Auto News & New car review

The Porsche GT3 RSR launches into the new model year with extensive modifications. The most powerful race car based on the Porsche 911, which last year scored wins at the 24 hour races of Le Mans and Spa as well as overall victory at the Nuerburgring 24 hours, competes in the GT2 class at international long distance races. The most distinguishing feature of the new GT3 RSR is the front end which received major improvements to the aerodynamics. The majority of innovations however are hidden under the weight-optimised body.
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Honda’s refreshed S2000 is now on sale in the UK with new suspension settings to make the iconic two-seater more communicative, predictable and exhilarating to drive.

The S2000’s handling and performance characteristics have been enhanced by changes to the suspension. The new set-up is identical to that fitted to its Japanese counterpart - the S2000 Type-S.
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I’m sitting in an Alfa 147, about to fire her up. I cast my mind back to the Alfasud: a beautiful, mellifluous, affordable vehicle that introduced a generation of drivers to the joys of performance motoring. I remember summer evenings in an open Spider, a peerless pre-Miata combination of boulevardier and Lotus-like lane pilot; a car whose zingy note merged happily with the sound of estival insects. I also conjure-up a trip to France in a sonorous, serious, quick-steering Giulia, where I felt like a character in a Truffaut movie. So, will the 147 be another driver’s Alfa that rasps, bites and feels alive?
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Every forty seconds, another new Corolla rolls off a dealer’s lot. Statistically speaking, it’s piloted by a middle aged woman without a college degree. She could be your house cleaner, mother or receptionist. For forty years, the Corolla has satisfied her with its predictable blend of reliable, economical and durable transportation. These days, old is out, youthful is in. Toyota’s PR professed and ambitious goal for their tenth generation Corolla: “to connect, more than ever, with younger buyers on every level” (Toyota’s italics/underlines). So, has the new Corolla hooked up?
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Following the relaunch of John Cooper Works as MINI’s in-house performance division, the little carmaker that could is preparing to unveil the new JCW MINI Cooper S at Geneva auto show, which is now approaching as rapidly as the hot hatch itself. Meanwhile details are emerging over what the first factory JCW will include, and it looks good. Read the rest of this entry »

At its Frankfurt introduction last year, the BRABUS Bullit was positioned as the tuner’s ultimate “sleeper.” Painted a fairly standard-looking gray with subdued black wheels and carbon-fiber accents, the Bullit did differ from some of BRABUS’ more wildly extroverted vehicles, which scream “SUPER TUNER! LOOK AT ME!” That’s not to say that the Bullit doesn’t have the creds, though — a 720-horsepower twin-turbo V12 with torque electronically limited to 811 lb-ft will certainly get the job done. (Sans the electronic safety net, it produces 974 lb-ft, in case you were wondering. Tires become one with the ozone layer at the mere thought of this.)

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Bankers. They’re the kind of people you expect to see driving an Audi. Or barristers. Fine, upstanding pillars of society, I’m sure you’ll agree. Trouble is, they are a little, well, boring.

That’s Audi’s problem, too. All too often thought of as the quiet reliable type that stands in the corner at parties, Audi wants to inject some added sport appeal into its latest offerings.

The most obvious attempt at this is the new corporate snout. The full-face grille first shown on the Nuvolari concept has since made its way on to the front of the new A8, A3 and next year’s A4. It works best on the A6, in our opinion, although it continues to divide opinion amongst potential punters.
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Emerging from the house in a caffeine-free stumble, he peers at the expanse of silver paintwork before him.

“Couldn’t you have found a smaller car?” my passenger jests, through bleary eyes.

It’s true, Honda’s five-door version of the Accord is probably visible from space. In a market full of ‘lifestyle estates’ barely commodious enough to play host to a surfboard, the Japanese have created a truly gargantuan rival to the ubiquitous Volvo estate. Read the rest of this entry »

At the reveal of its X6 Concept, BMW gave the all-too-common explanation that while just a concept, the X6 could be produced. Swap “could be” with “will be” and you’ve got the truth of the matter. The X6 is on a fast track to production and the “concept” you see here is close to final form. Of course, the most talked about feature of the X6 is its raked roof that begins plunging after the B-pillar until it meets the rear deck lid. Compared to other CUVs, rear seat headroom and cargo space is obviously compromised, but BMW is betting that form will be more important than function to an X6 customer.

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With the Mazda2 and Mazda6 selling successfully abroad, the Zoom-Zoom crowd is turning its attention to the Mazda3, with this rendering surfacing in good company of the wealth of RX-9 sketches that were popping up everywhere last month. The rendering borrows cues from its little and big brothers to forecast what the upcoming 3 could look like, while ostensibly reasonable predictions place four-cylinder engines underhood ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 liters, as well as the availability of four- and five-door variants like the current and previous models.

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