The biggest news is obviously the increase in power, obtained thanks to the help of direct injection: the 3.6 Carrera boxer will increase by 20 hp and also in Nm (345 hp and 390 Nm), while the 3.8 S will reach 385 hp and 420 Nm. The increase in performance is implicit while the CO2 levels will diminish meaning all the engines will comply with Euro 5 norms.

Front headlights and rear lights are newly designed (the front will be LED’s) and external modifications will also include new colours. For the mechanics, the braking system will change, becoming bigger and able to support the increase power. Ufficial presentation of photos is expected for June 6 (the 25th for the cabrio), with sales starting July the 5th.

Via | Rennteam
Thanks to Advisor.

At the Beijing show Opel has shown as a preview to the Chinese public of the three volume version of the Astra, the brand’s sixth model available in the Chinese range, and the hybrid Flextreme concept.

With the new four door Astra, the German company will be better placed to respond to Chinese market demand, where the three volume sedan has already been chosen by 85% of drivers. The three and five door variations have already experienced notable interest and are the most-sold Opel models in this country, where the Astra, TwinTop, Vectra and Zafira are also available. Thanks to a pearl like the panoramic windshield (which no longer impresses us “spoiled” European drivers), the Astra GTC was recently voted “most fashionable car” by the Chinese Commercial Centre for Import Cars and sina.com, a major web portal.

In China, where 2007 alone nearly 8,500 000 vehicles were sold, Opel with its 3700 cars, represents a tiny niche. But thanks to the new model the company can count on broadening its sales through its greater presence in the market, guaranteed by new dealerships, taking the number to 45.

“In China Opel is perceived as a premium brand,” says Carl-Peter Forster, GM Europe president, in mentioning the rich equipment and safety performance as reasons for the excellent reputation enjoyed by the company.

Forster is also convinced that sales in China will have a strong impulse from the introduction of this Astra, which was introduced to some European markets in October. The four door Astra, with a wheel base a good 270 cm, has the advantage of a roomy interior for rear passengers but also for the boot with its 490 litre capacity. The car is equipped with a 1.8 ECOTEC engine at 140 hp.

The Flextreme concept, revealed in Frankfurt last year, is electrically driven by the lithium ion batteries, but is also combined with the 1.3 turbodiesel which can be used as an on-board generator. In this way CO2 emissions are contained at 40g/km.

Forster is convinced that ecological and innovative cars such as the Flextreme will have a bright future in China: if in the short term commercialisation will be slow, once it has become “mature”, the enormous Chinese market will be able to turn its attention to themes such as reducing emissions.

Even though the European automotive press was taking for granted the future existence of the Audi R4, it now seems that it may remain a paper dream.

Audi, who had not previously excluded the possibility of a small sports car with mid-mounted engine, has reportedly stated via a PR representative that the company does not currently have any plans to construct a car such as the R4. “It was never in the production program”, the spokesperson said.

Thinking carefully about the R4 (which would be placed halfway between the TT and the R8), it would be one of the main competitors for the new Cayman and the Boxster: so, after the R8, Audi would find itself selling a car in the same orbit as Porsche.

Moreover, given the flurry of news surrounding the future plans of the company from now until 2012 (which was foreseen as the year of the R4) it seems that this shy denial is more a strategy to tease the press and create media interest around the model.

There are also many rumours surrounding the “baby R8″ whose commercialisation would be conducted in competition with the Cayman, having the similarity of the alluminium frame; they would be different in their mechanics with the Audi having all-wheel drive (that could, however, eventually be seen on the Cayman). The parallel development of the two cars should guarantee the manufacturers much lower production costs.

It’s well to consider then that should the R4 lure some customers away from the smaller Porsche car, profits will finish in the same pockets without creating friction or competition. The desire of the new Porsche owners (shareholders of the VW group) to move Audi up to a higher level compared to the other brands of the VW group means that Stockholm should soon be interacting at a technical level with its Ingolstadt cousin.

Is the new all-wheel drive with Haldex predicted for the restyling of the 997 Carrera 4 and 4S, and the new six-cylinder box with FSI direct injection the first sign of this partnership?

