Car News
Audi A1 Clubsport Quattro
Audi prepared a nice surprise for this year’s Worthersee Tour, called the Audi A1 Clubsport Quattro, an extreme version based on the automaker’s smallest hatch which celebrates 30 years of the Austrian festival.
Fitted with a heavily modified, turbocharger and direct injected 2.5-litre gasoline engine under its bonnet, the Audi A1 Clubsport Quattro develops no less than 503 HP (370 kW) and 660 Nm (486 lb-ft) of torque delivered to all four wheels via a 6-speed manual transmission.
Nissan LEAF Gas Powered Everything Commercial
The Japanese automaker is promoting their all electric Nissan LEAF through a new commercial called ‘Gas Powered Everything’ which asks two simple questions : ‘What if everything ran on gas’ and ‘what if everything didn’t…’
In order to make this commercial stick in the mind of the viewer Nissan gives examples of gas powered alarm clocks, coffee machines, microwave ovens, hair dryers, iPods, cell phones, computers, etc.. Towards the end of the promo Nissan takes a shot at the new Chevrolet Volt as well, which unlike the LEAF, also requires gas.
BMW i8 Commercial Video
BMW has published the first commercial video for their upcoming electric sporty model, the i8 which will premiere towards the end of 2013 and will enter the market in 2014.
The BMW i8 will extract power from a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo diesel unit backed by two electric motors, and according to preliminary figures that surfaced the web in February, the car will be rated at 356 horsepower and 800 Nm of torque.
Infiniti FX 30dS by AHG Sports
The German tuners at AHG Sports have developed a series of upgrades for the Infiniti FX 30dS.
The most notable change is that instead of 238 HP, the Japanese luxury crossover is now able to produce 280 HP and 600 Nm of torque, an improvement which costs 1,250 Euro and has a pending status on its TUV approval.
At the exterior the Infiniti FX 30dS was ‘optimised’ by receiving a new wheel and tire combination priced at 7,900 Euro, featuring 21 inch three-piece rims from Schmidt Revolution and tires size 295/40R21. The SUV’s suspension was also re-tuned with a set of new springs which cost 1,495 Euro, that allow a 25 mm lower center of gravity.
2012 Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster – Price and Specs
Daimler has fully unveiled the 2012 Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster during the weekend, offering numerous photos and a video along with announcing specifications and pricing for the open-top version two-seater which lost its Gullwing doors.
Powered by a front-mid positioned 6.3-litre V8 generating 571 kW (420 kW) and 650 Nm of torque, and built around an aluminium speceframe body, the 2012 Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster uses a 7-speed dual clutch transmission in a transaxle arrangement and a sports suspension featuring double wishbones.
VATH V63S Mercedes SLS
A new day, a new performance kit for the Mercedes SLS AMG, this time from the aftermarket specialist at VATH who call their tuning program the V63S.
The kit consists of a remapped ECU with custom ignition and injection characteristics and a high-performance exhaust system with manually controlled extra pneumatic valves. Thanks to these upgrades the VATH V63S Mercedes SLS has a peak performance of 615 HP and 680 Nm of torque @ 5,800 rpm, figures which enable the car to complete the 0 to 100 Km/h sprint in 3.6 seconds. Top speed has also increased to 330 Km/h.
Mercedes SLS 63 AMG by MEC Design
Back in 2009 MEC Design was showcasing their first design study based on the Mercedes SLS. Now they are back with a new customisation program, this time targeting the SLS 63 AMG, developed for a customer from Florida.
This latest kit looks less radical but with a long range of enhancements applied at both the exterior and interior. At the front the Mercedes SLS 63 AMG by MEC Design features a two piece front spoiler with optional LED lights and a spoiler lip in carbon finish, while for the rear the tuner offers three different diffuser options (Extreme , Formula or GT3).
CFC Volkswagen Beetle
The foil specialists from CFC (CarFilmComponents) based in the upper Bavarian city of Weilheim have turned the previous generation, ragtop version Volkswagen Beetle into a show car.
The leitmotif of this car is ‘competence in foil’ and the measures that were taken to achieve that include wrapping the front apron, the front wings, the side sills, the rear wings and the rear area in sticker bombing and velvet foil.
BMW 1 Series M vs Porsche Cayman R Video
Based on previous reviews like the one from AutoExpress that we showed a coupe of days ago, everyone seems to agree (the crew from Autocar included), that the BMW 1 Series M is a car that definitely deserves to wear the M badge.
Some of the characteristics that define the BMW 1 Series M are that it is really fast thanks to its 3.0-litre straight-six twin-turbo engine producing 340 bhp and 450 Nm of torque, and properly raw in a way the M cars used to be. Accelerating from nought to 62 in the 1 Series M takes 4.9 seconds, while its top speed of limited to 155 mph. The small German coupe also handles very well, and Autocar’s journalist appreciates that you really need to known what you’re doing once you turn all the driver aids off.
2012 VW Passat Price
VW has put a price tag on the North American bound 2012 Passat, which according to the automaker, sets new benchmarks in the mid-size segment, and starts at 19,995 USD.
The range opener extracts power from a 2.5-litre 5-cylinder petrol delivering 170 HP to the wheels via a 5-speed manual gearbox, and some of the features that are offered as standard include 16 inch wheels, automatic dual zone climate control, Bluetooth connectivity and steering wheel mounted audio controls.
Those who want to get a bit of extra comfort, the automaker offers the SE model, which starts at 23,725 USD and adds an 8-way power driver seat, heated front seats, a touchscreen Premium VIII radio, a multi-Function leather-wrapped steering wheel plus 17 inch alloys.