AMERICA now has a true home-grown supercar, and all thanks to a Ford Australia designer now working in the US.
The car-making giant last night revealed its reborn GT40 supercar, with Ford Australia confirming the mid-engined track specialist was designed by a team led by former Ford Australia exterior designer Todd Willing, who now heads up the car maker’s Asia Pacific design centre.
This is not a concept: the Ford GT will be put into series production and has firmly put the Detroit show’s other supercar debut, the production version of the Honda NSX, firmly in the shade. It’s set to rattle the cage of the Ferrari 458, Lamborghini Huracan and Porsche 911 Turbo.
Boss Bill Ford was beaming as the homage to the GT40 that rolled Ferrari at Le Mans four years in a row from 1966 was showcased to a cheering home audience.
When Wheels asked Bill Ford if the car meant a return to the famous French 24-hour race, his answer was an enthusiastic: “Watch this space!” If it happens, Ford will join dominant Audi, Porsche, Toyota and Nissan among manufacturers competing in the iconic event.
With a body that apes both the GT40 and has classic supercar visual elements of Lamborghini and even Ferrari, its seductive wrapping showing off its construction with what Ford is claiming is the world first for a production car: carbon-fibre wheels. A much bolder design than the previous 2003 Ford GT, which looked almost identical to the now highly-collectable GT40, the 2016 GT uses a carbonfibre passenger cell and aluminium front and rear subframes, making this the first true US supercar for some time.
Power comes from a mid-mounted 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 that develops “more than 600hp”, around 450kW. It’s sent to the 20-inch rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Inside is an F1-style steering wheel and Ferrari-like stalkless set-up, as well as fully configurable digital dash display.
Production numbers have not been confirmed, but the GT will be left-hand-drive only. That doesn’t rule out right-hand-drive markets including Australia, with a spokesperson from Ford UK confirming that it will be sold there in left-hand-drive form. Pricing would be around the Ferrari 458, meaning around $600,000.
The GT was one of three Ford performance vehicles revealed, with the new F-Series Raptor ute shown as well as the track-ready Mustang GT350R, the first Ford with magnetic-adjust dampers.
Holden designers have styled a $40,000 Chevrolet electric vehicle capable of travelling 320km on a charge.
A concept for now, the Chevrolet Bolt is slated for production around 2017 and will sell in America for US$30,000 once green car incentives are factored in.
The Bolt is designed as a global car that could ultimately be sold with a Holden badge in Australia – although General Motors executives are tight-lipped for now.
The design of the compact crossover hatch kicked off in Korea and took input from the United States before being completed mid-2014 and air freighted to America for presentation to GM executives ahead of its 2015 Detroit debut.
The Bolt was the star of the Chevrolet stand at the 2015 Detroit motor show and was revealed within hours of the Buick Avenir, another concept car created by the Australian-based GM design team.
It is the first time the 140 Australian Holden designers have presented two major concepts at a major international motor show.
“We’re more than stoked we have two cars at the same show,” said GM Australia design director Richard Ferlazzo. “[It’s the] First time for us to have two cars at the same show from Australia.”
The twin motor show stars – each the standouts for the Chevrolet and Buick brands – is a coup for the Australian design team, which only a couple of years ago was concerned about long term job prospects in the lead-up to the December 2013 announcement that Holden would cease producing cars in Australia by late 2017.
“They always said they wanted it for an American reveal … and our preference was always this show, it’s the largest by far,” said Ferlazzo.
The Bolt will be sold around the world but it’s unknown if the production model will be produced in right-hand drive.
“It’s a global vehicle,” said Ferlazzo. “They’re committed to a global car.”
When asked if it would be produced in right-hand drive – paving the way for Australian sales – Ferlazzo said “you would imagine so, but it’s way beyond what we can answer”.
Former Holden boss and GM executive vice president and president, North America, Alan Batey, said the Bolt would be a crucial model for Chevrolet and General Motors.
