Design and Carscoop: 2011

Car Design

New Porsche 911 Videos Focus on 7-Speed Manual Gearbox and Tech Features

The most evolved sports car in history, the Porsche 911 series, has welcomed a new member in the family codenamed 991. The new model's world premiere is scheduled to take place at next week's Frankfurt auto show, but the Germans are already building up anticipation with the constant flow of fresh information and media material.

Following the release of the official photos, details and TV spots, Porsche has now dropped three new videos that highlight some of the new 911's technological advancements.

A new concept model that previews an upcoming small sedan will be the star attraction for Skoda at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

The MissionL Concept will lead to a production vehicle that will be the sixth model in the Czech automaker's range after the Fabia, Octavia Classic, Octavia, Yeti and Superb

The new car is a C-segment model similar in size to the Focus sedan that bridges the gap that exists between the Fabia and the Octavia. Like the Octavia, it will sport a five-door, liftback body-style.

One of the stars of this year's edition of the Top Gear Live show that takes place at the NEC Birmingham from November 11 to 13, and at the ExCel London from November 24 to 27, will be the Red Dragon monster truck.

Hand-built by former European Monster Truck Champion, Rob Williams, this beast made its stage debut at the Top Gear Live event in South Africa last year.

The Red Dragon is based on the Ford F-350 Super Duty but power come courtesy of a bespoke 9.5-liter supercharged V8 engine from Chevrolet that delivers 1,308bhp and 1,040 lb-ft while burning through a gallon of methanol fuel every 50-60 yards (!).

It takes a lot of confidence to name a special edition of your car after the most demanding and famous circuit in the world. Even if said car is not some run-of-mill model, but a limited edition supercar. Enter the world of the LFA Nürburgring Edition, a track-oriented, hardcore version of the already awesome V10-powered Lexus supercar.

According to Tweets from Lexus Europe, the LFA lapped the Nordschleife in 7 minutes and 14 seconds making it the fourth fastest production car on the 'Ring (according to Wikipedia's record book).

An electronic invitation to the press conference that Opel and sister company Vauxhall will hold at the 64th Frankfurt International Motor Show on September 13 gives us our first sneak peek at the firm's upcoming concept model. Read more »

Ford Plans to double its Chinese Market Presence in all Segments

Since November 2009, China is the world’s top car market, surpassing the US. So it’s only natural for automakers to pay their utmost attention. Among others, BMW previewed the new M5, Peugeot the 508, Nissan the new Tiida and Audi the Q3 at the Shangai Motor Show . The most recent example is Ford, which is planning to more than double its model line-up in the Chinese market according to a senior company executive. Read more »

German Tuner Breathes New Colors to Ford Mustang 5.0 GT

While the Mustang has many fans in Europe, Ford's pony car never really caught up with buyers across the Atlantic for a great number of reasons, one being that it is available only with large displacement engines that negatively affect pricing as well as other costs associated with ownership.

Nevertheless, Europe's tuning industry does offer owners some options for customization. This here package is for the latest Mustang 5.0 GT and it comes from a German company called Design World.

A couple of weeks ago, we told you about the launch of an independent, boutique British luxury carmaker named Eterniti Motors at the Frankfurt Motor Show and revealed a sketch of the firm's first model, a luxury SUV called the Hemera.

Now, Eterniti has released the first picture of what it claims will be “the world’s first super SUV”. The London-based company says that Hemera will satisfy even the most demanding of customers, offering a limousine-like cabin for rear passengers with twin reclining seats, iPads and a drink chiller [sic…].

[Volvo Universe Concept from the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show Pictured Above]

Volvo announced today that it plans to reveal a new concept car at next week's Frankfurt Motor show. This new study, pictures of which have not yet been released, will highlight the Swedish company’s new downsized engine range, which will feature only four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines.

“It’s time to stop counting cylinders”, said Volvo’s Senior Vice President for Research and Development, Peter Martens. “The concept we will reveal at Frankfurt proves that downsized engines can go hand in hand with our customers’ expectations on luxury and driving pleasure.”

