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According to a recent report by Car Magazine, Bentley will enter the 2013 Dakar Rally to promote its upcoming crossover.
The report says that Bentley will be buying back VW’s Race Touaregs, previously sold to private racing teams, and will update the SUV racers into modified versions of the EXP 9 F concept in order to have them ready for the 2013 competition.
Although the EXP 9 F was only just unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show and is likely a few years away from production, both the Bentley and its platform-sharing Lamborghini Urus SUV are “crucial to their respective brand’s future fortunes and both are production certainties”.
Here are a few spy shots of Porsche’s 2014 Macan snapped by Motor Authority.
The Macan was first announced by Porsche as the name of its upcoming compact crossover SUV at the Geneva Motor Show that took place earlier this year with production expected to begin in late 2013.
On the performance side, “the Macan is expected to feature torque-sensing and torque-vectoring differentials, a wider track than the Q5, and both manual and PDK transmissions. A sport-tuned suspension with an optional adjustable ride system is also likely”.
According to Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller, the sales volume estimates range from 50,000-55,000 units per year.
Watch one of the latest videos from Chris Harris as he takes the Lotus Exige S for a track test.
“Despite difficulties in deciphering anything tangible within the madness of new racing cars and bizarre road car strategies over the past two years”, says Harris, Lotus makes some of the best sports cars in the world, when it has the time and money to do so. And so Harris decides to put all negative thoughts behind him and visit the home of Lotus at Hethel to test drive the Exige S, arguably one of the best Lotus road cars ever made.
The Exige S is the Exige with a different back end on it, new rear suspension, modified chassis and body and fitted with an Evora S powertrain, the super charged Toyota motor with 350 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque.
Watch Chris Harris in action in the video below:
The latest version of the Ferrari California that was launched at the Geneva Motor Show has now been filmed taking a spin out on the hills of Maranello in Italy.
This the very place where Ferrari engineers developed and test drove the new vehicle which is an updated version of the California with a more powerful engine and “new ‘Handling Speciale’ suspension package”.
The video provides a good idea of the “sound of the car’s new V-8 engine, which still displaces 4.3 litres but now develops 490 horsepower and 373 pound-feet of torque. That’s a rise of 30 horsepower and 26 pound-feet over the previous model, courtesy of revised exhaust manifolds and ECU tuning”.
In addition the torque curve is now higher across the engine’s rev range.
The stunning new Lamborghini Aventador J Roadster, recently revealed at the Geneva Motor Show, is not just a concept car but now a real one-off production vehicle.
It’s one thing to create a convertible version of the gorgeous Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4, it’s another thing entirely to take off the roof and the windscreen, fitting two small wind deflectors in front of the driver and passenger compartments as well as removing climate control and navigation. What you do get, however, is what Lamborghini calls “an utterly indescribable experience of power and dynamics.”
In order to save eight, the auto manufacturer has used a new carbon fibre fabric called “Carbonskin” that is apparently soft and supple enough to be used on the seats and interior trim.
Sold for the price of 2.1 million Euros, the Aventador uses the same 700-horsepower, 6.5-litre V12 as its hardtop kin” and Lamborghini states that the open-air J will reach speeds as high as 186 miles per hour.”
When it came time for Mercedes Benz to promote its new fuel cell vehicle, the German auto manufacturer decided to use it as an opportunity to create an innovative and unique marketing sketch. Rather than simply display the car for the public to view, it decided to make it invisible. Ultimately an innovative driving technology needs an innovative way to promote it.
The decision to make the car ‘invisible’ emphasizes that its F-Cell vehicle has no exhaust emissions, making it virtually invisible to the environment. That’s pretty clever. This was achieved by placing a mat of LEDs across the entire one side of the vehicle and mounting a video shooting Canon 5D Mark II digital SLR camera on the other side.
Mercedes has said that its hydrogen-powered drive system is “ready for series production,” but other reports have its commercialization expected only in 2014. However, fuel-cell technology is still extremely expensive, partly because hydrogen is a difficult fuel to store and transport and the materials needed to create a viable fuel-cell are also very pricey.
BMW has unveiled the new 2012 M6 in Munich this past weekend. In essence, a two-door M5, the new super coupe will be one of the latest models to feature at this year’s Geneva Motor Show.
The M6 takes the same bi-turbo 4.4-litre V8, blown to produce a stout 552bhp at 5750rpm and 502lb ft at just 1500rpm. This means no more of the high-revving shriek of the old V10, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing as the V8 is high on performance, if lacking in some of the fizz of the old V10. As far as speed goes, the coupe passes 62mph in just 4.2 seconds and 124mph (200kph) in 12.6 seconds. Top speed is to 155mph, although the M Driver’s Package will increase that to 189mph.
In addition to the larger engine, the new M6 has a carbonfibre reinforced plastic roof to lower the centre of gravity that was first introduced on the M3 CSL. BMW claims the new M6 is a third less heavy on petrol than before, quoting a 28.5mpg combined economy figure with the seven-speed twin-clutch transmission assisting with this. Switchable dampers come standard and you get the M5′s Active M Differential as standard too. To simplify the multiple choice of which electronic modes to select, you can pre-programme your favourite settings in two M buttons located on the steering wheel.
It is quite difficult to describe what goes on at Le Mans, to someone who hasn’t had the fortune of being able to see it for themselves. It is an event that encapsulates all that an enthusiast loves about the exciting high-speed world of motorsport. Le Mans is a test of man’s mental and physical abilities as well as an attempt to push both machinery and technology to their very limits.
The organizers, the ACO (Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the organizer) have released an exciting highlights reel in celebration of the 80th 24 Hour Le Mans to remind car fans of past events and what there is to look forward to.
Watch the highlights reel below:
Source: Quattro World
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