China's Ferrari-Lamborghini-Audi-Inspired S11 Coupe Rumored to Debut as a JAC Model in Beijing

If you're experiencing a little bit of déjà vu after looking at these photos, no need to worry because chances are you remember our post on the red Tong Jian S11 coupe from the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show.

The news coming in from several automotive websites in China is that Jianghuai Automobile, more commonly known as JAC Motors, will present the S11 under its own nameplate at this month's 2012 Auto China Show in Beijing.

The same sources show a set of allegedly scoop photos of the S11 in a yellow exterior finish that they claim to be the JAC model, even though the car does not sport any of the brand's badges.

If true, then JAC Motors, which recently made headlines in the States for cloning the Ford F-150 pickup truck, may have come sealed some sort of deal with Tong Jian to build the coupe – that or it just "borrowed" the design…

Read more »

Renault's Quirky Pure-Electric Twizy Goes on Sale in the UK

Renault has never been the one to shy away from eccentric creations (remember the Avantime?) but the new Twizy certainly takes quirkiness one-step further as it looks like the odd pairing of a golf kart with a motorcycle offering seating for two in a tandem layout while riding on four wheels.

Revealed as a concept for the first time at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, Renault surprised us a year later with the presentation of the production model in Paris. Now, the Twizy is available in European showrooms including Britain where it went on sale today.

Read more »

Volkswagen Sweepstakes Offers Winner the Chance to Drive the Golf R at the 'Ring

The Volkswagen brand is lifting the stakes with a freshly launched competition to mark the arrival of its new 2012 Golf R hot hatch in the United States.

Named the “Golf R Ultimate Fan Experience” Sweepstakes, the contest will offer one lucky winner an all-expenses paid trip for two in Germany this September.

The week-long trip will include, among other things, a tour of VW's headquarters in Wolfsburg but more importantly, the unique opportunity to drive the Golf R at the Nürburgring racetrack.

Read more »

Fiat Drops Official Info on New Dodge Dart-Based Viaggio Compact Sedan

After the first photos of Fiat's Viaggio leaked on the web (pun not intended) on Thursday, the Italian carmaker decided it was time to officially release the teaser images and provide initial details on the compact-sized sedan model.

The Viaggio will have its world preview at the 2012 Beijing International Auto Show on Monday, April 23, before it goes on sale in China this fall. The car's name is Italian for voyage or journey, while Fiat says its Chinese name 'Fei Xiang' means flying.

As is evident from the teaser photos, the Viaggio is based on the 2013 Dodge Dart, which in turn, uses Fiat's new CUSW (Compact US Wide) platform derived from the Compact architecture originally developed for the Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

Read more »

2013 Scion FR-S Rolls on to the Dyno to Prove its Worth

Toyota, Subaru and Scion all tell us that their co-developed trio of rear-wheel drive sports coupes, namely the 86/GT86, BRZ and FR-S, are powered by the same 2.0-liter flat-four that produces 200 horsepower and 151 lb-ft (205Nm) at the flywheel.

As is common these days with any newly launched model, independent testers, in this case, the folks over at Edmund's Insideline, strapped the North American market 2013 Scion FR-S on the dyno to see what kind of numbers it would produce.

Read more »

Lexus Delivers Europe's First LFA with a Nürburgring Package to a UK Customer

More than a year after Lexus officially presented the LFA Nürburgring Edition at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, the first example of the Japanese supercar arrived in Europe and was delivered this week to an unnamed customer in Britain. This is one of only 50 LFA Nürburgring Edition models that will be sold worldwide.

The Nürburgring Edition model is finished in an orange exterior hue with a black interior, but that's not what makes it special.

Read more »

GM to Kill Chevrolet Avalanche, Presents One Last Special Edition Named Black Diamond

The Chevrolet Avalanche will soon go the way of the dodo bird as General Motors has decided it's time to end the model series, which was presented back in 2001 and was redesigned in 2007.

To mark the end of production, Chevrolet has introduced a special edition named the 2013 Avalanche Black Diamond, while also offering additional features on the rest of the lineup.

Read more »

Bugatti Shows the World's Fastest Production Roadster in...Slow Motion

With a mind-blowing 1,200PS (1,184bhp) under its hood and a top speed of 410 km/h (255 mph) in track mode, the new Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse is the most powerful and at the same time, fastest series production roadster in the world.

Ironically, for the first promotional video about the new supercar after its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show this past March, Bugatti chose to display the Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse in a slow-motion clip - perhaps so we can admire all the details.

But enough talk; head on past the break to see the thing in action

Read more »

Maserati to Build Alfa Romeo 4C at its Modena Plant, will Introduce Three new Models

It's that time of year that the Fiat Group reveals its plans for the near future and on Thursday, the Italian automaker announced that Maserati will expand its product offering and significantly increase volumes over the next two years with the presentation of three new models in three different market segments.

The Italian company did not provide additional information, but we already know that the three new Maserati models planned for production are the Kubang luxury SUV that was previewed in showcar trim at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show, a mid-size sports sedan to compete with the BMW 6-Series Gran Coupe and Mercedes CLS, and the next generation of the large Quattroporte sedan.

Read more »

Say Ciao to the Dodge Dart's Italian Cousin, the New Fiat Viaggio

We knew that the Fiat Group is planning to introduce a Fiat-branded version of the Dodge Dart named Viaggio at the upcoming Auto China Show 2012 in Beijing later this month, but now we can show you the first teaser images of the compact sedan.

The images, which surfaced on the Italian forum Autopareri, provide us with a glimpse of the Viaggio's front and rear ends as well as its profile.

