Good looking isn’t it? In fact, we reckon this mid-engined Maserati Bora concept is pretty much perfect in every way, expect one – it doesn’t exist.

Yep, sadly this sensually sculpted concept exists only on a computer screen after being rendered by up and coming designer Alex Imnadze – the same bloke who gave us the Alfa 6C concept.

Built to bring the original Maserati Bora into the 21st century, Imnadze’s design also has hints of McLaren’s MP4-12C, Jag’s C-X75 and even the Ferrari Enzo.

Which means it’s bloody good to look at. Pity it’ll never be built…

FORD Australia has confirmed that the axe will fall on FPV in 2014, two years before Broadmeadows is scheduled to stop production of the Falcon and Territory. In a statement, marketing boss Graeme Whickman said: “FPV has been very successful for the past 12 years and our relationship with Tickford for many years before that. We appreciate all of the great team members, dealers, customers and fans who have supported FPV through its history. We look forward to sharing further details of the final FPV models and the new XR8 over the coming months.”

Whickman tried to divert attention away from FPV’s inglorious end by announcing that the XR8 will return as part of a Falcon update planned for late 2014. Ford has not offered an XR8 Falcon since the 2008 FG Falcon XR8 with its 290kW naturally aspirated 5.4-litre V8.

“We have received a lot of interest and continued requests from Falcon fans to bring back the XR8,” Whickman said, adding that it “will make our locally engineered and manufactured V8 engine available to a broader group of people”.

Early information indicates the XR8 will be powered by Ford Australia’s supercharged Miami 5.0-litre V8, as seen in 315-335kW forms in the current FPV range. However, Ford wouldn’t confirm how much power the XR8 would boast.

“We can’t comment on speculation about engine tune this far out,” spokesman Neil McDonald told Wheels. “We’ll be able to share more details closer to launch in late 2014, around the same time as [updated] Falcon and Territory arrivals.”

Suggestions that the reborn XR8 will have more real-world grunt than the Falcon XR6 Turbo are not backed by history as the XR6 Turbo has long been Ford’s local performance king.

McDonald did hint that Ford wouldn’t let FPV go without a fitting farewell, but wouldn’t talk specifics.

“At this stage we can’t say too much about what we’re doing with the FPV line-up. We’ve got a series of actions planned to make sure FPV is celebrated in the right style.”

BMW WILL RELEASE its first ever mass-market front-wheel drive model in Australia at the end of next year. Based on the Concept Active Tourer (CAT) show car unveiled at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, the five-seater MPV/wagon crossover will have the established Mercedes-Benz B-Class in its crosshairs.

Expected to be priced between $40,000 and $50,000, the production version will most likely surface internationally at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

“Next year will be a very busy year for BMW small cars,” BMW Australia’s general manager for marketing, Toni Andreevski, revealed to Wheels at this week’s X5 launch in New Zealand.

“We will have plenty of new cars like the 2 Series and the production vehicle based on the Concept Active Tourer in Australia [that will be launched] in the last quarter of the year.

“So we will be better placed to be competitive in a popular segment.”

While BMW is remaining tight-lipped on what the production version of the CAT will be called, our money is on ‘1 Series Gran Tourer’ (or GT), though others believe the Bavarians may create a completely new acronym for its front-drive people mover.

Internally, the CAT is known as the F45 series, and will be one of around a dozen BMWs to use the transverse, front-wheel-drive UKL1 platform developed for a veritable cornucopia of third-generation Mini hatch models, starting with the all-new F56 to be unveiled in Oxford (England) on Monday.

Along with the sideways-facing powerplant, the newcomer is also expected to offer the company’s fresh family of three-cylinder turbocharged engines, to supplement the four-cylinder petrol and diesel units that may also feature on the F45 drivetrain menu.

So why is BMW so keen to muscle in on B-Class territory in Australia?

Currently, the boxy Benz actually leads the VFACTS $40K-plus premium small-car market, edging ahead of its second-placed A-Class fraternal twin, with a 20 percent share of the segment.

In contrast, BMW’s two-year old F20 1 Series hatch is sitting back in third place with just 13 percent of the pie.