The two-seater Coupe is the latest addition to MINI's growing range of models. We've already seen and detailed the pint-sized coupe model but today the British company updated its gallery with a fresh batch of photos. Read more »

Videos: Tony Stark Appears in New Acura Roadster Concept during NYC Shoot for The Avengers Film

The next Hollywood superhero blockbuster to hit the silver screen is The Avengers, which is due for a 2012 release.

The movie brings together Marvel Studio's greatest superheroes like Iron Man (played by Robert Downey Jr.), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and more.

And what does the movie have to do with an automotive site like Carscoop, we hear you ask? Well, we're getting there. You see, following recent filming in Cleveland, Ohio, the movie set moved to New York City and Central Park this week.

Skoda announced that it has begun production of the Octavia E Line, the company’s first fully electric car that was first saw in concept form at last year’s Paris Motor Show.

Starting this fall, the Czech automaker will manufacture a test fleet of 10 cars that will be used for evaluation of the emissions-free technology. This will help the Skoda collect valuable data to be used in future applications that will reduce its average CO2 emissions.

It’s a crazy, crazy world we live in. Don't believe us? Just take a look at this incident that took place somewhere in Asia, possibly in China if Google Translation did its work (visit the comment section to correct us if we're wrong).

While we can't be certain of the details surrounding this bizarre episode since the description on Youtube doesn’t make much sense after we translate it into English, through the dash-mounted camera we see someone who is driving a small green Toyota being chased by two men, one holding a baseball bat.

For more than four decades now, German tuning house Alpina has been modifying BMWs cars. The Bavarian luxury carmaker has a tight relationship with the tuner going as far distributing the high-performance models through its official network.

Alpina's newest creation is the B6 Bi-Turbo Cabrio based on the latest 6-Series Convertible, which will make its world premiere at the rapidly approaching Frankfurt auto show on September 13.

There are all sorts of games for car enthusiasts in the market ranging from racing to action, but a young startup from Melbourne, Australia, called Camshaft Software, promises to offer something entirely different in the form of a game that will allow players to become car tycoons.

The game, which is still under development, is named Automation and it's the creation of Caswal Parker, the Lead Programmer and Andrew Lamb, the Lead 3D Artist, with the additional help of Jayelinda Suridge, Games Engine Programmer, Bernardo Del Castillo, 2D/3D Artist/Programmer and Stephan Schutze, responsible for Sound Design/Recording.

No matter the age, a petrol head like Bob Lutz can't stay away too long from the car industry. In fact, even though GM's former vice president and product czar had retired in the May 2010, the 79-year-old has been providing advice to the firm's executives without pay ever since.

Now, GM decided to formally hire Lutz as an advisor to provide counsel to the senior leadership team of the company.

BMW continues to expand its lead in the US luxury car market against its main rivals Mercedes-Benz and Lexus. August was the fifth consecutive month in which the Munich-based carmaker was at the top spot with 20,815 deliveries, an increase of 6.5% compared to the same month of 2010. Read more »

It Came from eBay Hell: The Diabolical Lambieroghini [with Video]

With the amount of free publicity I give Pontiac Fiero-based replicas on eBay, I think the sellers should be paying me…ahem…a commission.

From the vulgar depths of eBay Hell comes this...thing...this yellow-painted monstrosity that wants to pass as a Lamborghini. There are kids in Nepal, kids who have never seen a car before that would spot this fake from a mile away. Let’s run down our eBay Bad Buy™ checklist, shall we?

Figures...just as we hit the post button on our previous article regarding Citroën's Frankfurt Motor Show surprise, the French carmaker dropped off the first official photos of its new concept model named Tubik.

As previously noted, the Tubik pays homage to the 1939 Tub van and its replacement, the 1948 Type H that was produced up until the beginning of the 1980s.

The Tubik serves as both a commercial van and a people carrier with the 4.8 meter long, 2.08m wide and 2.05m tall model providing comfortable space for nine passengers in three lounge-style seats, with the driver cocooned in a separated compartment.

A European motor show without some quirky futuristic concept from Citroën is like having creme brulee without the caramelized crisp sugar top layer. Fortunately, the French won't disappoint.

On Thursday, we shared with you a teaser video from Citroën foreshadowing the French firm's new concept study that will make its world premiere at this month's 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.