Even with these pictures, it's not hard to see that Fiat's re-branding of the Dart is limited to the new bumper and headlamp assembly at the front and the new tail lamps and possibly a more pronounced boot lid edge at the back.

Read more »

New Volvo V40 Hatchback Starts from £19,745 in Britain

A little over a month after its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show, Volvo of Britain has released detailed pricing on the brand's new premium five-door hatch, the V40.

On-the-road prices range from £19,745 for the base 115hp diesel to £26,795 for a fully equipped SE LUX model with a 177hp diesel. Volvo said that customers can place their orders now, though the first cars won't be arriving in the UK before September.

Read more »

New Twin-Turbo Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG Priced at £82,995 in the UK

Mercedes has released details on pricing and specifications for the flag-bearer of its new ML series in Britain, the ML 63 AMG. The most powerful model of the ML lineup starts at £82,995, or about the same as the BMW X5M (£83,290).

Under the hood, you will find a 5.5-litre bi-turbo direct-injection V8 engine producing 517hp (525PS) and 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) of torque which is sufficient to deliver a 0-62mph (100km/h) sprint time of 4.8 seconds.

Read more »

New Mazda2 Venture Edition Launched in Britain

Every once in a while, automakers introduce some sort of special edition, which most of the times translates to added extras at a friendly price, to renew interest in a particular model series. This holds true in the case of the new UK market Mazda2 Venture Edition.

Based on the five-door hatchback Tamura model, the Venture Edition is priced from £12,995 (OTR) and features additional items of equipment. On the outside, you'll find 16-inch gunmetal alloy wheels, a sports styling kit, front fog lamps, privacy glass and a rear bumper sports trim.

Read more »

Volvo Extends Line-Up with 136HP 2.0-Liter Five-Cylinder Diesel, Announces 2013MY Changes

In line with its initiative to improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions across its range, Volvo announced the introduction of a new five-cylinder, 2.0-liter turbo diesel engine.

The new diesel, which is designated D3, has an output of 136HP and 350Nm (258.1 lb-ft) of torque and slots between the 115HP D2 and the 163HP D4 engines. It will be available in the S60, V60, XC60, V70 and S80 models and can be combined with both manual and automatic transmissions.

Read more »

Peugeot Airs First Commercial on its New 4008 Compact Crossover

With the market launch of the new Peugeot 4008 well underway, the French carmaker released the first international commercial for its Mitsubishi Outlander Sport / ASX / RVR based crossover.

The ad takes us for a quick ride in the 4008 through a scenic forest and on picturesque roads while at the same time showing chic clothing and accessories coming to life in the form of animals.

Read more »

New Photo Gallery of Mercedes-Benz's 2012 A-Class Compact Hatch

We first laid eyes on the new generation of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class model at last month's Geneva Salon, but the premium compact hatchback won't be rolling into European dealerships before September.

To keep it in the press during this period, the German brand plans to release numerous details about the car in several installments starting with the design and a fresh batch of pictures.

Read more »

Toyota Begins Production of the Yaris Hybrid at French Plant

Toyota today announced that it has commenced production of the new Yaris Hybrid at its Valenciennes plant with the first vehicle to roll off the production line going to a customer in northern France.

The hybrid version of the third generation Yaris uses a new, more compact version of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain that is demonstrated in the video that follows. The company claims that the HSD system does not impede on passenger or boot capacity, which are identical to the non-hybrid versions.

Read more »

2013 Mercedes-Benz G-Class gets New Twin-Turbo V8 and V12 AMG Variants with up to 603HP!

After discovering the 2013 G-Class lurking behind the updated GLK in one of the official shots and learning that Mercedes will debut the revised version of its longest running model series at the Beijing motor show at the end of April, we knew it was only a matter of time before the Germans made it official.

You will be hard pressed to find any exterior differences but there's more than meets the eye with the 2013 G-Class, as Mercedes revamped the interior while adding two new AMG performance versions to the range.

Mercedes found no reason to alter the exterior appearance of the G-Class, which has been in production for 33 years since 1979, so the only changes are the new LED daytime running lamps and exterior mirrors for all engine variants. The AMG models also get a bespoke radiator grille with double louvres, new bumpers with large air intakes and 20-inch wheels.

Read more »

Mildly Updated 2012 Infiniti FX Goes on Sale in Europe

After last year's presentation, the 2012 Infiniti FX is now available for order across Europe. In the UK, prices remain unchanged, starting from £46,750 for the V6 model and rising to £58,250 for the V8 variant.

Key styling enhancements for the 2012 model include the adoption of Infiniti's signature pinched front grille, a reprofiled front bumper with chrome elements, new alloy wheel designs, a revised meter illumination and a fresh assortment of exterior colors.

Read more »

"Mystery" 2012 Porsche 911 Patent Images Show Aerokit and SportDesign Package

A Carscoop reader from France pointed us to L'Automobile Magazine and an article with half-a-dozen patent images, allegedly showing a future addition to the latest 2012 Porsche 911 series since the car featured a fixed rear wing and a different front bumper with an apron.

To make a long story short, the French publication writes that these photos likely show the upcoming four-wheel drive Porsche 911 4S, possibly with a sports package. We dug a little bit further and found two more sets of patent images, with each 911 being equipped with the same front bumper but different rear wings.

Nevertheless, just before posting our finds, we deemed it necessary to check Porsche's official site, and good thing we did. As it turns out, the magazine was only partially right. While it is indeed a 911 equipped with a sports package, it isn't the Carrera 4S but the already available, rear-wheel drive Carrera S.

Read more »