The upcoming BMW i3 plug-in electric/hybrid due here around August is also front-wheel drive, but at roughly $70,000 a pop, the BMW green machine will hardly be a mainstream proposition.

Dubai-based manufacturer W Motors has unveiled its 745kW SuperSport.

With a weight target of less than 1200kg it’s expected to hit 385km/h, knocking off its stablemate, the Lykan HyperSport, for sheer performance.

Stripping out trinkets such as the gold interior stitching, holographic driver display and diamond-encrusted LED headlights underlines the SuperSport’s harder edge.

These first renderings show F1-inspired aerodynamics such as the stepped front lip and rear diffuser.

Although its sticker price joins the Lykan at somewhere north of US$3.4 million, it’ll be far less exclusive, its production run of 25 dwarfing the seven units planned for its counterpart.

MERCEDES-Benz has released images of its PlayStation 3 Gran Turismo 6 star, the AMG Vision Gran Turismo, and there’s a strong hint that the real SLS replacement, due late in 2014, lurks beneath the digital car’s wild exterior.

“Historically, we don’t do design studies just for the sake of it,” Mercedes-Benz spokesman Jerry Stamoulis told Wheels. “There’s always a purpose. Look back to the Coupe concept of 1993, which pointed to the production CLK. The 2011 A-Class concept also strongly pointed at the current production A.”

While Stamoulis stopped short of confirming a link between virtual and real grand tourers, the use of the name ‘Vision’ seems like a dead giveaway. Previous Mercedes Vision concepts — the Vision SLR of 1999 and the SLA of 2000 — stylistically influenced the McLaren-Mercedes SLR and the 2004 SLK respectively. Adding further weight to the connection is speculation the SLS replacement will be called the AMG GT.

The Gran Turismo concept was conceived by Mercedes-Benz stylists when they were invited to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the game series. “We’ve shared strong links with the Gran Turismo brand, dating back to the AMG SLS featuring on the cover of Gran Turismo 5,” Stamoulis said.

The AMG Vision GT is the first commemorative vehicle to be released, and a full-scale model — sadly non-functioning — will be displayed at this week’s Los Angeles Motor Show.

While the virtual AMG Vision GT packs a 430kW/800Nm biturbo V8 under its CGI bonnet, the latest information on the AMG GT indicates it will receive a new twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 that is expected to produce 370kW/650Nm. Production is likely to start in the third quarter of 2014, with Australian sales commencing in 2015.

Honda has joined the baby SUV market with this — the all-new Vezel. Unveiled overnight at the Tokyo Motor show, Honda has high hopes for the micro-SUV with company execs predicting it could rival the CR-Z in terms of sales.

“We think there’s massive growth potential in the small SUV market,” Honda Australia Director Stephen Collins toldWheels. “In fact, we think it could even rival the medium segment, which is the best seller at the moment.”

Collins revealed Honda Australia has already put its hand up for the Vezel, with deliveries expected “just over twelve months from now”.

Based on the Jazz platform, the Vezel will go on sale in Japan this December with the choice of two petrol/hybrid drivetrains — but Collins says Australia will also get a diesel, but no four-wheel-drive variants.

“We want a diesel as well, but they’ll all be two-wheel drive,” he said. “It’s very much an urban type vehicle but despite its size, it’s actually much roomier than a Jazz.”

And as for the name?

“We love it but we’re not sure if it’s global at this stage or not,” said Collins.

It might be famous for its high revving, sowing machine-smooth naturally-aspirated engines, but Honda has revealed plans for a turbo-powered future.

The brand will introduce three new VTEC turbocharged engines in the next two years, with the new donks revealed in prototype form ahead of this week’s Tokyo Motor Show.

Leading the charge is the brutal 206kW/400Nm 2.0-litre four found in the next Civic Type R (read our exclusive first drive here), which Honda claims churns out 10 per cent more grunt than a 3.5-litre V6.

Sadly detailed information on the new engine was scarce, butWheels understands it uses an externally-sourced turbo, an electric wastegate, specially crafted ‘cooled’ cylinder heads and should achieve a fuel-efficiency target of better than 8.0L/100km.