Now, we've learned some more details including the type of vehicle which will be a futuristic looking van that doubles as a people carrier.

Ocean’s 13 got away with stealing diamonds, earning millions of cash and ruining their adversary’s life. British Columbia’s 13, 12 young men and one woman, all under 21 years old, got away with racing each other, reaching speeds of over 125 mph (200 km/h) on a metro Vancouver highway with a $196 fine each.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced that the cars impounded had a combined value of $2 million. These are the supercars that were temporarily seized:

When the Nürburgring track came into life, it was considered as one of the most dangerous tracks in the world –so much that it was even banned from the Formula 1 calendar. Then it became a demanding course for privateers to drive their cars and bikes, and for carmakers to test their new cars driving dynamics.

But in the past few years, the Nordschleife, as it's also named, has been transformed into a badge of honor and a true measurement of a car's abilities, with automakers announcing the best lap times achieved at the ‘Ring in a one-upmanship contest. Something, which was inevitably bound to cause disputes as with the Nissan's GT-R lap time.

In the wake of Canada’s 2003 bovine spongiform encephalopathy outbreak (that’s Mad Cow Disease to you and me), the Canadian government barred the use of BSE infected tissue – including the skull, brain, eyes and spinal cords of cattle – in the production of any and all byproducts.

Fearing that such tissue would merely end up in the landfills of North America, University of Alberta Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science associate professor David Bressler is looking to turn these waste materials into – among other things – bio-friendly plastic for the automotive industry.

The man behind the design of BMW's Z8 roadster and now the owner of the brand that bears his name, Henrik Fisker, has announced a new deal with BMW that covers the supply of engines and other components for future Fisker models.

Under the agreement, BMW will supply its new 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine for the next generation of Fisker cars, code-named ‘Project Nina’, which are scheduled to enter production in the re-commissioned former GM plant in Wilmington, Delaware at the end of 2012 and be on sale the following year.

After an early, unwanted reveal through a leaked video, Toyota has officially released the updated Tacoma pickup truck, which enters the 2012 model year with a fresh face, a subtly refined interior and equipment improvements.

Toyota's designers started on the outside by adding a new front grille on all grades that led to restyling of the headlamps, while the hood and the front bumper are also new.

Mercedes-Benz is getting ready to wow the crowds that will storm the 64th Frankfurt Motor Show with a bunch of world premieres. Visitors will see, among others, the brand-new B-Class, the supercar-munching C63 AMG Black Series, and of course the third generation of Merc’s luxury SUV.

So less than two weeks before the IAA’s opening Mercedes decided to released a fresh batch of pictures of the new M-Class. We’ve already covered the model extensively since its launch, but for those of you who may have missed of forgotten about it, we’ll just lay down the basics once more time.

A specially themed Camaro SS pace car dressed in a pink outfit will run in the forthcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at the Atlanta Motor Speedway and Richmond International Raceway next weekend (September 10) to raise awareness on the fight against breast cancer. Read more »

VW Introduces Cylinder Shut-off System on 1.4-liter 4-Cylinder TSI Engine

Volkswagen is already at the forefront of fuel-saving technology, as evidenced by both its production models and frugal concepts that we will see at the Frankfurt Motor Show. But now the German are taking another step forward by introducing a new technology: the first ever application of a cylinder-deactivation feature on a four-cylinder engine.

The system, which is usually reserved for larger engines but will now be offered on the 1.4-liter TSI, works by shutting off cylinders 2 and 3 when the engine operates in low to mid loads, and as a result, reduces average consumption by 0.4 lt/100 km.

Video footage of a police officer first stopping a man in an SUV for speeding over the limit and then going on a curse rage because the driver declined to have his vehicle searched is making the internet rounds.

In detail, the cop pulled over the SUV for going 57mph in a 45mph zone. The driver initially cooperates providing his license. The officer then makes a background check and discovers a previous arrest for possession of marijuana; he returns to the driver and tells him that he'll "cut him through" for speeding but he would like to take a look at the vehicle.

The SUV driver declines the search without a warrant. The officer, who up to that point was polite, explodes and starts swearing at the man, and then leaves the scene.

