Just days after showing its new 2014 WRX at the New York Motor Show, Subaru has released a computer generated video of the new model in action.
The clip shows the next-gen WRX, which has received rave reviews, climbing mountain roads and dodging obstacles.
Despite the clip being computer generated, it’s good to see the WRX, which remains in concept form, moving on the road.
Ford is preparing to celebrate 50 years continuous production of one its most legendary models, with the Mustang’s big five-oh in 2014.
The brainchild of US auto industry icon, Lee Iacocca, the car was initially built on the underpinnings of the humble Falcon sedan, to save costs and provide seating for four.
It created an immediate sensation (22,000 sales in its first day) and spawned a group of similarly sized GT competitors, including Chevrolet’s Camaro, which came to be known as ‘pony cars.’
Over (close to) five decades the Mustang has evolved through five generations, muscling up in the late 1960s and early ‘70s with massive engines and significant motorsport success.
It shrank through the fuel-crisis ‘70s, but gradually came back to enjoy genuine muscle car status in the current version.
Ford says it has licenced 50 companies to create products bearing the special Mustang 50 logo, including high-quality die cast models, videogames, watches and apparel. And stand by for limited edition ‘50 Years’ version of the car.
It’s official – the Hennessey Venom GT is the world’s fastest production car.
The insane, 7.0-litre, 927kW American supercar clocked 427.6km/h on a top speed run in Texas earlier this week,technically making it officially the fastest production car you can buy.
But hang on, we hear you say, didn’t the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport record a top speed of 430.9km/h?
So shouldn’t it be the world’s fastest car?
Not according to Hennessey owner John Hennessey.
“While a Veyron Super Sport did run 430.9km/h, Bugatti speed-limits its production vehicles to 415.2km/h,” he said. “Thus, at 427.6km/h the Venom GT is the fastest production car available to the public.”
So yes, technically the Venom GT is the world’s fastest car.
Bugatti limits its production vehicles to stop its tyres from exploding, should enthusiastic owners get heavy right foots for extended periods.
Still, this technicality shouldn’t belittle Hennessey’s achievement.
The Venom GT recorded its top speed in just two-miles – half the distance it took the Bugatti to hit its maximum.
And scarily, there’s an even more insane, even faster Hennessey about to hit the road.
The Venom GT2 is about to enter production, with Hennessey predicting a top speed of…462km/h.
Kimi Raikkonen has emerged as a shock candidate to replace Mark Webber at Red Bull next season, should the Australian decide to leave the team.
Red Bull owner, Dietrich Mateschitz, has told the media Raikkonen is a serious option for the reigning champion outfit.
“Kimi is cool and fast and always a candidate,” he told SpeedWeek.com.
Raikkonen’s current deal with Lotus expires at the end of 2013, leaving the 2007 world champion free to drive alongside Sebastian Vettel.
The pair are reportedly good friends, making Raikkonen an attractive option given the current hostilities between Webber and Vettel.
Webber is understood to be considering his future in Formula 1 after Vettel ignored team orders to pass him and win last week’s Malaysian Grand Prix.
Mateschitz clarified Webber would remain an option, should he wish to stay on.
Raikkonen has existing contacts with Red Bull, having driven for the energy drink company during his World Rally Championship campaign.
Forget making movies – all Daniel Craig has to do to make millions is drive Range Rovers.
The movie star, best known for playing superspy 007, was reportedly paid $1 million to help launch the 2014 Range Rover Sport at the New York Motor Show.
That’s an astronomical amount for what the UK media is calling a ‘007-minute appearance.’
Craig’s involvement started in a special promotional video, which saw the 45-year-old drive the new Range Rover from the company’s UK manufacturing plant into New York -click through the gallery to watch the video
Craig then personally delivered the new model to the show, stopping traffic in downtown Manhattan to drive the car onto its display.
He then appeared for a short photocall before disappearing, $1 million richer.
Representatives of the charity S.A.F.E attended the show, of which Craig is a spokesperson.
New Zealand’s newest motorsport facility, Highland’s Motorsport Park, has kicked off with a massive open day, featuring classic racing cars and drivers, highlighting the country’s hi-octane heritage.
Located in Cromwell, 50km outside Queenstown on the South Island, the new facility offers three track layouts, with the full circuit running 4.8km.
Kiwi legends Jim Richards, Greg Murphy and Craig Baird were there on the day, with the latter blasting to a new lap record of 1:41.90 in a McLaren MP4 GT3 racer.