“This is leading, not following,” said Batey. “No one has pulled the covers off a vehicle that’s going to have a range of 200 miles and basically you can drive it away for [US] $30,000. This isn’t directed at Tesla. Tesla’s got an average transaction price of $100,000 and is selling electric vehicles to the rich and famous. This is a vehicle for the people.”
Batey said the Chevrolet Bolt was part of a broader electrification strategy that would usher in a family of vehicles.
“You need a range of vehicles to meet different customers’ needs,” he said. “I think in the future what you’ll see, definitely from us, is a range of different vehicles.
“We’ll also use the electrical technology with other things that you’ve seen already that we’ve done on Malibu, so more to come.”
Batey described the Bolt as a “sweet spot” for electric cars, with some crossover appeal, while Ferlazzo said it was about electric propulsion without the oddball looks.
“We’re trying to get a bit of a shift in the way these small electric cars are designed,” said Ferlazzo. “This is more of a CUV (crossover utility vehicle). For too long electric cars have looked like science projects … we’re beyond that now. Consumers know what electric can do, now it’s a matter of how do you optimise the package of an electric vehicle to give me a car that’s really practical.”
Along with other Australian journalists Wheels saw the Bolt concept coming together at Holden’s Port Melbourne design studios as part of a top secret look inside one of General Motors’ most respected international design studios. At the time it was claimed the concept was an internal study only and would never be displayed at a motor show.
Ferlazzo said having two major models on display at America’s biggest motor show was a “huge boost” for morale at a brand that has seen its market share slip, is currently without a permanent managing director and a year ago announced the end of 65 years of Australian vehicle production.
“It doesn’t get any better than this – and two bookends,” said Ferlazzo. “We’re not concentrating on one thing only, we’re looking at a highly efficient, small electric vehicle and a luxurious, sculptural limousine for Buick. It shows the breadth, that’s what we’re most gratified about.”
Ferlazzo said having two former Holden bosses in senior leadership positions at GM’s Detroit head office was a plus.
“We get great support … it doesn’t hurt to have guys like Alan Batey and Mark Reuss. We do Holden work and we do GM work.”
IT’S SO beautiful it’ll make your eyeballs melt, but you’ll have to wait until at least 2016 to see Alfa’s 4C Spider on Aussie roads.
Just unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show, Wheels can reveal Australian deliveries of the production-ready 4C won’t begin until at least the start of 2016 due to supply issues.
Still, don’t expect the wait to hamper sales. Alfa claims more than 50 people have already expressed interest in the 4C Spider which, like the 4C coupe, is powered by a 177kW/350Nm 1.75-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol.
And don’t think lopping off the roof has turned the 4C Spider into a poseur-mobile with the dynamics of warm butter. Engineering wizardry and the car’s carbon-fibre tub construction mean that dynamically the Spider is virtually identical to its hardtop brother, with the same 4.5sec 0-100km/h sprint from the same mid-engined, rear-drive layout.
The biggest difference is weight, the Spider’s removable cloth roof adding 10kg over the coupe, meaning a kerb weight of 1128kg.
Owners will also have the option of an exposed carbon-fibre targa-style hardtop and the choice of a new bi-modal titanium exhaust system.
Built by Akrapovic (the same mob that makes MotoGP exhausts), the performance exhaust replaces the standard car’s side-mounted exhaust tips with a central design.
No word yet on pricing, or even whether the Spider will command a premium over the hardtop, but expect the 4C Spider to land somewhere in the $90,000-$120,000 bracket.
Welcome to Mercedes-AMG’s answer to the X6 M.
Originally thought to be the answer to a question no-one was asking, the weird-burger coupe-SUV turned out to be the question that was not just being asked, but demanded.
BMW has sold over 250,000 X6s since its introduction in 2009 and now its German rivals are keen to net themselves a slice of this lucrative pie.
Audi has a Q6 in development and Mercedes has unveiled its new GLE Coupe range at the Detroit Motor Show, ahead of a local arrival around mid-year.
