the natural world”, that also happens to incorporate the name of the marque’s founder.

“Crowning the Northern Hemisphere, to the north of Bentley’s birthplace in England, is the dramatic beauty of the Taiga, the world’s largest transcontinental snowforest,” Bentley said in a statement announcing the origins of the name.

“To the south, the rugged peak of the Roque Bentayga in the subtropical Canary Islands draws attention from all directions and a challenging climb rewards with spectacular panoramic views of a rich and diverse landscape. “

According to Bentley, the Bentayga will be revealed later this year, and on sale in 2016.

FULLY autonomous cars are years – possibly decades – away, according to Audi chief executive Rupert Stadler.

Days after the an Audi Q7 completed 885km of driverless highway driving from San Francisco to Las Vegas as part of a publicity stunt, Stadler admitted that drivers would continue to play a major role in transport for “a long time”.

“You will see steering wheels and brakes for a long time because the driver will always have a certain responsibility,” said Stadler ahead of the 2015 Detroit motor show.

When asked how search engine giant Google could float the idea of a car without pedals or a steering wheel, he casually pointed to the brand’s track record with producing cars.

“They don’t have any cars.”

Just days into 2015, arch rival Mercedes-Benz showed its futuristic interpretation of how drivers could soon turn their back on the task of driving with its Mercedes F015 concept.

Major car makers – including German giants BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen/Audi – are in a race to start selling the first driverless car, although Audi insists any such vehicle will still require some driver interaction.

An Audi spokesman said it could be 20 to 30 years until fully autonomous cars were a reality in showrooms; such are the challenges in programming computers to account for every scenario on the roads.

Stadler was confident Audi would be one of the first to begin selling an early iteration of a driverless car.

“My feeling is that Audi really has to lead,” he said. “Now we are working to bring that one into series production and it will come, let’s say, 2017.”