But while the new performance-focused turbo is the highlight, Honda also revealed two other, smaller displacement powerplants which are currently under evaluation for Australia.

Sitting in the middle of the range is a new four-cylinder 1.5-litre 150kW/260Nm turbo petrol which Honda claims is 45 per cent more powerful and 20 per cent more efficient than its current atmo 1.8-litre unit.

Set to be mated exclusively to a CVT transmission, our time with the new engine was limited to one four kilometre loop of Honda’s R&D facility, but initial impressions were good with the turbo donk feeling suitably rapid and responsive.

Completing the new VTEC line up is a three-cylinder 95kW/200Nm 1.0-litre turbo, which like its 1.5-litre sibling is earmarked for a CVT transmission only.

Perplexingly, Honda wouldn’t be drawn on when these new engines will actually hit production or in what models, but engineers did hint the Chinese will be the first to get the 1.0-litre unit in the new Jazz.

Will there be an Evolution XI? Mitsubishi’s most senior executives are well aware of their all-wheel-drive turbo sedan’s icon status, but a replacement for the Evo X, introduced in Japan in 2007, isn’t going to happen any time soon. If it happens at all…

“We consider Evolution like Pajero,” says Ryugo Nakao, underlining the performance car’s importance in defining the company’s image. But Mitsubishi Motors Corporation’s product project and strategy chief says the company has higher priorities at present. Its Tokyo motor show concepts signal a shift in focus to renewal of MMC’s key SUVs and the development of plug-in hybrid technology.

Both are Mitsubishi strengths, says Nakao. But the company lacks the resources to simultaneously develop a sports car and eco drivetrains at the same time. “Too difficult for a company of our size,” confirms MMC president Osamu Masuko. But Masuko says there is a possibility of a replacement for the Evo X, and he has clear ideas of what it should be.

The present Lancer is too large, he thinks, so the Evo XI would be smaller. And it would utilise the technology being developed for Mitsubishi’s near-future SUVs, previewed by the company’s Tokyo concepts. Both the Concept XR, which previews the next ASX due in 2015 or 2016, and Concept GC, which points to the shape of the fifth-generation Pajero, feature PHEV (for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) drivetrains.

There’s no doubt an Evo XI using such tech could deliver a proper performance jolt. Plug-in hybrids like the BMW i8 and super-exclusive Porsche 918 Spyder and McLaren P1 are proving its ample potential.

With Mitsubishi working to bring down the cost of plug-in hybrid technology for its SUVs, the Evo XI could be one of the first to bring electro-exotic performance to market for a relatively affordable price. All they need to do is decide to build it…

OUT NOW! Our December issue pits the Merc CLA 45 AMG against Nissan GT-R and HSV Clubsport R8. We compare six base model small cars and preview Mustang’s four-cylinder future, plus our usual mix of news, views and showroom data. Available in print and on the iPad via the iTunes Store.

Subaru has announced online orders are now open for the next-gen WRX.

Following on from the sales success of last year’s BRZ online ordering program, Subaru Australia will take up to 100 pre-orders for its latest cult car via the website www.subaru.com.au/wrx-top-100.

The reaction to the BRZ online experiment was so frenzied that the website couldn’t initially handle the traffic, but fear not — the system is more robust this time around. “We learned a lot from BRZ online,” Subaru spokesman David Rowley told Wheels. “No-one outside the company knew about the WRX site until today, and without the pre-publicity on pricing and specification we expect the demand to be more manageable, more enthusiast-driven…the backend has been built to cope,” he continued.

A $2500 deposit will guarantee shipment within the first Australian WRX batch, which is expected in March/April 2014. With price and spec not announced, online customers will retain the right to have their deposit fully refunded; otherwise they’ll have 14 days to complete the transaction once the vehicle has landed.

Online pre-orders for the new WRX will close at 11:59pm on December 2013, or when 100 orders have been taken; whichever comes first.

Once the online quota has been filled Subaru will adopt a more traditional retail roll-out, with subsequent vehicles sold through the dealer network.