Ford could be bringing back the Capri name for a coupè that would provide competition for the new Volkswagon Scirocco. The battle in the coupè sector could be back after nearly 30 years, when both brands’ original versions offered sports cars at affordable prices. A concept 2+2 could debut at the Frankfurt show in 2009, anticipating the version expected for 2012.

The most logical mechanical base would be the Focus but there are those who are hoping for a rear-wheel drive: it all remains to be seen, as the only rendering available appearing in the Auto Bild magazine, seems a little too imaginative and not very useful in including the technical aspects.

With thanks to HIDRO

Via | Worldcarfans.com

Car Magazine has developed a similar look to the above rendering for the nuova Audi R8 Spider, expected for next year. “Engineering” reasons mean that it is likely to be equipped with a “Targa” roof of removable panels, rather than a more classic soft top or a foldable metallic roof. These difficulties are attributed to the position of the engine which means creating a space for the roof would be too complicated. Two “speedster” headrests are being considered for the seats.

Regarding possible engine specs, we can expect a similar range to the coupè: the current V8 4.2 with 420 hp, a V10 petrol decidedly more powerful (while the RS6’s V10 twin-turbo has been discarded due to its “incendiary” propensions) and the future V8 4.2 TDI at 326 hp. Pricing should be about 12,000 euro more than the closed version.

Three new SUV’s from Renault are on the way. The first, available next June, will be the Koleos, the French-Korean SUV developed in conjunction with Samsung and presented recently.

Renault design manager Patrick Le Quement, stated on Autocar that the company would be looking to expand its offering with another two new SUVs and that the Koleos will remain at the centre of the range. One of these cars will be an addition to the Renault range, one will be a big brother to the Koleos and will likely use a similar platform to the future Nissan Murano. This will also be produced by Renault-Samsung in South Korea.

Via | Autocar

While the BMW 1 Series Cabrio will debut over the next few days in dealerships, closing the updated cycle of the current model, for some weeks on various automobile sites and forums the first possibilities of the next generation have been seen.

Munich’s baby, originally met with by scepticism by competitors (and perhaps BMW management who had their fingers burnt with the previous 3 Series Compact) has managed to cut a niche for itself and create its own affectionate public. It is now travelling towards maturity, supported and cared for by the company who has realised that it’s much better to reveal new consumption-reducing technology (l’Efficient Dynamics for everything) on its smaller and lighter models, than on the heavier top-range products.

The next generation 1 Series will be based on the shortened platform of the next 3 Series (and for which the use of the F30 project has already been revealed), and exactly as in the current model so it’s easy to foresee the improvements that the new model will bring on through checking out novelties debuting on the “big sister”.

Regarding the external style of the car, we can expect that Chris Bangle’s Flame Surfacing design as used on the current 1 Series (you love it or you hate it) will be replaced by a softer style inspired by the CS Concept prototype that will provide the future blue print for all future BMW models. On this basis the first images of the car have been created, using an evolutionary graphic of the current model.

For the interior it needs to be said that BMW seems to have everything under control and while the search for a more sporty personality on the 3 Series, it’s unlikely that the 1 Series will see any great revolution, having never been anything other than sporty (compared to its bigger sisters).

As per German tradition there won’t be any total changes, but more significant evolution with the possible use of the squared front which debuted on the new X5 and also expected for the future Series 5 F10 on sale next year, in place of the McPherson. It’s possible that the car will be equipped with electronic-controlled (EDC) active suspension; a system currently available only on “M” branded BMW’s, but which some competitors offer in smaller sectors.

Considering what BMW has done in the past, for the engines we can probably expect a general increase of about 10Kw for each unit and also, if rumours heard on various BMW fan sites are correct, power increase for the four-cylinder petrol as well.

In short, few completely new things, but well-aimed in giving greater attention to sporting and drive quality (which was never missing on the 1 Series, compared to other models that have reacted a little too much to a public more orientated towards Audi or Mercedes) that’s in the BMW DNA.

But when will it arrive?

Knowing the renewal time taken at the company, based on a cycle of about six-and-a-half years it’s an easy prediction: the current 1 Series arrived in dealerships in September 2004, the five-door version next off the rank will be around between September 2010 and March 2011.

