It’s been 40 years since the first Alfa Romeo Montreal debuted at the Geneva motor show of 1970. The interesting granturismo coupé was designed by the Bertone style centre and was called Montreal because it was based on a 1967 prototype presented at the Montreal show. To celebrate the Alfa Montreal birthday, designer Davide Varenna has produced this drawing of a possible future Montreal for the Young Italian Style competition.

Varenna has kept some of the original Montreal aspects, including the NACA air intake at the front and the six side slits. The modern Alfa Romeo bonnet style lends itself well to the rendering, although Varenna has had to make some adjustments here. The rear looks almost like a muscle car with a hefty tail end and twin exhaust pipes in the centre.

The original Alfa Montreal had a 2.6-litre V8 engine with about 200 hp (230 hp according to SAE measurements), and a five-speed ZF transmission. The weight of the car was under 1,300 kg and it proved to be a powerful, agile sports car. However, the Montreal had too much roll and braking problems, which is a hair-raising prospect at a top speed of 220 km/hr. After seven years Alfa Montreal production stopped after 3,925 vehicles.

Continue reading: New Alfa Romeo Montreal design: 40 years of the Alfa Montreal

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At the 2010 Geneva Motor Show BMW presented the new 5 Series, the 5 Series ActiveHybrid concept, and the ActiveE electric concept based on the 1 Series coupe. The BMW catch cry for this year is “Efficient Dynamics“, a project which was first launched at Geneva three years ago. For a better idea of why BMW is so focussed on what may seem a boring concept, check out the BMW physics lesson video after the jump, which takes a jab at Audi via an upstart youngster who knows how to draw the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car.

BMW is more than serious, though, about the technology from that concept car that it intends to adopt across the range. The entire range of BMW vehicles has a calculated average of fuel consumption for each vehicle of just 5.9 l/100 km. The ActiveE will soon start road tests, while the Megacity concept development will get underway.

In addition to the environmental focus, on display at the show is the X5 restyling, the 3 Series coupe and cabriolet restyling, the 2010 X6 range and the Z4 SDrive 35is. There was also the 135i with Valvetronic Twinpower Turbo N55 with dual-clutch technology, which is a technical novelty for the BMW M5 now available with Start-Stop, a Competition Package and rear LED lights. We’ll be bringing you more details and pics of the new BMW 5 Series, X5 and the other models from the show, but see these live pics from Geneva to see if BMW is staying exciting while focussing on its technology.

BMW 5 Series live pics from Geneva motor show

Continue reading: BMW live pics from Geneva and Efficient Dynamics physics lesson video

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Pininfarina celebrates 80 years with the Pininfarina 2uettotanta Concept presented at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. The concept is based on, and inspired by, the old Alfa Duetto spider model; a situation which has now given hope that a Duetto revival is on the cards. The 2uettotanta is also a homage to Alfa Romeo, celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

The concept measures 421 x 180 x 128 cm and has a wheel base of 250 cm. It is based on the old cuttlebone design, giving it a dynamic and sporty look. The classic Alfa Romeo front is not missing, with air intakes and wings for aerodynamics, and a front carbon splitter. The interior suggests a driver-oriented experience, taking the Duetto steering wheel and combining it with steering wheel paddles for the dual clutch transmission.

Other features include Alfa style wheels, Brembo carbon ceramic brakes and Alfa DNA selector. Aside from the technology, the thing that really gets your heart fluttering is the amazing Pininfarina design on one of its favourites, Alfa Romeo. It’s a partnership that dates back to the 30’s, with the cabrio 6C 1750 Gran Sport and the Spider Sport Aerodinamico. The post-war years saw 88 cabriolets produced: the 1900 C Sprint. (Video and more after the jump).

Pininfarina 2uettottanta Alfa Concept official pics

Continue reading: Pininfarina 2uettotanta Alfa Romeo Concept: more pics and video

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The French have pulled out the big guns on the concept models at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, with these live pics of the Peugeot SR1 and the Peugeot Cinq. Coming up, we’ll also take a look at the Citroen GQ concept, too. While the Peugeot RCZ is about the new sports coupe focus for the company, the SR1 and Cinq have the important task of launching a Peugeot style.

The 2010 Geneva Motor Show was the first appearance for Peugeot since its new brand identity project, which has seen quite a change in design direction and new models. The Peugeot stand has been a much visited one so far, putting Peugeot among the protagonists at the show - quite an achievement when you think about the calibre of some of the models and some of the cars on show.

The Peugeot SR1 Concept is a futuristic gran turismo-convertible model with hybrid technology. It runs off a diesel-hybrid combination of a 1.6-litre engine and 95 hp rear electric motor, with a total of 313 hp and all-wheel-drive Hybrid4. It’s got plenty of concept features including a plastic roof and a crystal tube interior display, but we don’t know if, when and what of the SR1 will go into production. It’s all part of Peugeot’s aim, though, to gain three spots in the world classification of manufacturers within three years, and so far they’re well placed to achieve that if this model becomes a reality.

