Russia is fast becoming a player in the super car industry and from the looks of things, it looks like the superpower is just getting started.
We already know about the Marussia supercar that was introduced at Frankfurt, and now, Russia is bringing to the world sketches of another exotic in the form of the E’go Revolt.
The name may sound self-serving but the car sure as heck isn’t. With a Mitsubishi 3000GT chassis and a twin-turbo V6 engine capable of churning out as much as 550 hp, the E’go Revolt sure packs quite a mean punch. Likewise, the car’s design isn’t all that bad; it actually takes a reasonable approach and doesn’t go overboard with the aesthetics
No word yet if the car will ever make it past the concept stage, but nonetheless, you have to give credit where credit is due to the Russians. They’re slowly entering the super car industry and it looks like they’ll be around for a long time.
The German luxury automaker BMW is one of the only automakers that can invent new car segments so successfully, with models like the X6 Sport Activity Vehicle. Well the Japanese car maker Nissan is attempting something similar with their first true super car GT-R. Branching out in the opposite direction from the upcoming razor sharp SpecV with a more refined SpecM, much in the fashion of the old Mizuno Spec GT-R.
In an interview with the automotive journal InsideLine, Kazutoshi Mizuno, the man behind who has been at the controls of Nissan’s flagship performance vehicle for over a decade stated that the automaker is indeed working on a SpecM version of the GT-R super car when he put the nail in the coffin saying that "we’ve always planned that after we released the SpecV, we were going to build the SpecM." The new Nissan GT-R SpecM is said to have a new set of thoroughbreds in its sights because when the more plush GT-R debuts sometime next year it will compete with high end super cars like Aston Martin and Ferrari. Now while the GT-R is sure to deliver the same super car thrills there is no word yet as to how Nissan’s engineering and design team are going to soften Godzilla and spruce up the interior, all we do know is that much like the other special edition GT-R, prices will roughly be more than double the base model. However $200,000 is still a bargain for Ferraristas and Nissan will surely sell every last one.
There once was a time when the illustrious Bugatti Veyron enjoyed the title of being the fastest and most exotic car on the road with its downforce inducing curves that make the 1001 HP quad turbocharged 16 cylinder powered super car able to reach a 253 MPH top speed. However being number 1 also makes you a bit of a target for every eager tuner looking to make a name for themselves, and although there are no cars that can do everything like the Veyron, but there are a handful that are getting close. Perhaps in a preemptive move, the Italian automaker is planning something special for their centennial anniversary.
This recent spy shot may clue us in a bit more as to what exactly Bugatti is thinking about, rumors say that this Veyron+ is a new variant that will deliver around 1200 HP and will be capable of hitting around 260 MPH on the speedo. Along with a slight bump in output the new super car should also be a bit lighter, by about 300 pounds which will not only make it more efficient at speed, but bring the 2.5 second 0 to 60 MPH time down a few tenths. Now this is mostly speculation, and of course the factory hasn’t made any official comments about a special edition upgraded Veyron, however we couldn’t help but continue to ponder what the new car will be called. Possible names include Veyron GT and Veyron Grand Prix, but we are a pit partial to Veyron+ (plus). Hopefully we will find out by the 2010 Paris Motor Show.
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.
BMW’s next generation 3-Series has already taken to the road for some testing, as evidenced by a recent video shot of the car galloping around the streets of Germany in the traditional black and white camouflage. While details of the car are still sketchy, there have been reports that BMW is set to introduce a new line of inline six-cylinder engines for the brand’s new 3-Series.
The video of the 3-Series’ outdoor test run has raised some questions as to when the car will be launched. Knowing that BMW has a standard seven-year cycle with their models, 2012 should be the year when the new 3-Series is officially launched, although we wouldn’t be surprised if we see the car come out sooner than expected.
The next generation BMW 5 Series won’t be revealed until November 23 but that hasn’t stopped a lot of us from speculating as to what the new car would look like.
Thanks to a recent spy video - and minimal camouflaging by BMW – that was taken of the 5 Series taking in a few test laps, we finally have an idea, small as it may be, of what the new 5 Series would look like. As an added bonus, we also get to see all three variants of the 5 Series in the video: the M5, the F10 sedan, and the F11 Touring.
