Rolls-Royce has unveiled an upgraded line-up of its Phantom range at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. The overhaul is the first significant batch of upgrades since the Phantom’s relaunch in 2003.
Besides minor styling tweaks, the most important addition to the range is an eight-speed automatic gearbox which replaces the outgoing six-speed. This reduces the big V12’s fuel consumption by 10 percent and cuts CO2 emissions from 385 to 347g/km.
Inside the Phantom II the infotainment system has been improved with a bigger screen, 3D satellite mapping and front, rear and top view cameras.
The upgrades apply to all Phantom models including the Coupe, Drophead Coupe and Extended Wheelbase variants.
Ford has revealed the production-ready version of the new Focus ST which will land here in Australia sometime next year.
Making its debut at the Geneva Motor Show today, the Fiesta ST gets a 1.6 litre EcoBoost petrol engine that makes 132kW and 240Nm of torque. 0-100km/h should take less than seven seconds, while top speed will be in excess of 220km/h. Fuel consumption is also hit with a 20 percent reduction.
The Fiesta ST also gets some cool interior upgrades including Recaro seats; Mykey, a performance limiting function for less-experienced drivers; and SYNC, Ford’s voice recognition connectivity system.
“We believe Ford customers will be blown away by the new Fiesta ST, and not only by the exhilarating performance but by the styling and specification, too. This dynamic new hot-hatch is undoubtedly our best Fiesta ST to date,” said Jost Capito, Ford’s director of Global Performance Vehicles.
Italian automotive stylist Giugiaro has revealed its newest creation at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show: the Brivido concept.
The futuristic grand tourer is billed as a supercar that’s kind to the environment. It features a 3.0 litre V6 that develops 265kW and 460Nm – which doesn’t sound like much – however the additional hybrid system makes an extra 300kW and 460Nm. This amounts to a 0-100km/h time of 5.8 seconds and top speed of 275km/h.
The Brivido’s gull wing doors and roomy interior also make it a true four-seat GT car, and its 1326 litre cargo capacity with the seats folded down is fairly impressive as well.
Inside the cabin you’ll also find plenty of ultramodern technologies like titanium fibre trim materials, twin LCD instrument screens, an iPad dock, and a touch screen climate control system which descends from the roof.
First unveiled stateside at the Detroit Show in January, and now wearing Honda badging for the first time, this is the new NSX concept’s European debut here at Geneva 2012. And boy are we excited to see it.
The original NSX was partly developed by F1 legend Ayrton Senna, so the latest car has a lot to live up to. But the basics are there: mid-engined layout, two seats and a rakish body. Make no mistake, the NSX concept means business.
The new Japanese two-seater features a hybrid powertrain – giving massive performance with hatchback efficiency – Honda’s first ever dual-clutch gearbox and an all-new advanced platform, promising that the NSX concept will deliver.
But someone in Honda’s styling department doesn’t know when to put the pen down by the looks of things – the new NSX is needlessly fussy in some areas. Given its superb basic proportions, a much more simple design, aping its predecessor, might have been more apt.
Honda is expecting to put the NSX into production within the next three years but a launch date, pricing and specification are still yet to be confirmed.
The future is decidedly weird looking, if the Toyota FT-Bh concept at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show is anything to go by. It sure makes an impact.
The clue is in the name: FT-Bh stands for Future Toyota B-segment hybrid – so although the Japanese giant has only just unwrapped its brand new Yaris Hybrid supermini, it is apparently already planning for that car’s successor.
Focusing on maximising efficiency in five key areas – weight, aerodynamics, powertrain, thermal management and electricity saving – Toyota has created a concept that offers a 50% CO2 improvement over the current supermini class average. It also weighs less than an Aygo – without using any exotic materials.
Toyota will probably want to think about toning down the looks a bit before putting the FT-Bh into production – those are some crazy curves. On the other hand, it has supposedly achieved a 30% aerodynamic gain as a result, so it’s not just mad looking for the sake of it.
Despite featuring a petrol-electric drivetrain (complete with heavyweight batteries and motor), the FT-Bh weighs under 800kg. The petrol side of the equation is a 1.0-litre two cylinder. In conjunction with hybrid drive, it will return 1.8 l/100km!
Gumpert has revealed what is quite possibly the angriest sounding car of all time (in name, not engine note – although it might be as well) at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show: a variant of its Apollo called the Enraged.
The Enraged is basically your standard Apollo – if anything about the Apollo can be called “standard” – with everything made just a bit madder. Power from the 4.2 litre Audi V8 has been increased to 574kW, while weight has been brought down to 1,175kg.
Gumpert says the Enraged is the most powerful street-legal car it has ever unleashed on the road. But “street-legal” just isn’t enough for these guys, so they’ve also put out the Apollo R – a 633kW/1,100kg version that unfortunately isn’t exactly street legal.
