After the ufficial teaser, the Top Gear site has some realistic images and developments on the new Focus RS that, suprisingly, will be presented under the “concept” category at the London show, and will not be a reality until 2009.

The five cylinder turbo will have between 280 and 300 hp but the latest rumors conferm the use of only rear-wheel drive and not all-wheel, which would be necessary to compete with other rally cars such as the Subaru Impreza STi and the Mitsubishi EVO X. The RS however should be equipped with semi-active limited-slip differential. At this point we ask ourselves if releasing it in 2009 will be too late for such a special version, which will probably be on the heels of the career-end of its previous model.

Continue reading: Ford Focus RS: only a concept in 2008

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It’s perhaps a little too riskee to be a Ferrari, but in any case good looking and very aggressive even though it’s not a race car: the European Institute of Design continues to provide new talent as shown by Emre Husmen’s 699GTO.

Based on the Ferrari 599 Fiorano, with obvious style calling to mind the glorious 250 GTO, the car will have a carbon-fibre body, 200kg lighter than the model it derives from. The engine will not have the classic V12 but will be a V8 combined with two compressors: underlining its use of alternative fuel. The designer has not ignored the problem of visibility either, giving his piece a rear camera combined with rubber suspension.

Continue reading: Husmen 699 GTO: from the IED a very nasty ferrari

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GM has officially announced the Opel/Vauxhall Meriva Concept that will be shown in Geneva next week.

The Meriva concept is a very different beast from the current Meriva, with its FlexDoors system (rear hinged doors). According to GM, the b-pillars “have been retained for passive security reasons”, a phrase that seems to point to a production-ready car.

Continue reading: Opel Meriva Concept - the official announcement

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Some photos of the Opel Meriva Concept surfaced today. The small MPV features rear-hinged rear doors that can open to a 90° degree angle. If you put together the presence of the b-pillars and the sober interiors, the Meriva Concept looks pretty much ready for production.

Via | Carscoop

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Kia gives us a preview of the Soul concept trio that will debut next month in Geneva. What we see here il the Soul Burner concept, the “evil” one, with satin black finish and dragon tatoos. More information about the Kia Soul will be coming soon.

Via | Kia Buzz

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Today Auto Motor und Sport published the first official images of the Land Rover LRX Concept that will be shown for the first time at the 2008 NAIAS in Detroit.

The LRX is a two-door crossover with a coupè-like body that previews the future small Land Rover, which will be positioned under the Freelander. The production version is expected to make its debut in spring 2009.

The car measures 435 cm in length and 155 in height, being shorter but, above all, quite a bit lower than the Freelander. The concept has aggressive air intakes, 20″ rims and narrow head lights. In the side view there is a notably high belt line which creates along with the sloping roof profile a small glass surface, similar to a sports car one.

Continue reading: Land Rover LRX Concept: first official images

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The Toyota iQ concept shown at the latest Frankfurt auto show will soon be a production car that will feature several interesting innovations. A really striking one is a new kind of airbag which is designed to protect the rear seat passenger from rear impacts, as revealed by Hiroshi Nakajima, chief designer of the iQ concept in an interview with News.

The Toyota iQ concept features an unusual 3+1 seating configuration, with the back seat positioned just 30 cm from the rear window, in order to obtain more space for the back passenger’s legs. This arrangement required improved protection from rear impacts, to get good results in crash-tests.

Nakajima states that this rear-airbag system enables the iQ to get the five-star EuroNCAP rating for the passenger protection.

Via | MotorAuthority

Continue reading: Toyota: new rear-impact airbags for iQ concept

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Recently, both Audi and BMW have shown their interest to produce small cars, even though their model range is made of luxury sedans, big SUVs and fast supercars.

Audi showed last week the Metroproject quattro at the Tokyo Motor Show, a concept car that foreshadows the looks of the next Audi A1. It will arrive on the market in late 2009 and its rivals will be cars such as the Mini Cooper or the future BMW supermini. The three-door variant is likely going to be followed by a five-door version and a convertible one.

Motor Authority published these two renderings in which the cabrio and 5-door variants keep many of the concept’s details, such as the aluminium arches and the LED headlights. The 18″ alloy wheels are unlikely to be kept for the production version.

Continue reading: Audi A1 cabriolet and five-door: first renderings

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Peugeot has announced the 308 RC Z concept car, a novel 2+2 coupè 2+2 with with sporting aspirations.

The front is strongly reminescent of the current Peugeot family feeling, with the “big mouth” of the radiator grille. The belt-line has a curious kink just before the b-pillar, while the roof line recalls the Nissan 350z. The roof has two retrò-looking humps. The rear is pretty clean, with a central double exhaust tube.

The sporting looks of the 308 RC Z are underlined by wide and muscular wheel arches that house 19″ lucid alloy rims with 245/40 tires.

Continue reading: Peugeot 308 RC Z Concept

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In keeping with many other top car brands, BMW have the CS Concept, their take on the “luxury Gran Turismo” theme. The CS, which the German manufacturer hopes will show off their talent and design in a new direction, is a careful balancing act between the high performance M5 and the luxury of the 7 series.

From the outside the CS is not typically BMW, the only give away being the double-kidney front grille. From any other angle the car could easily be mistaken for other top braany nded car of this style. What you get here is the quality and robust nature of the BMW couple with a new direction of luxury high end motoring, yet this car has enough room inside for four, which opens up many possibilities for this car as it is not just directed at the sports car market.

Continue reading: BMW CS Concept

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