Topping the tree is the GLE63 Coupe, fitted with AMG’s now-familiar 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8, producing 410kW/700Nm or 430kW/760Nm in ‘S’ guise.
The latter, in particular, compares favourably with BMW’s second-generation X6M (link here), with 0-100km/h disappearing in a claimed 4.2sec. The standard car takes 0.1 longer. Mercedes-Benz Australia has not yet confirmed whether it will take both models or, as in the case of the new C63 (link), just the powered-up ‘S’.
Underneath the hatchback-with-a-junk-food-addiction bodyshell essentially sits a modified ML63 platform, itself due to be renamed GLE later in the year as part of Merc’s new naming system (link).
The GLE Coupe will have a sharper setup, however, with the air suspension receiving a new tune and the addition of an ‘Active Curve’ system to limit body roll.
Adding to the GLE63’s cornering prowess will be monster 285/45 (front) and 325/40 (rear) rubber wrapped around 22-inch rims in ‘S’ guise.
Expect the GLE Coupe to carry a small premium over the corresponding ML (soon to be GLE) models, with the GLE63 ‘S’ Coupe to just sneak under the $200K mark.
DETAILS of the second V6-engined Mercedes-Benz to wear the AMG badge – the C450 AMG 4MATIC – have leaked online. It’s all part of the performance arm’s expansion, to take on the Audi S4 and BMW 335i M Sport.
When it goes on sale in 2016, for about $80,000, the C450 4Matic will become the first C-Class ever sold in Australia to feature all-paw grip, and only the second mainstream passenger car in the Mercedes-Benz Australia showroom to use the 4Matic system. The other is the A45 AMG.
In late 2014, AMG and Mercedes announced they would offer AMG Sport models in response to Audi S and BMW M Performance offerings. These would fill the gap between regular models and the over-the-top yet utterly brilliant AMG versions.
That means the C450 AMG isn’t a wake-the-neighbours autobahn crusher in the same mould as the Mercedes-AMG C63 but instead a lukewarm C-Class with a little more muscle than the regular models.
‘Lukewarm’ in AMG terms is a 270kW twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 and a 0-100km/h time of 4.9sec – as quick as the previous BMW M3 and only a few tenths shy of the outgoing V8 C63’s 4.6sec effort. Importantly, it’s faster than the BMW 335i M Sport’s 5.5sec claim.
That’s partly due to 520Nm from a lowly 2000rpm delivered through a seven-speed auto, but also because the C450 features 4Matic AWD. It’s rear-biased, with up to 67 percent of drive shuttled to the back. There are also lighter, stiffer suspension components taken from the new Mercedes-AMG C63, with adaptive dampers to complement the sports steering and 18-inch alloys.
Fuel consumption is 7.6L/100km for the sedan version, while the estate version will use about 0.1L/100km more.
Meet Australia’s latest locally-built rear-drive sedan – but it’s not a Holden.
General Motor’s svelte new four-seater is called the Buick Avenir and is intended to signify a new direction for the brand, which for the last few years has been flogging rebadged Opels to Florida retirees and the Chinese.
It’s the work of GM’s advanced design studio in Port Melbourne, which is one of only a handful of GM locations worldwide able to design and build a concept vehicle from scratch.
At 5195mm in length and 1931mm in width, the Avenir is 35mm longer and 33mm wider than the current Holden Caprice. It’s powered by a direct-injected V6 of unspecified capacity with cylinder deactivation capabilities and stop-start.
It feeds power to a nine-speed automatic gearbox and it’s applied to the road through a ‘twin-clutch all-wheel drive system’. Adjustable dampers also make an appearance.
The exterior design tips its hat to a number of past Buicks, including the 1954 Wildcat II concept car and the boattail of the early-’70s Riviera.
Inside, it’s all sweeps and swoops; the interior design supposedly inspired by waves on a beach. Greater touchscreen functionality has allowed most of the buttons to disappear, reducing clutter on the dash and centre console.
Connectivity is the current automotive buzzword, and the Avenir displays its credentials by automatically adjusting the infotainment system to the driver’s preferences by syncing with their smartphone.
