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Mazda will be revealing its mid-sized sedan 2014 Mazda6 Atenza at the Moscow Motor Show next week.
The new model will be powered by the aut0 manufacturer’s Skyactiv technology and draws its design from the Kodo “Soul of Motion” language. The Mazda6 is the second of a new generation of vehicles to adopt this following the CX-5.
The powertrain has also been incorporated with Mazda’s regenerative breaking “i-Eloop” system which includes stop/start technology, contributing to an improvement in fuel efficiency.
Since its introduction in 2002, the Mazda 6 its all its incarnations has shifted over a million units. Whilst this may come as no surprise to those who’ve seen it first-hand (or indeed those who voted it ‘best family car’ in 2012 in What Car? Magazine), it seems a quietly sensible car, albeit one with a stylish and mega-modern design. The result of the Japanese company creating a new visual language of sorts (codenamed Kodo) for its designs, sees the 2013 Mazda 6 looking positively ferocious with its headlights-cum-hawk eyes and sleek, aerodynamic chassis.
The buzz around it is making car enthusiasts desperate to catch more than a fleeting glance! Charging ahead with the Takeri concept the company unveiled last year, the newest model will champion the futuristic appeal we’ve come to expect of Mazda.
Car Magazine has confirmed that Audi will be pulling the plug on its A2 electric city car project with a main concern over the car’s price tag of at least €40,000.
First shown in 2011 and originally expected to go into production in 2015, the A2 featured an 85kW, 199lb ft electric motor and 125-mile range. The electric vehicle was timed to go into production in order to compete with BMW’s i3 hatchback.
When the company executives became uneasy about the small EV, measuring less than 4m in length, with the large price tag they began to doubt whether it in fact was a worthwhile project to undertake.
With the demand for mass-market EVs having shown low demand by the public that includes the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i-MiEV, even with governments in Europe offering a discount, Audi no longer considers the manufacturing and marketing of the electric A2 a priority or any other EV for that matter at this time.
Fisker recently revealed its new Atlantic at the New York auto show, a plug-in hybrid sedan that with its good looks sets a new high for hybrids.
Although Fisker hasn’t been very vocal about all-electric range, cost or an estimated delivery date, for now the car speaks for itself. It’s a ‘mid-sized sports sedan’, about the size of an Audi A5 Sportback, with a long bonnet that’s slightly uptilted in classic American style, an ultra-short rear deck and hidden rear door handles.
One thing executive chairman Henrik Fisker was very happy to talk about was that the Atlantic is a car that will be built and will go into production. It is “a promise we are going to deliver,” he said.
When it does eventually arrive, the Atlantic is likely to look very similar to the vehicle revealed with Fisker stating in his presentation that the company does not do concepts making reference to the little change seen in the Karma from auto show reveal to showroom.
BMW, that will be chopping the top off its i8 hybrid for the upcoming Beijing Auto Show, has recently revealed some images of the new convertible i8 Spyder supercar a few weeks ahead of the official unveiling in China.
It’s a sign that Munich will offer a convertible i8 alongside the tin-top coupe when BMW i8 sales kick off in 2014. The convertible will sport a two-section folding back roof, converting the coupe into the roadster in just a few seconds.
The i8 cabrio gives a few pointers to the likely format of the production cars. The Spyder has a slightly shorter wheelbase and overall length, suggesting that showroom i8s will be more compact than the concepts seen so far.
While Porsche‘s first plug-in hybrid will be the exclusive and expensive 918 Spyder due next year the sports car manufacturer will be introducing even more plug-ins in the future.
While a plug-on hybrid version of Porsche’s Cayenne SUV would likely make the most sense as a hybrid with the size to carry a heavy battery and electric motor setup, insiders have revealed that a plug-in hybrid Panamera could be launched in the next two years, ready for 2014.
Speaking to Automotive News, the sources commented that the production of the vehicle will commence in 2014 and is likely to then be sold in the U.S.
The production version of BMW’s i3 electric hatchback will be ready for 2013.
The team, headed by Ulrich Kranz is already well into prototyping with both i3 and i8 undergoing early on-road trials in Miramas, BMW‘s own proving ground near Marseilles, and near the Arctic Circle. First spy shots taken of the car, show a heavily camouflaged vehicle that still fails to disguise its radical proportions, large-diameter skinny wheels and the extrovert aerodynamics
The BMW i programme has been a huge undertaking for BMW, not only because of the revolutionary engineering and design concept, but also because of the scale of the whole operation which will include the production of about 100, 000 vehicles per year.
The i3 will also be joined by the i1, i5 and i8 to round up the model range that will have a significant impact on the emerging green car market. The proposed i range features: The i3 four-door hatchback in late 2013, the i8 two-door 2+2-seater coupe in early 2014, The i5 high-roof long-wheelbase five-seater wagon/MPV hybrid potentially in 2015 and the i1 2+2-seater short-wheelbase city car potentially in 2016.
Named for the city that Pininfarina calls home, its Cambiano concept may just be the sexiest plug-in diesel hybrid ever created. While the vehicle will make its official debut at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, Pininfarina chose to release some of its concept shots in advance.
The Cambiano is powered by batteries, a diesel-fueled turbine or both and propelled by an electric motor at each wheel. The car gives a maximum output equivalent to 816 horsepower and can sprint from 0-100 km/h in just 4.2 seconds, on its way to a top speed of 155 mph.
While showing-off a supercar performance, the Cambiano was primarily designed to be environmentally friendly and so emits just 45 grams of CO2 per km which should be clean enough for the car to be compliant with future Euro 7 emissions standards.
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