The facility also includes the Highlands National Motorsport Museum, a skid pan, go kart track and a first-class restaurant and cafe.
Overshadowed by the simultaneous New York show, Seoul still threw up two significant new concepts from the all-powerful Hyundai and Kia group.
Both point to new design directions. Hyundai’s striking Venace coupe represents a further move towards a premium sub-brand, while Kia’s CUB looks set to join the Geneva show Provo as a potential second line of European ‘lifestyle’ vehicles aimed at Mini and Citroen DS.
Hyundai’s Venace concept, “very close” to next year’s production successor to the Genesis coupe in the words of one senior executive, reveals a strong move away from the previous Fluidic style to a cleaner design language.
Designed in Korea by 29-year old, Ukrainian-born, US-educated Mykola Kindratyshn, Venace emphasises its rear drive layout with a long (2860mm) wheelbase, short overhangs and a long bonnet and dash-to-axle ratio, with far simpler body surfaces and volumes, rather than relying on Fluidic’s dramatic graphics and exaggerated crease lines.
“We want to use the Venace’s exterior elements, the soft volumes without aggressive lines, in the future,” admits Kindratyshn. “The look has a lot of potential for future models,” says Peter Schreyer, recently promoted from Kia design boss to oversee the styling of both brands, “it shows we are not stagnating and see the future in a simpler way.”
Forget the butterfly doors and the rear drive coupe reveals the look and character of the new Genesis coupe that’s confirmed for right hand drive production with both normally-aspirated and 362bhp turbocharged versions of a 3.3-litre V6, driving through Hyundai’s own 8-speed automatic.
CUB, Kia’s promised coupe turned out to be a five-door hatch with rearward opening suicide doors.
Styled in Korea, Kia claims it has no plans for a production variant, though the designers admit it points to a new direction and shares some visual elements with the European Provo.
Kia also unveiled the Cross GT, a large SUV concept that exposes the look of the next generation Sorento.
Ssangyong, the Korean arm of India’s Mahindra, unveiled LIV 1, a far more contemporary and attractive large SUV that’s close to production ready as a successor to the ancient Korando, but Chevrolet’s Korean arm effectively ignored the show a nd included a previous generation Corvette among an unchanged raft of production models.
South Korea’s only supercar maker, Oulin Motors (previously Proto Motors), launched the Cregit.
The Korean styled mid-engined sports car, powered by an Hyundai 3.8-litre V6 in three forms; normally aspirated, turbo and twin turbo. The 600bhp twin- turbo claims zero to 62mph in 3.45secs and a 320km/h top speed. Oulin predicts sales of 10-20 Cregits a year.
Strangest of all the models on a stand, that included the long standing Spirra coupe, was the one-off Bengari mid-engined stretched limo, based on the existing Spirra coupe, the suicide rear doors being cleverly interchangeable with the front doors.
Between them, Hyundai (43percent) and sister Kia (34percent) utterly dominate the 1.4m strong Korean market. Imports took just 10.2percent in 2012 with the majority from Germany.
Of the top 10 selling imports just two – Toyota Camry and Prius – were Japanese. The best selling imports were BMW’s 5-sereis and Mercedes-Benz E-clas. The troubled history of Korea and Japan is blamed for Hyundai’s pull out of Japan in 2010 and Toyota taking until just four years ago to open its first dealership in Seoul.
Brace yourselves, Silvia, 200SX, and Gazelle fans around the globe!
Nissan is set to electrify the affordable sports car world with an agile and lightweight coupe concept to be displayed at the Tokyo motor show this November.
To sit beneath the five-year old 370Z that will continue on for some time to come, the as-yet unnamed two-seater will offer both petrol-electric hybrid and full-electric propulsion, and is aimed at funking up Nissan’s reputation with younger buyers.
For some idea of what the Japanese firm is planning, look to the Esflow EV sports car concept that was one of the stars of the 2011 Geneva motor show. A rear-drive pure EV, it employed twin electric motors and a lithium ion battery for a 5.0-second 0-100km/h dash time and a 240km range on one charge (but not at the same time).
Whatever the end result may be at Tokyo 2013, it will follow hot on the heels of a revised GT-R for 2014 with hybrid technology, to be unveiled sometime later on this year (possibly at Frankfurt).
Nissan will also race an electric vehicle at Le Mans next year, further underlining its commitment to the sports car moving into the future.