Peugeot SR1 live pics from Geneva motor show

Continue reading: Peugeot SR1 Concept live at Geneva

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Here’s the official promo video of the Porsche 918 Spyder: the plug-in hybrid concept presented at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. It is equipped with a 3.4-litre V8 engine with 500 hp, matched to electric motors which produce another 218 hp in total. It has a seven-speed PDK transmission and can accelerate to 100 km/hr in 3.2 seconds. Top speed is 317 km/hr. Four driving modes are included: E-Drive (full electric for a 25 km range), Hybrid, Sport Hybrid and Race Hybrid. Live pics of the Porsche 918 Spyder are below.

Continue reading: Porsche 918 Spyder Concept video and live pics from Geneva

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The Citroen DS3 Racing appeared alongside the concept models Citroen DS High Rider and Citroen Survolt at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. The Survolt concept is a compact, ecological coupé that almost puts us in mind of a mini-Veyron, especially in the rear. It’s another take on the Citroen Revolte (with a wonderful change in name), which was first presented at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.

For hot hatch fans, the nasty Citroen DS3-R will initially have a production run of 1,000 units, and you can get a closer look at the lairy model in these live pics from Geneva (more official pics to come). The DS High Rider is a crossover-coupé model with diesel-hybrid power train. It’s the same system that next year’s Citroen DS5 will run off.

Citroen Survolt, DS High Rider and Citroen DS3-R live at Geneva

Continue reading: Citroen DS3 Racing live at Geneva with Citroen Survolt and DS High Rider

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These live pics of the Pininfarina 2uettottanta Concept really show off the cuttlefish-bone design of the historic Alfa Duetto, and true Alfa fans can only hope in their hearts that this could be the forerunner to a Duetto revival. It’s a truly striking concept from Pininfarina, which celebrates both Alfa’s 100th anniversary and Pininfarina’s 80th and one which could polarise viewers. As a concept car, we love it, but we can only imagine that if any Alfa Duetto production version were to emerge from this project, we could see the style toned down a little.

Pininfarina 2uettottanta Concept live from Geneva

Continue reading: Pininfarina 2uettottanta Concept live pics from Geneva: an Alfa Duetto revival?

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This drawing shows the Pininfarina concept car based on an Alfa Romeo spider which will appear at the Geneva Motor Show this week. The concept is being produced to celebrate 100 years of Alfa Romeo and 80 years of Pininfarina. The design has been managed by Lowie Vermeersch, head of Pininfarina’s style centre, and the rear reflects the old Alfa Romeo Duetto model, with its cuttlefish-bone inspiration.

A revival of the Alfa Duetto is an exciting proposition, and the prototype will be the same two-seater Spider vehicle. It will have a longitudinal engine placed in the front and rear-wheel drive. No production plan has been established as yet, so we can’t say if this could be an eventual replacement to the current Alfa Spider.

Source | Autoblog.it

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The Porsche 918 Spyder Concept with plug-in hybrid technology will be hosted at the 2010 Geneva Show, with Porsche showing off its environmental supercar effort. The 918 Spyder Concept has a V8 thermal engine with 500 hp, combined with three electric motors which produce a total of 218 hp. In the photos we can see president Michael Macht and tester Walter Rohrl.

Despite having more than 700 hp, the 918 Spyder Concept produces just 70 g/km of C02 emissions, while fuel consumption is a mere three litres per 100 km. It’s a twin-seater sports car with centrally mounted engine, and these figures are truly surprising for this kind of car. More live pics from Geneva to come.

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Yesterday the Audi A1 electric for the 2010 Geneva Motor Show was a possibility, we now know that the A1 E-Tron is definitely Audi’s “surprise” for the show. Appearing alongside the new compact A1, the A1 E-Tron is the third in the E-Tron family to be produced. It uses the same kind of range extending, generator technology we’ve been seeing lately (for example on the Opel Ampera), with the capacity to run on electric power, using a combustion engine as generator.

The Wankel fuel engine is a rotary motor which produces power for the electric motor, of about 102 hp. Overall, 105 Nm of torque are produced continuously with peak torque at 240 Nm. The electric motor is powered by a 12 kW lithium ion battery pack stored under the floor and weighing about 150 kg. The range of the A1 in all-electric mode is about 50 km.

Some high-tech features are included on the model, with the GPS navigator coming into play. Audi claims that on programming a destination into the navigator, the A1 E-Tron will automatically choose the most efficient way to generate the engine. The range extender can also be switched on manually.

Overall the car weighs 1,190 kg and can accelerate to 100 km/hr in 10.2 seconds. It has a top speed of 130 km/hr, all of which make this A1 electric strictly a city vehicle, although with a total range of 250 km, longer urban commuting could be achieved. What will be interesting to see in the future is which, if any, of this family of E-Trons will become a production model. If Audi is serious about electric cars, the A1 could be just the kind of premium compact city electric that could be successful. We’ll bring you live pics of the Audi A1 E-Tron from the Geneva show, and to read more about the car, have a look at the press release after the jump.

Continue reading: Audi A1 E-Tron confirmed for Geneva show

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