World Car Fans have published some spy shots of the Porsche 997’s “facelift”, sparking rumours about the next Carrera 4 which could be equipped with a new all-wheel drive system supplied by Swedish company Haldex.

Presumably the Carrera 4 will not be equipped with simple electronic friction systems (as on the Golf 4Motion, for example) but with something similar to the new XWD Haldex included on the next Saab, that distributes torque evenly and should include an electronic limited slip differential.

In addition to the possible new 4WD system, the revamped look will include new bumpers, LED driving and rear lights, and a new direct injection engine.

We’re curious to know how the news was received around the Ingolstadt traps. Auto, motor und sport has announced today that if the news is true (and it comes from a reputable source) Audi’s rivals will be in a league of their own. And this after Audi has only just revealed the new 6.0 V12 TDI, soon to be under the hood of the SUV Q7.

Audi risks portraying an image inconsistent with the “ecology” with which car companies have become obssessed over recent years. Neither the 4.4 V8 BMW nor the 4.0 V8 Mercedes will have heirs, being considered too big and polluting, according to the German companies. The units will be substituted with new six cylinder concepts, characterised by lower capabilities (around three litres) and drastically reduced consumption and CO2 emissions.

“The 4.4 V8 will be substituted by a straight-six cylinder twin-turbo”, Norbert Reithofer, General Manager BMW has revealed, underlining that they haven’t changed their tune for the current range. A similar discussion regards Mercedes, who in addition to exchanging the V8 will also gradually substitute the 3.0 V6 CDI with a 2.1 four cylinder twin-turbo. This engine is expected to debut next year on the C250 CDI in a version that will have both 204 hp and 480 Nm. Following will be versions taking a step further for higher power.

In Nomvember 2009 VW will play its ace with the sixth series of the Golf: a difficult task for the small-medium car which will have to make its way on the knife edge passage from one generation to the next. It should be a callling back to the fourth series, implicitly admitting the scarse appeal of the current range.

There will be a number of departures from the style of the fifth Golf: chrome plating will disappear and the next version will have a more subtle grill with only the brand’s logo in view. The measurements will be slightly larger, reaching 423 cm, only three more than the current model. In terms of occupancy the situation will remain more or less the same.

Auto, Motor und Sport reports that the focus will be more “driver-oriented” with notable steps forward in reducing weight and emissions thanks to a new diesel-hybrid engine. Another word from up high was “downsizing” the motors, a move that will involve all manufacturers in the coming years: the Golf will have both aspiration petrol and turbo engines from 80 to 200 hp, while for the diesel a common rail with a first in a 1.6 litre which will be offered with the 2.0 TDI.

Refined lines, integrated front lights vaguely conjuring up a boomerang, completed updated mechanics: if the letter wasn’t already legendary, taking its place in the history of the manufacturer, it could even be substituted to mark the coming evolution.

The new Mercedes E-Class, already admired in previous spy shots, will follow the new stylistic course of “all lines”, recently applied to the C and CLC: renderings created by World Car Fans contribute to picture by now quite realistic.

The rear seems to be a more traditional example though with a higher back for exhaust and quite conservative lines. The front, however, benefits from nervy lines along the bonnet and an oversized grill, and renouncing single circular headlights seems to be an evolution in style.

The sides are a more daring element with their form seeming out of place on this more composed and austere car. After all, the Cls cyclone has catalysed a more sporty epoch: as a consequence the E-Class must also adapt.

Via | World Car Fans

Lotus has confermed that in June it will reveal at the London Show a completely new model to celebrate its 60-year anniversary. It has been a long journey from the Mark 1 of ‘48, the first car created by Colin Chapman, who used the Austin 7 as a base.

Nothing official is yet known about the new model but it will most probably be a touring car with a 2+2 cabin. According to latest reports the engine will be a V6 Toyota with central assembly on a longer base than the Lotus Elise. Regarding its name, some car markets may see Ethos as the English company recently registered in the USA and having bought web domains under this name.

After the presentation, the company will return to concentrating on the developmnt of the new Esprit which will be revealed towards 2010. For fans of the English sports car it is pleasing to know that after the debut of the Eagle Lotus will organise a series of events dedicated to its 60 years in the historical headquarters at Hethel.