Suzuki has unveiled the G70 Concept at the 2012 Geneva motor Show; a lightweight petrol car with comparable fuel consumption to current-market hybrids.
The small car weighs just 730kg and has a drag coefficient 10% lower than Suzuki’s Alto, allowing it to emit just 70g/km of CO2. So it’s not just green, it’s also green. Bob Brown’s already got one on order.
The powertrain that makes this all possible is an 800cc turbocharged direct-injection petrol engine with CVT transmission, an Auto Start Stop system and regenerative braking.
The G70’s funky interior features a transparent touch-panel display and a floating infotainment interface that can recommend destinations and music choices as well as display friends driving nearby on a map.
In addition to the all-new Phantom series, Rolls Royce also showed off the new ‘two-tone’ colour scheme that will be a bespoke factory option for the Ghost from now on at the Geneva Motor Show.
The first two examples displayed featured the Infinity Black body finish with Cassiopeia Silver top and Baynunah Brown capped by Arizona Sun. The latter also includes a gold-plated Spirit of Ecstasy bonnet ornament.
This is no doubt welcome news for Rolls Royce customers – who love customisation – as the company says almost every car that leaves its factory is equipped with a least one element from the company’s bespoke personalisation catalogue.
Ferrari stole the Geneva motor show with its sexy new flagship, but the fierce action around the halls centred around the new breed of premium-Euro hatchbacks.
Audi A3 was the first to have its covers pulled off. It is also the first VW Group product to utilise its fresh MQB platform destined to spread its engineering parts over everything from Polo to Passat. It may look like a facsimile of any recently-launched Audi, but the new platform and a breed of new engines, including a 132kW 1.8-litre turbo-petrol, should ensure the A3 is a dramatically improved drive.
Across the corridor was a rival desperate to secure a greater slice of the Euro-premo-hatch action. The all-new Mercedes-Benz A-Class is easily the lowest, sportiest generation ever. Gone is tall-boy functionality, replaced by squat styling backed by a new 155kW 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four. Mercedes’ engineering might will hopefully ensure this A-Class is an A-grade drive to match its larger C-Class and E-Class siblings.
Meanwhile, France and Sweden participated in a power war. Citroen’s DS4 Racing concept offers a staggering 191kW from its tuned 1.6-litre turbo four. Only slightly less grunty, but production-ready, is the Volvo V40. The flagship T5 sends 187kW to the front hoops via a six-speed manual transmission.
Buyers will need to step up to the rear-drive BMW M135i Concept to beat that sort of grunt in a small hatchback body. A 225kW 3.0-litre turbo six is shoehorned under the bonnet of this confirmed-for-production (and for Australia) ultra-hot hatch. Buyers not quite so well-heeled can, from next month, opt for a 125i hatch with a 160kW 2.0-litre turbo four for a Golf GTI-rivalling $45,700.
Finally, Peugeot promises to rekindle the spirit of its legendary 205 GTi with the new 208 GTi. Refreshingly, it’s smaller and lighter than the outgoing 207, yet scores a 150kW 1.6 turbo four. Hopefully its chic styling is more than a match for its dynamics.
The fight between these six Euro hatches is ready to roll. For more details on each model, see the Wheels, April 2012 issue, on sale March 16.
Citroen has released first teaser images of its new large luxury saloon challenger prior to the car’s full reveal at the Beijing Motor Show next month.
The new large car, expected to be called DS9, will be aimed at the Chinese market and is set to offer an intriguing alternative to the Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7 Series limousines.
Derived from the 2010 Metropolis concept car seen at the Shanghai Motor Show, the DS9 is a large car that, judging by the teaser shots Citroen has revealed on its Facebook page, now sports a shooting brake style bodyshell. This will give it added distinction in the marketplace and help it provide a leftfield alternative to the luxury Mercedes.
The DS9 is expected to offer some form of hybrid drivetrain: the Metropolis used a 2.0-litre V6 petrol engine mated to an electric motor, and the DS9 may incorporate the Hybrid4 technology already seen on the Citroen DS5.
Citroen may not bring the DS9 luxury car to Australia, though. The market for large luxury cars is strong in China, and the brand’s previous record of making unsuccessful luxury cars such as the Citroen XM is not an issue over there.
The DS9 is more likely to succeed as an alternative to the Mercedes S-Class in China than it is down here.
Full details of Citroen’s plans for the DS9, including the markets it will be aimed at, will not be revealed until next month, though. What does Citroen have in store for its intriguing new DS line range-topper, then? In a few weeks, we shall find out…
Land Rover has taken over a parking lot in New York and installed an inner city off-road course — which has already generated queues of an hour from people eager to try it out.
The pop-up off-road course has been set up to mark 25 years of Land Rover in the US. Ordinarily a pay parking lot, the challenging course is located in the Chelsea neighborhood, in the former meatpacking district of New York — a favourite location of expat Brits living in the city.
The course has been designed by Land Rover Experience experts and is a genuine off-road challenge. Ingeniously, it even includes a New York taxi buried beneath one of the inclines!
Going live over the weekend, Land Rover reports interest has been huge. There have been more than 1,000 drives over four days, reports a spokeswoman, by invited customers, VIPs and other Land Rover executives.
“Some people have waited for an hour to drive the car they want.”
