What family car should I buy? It’s a question faced by thousands of Aussie families every year, and honestly, it’s one that usually causes its fair share of headaches. Wheels has cut through the hyperbole and selected our top five – all chosen objectively to give you the best family motoring experience possible.
Mercedes-Benz has thrown the covers off its latest high-performance saloon, revealing the new E63 AMG family ahead of the Detroit Motor Show.
A rival to BMW’s legendary M5, the E63 range is spearheaded by an all-new S-Model, which boasts 430kW and 800Nm from its 5.5-litre biturbo engine. That’s enough power to rocket passengers from 0-100km/h in just 3.6 seconds – all in opulent luxury of course.
Every model in the E63 range is limited to 250km/h, with Merc proclaiming its new performance sedan is kinder to the environment, despite being more powerful. Customers will have the choice of both two-wheel and four-wheel-drive, with the range including both sedan and wagon layouts.
And the price? Merc insists the entire range offers “substantially enhanced value for money”, but still expect to pay upwards of $250 000.
Stay tuned for more information on the E63 AMG’s Detroit launch.
The 2014 Corvette is here!
Just unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show, GM has even given this new model the legendary ‘Stingray’ tag. Click through gallery for more details.
Aston Martin has thrown the covers off its new, updated Rapide S. After three years on sale, Aston’s four-door tourer has been given a facelift, including minor styling tweaks and a big boost in power.
Aston’s ‘family’ cruiser now boasts 410kW, thanks to its new 5.9-litre ‘AM11’ V12 engine. 0-100km/h is dealt with in 4.9 seconds (0.3 quicker than its predecessor), with the Rapide S going on sale next month.
McLaren fans take notice – the British company has given the world a glimpse of its first production-ready P1 Supercar.
Set to be officially unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March, these images prove McLaren will stick to its jaw dropping concept design, first shown to the world at the end of 2013.
McLaren has given us nothing specific on the P1, except to confirm it is “emerging from its development.” Yet sources suggest the P1 will use a modified version of the twin-turbo V8 used in the McLaren MP$-12C, mated to an F1-style KERS hybrid boost system. Output has been estimated at about 530kW.
Seen here in testing camouflage, McLaren has also belted the P1 on the track – see accompanying video.
Can a Kia be cool? Kia thinks so, revealing an all-new, hot hatch designed to take the fight to Europe’s finest.
Called the Pro-Cee’d GT, Kia’s hot hatch will be a close cousin to Hyundai’s Veloster Turbo, first launched here in 2012. That means the Cee’d GT will use the same turbocharged 1.6-litre four cylinder engine as the Veloster and produce 150kW and 265Nm.
The two cars will also share the same six-speed manual and automatic transmissions.
The Cee’d GT has not been confirmed for Australia, but Kia has revealed plans to bring the car down under at the earliest opportunity. Kia will officially launch the GT at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
Is there ever such a thing as too much power? Not if you ask the Germans.
A power war has erupted between car giants Audi and Mercedes, with each chasing more kilowatts to boast the most power in the super-saloon market.
Currently Merc has the upper hand thanks to its new 430kW/800Nm E63 AMG S model. But this victory could be short lived.
Audi’s infamous Quattro division has revealed plans to build a ‘Plus’ version of its RS 6 Avant which could produce up to 10 percent more power. That would see its 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 churn out close to 450kW and shave even more time off its 3.9 second sprint from 0-100km/h.
Should Audi build it, the RS 6 Plus would tower over its rivals from BMW and Jaguar, whose M5 and XFR-S produce 412kW and 405kW respectively.
A production-ready Alfa Romeo 4C has been caught testing in Italy ahead of its Geneva Motor Show reveal.
First shown to the world at Geneva in 2011, these pictures prove the production 4C will retain the silky curves of the original concept.
Boasting similar dimensions to the tiny Lotus Elise, the 4C will be powered by a four-cylinder turbo engine expected to produce 225kW.
Power will travel to the rear wheels via a dual clutch gearbox, with weight to be kept at 1000kgs. That means a 0-100km/h time of less than five seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 250km/h.
No word on pricing, or if the car will even grace Australian shores, but expect the 4C to fetch around AUD$70,000 in Europe when it goes on sale in May.
It’s built in a shed in Woy Woy, but this hand-crafted beast has more power than a Bugatti Veyron.
It’s called the Woods & Woods 14 16 and it truly is one of the most unique cars in Australia.
The world’s fastest Lamborghini will be unveiled at next month’s Geneva Motor Show.
The Italian brand has revealed it is building a special, low-volume supercar as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, promising it will be the fastest road-going Lamborghini to date.
That means it will need to beat the 350km/h top speed of the current Aventador. Details of the exclusive model are clouded in secrecy, but Lambo has revealed the car won’t be an entirely new concept. Rather it’s likely to be a heavily modified version from its current range.
Lamborghini has a long history of producing special one-off cars, first showing the world a one-off Miura Roadster in 1968.
Last year it displayed the jaw-dropping Aventador J in Geneva, while a limited edition track-only Sesto Elemento (pictured) was unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show.
Less than 10 examples of the new car will be built, with Lamborghini revealing ‘most’ of them have already been sold, despite an expected multi-million dollar price tag.