Speaking to the Australian media at the New York International Auto Show this week, company Executive Vice President and car czar, Andy Palmer, confirmed that a sub-Zed sports car is around the corner.
“When we say that we are going to go to Le Mans, which we will in 2014 with an electric sports car, it implies an interest in electrification of a sports car,” he said.
“And we’ve implied that there will be electrification of the GT-R sometime in the near future.
“But we’ve got some other plans for what we think sports cars for Gen Xs and Gen Ys would look like, and I think that the Zed will sit apart as a classic sports car.
“But we think that there is room below that for something very special. And for that we will see you at Tokyo.”
Asked about the type of propulsion system Nissan is readying for the Sub-Zed sportster, Mr Palmer revealed that the company is not limited to just once source of power.
“I think there is room for both (petrol-electric hybrid and pure electric),” he said.
“The beauty of pure electric is that there is oodles of torque and power instantaneously, so for a car that is really fun to drive, electric presents with us an opportunity.”
Stay tuned. We’ve just booked our spot at the Tokyo show on November 23. Bring it on, Nissan!
BMW is taking the fight to its luxury rivals by offering a new, cut price, entry-level 3 Series sedan.
The thrifty new model, known as the BMW 316i, will hit Australian shores in June and cost $50,900 – significantly cheaper than Audi’s A4 ($55,500) and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class ($59,900).
But don’t think the drop in price means a drop in performance or equipment – BMW insists the 316i won’t simply be a de-specced 3 Series.
The 316i will use the 1.6-litre TwinPower turbo petrol engine currently found in the popular 116i and 118i hatchbacks.
It’s the most popular engine in the 1 Series range, producing 100kW and 220Nm – enough to propel the car from 0-100km/h in 9.2 seconds.
BMW also claims it will be the most fuel efficient in its class, citing a combined EU test cycle of 5.9L/100km.
The 316i will use 16-inch alloys, and come with automatic climate control, Bluetooth phone and music streaming, 6.5-inch display, rear parking sensors and multi-function leather steering wheel as standard.
But the 316i isn’t the only news to come out of BMW. The company is reportedly considering introducing its AWD XDrive package on sportier models in Australia.
BMW told wheels “An M135i, with even faster acceleration times, could be interesting as an xDrive model”.
We couldn’t agree more.
JAPAN’S performance-car renaissance continues with Subaru’s upcoming WRX.
Though touted as a concept for now, the turbocharged all-wheel drive four-door sedan is poised to debut at this year’s Tokyo motor show, in either close-to or even actual-production guise, with a 2014 on-sale date looking most likely at this stage.
With no drivetrain or interior, the concept car on Subaru’s New York International Auto Show stand is there to signal the company’s performance intentions as well as its styling direction.
However, we understand that the production version will include a 2.0-litre direct-injection forced-induction four-cylinder boxer unit, a six-speed manual gearbox, and – of course – AWD, with a variation of the Impreza small car’s modular architecture serving as the platform base.
With length, width, height, and wheelbase dimensions of 4520mm, 1890mm, and 1390mm, the WRX Concept is 80mm shorter, 150mm fatter, and 75mm lower to the ground than the existing G4 Impreza sedan respectively, while its wheelbase is 115mm longer at 2760mm (and 10mm more than the Liberty sedan’s for that matter).
According to Subaru of America boss Tom Doll, the goal is to offer the BRZ experience in a more practical four-door package.
“We want it to drive almost as good as the BRZ,” he told Wheels magazine at the NYIAS.
Mr Doll added that the production car will most likely share some body parts with the existing Impreza sedan, although whether that means exterior as well as interior bits and pieces is not known.
“We are trying to split the Impreza and WRX brands off from each other… and away with their own unique styling and driving attributes,” he said.
“They may share some body panels, but the WRX is trying to create its own style, its own definition, away from the Impreza model.”
Other than that, Subaru is keeping mum on any further details surrounding the WRX Concept.
What we do know is that the design is meant to complement the Viziv Concept’s design as shown at last month’s Geneva show, evolving it for a performance sedan application rather than as a crossover one. Subaru calls it “Confidence in Motion” design.
The Pleiades badged brand isn’t the only Japanese manufacturer ready to rock the Tokyo show.
Come November 23, Nissan’s long-time coming 200SX/Silvia replacement will evolve into a sub-Zed, petrol-electric hybrid or full EV, lightweight, rear-drive sports car, similar to the 2011 Geneva motor show Esflow Concept.
Japan, it seems, is finally waking up to what real enthusiasts want.