The first accident involving Lamborghini's newest flagship model, the Aventador LP 700-4 was recorded in Italy on August 30.

According to the writings of Italy's Motori.it, the driver of the Aventador attempted to pass a line of vehicles but was cut off by a truck that (legally) tried to turn left. The Lamborghini driver didn't have enough time or space to stop and collided with the truck ending his run on the ditch.

While it may not be the car most dream to own, the low $10,990 ($11,750 including destination) entry level price tag of the 2012 Nissan Versa sedan seems to have piqued the interest of U.S. buyers looking for a cheap new ride.

According to data released by Nissan today, in August, the first full month of availability of the new Versa sedan, the subcompact model sold of 8,566 units beating all of its theoretical competitors, including the Chevrolet Aveo, Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit, Hyundai Accent, Mazda 2 and the soon to be replaced, Toyota Yaris.

The Chrysler Group has once again collaborated with the makers of the popular Call of Duty gaming franchise for the development of a special edition version of its Jeep Wrangler.

The new model is based on the 2012 Jeep Wrangler powered by the 285HP 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 and is dedicated to the upcoming game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (abbreviated as MW3), which will be the third chapter in the Modern Warfare series, and the eighth Call of Duty installment.

The upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show will see Honda revealing the 2012MY Insight hybrid alongside the European market 2012 Civic 5d hatchback. But for now, we get the first official photograph and initial information on the Japanese carmaker's Prius rival. Read more »

VW's Anniversary Golf GTI Edition 35 with 235HP Arrives in the UK

For those looking for a bit more muscle in their GTI, Volkswagen has launched the special anniversary edition of its hot hatch in Britain. Created to celebrate the Golf GTI's 35th birthday and first shown at the at the Worthersee Festival in Austria this past June, the Golf GTI Edition comes with a tuned 2.0 TFSI delivering 235HP.

The 25HP increase over the standard model allows the Golf Edition 35 to complete the 0-62mph (100km/h) sprint in 6.6 seconds and reach a top speed of 153mph (246km/h).

A new and more fuel-efficient but also less powerful 1.6-liter turbo diesel engine is taking the place of the 2.0-liter diesel in the European lineup of the Qashqai and its longer, seven-seat sibling, the Qashqai+2.

The new 1.6-liter diesel delivers 130-horsepower and 320Nm (236 lb-ft) of torque from 2,000rpm to only 1,750rpm, compared to 150HP and 320Nm at 2,000 rpm of the outgoing 2.0 dCi engine.

The LaCrosse, Buick’s mid-size sedan offering, is doing quite well in China with 215,000 deliveries in the first seven months of the year alone. Now General Motors is adding the eAssist mild-hybrid version to the LaCrosse's Chinese line-up and is taking orders in 25 pilot cities, with the first cars scheduled for delivery in September. Read more »

2012 Porsche 911: New Photo Gallery and TV Spots Plus Live Configurator

The next chapter in the Porsche 911 saga, codenamed 991, is almost upon us as the sports coupe will make its first public outing at the Frankfurt Motor Show on September 13, with sales to start this month in Germany and from February 2012 in North America.

Porsche is marking the launch of its most recognized model with what it describes as a "multimedia firework extravaganza" and which means a push of TV spots, commercials, film clips and web specials, all designed to showcase the 911's identity.

We've already shown you the first web film and now we have two more including a new 30-second TV spot (albeit in German) that combines historical film material and new pictures, and which was created entirely in CGI technology.

As previously reported, the Renault 4 Ever Design Competition is asking the world’s up-and-coming designers to pen a modernised take on the brand’s iconic Quatrelle hatchback.

Here’s one design that really impressed us: Italian David Obendorfer’s “Revival of a Childhood Impression”. Like Fiat’s Nuova 500, Obendorfer’s Revival takes the classic lines of its inspiration and wraps them around modern underpinnings.

One of the lesser known automakers from Russia, Yo-Auto, will participate at this month’s Frankfurt Motor Show with a new study, the (not so imaginatively named) Yo-Concept.

It is one of three hybrid models the Russian company is developing and has been designed in order to introduce the brand to the public and to preview its future products.

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