Wireless device charging does away with the need for messy cables and each rear seat gets its own USB port and media screen.
Sadly, this classy luxury four-seater is unlikely ever to grace the roads of the country in which it was conceived. However, along with cars like Cadillac’s CTS-V and ATS-V, it proves that GM’s rear-drive future is bright.
Cadillac has written a new chapter in the international power war.
The new CTS-V, the third generation of Cadillac’s super sedan, generates a whopping 477kW/855Nm, which allows it to dispatch 0-60mph (97km/h) in 3.7sec on its way to a top speed of 322km/h.
Producing all this firepower is an all-new 6.2-litre supercharged V8 dubbed LT4. A more compact 1.7-litre supercharger features smaller rotors to allow boost to build earlier, while aluminium cylinder heads and titanium intake valves reduce weight and increase strength.
A new eight-speed automatic with paddle shifters – which seems like overkill with this much power, but there you go – transfers the power to an electronically-controlled limited-slip diff.
Thankfully, unlike Yank muscle cars of old, the new CTS-V’s chassis has received just as much attention as the metal lump under the bonnet.
The bodyshell’s structural stiffness has increased by 25 per cent, which allows the third-generation Magnetic Ride Control to operate with greater efficacy, Cadillac claiming 40 per cent faster response.
Giant Brembo brakes (390mm rotors and six-piston calipers at the front with 365mm rotors and four-piston calipers at the rear) are tasked with the job of hauling up 1880kg time and time again.
Steering is a variable-ratio rack with electric power assistance and wheels are 19 x 9.5 inches (front) and 19 x 10 inches (rear) with Michelin Pilot Super Sport rubber 265/35 ZR19 and 295/30 ZR19 respectively.
A special ‘Track’ ESP mode allows greater levels of slip while the onboard Performance Data Recorder allows drivers to record high-definition video, with data overlays, of their driving on or off track.
The CTS-V is the latest in GM’s growing arsenal of top-notch high-performance products, with cars like the Camaro Z/28 and Corvette Z06 proving every bit the equal of their international counterparts.
It’s just a shame local enthusiasts are unlikely to be able to sample any of them anytime soon. Would you be keen on a Cadillac, Camaro or Corvette? Let us know in the comments below.
MEET the new rear-wheel-drive car designed in Australia – an affordable luxury sedan by Buick.
Just don’t go envisaging a Holden badge on it. Yet.
The Avenir concept is officially a one-off, a motor show head-turner, and one that doesn’t yet have a business case, so it’s not slated for showrooms in the US or even China, Buick’s biggest market.
But the vehicle sitting on a Cadillac platform “makes a design statement” that “shows where the brand is headed” and could be marketed as an Opel for Europe, a Buick in major markets and, possibly, a Holden here.
Not that Holden executives or Holden design boss Richard Ferlazzo will confirm any discussions have taken place.
But clearly if such a car were to be produced it would be perceived as a global car: “The type of car it is could be quite universal because it’s quite stylish,” Ferlazzo said.
GM executives are adamant the Avenir is a concept for now, but clearly there’s interest in bringing it to market.
“We’ll see what the reaction is, but judging by the reaction in the first few minutes here there’s a lot of potential,” GM president, New Zealand-born Dan Ammann said. “The Buick brand has a lot of momentum – and this is an interesting concept.”
There’s also some discussion about how the big Buick will drive. While the press kit accompanying the Avenir suggests it will use all-wheel drive, several senior GM sources told Wheels the concept was built on a rear-drive layout.
American executives are playing the corporate card with Australia’s involvement, saying only it represents a new design language for Buick, right down to the Chrysler-esque wing incorporated into the bold, upright Buick grille.
“Really, the objective is to make a design statement, show where the brand is headed,” Ammann said. “This gives you a pretty good indication of where we see design going with Buick.”
Mark Reuss, former Holden boss and the man in charge of product development for General Motors, said the Avenir is a design evolution for the Buick brand. “It’s a beautiful statement of what Buick should be,” he said.
