Automotive
Bentley reveals new 2011 Continental GT: sleeker, faster, higher-tech
Sep 7th
The boys in Crewe wrote in this morning to tell us about their new Continental GT coupe. The second-generation model looks pretty similar to the eight-year-old original, but Bentley says it’s actually a ground-up redesign. The new car sports more aggressive styling up front, with bulging fenders; a taller, more upright grille; LED daytime running lights outside of the main headlights; and a smoother rear-end and fenders.
The C-GT’s 6.0L twin-turbo W12 engine has been massaged a bit, pushing output to 567 HP and 516 lb-ft of torque (a 4.0L V8 is also available, for those who care about gas mileage). The block’s mated to a speedier 6-speed Quickshift automatic that can do double downshifts, and power hits the road through a wider rear track. The car’s all-wheel-drive system is now biased 40/60 (front/rear). The new car has a slipperier drag coefficient of 0.33, though it’s still not that great– the Toyota Prius is at 0.26, and the current record-holder, Mercedes’ E-Class Coupe, is at 0.24. The zero-to-60 mph run takes 4.4 seconds, and the Volkswagen-owned carmaker says the new C-GT boasts a top speed of 198 mph.
Inside, the new model has increased legroom, a large new 8″ touchscreen with GPS navigation and Google Maps support, a sleeker dash design, and water bottle holders in the doors.
Oh, and the Continental GT is now flex-fuel (up to E85 ethanol) capable, for those wanting to run their Bentley on processed corn.
Full photo gallery and press release after the break.
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The Global Automotive Family Tree
Sep 1st
Jalopnik just posted up a family tree of the global automotive industry, showing subsidiaries, joint ventures, and partnerships. A few corrections from our side- Mazda is listed twice (near Ford and Toyota), and Kia should be shown as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hyundai.
Click on the image below to expand:
Source: Jalopnik
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Leaked: 2011 Mercedes-Benz CLS
Aug 17th
The 2011 Mercedes-Benz CLS is scheduled to debut at the Paris Motor Show in October, but several photos of the car’s interior and exterior have already leaked. The second-generation model, codenamed C218, has a tough act to follow– its swoopy predecessor single-handedly created the market for “four-door coupes.” The new car inherits much of its styling from the Concept Shooting Brake, including a prominent grille, aggressively styled front bumper, daytime LED running lights, and a long hood.
The new CLS sports two gasoline engine options– the the CLS 350 CGI with a new direct-injected 3.5L V6 putting out 301 HP and 272 lb-ft of torque and the CLS 550 CGI, with a new 4.6L twin-turbo V8 delivering 429 HP and 516 lb-ft of torque. The company’s 4Matic four-wheel-drive system will likely be available on the 550 CGI. Mercedes will offer two diesel options (outside America), the CLS 350 CDI with a 3.0L V6 producing 248 HP and the CLS 250 CDI with an inline-4 putting out 201 HP.
AMG will join the party with the 2011 CLS63 AMG, sporting the tuner’s new 5.5L twin-turbo V8 putting out 544 HP and 590 lb-ft of torque. An optional Performance Pack will be available, boosting power to about 570 HP and 663 lb-ft of torque.
Full photo gallery after the jump. No word on pricing yet.
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Spied: 2011 Mercedes C-Class Coupe
Jul 10th
Mercedes looks to be putting the final touches on a new coupe version of its C-Class sedan. The company recently discontinued the CLC, a version of the last-generation C-Class hatchback facelifted to look like the current C-Class, and is only now making a proper coupe from the current sedan.
Interestingly, the E-Class Coupe actually rides on the C-Class platform (despite styling cues, features, and engines from the E sedan), so it looks like Mercedes shortened the C Coupe a bit to differentiate it. Pricing is unconfirmed, but we suspect it’ll be set slightly higher than the C sedan. Cabriolet and AMG variants are also on the way.
More photos after the break.
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Bigfoot monster truck defects to Chevy after 35 years
Jul 8th
In a shocking move, Bigfoot – the most famous monster truck – has switched from Ford to Chevy. After 35 years in the blue oval camp, the big truck now wears a Chevy Silverado-style skin and has a new GM engine. Apparently Ford stopped sponsoring the team in 2007, leaving Firestone as the primary sponsor. Firestone’s investing heavily in marketing for Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game, and since GM is too, it must’ve been a convenient time to switch and gain some sponsorship funds.
One more photo and full press release after the break.
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2011 Volkswagen Passat Leaks
Jun 5th
Auto Express managed to obtain a leaked photo of the 2011 Volkswagen Passat. The new car sports a squarer, slightly more aggressive design, with flared fenders, lower air intakes, and a chrome grille and new headlights matching the rest of VW’s new models.
Engine options haven’t been confirmed yet, but we’re likely looking at a 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder producing around 200 HP in the U.S. Europe will probably get the same 1.4 and 1.8L TSI gas engines and 1.6 and 2.0L TDI diesels as the current Passat, along with a 2.0L turbo R model delivering 270 HP.
VW will officially unveil the 2011 Passat at the Paris Motor Show in October, and the car should hit showrooms by early next year.