While the video does shed some light on what to expect from the new 5 Series, BMW has nonetheless kept pretty much everything under wraps for its November 23 launch.
For a lot of us that have been waiting anxiously for that day to come, this video is about as close as we can get to seeing the next-gen 5 Series before then. You know what they say, beggars can’t be choosers.
Another Japanese automobile manufacturer interested in coming up with the car of the future is Honda with their Helix designed for the 2009 L.A. Design Challenge. The Helix is made out of adaptive polymers, capable of changing everything from shape to color and even properties. Just like the DNA that makes up every living being, the Helix can adapt to three distinct driving situations: A, B and Z. The Honda Helix is capable of adapting, evolving, and conforming to the driver’s needs using insight gained from the human genome, biotechnology and environmental forecasting making it the perfect vehicle for environments ranging from the congested city streets of Japan, to the wide open highways of America.
The "A" configuration is short and wide for cities that have very tight and interwinding roads, where agility and speed allow the vehicle to easily negotiate chaotic traffic patterns. The "B" layout is long and low for the sprawling cities of the world, where the long stretches of road allow for high speed commuting. When in the "Z" configuration the Helix transforms into a tall and thin automobile for congested cities of the world, where occupants sit vertically giving the 2030 Helix the most volume per square footage of any vehicle that has come before.
The Japanese automaker Mazda is also entering the 2009 L.A. Design Challenge with the Souga, a minimalist lightweight sports coupe that is made up of experimental shapes, ornate detailing and a dramatically proportioned exterior. The Souga is the next step in Mazda’s Nagare design language with its flowing exterior and sweeping lines. The Souga is designed around VMazda, a virtual reality website that acts as a design playground for young automotive enthusiasts allowing them to experiment, build, and share their four wheeled dreams in a virtual world at no cost. The car would be sold as an affordable shell and monthly payments would be made for the electricity it consumes much like a cellular telephone bill, and because most modern digital devices have become integrated into automobiles, this eliminates the need to clutter the driver’s concentration with a host of accessories and add ons, thus simplifying the Souga driving experience.
Every year the L.A. Autoshow asks the manufacturers to envision the car of the future. This year’s Design Challenge is all about coming up with what we will be driving in 2030. The German automaker Audi is entering the competition with two very unique vehicles: the eSpira (the Aspiration) and the eOra (the Essence).
The eSpira uses next generation vehicle control logic that will take even the most minimal of body movements and gestures from the driver and interpret them to deliver the most direct driving sensation of any machine in the history of the automobile in an effort to show that the most direct, fluid form of vehicle control is only a few thoughts away.
On the other hand, the eOra is a pure sports car that has been designed to share the same control logic as the eSpira and make an extremely dynamic and efficient vehicle that is only aided by the Audi eOra’s small footprint and unmatched agility. Like a downhill skier, the eOra leans into turns and carves up the curves in the road scape with previously unseen precision. By constantly adapting to the driver’s movements and intentions, the eOra and its driver are able to move harmoniously as one, with unrivaled dexterity and superior sports car performance.
Mitsubishi’s plans of releasing a new compact crossover in the UK next year took a bold step to fruition after the company released a design sketch of what the vehicle may look like.
Based on the 2007 Concept-cX show car, the still-to-be-named crossover features a number of design elements and styling touches that have become synonymous with Mitsubishi, including an adapted version of the jet fighter front end that Mitsubishi has been known to use in a lot of its vehicles.
Rumors have also propped up saying that the crossover vehicle will come in a variety of engines, including a clean diesel and petrol capacity, as well as a plug-in hybrid version. The choice of more eco-friendly engines is the latest indication that Mitsubishi may very well be shedding its reputation as a gas-guzzling 4x4 brand and shifting its vehicles to become more environment-friendly, similar to what a lot of its competitors have been doing recently.
The new crossover is scheduled to make its European debut at the Geneva Motor Show next March, a month after the car goes on sale in its homeland of Japan. As it stands, the crossover is in line to drop in UK dealerships towards the latter stages of 2010.
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