The project started in 2013 and was led by the Australian design team in what General Motors design boss Ed Welburn described as a “unique collaboration” with designers at the brand’s design base in Warren, Michigan.
Alan Batey, another former Holden boss, praised the design team that led the project, adding there will “always be some Holden in me. It’s not by chance they were chosen to do this project.”
“It was certainly a great enabler, because we understand that kind of proportion,” Ferlazzo added.
Reuss said the Holden design team was a crucial part of the brand’s talent. “The car was built in Australia and the interior and exterior was a joint effort between the two studios.” He added the concept was built on the Omega platform slated for Cadillac.
YOU might think that domestic sales rising by 45 per cent on 2013’s numbers would be cause for celebration at Infiniti, but when 2014 only signed off on 441 registrations, it’s clear there are some hefty expectations on the broad shoulders of the latest Q60 concept.
It gets the big billing too, ‘foreshadowing the next generation of Infiniti’s premium sports coupe’ although it clearly draws heavily from the same chatty design language of the Q80 Inspiration Concept that appeared at the 2014 Paris Show.
The bottom-feeder front end has been toned down but there’s the same blend of smooth Bezier curves and aggressive swages along the flanks. The 21-inch alloys with their jet turbine-inspired design probably won’t make it to the production version but the interior looks production-ready, with quilted leather surfaces and aggressively encompassing dash architecture.
The Q60 majors on individual settings with Infiniti InTuition, where each driver can set a profile for not only driving position but also heating and cooling, audio, navigation and telematics.
Chief designer Shiro Nakamura has indicated that the Q60 will be gunning for the BMW 4 Series but will be slightly larger, and will also draw a bead on the Audi A5, Lexus RC and Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe when it goes on sale at the tail end of this year as a 2016 model.
A convertible model has also been pencilled into Infiniti’s projections and although there’s no definitive word on powerplants, the smart money’s already on the twin-turbo 3.0-litre V-6 from the Q80 Inspiration, sold alongside a subsequent hybrid option. Speaking of money, the target market suggests $70,000 should be the starting point.
VOLKSWAGEN wants to cash in on the popularity of high-riding fastback SUVs, unveiling the Cross Coupe GTE concept at the Detroit Motor Show.
The third SUV-styled concept in three years from the German car maker, the Cross Coupe GTE comes across as a cheaper ‘premium rather than luxury’ version of BMW’s X6 and the upcoming Mercedes-Benz GLE.
It’s not the first time Volkswagen has looked at the popularity of expensive models and given its own spin to the idea. The Passat CC, for instance, is believed to have had Mercedes-Benz’s CLS-Class as its inspiration.
The plug-in hybrid-engined Cross Coupe GTE follows in the footsteps of the seven-seat CrossBlue and CrossBlue Coupe concepts revealed at Detroit in 2013 and Shanghai last year, and takes Volkswagen’s long-mooted US market seven-seat SUV a step closer to its late 2016 production deadline.
According to the car maker, the Cross Coupe GTE will travel about 30km on battery power alone. When the batteries start to fade, a 3.6-litre V6 engine, producing 206kW and 350Nm fires up – the car makes 250kW and 380Nm when that’s teamed with the two electric motors.
Why two? One electric motor produces 40kW and 220Nm at the front wheels, and also generates electricity for the battery, while the other, mounted at the rear and drawing exclusively on battery power, provides 85kW and 270Nm and is the only motive force in pure EV mode.
Only a whisker shorter than a Ford Territory, the interior of the concept car includes gesture-sensitive controls that, in one application, allow a passenger to swipe a hand across the dash to scroll through music titles displayed on the console’s large central screen.
The ‘GTE’ in the concept’s name refers to the vehicle’s sports-honed pedigree, which at the push of a button marked GTE sharpens up throttle response and steering, with drive provided both by the engine, which powers the front wheels exclusively, and the electric motors.
The Cross Coupe GTE includes an off-road mode that pushes drive to all four wheels when selected.
