As you may already know, the exotic Italian automaker Ferrari is busy preparing a successor for their last anniversary celebrating halo super car, the Enzo. It only makes sense that the future car will be called the F70 in honor of a 70th anniversary and is promised to be unveiled sometime in 2012. The upcoming F70 would compete head to head with other high end limited edition super cars like the Lamborghini Reventón and Bugatti Veyron. There will only be 399 F70s produced and prices will range in the $1 Million region.
With efficiency high on their list of priorities, Ferrari wants to keep the future F70’s weight to a minimum (1000 kilograms), just like the Millechilli. Now this would be a substantial undertaking for any ordinary automaker, but Ferrari is ready to apply every weight saving technique in their arsenal. While the Enzo was powered by a high revving V12 that made 650 HP, the F70 will use a new direct injection twin turbo V8, quite similar to the legendary F40, with output in the area of 660 HP. This should be enough for the future super car to sprint from 0 to 60 MPH in under three seconds and the F70’s top speed will go up to 230 MPH.
While the French built Peugeot RC-Z is already a very successful car, they are planing to bring a smaller model to market that will compete with other compacts from Ford, Honda and Mini. It seems that the new car trend these days is leading towards smaller and more efficient vehicles, however compact does not have to mean mean less. The new 2+2 model will be placed below the current 308 RC-Z and according to the automaker, it will be a bigger hit than the 205 GTi, quite a big claim.
The new compact coupe will be built on the same front wheel drive platform as the next generation Peugeot 207 and promises to deliver the same level of performance as the 208 HP turbocharged Mini JCW. Like the Mini, the new Peugeot will be offered in both coupe and roadster configurations with a design inspired by both the BB1 concept and RC-Z sports car. Peugeot has made some pretty big claims for their future small car, we just hope they can deliver.
The Citroen 2CV is a classic French automobile, just this past September at the Frankfurt Motor Show we saw the Citroen Revolte concept, a design that would preview the rebirth of the legendary Citroen. It would appear that the concept stuck because the French automaker has announced plans to introduce a compact hatchback called DS2 for 2012 with the same spirit of the original 2CV.
As opposed to the concept, the road going DS2 will feature a more conventional double-chevron Citroen grill as well as larger headlights and a bit narrower track. Although the future car’s bonnet creases, arching roofline and flat back end remain reminiscent of the classic 2CV. The DS2 will be built on the current Citroen C3 platform and will make use of the same engines, the range will include a few fuel efficient three cylinder petrol motors as well as a 70 HP 1.4 Liter HDi diesel version.
The German automaker Volkswagen has a long history with the independent motor vehicle manufacturing firm Karmann, most notably the classic VW Karmann Ghia that was styled by the Carrozzeria Ghia and constructed by the coach builder Karmann. More recently the Volkswagen Group announced that they have acquired the land, machinery and equipment at the Osnabrück site that formerly belonged to the Karmann holding company. The best part about the acquisition is that VW is planning on setting up a new manufacturing subsidiary and eventually break ground on a new project.
Production at the Osnabrück facility isn’t scheduled to begin until 2011, however current projections detail the creation of over 1,000 jobs by the year 2014. There has been no mention of whether VW will keep the Karmann staff on for the new project, however it would be foolish to let all of those experienced automotive craftsmen go due to their extensive experience building limited edition vehicles. One of the models that will be built at the Osnabrück site is the Volkswagen BlueSport diesel roadster as well as a drop top Cabrio version of the next generation Golf VI. It’s always nice to see old friends getting back together.
Lexus recently unveiled the compact hybrid LF-Ch Concept earlier this year at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The forward thinking hatchback is a preview as to what the future of luxury will be all about, set to compete head to head with other efficient space saving luxury vehicles like the the BMW 1 Series and Audi A3 when the LF-Ch makes its scheduled debut sometime in 2012.
In an official statement, Lexus General Manager Mark Templin said that "There is a group of buyers growing up now who won’t buy cars by the pound. We have already seen a structural shift to the smaller and lower-priced segments of the luxury market over the last couple years." The compact premium segment has been strong in congested urban areas for years, especially in Europe. The challenge that not only Lexus but a host of other automakers are setting for themselves is how to get the American market to warm up to the idea of paying mare and getting less. One of the steps that will most likely be taken when the LF-Ch becomes production ready is the use of a conventional power train in order to pass the savings along to the customer, but with any success you can expect Toyota to release a hybrid versions shortly after.