Source: Auto Express
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Spied: 2011 Dodge Charger
Jun 5th
Earlier today, spy photographers caught an in-testing 2011 Dodge Charger R/T whose cover blew off. While we had seen photos of the car’s interior earlier, these are the first clear shots of the Charger’s exterior.
The 2011 model is an evolutionary step over the current sedan, with a larger, forward-canted grille and more aggressively chiseled hood coming together for an even angrier look than the first-generation Charger. The new bumper has revised fog lights and a larger air intake to match the grille.
The 2011 Charger is based on Chrysler’s LY platform (shared with the Chrysler 300C and Dodge Challenger) and is essentially a major refresh of the current model, rather than an all-new car. Interestingly, while Chrysler spun Dodge’s truck lineup into a separate Ram brand, the new sedan still sports the horned ram logo, suggesting Dodge might stick with the old badge for the moment (or might switch the badge later).
Photos: Autoblog/KGP
Full gallery after the break. More >
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John DeLorean’s Would-Be Last Interview: Planned New DMC Hybrid Coupe
Mar 20th
DeLorean with a DMC-12 Prototype
John Z. DeLorean is an automotive legend. At GM, he created the Pontiac GTO, setting off the muscle car era, turned around the Pontiac and Chevrolet brands, and was set for an upper-level executive seat at the company when he decided to jump ship, escape the GM bureaucracy, and create his own company. Driven by passion and sheer determination, he collected $200 million in funding for the DeLorean Motor Company in order to create his dream car– a safe, ethical sports car. The resulting DMC-12 — a stainless steel gullwing coupe that still draws universal attention on the road — was popularized by the Back to the Future movie series.
Unfortunately, John DeLorean passed away in March 2005. AOL Autos editor Tom Torbjornsen was scheduled to interview him the following week, but Torbjornsen had a phone chat with DeLorean the week before, on the basis of which he put together his “best guess at what [he] thought John might have said based on [their] conversation”– it’s an interesting read.
DeLorean revealed plans to relaunch DMC with a new sports cars inspired by the DMC-12. It’d be a lightweight coupe with carbon fiber body panels, a high-performance Renault engine, gullwing doors (of course), and an optional hydraulic hybrid drivetrain based on technology from Hydristor. Sadly, DeLorean never got a chance to realize these plans.
Source: AOL Autos
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McLaren Unveils MP4-12C: 600 HP V8, 1.6 GHz Intel Atom, Runs Windows
Mar 19th
Earlier today, McLaren Automotive unveiled its new supercar, the MP4-12C, and as expected, it’s a performance monster, powered by McLaren’s own (not BMW- or Mercedes-designed, as in the company’s earlier cars) 3.8L V8 mid-engine developing 600 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque with an 8,000-rpm redline. Most impressively, at least 369 lb-ft of torque is available at all times between 2,000 and 8,000 rpm. The car is constructed of a center carbon-fiber tub and outer aluminum structures, weighing in at just 1,300 kg (2,870 lb)– not quite as light as the 1,000 kg McLaren F1, but impressive nonetheless considering how much more safety equipment the MP4-12C carries.
So far, so good. The MP4-12C ’s going to be light, fast, very well-built (build tolerances are less than 0.5 mm), safe (McLaren’s conducting dozens of crash tests to maximize safety), maybe even reliable (with over a million miles of test driving), but comfortable and livable? Not words one might typically use to describe a supercar, but that’s what McLaren’s aiming for.
The MP4-12C features a 7" in-dash touch screen powered by a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom CPU running Microsoft software
Here’s where it gets really interesting. The MP4-12C’s spec sheet looks like someone accidentally mixed it in with something describing a netbook or tablet. Intel Atom 1.6 GHz, 7″ portrait-mode touch screen, Bluetooth, 802.11 Wifi, USB, and Microsoft software. Now that’s something you won’t find in any factory-shipped car in America, let alone a supercar. It’s all part of McLaren’s IRIS infotainment system, which is based on Microsoft software, presumably running on Windows Embedded. McLaren’s choice of Atom is interesting because in-car entertainment systems generally don’t require as much performance as an x86 Atom chip can deliver (Ford’s Microsoft-powered SYNC has a 400 MHz ARM11 processor, for example– see here for info on embedded processors), so IRIS must be something pretty fancy.
Full photo gallery after the break. More >
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Spied: 2011 Dodge Charger Interior
Mar 10th
Spy photographers caught the next-generation Dodge Charger during a testing run earlier today. The car’s interior was photographed for the first time, showing a moderately improved design. The 2011 model sedan, based on Chrysler’s LY platform (shared with the Chrysler 300C and Dodge Challenger), is essentially a major refresh of the current model, rather than an all-new car. As a result, designers couldn’t completely revamp the interior, but it does have smoother lines and new, even if questionable, accents (such as a large, silver slab of plastic across the driver’s side).
The car photographed seems to be a top-spec model, with a large in-dash navigation screen and two-tone color scheme (cream-colored leather seats and matching door panels). Whether Chrysler is finally using soft-touch materials instead of hard plastic remains to be seen.
More photos of the new Charger after the break:
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