“Ok, so perhaps it is a bit crazy to take the most extreme, barely still street legal vehicle and make it even more extreme,” said Roland Gumpert. “But the idea behind the Enraged, just like the Apollo R itself, embodies our philosophy and our understanding of Pure German Speed with absolute consistency.”
Honda has always been good at small sportscars, and with downsizing and efficiency increasingly important on both manufacturers’ and buyers’ agendas, the EV-STER concept looks set to please all sides.
The EV-STER is Honda’s embodiment of a super environmentally friendly roadster. With an all-electric powertrain in a small two-seat chassis, the futuristic EV-STER is pretty damn cool.
The EV-STER has been designed to Japanese Kei-car regulations, which means a maximum length of 3.4 metres and a maximum width of 1.48 metres. As such, the EV-STER is roadster concentrate, personified. Like a slightly enlarged go-kart, we reckon it’d be a hoot to pilot, with its joystick controls, too.
As a result of the Kei-car regs though, the EV-STER could get a more humdrum 46kW 660cc three-cylinder engine instead of hi-tech all-electric drive. We can’t help thinking it’d be a missed opportunity to create what looks to be a cracking little roadster if it really does end up with only 46kW on tap.
The EV-STER’s electric motor will catapult the car from 0-100km/h in five seconds dead, while a 160km/h terminal velocity and 160km range should be attainable. Honda reckons the car’s battery pack can be fully charged in two hours with a 200-volt connection, rising to three hours with a 100-volt electric input.
New Lotus F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen pulls the wraps off the latest version of the Evora, the Lotus F1 Team Evora GTE at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. The Lotus stand is a thing to behold, bold, large and thoroughly befitting a major car manufacturer. Now let’s just see those supercars. Except there’s a bit of a cloud hanging over Lotus, with the company waiting to hear what happens now that its Malaysian owner Proton has been sold.
What is it?
This is a bit complicated. There is the 206kW Evora, the Evora S with turbocharging and 257kW, and the Evora GTE that ups the power to an incredible 327kW. The F1 inspired GTE boasts gleaming carbon fibre.
What’s hot?
With power up almost 60% over the original Evora and 100kg shaved off the weight, the performance potential is stupendous. This F1 version extends the carbon of last year’s Pebble Beach car to the full bodywork.
What’s not?
25 GTEs were originally slated to be built, but there are 200 orders that Lotus will naturally fulfil. Sadly they will largely go to China where the regulations are, shall we say, a bit more relaxed than elsewhere. This Geneva F1 Evora is, for the moment, just a show car.
How much and when?
The Lotus Evora isn’t cheap in any form, and it’s easy to reach $150,000 for a well-specified Evora S. So this Lotus F1 Team Evora GTE will be the other side of $200,000 should it ever reach production.
Anything else I need to know?
Performance figures are hard to come by as Lotus is being coy about even the regular Evora GTE, which was developed primarily as a race car. But 0-100km/h in less than 4.0 seconds has to be on the cards.
Bugatti shows not just one, but two examples of the rarefied Grand Sport Vitesse at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. Blue or more subtle grey, both make a massive impact.
Of course the 736kW (1,000hp) Bugatti Veyron was never really fast enough, so now those of you who are brave enough (and have the bank balance to match) can get one that is. Based upon the current open-top Grand Sport Veyron, it’s the fastest Bug roadster yet.
Apart from the flame-grilled engine compartment? The 8.0-litre W12 multiple turbo-engine now punches out 883kW (1200hp), and the chassis has been developed to compliment the extra power. They say the steering is even sharper.
There’s not much to beat this Veyron when it comes to Top Trumps, though steer clear of the economy stats. 0-100km/h in 2.5 seconds and a roof-up top speed of over 400km/h are the killers.
Chevrolet has revealed its first ever purpose-built drag racing production car, the COPO Camaro. Only 69 models of the car will be built in tribute to the COPO Camaro ZL1s that were built in 1969.
Three high-powered choices of engine will be available including a naturally aspirated 7.0 litre V8 and two supercharged 5.3 litre V8s. Chevrolet says this sort of power is necessary so that the COPO Camaro is able to compete on the drag strip with top-level Stock cars.
The COPO won’t exactly be road-friendly, as Chevrolet says most of the sound deadening and power accessories have been removed to save weight. In their places are bucket seats, a roll cage, safety harness and floor-mounted racing gear shifter.
If (like us) you weren’t one of the lucky few to get your hands on a COPO order form, it’s pretty unclear how you could have. Chevrolet will only say that ‘an independent third party was used to identify the first individuals who would be offered the opportunity to buy one of the new COPO Camaros’. Hmmm…