Models available to drive include an original 1987 Range Rover, a 1993 Land Rover 110, a 1995 Range Rover Classic, a 1995 Camel Trophy Discovery and a 1997 Defender soft top. Brand-new models from the Land Rover and Range Rover line-up are also available.
The 1987 Range Rover was a tricky find for the brand: execs wanted a white classic model, to match that of the famous launch ad for the Range Rover in the US.
The firm eventually found one — fittingly, located in Birmingham, Alabama. Land Rover North America even reunited the car’s original owner with the classic model.
Land Rover has grown rapidly in the US since its launch 25 years ago, (the same year Platoon, starring Charlie Sheen, was released).
At the time of its launch, the Range Rover was the most expensive premium off-roader on sale in the US — and today, more than 575,000 Land Rovers and Range Rovers have been sold in America. The US is now the world’s largest market for Range Rover, and New York City is the largest metropolitan market for the brand.
Mercedes has unwrapped a new version of its 5.1-metre long GL-Class SUV here at the 2012 New York International Auto Show.
It brings a host of new electronic assistance systems and the inevitable round of increased efficiency claims — helped by a 100kg reduction in weight.
Mercedes describes the new GL as a ‘new interpretation of the first generation’, which gives you a clue. In fact, as far as we can tell the visual changes are limited to new lights — with the usual LED updates – and some extra chrome for the under-body protection.
There’s a choice of two engines — a 190kW 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel badged GL350 BlueTec, and a 300kW 4.7-litre V8 badged GL500 BlueEfficiency. The diesel is not only massively more powerful than the 155kW model it replaces, but also up to 20 per cent more efficient, too.
The GL350 completes 0-100km/h in 7.9 seconds — impressive for an SUV that’s 5.1 metres long, 2.1 metres wide and 1.85 metres tall. Especially when it also claims 6.2L/100km and CO2 emissions as low as 192g/km.
However, the GL500 is two seconds faster from 0-100km/h, making the sprint in 5.9. Top speed is 220km/h for the diesel, and an electronically limited 250km/h for the petrol.
You’d never say the standard 2012 Ford Shelby GT500 was really lacking in the oomph stakes, with an output of 405kW and 690Nm of torque from its 5.4-litre supercharged V8, yielding a sub four-second 0-100km/h time.
But, Shelby obviously didn’t feel 405kW was quite enough. So they took the GT500 back to the drawing board and doubled its power. Enter the Shelby 1000 Mustang, making its debut here at New York.
To cope with a 100 per cent power increase, Shelby American takes the standard Ford 5.4-litre small block V8 and strips it down, fitting a new crankshaft, con rods and pistons to deal with the extra forces involved.
Gas-flowed heads and an uprated exhaust are fitted to improve breathing, as well as a new supercharger all helps to coax those 1,100 horsepowers (810kW) out of the motor, before Shelby “sprinkles it with a little Shelby magic” to complete the transformation. Er…right.
Shelby is remaining coy about how quick its new Mustang is, but as the GT500 will hit 100km/h from rest in less than four seconds, expect the 1000 to better that slightly — if it can get that colossal power down — with a top speed well in excess of 320km/h.
Chrysler’s high performance SRT brand has unveiled an all-new Viper supercar at the 2012 New York Motor Show. Powered by an 8.4-litre V10 producing 470kW and 814Nm of torque, the SRT Viper is an American legend reborn.
You can clearly see the resemblance to previous Vipers – but the new car is harder, sharper and lighter, too, with carbon fibre body panels and an all-new structure.
SRT hasn’t yet revealed any official performance figures, but has said the new Viper will now hit top speed at the peak of sixth gear. This suggests a refreshing distain for fuel economy in the pursuit of outright performance.
New toys include launch control for consistent 0-100km/h times, two-stage adjustable damping and four-stage ESP. SRT has even gone so far as to specify different rubber compounds for the enormous front and rear tyres.
Finally, at the end of the press conference, SRT surprised everyone by driving a racing version of the Viper on to the stage. A hugely successful racing car in the past, the new Viper is taking up the challenge again in the 2012 American Le Mans series.
This is the Terrafugia Transition, a flying car – we suppose you could call it a crossover – being shown at this year’s 2012 New York International Motor Show.
According to Terrafugia, the Transition “combines the unique convenience of being able to fold its wings, with the ability to drive on any surface road in a modern airplane platform, while offering the ability for personal flight.”
A 74kW Rotax engine powers the transition, with drive sent to the rear wheels via a conventional CVT gearbox, transferring to the propeller at the touch of a cockpit button.
The electro-mechanical wing actuation is also controlled from inside the cockpit, taking just 30 seconds for the Transition to, er…, transition between car and plane.
With only drag to hold it back, rather than friction from the road surface-tyre interaction, the Transition has a maximum velocity of 185km/h, but Terrafugia recommend a more comfortable cruising speed of 170km/h.
Yes, it does work in the real world in that it can drive on the public road, but is also licenced to fly. Given the cross-concept nature of its design, it’s important to stress it’s a working machine.
In fact, the latest incarnation of the Transition – it’s a continuing development process for Terrafugia – completed an eight-minute test flight last month, flying at 1,400ft.
Sydney will host the 2012 edition of the Australian International Motor Show, with the Sydney Exhibition Centre at Darling Harbour playing host to all the latest reveals and concept vehicles from Friday 19 October – Sunday 28 October.
Here’s a preview of some of the most exciting, interesting and important cars to look forward to at AIMS 2012.