When Lee Noble decided to make a living for himself, the highly motivated Briton decided that designing, building and selling his own brand of affordable super cars would be a good idea. A handful of speed machines later, including the original Noble M12 and even an Ultima GT-R, Mr. Noble’s high performance coach builders are hard at work coming up with the next generation of every man’s super car.
Mr. Noble has just announced his all new endeavor: Fenix Automotive Limited. With the line’s first launch scheduled for the end of 2010, Lee promises an ultra powerful mid engined V8 super car that can accelerate from 0 to 100 MPH in under 7 seconds and cost less than £75,000. According to the man himself, "Our new car will offer buyers performance and dynamics that they’d normally have to spend well over £100,000 to experience, but at a far more affordable price...It will combine simplicity, strength and agility, while its two-seat, closed body will ensure sensible levels of refinement for road use." With a new plan under his belt and a more than a quarter century experience honing his craft, we wouldn’t bet on Fenix Automotive to fail anytime soon.
Press release after the jump.
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The Italian super bar builder Lamborghini launched their flagship dream machine Murcielago back in 2001 and the slightly smaller Gallardo followed suit in 2003 and aside from a few special edition variations and the limited edition Reventon the automaker hasn’t come out with much else. However things are about to change as the Murcielago is being replaced by the all new Jota, a model that will be built on top of an all new carbon fiber chassis and utilizing more of the woven black stuff along with aluminum to create the skin under which a 6.0 Liter direct injected V12 that will put down around 700 HP.
Instead of numbing things down and introducing an entry level V10 version, sources say that Lamborghini is also working on an even more powerful model called Urus. The new car will be built from a modified version of the Jota and feature a full carbon fiber body. The Urus should be powered by a modified version of the Jota’s V12 engine except that it will be tuned to deliver up to 800 HP. The added output should bring the Lambos 0 to 60 MPH sprint to sub three second levels and will compete head to head with the Enzo’s successor, the Ferrari FX70.
The Japanese luxury automaker Infiniti has a bit of a restyling in the works for their midsize Infiniti G37 lineup. With a much more pronounced front end and a new set of rollers. The more aggressive lines created by the new vents in the front bumper add a lot to the Infiniti’s appearance, taking it from a rather sporty luxury car and makes it into a strong enough figure that it could command traffic to get out of the way. Hopefully these new vents are there to flow a lot more air, perhaps for a set of GT-R like intercoolers, we can only hope. This refinement is a simple alternative to a complete model redesign and perhaps we will be seeing more of this type of treatment across the entire Infiniti lineup sometime in the near future.
Check out the gallery below to see more photos.
It might not be the first time you hear that Mercedes has plans for a smaller SLS AMG. But its now official: it will be cheaper than the current SLS and will arrive in showrooms in 2013 as a competitor for the Porsche 911. And like its big brother the baby SLS will be offered in both coupe and roadster versions. The name will most like bring back the 1928 SSK- Super Sport Kurz.
In an interview with AutoCar, a senior official said: "Mercedes’ management has been very supportive of AMG’s efforts in developing the SLS. The feedback we’ve received since showing the car at the Frankfurt motor show has been extremely encouraging. A second model that will project a similarly exclusive image but be more accessible in terms of its pricing is already in planning."
The new model will be built on the same lightweight aluminum spaceframe and will be powered by a new 500bhp twin-turbocharged 5.4-litre V8 engine that will first be used int he next CLS55 AMG.
The Audi R8 has been one of the most sough-after supercars on the planet to day so you can say that the when the its time ends, the pressure is on Audi to have something that can exceed the R8’s successful run.
23-year old industrial design student Marouane Bembli recently released his own take on what Audi’s next supercar will invariably look like.
At first glance, Bembli’s take on the R10 looks like a sure winner. It doesn’t take away too much from the styling elements of the R8 with the exception of a wider and more curvaceous body. If there’s one thing that caught our attention, we felt that those doors could’ve been made a little bigger, but that’s just nit-picking on our part.
Overall, Bembli’s work is something we feel Audi should take a look at. He even outfitted it with a mid-mounted V10 engine with a dry weight of just over 1200 kilos.
We’re pretty impressed, to say the least.
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