Detroit Auto Show: BMW 7 Series Hybrid and X6 Hybrid confirmed for 2009 release

BMW’s two hybrid concept vehicles will be ready for series production by the end of the year, according to Ian Robertson, a member of BMW AG’s board of management, speaking to journalists at the Detroit Auto Show. The BMW Concept 7 Series ActiveHybrid and the X6 “sport activity vehicle” will each have different hybrid systems, mild- and full-hybrid respectively.

The BMW Concept 7 Series ActiveHybrid, to use the concept car’s full name, is based on the fifth-generation BMW 7-Series that will be in dealerships in the spring as a 2009 model. That ’09 7-Series is scheduled to use the 5.0-liter direct-injection twin-turbo V-8 first used in the BMW X6, with no other engine scheduled for the U.S. at introduction.


BMW X6 Concept ActiveHybridThe BMW Concept X6 ActiveHybrid is the German carbuilder’s first application of the two-mode hybrid developed with General Motors and Chrysler. The Concept X6 ActiveHybrid is a full hybrid, able to run on battery power or gasoline power, or a combination thereof. The two-mode system is used in the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid and Chrysler Aspen Hybrid (or was, until its factory was shut down). No numbers were released but BMW says that the Concept X6 ActiveHybrid uses twenty percent less than a similarly-equipped V-8 powered car.

That the hybrid models will be ready for serial production in 2009 which, Robertson told journalists, “means they will probably be available to our customers by the end of the year.”


The BMW Concept 7 Series ActiveHybrid’s lithium-ion battery pack is integrated into the trunk floor and battery charging is supplemented by regenerative braking.

Because a concept has to have some flash, BMW has added aluminum trim to the front end, with fog lamps made up of seven LEDs at either end of the lower air intake. More air guidance elements are added under the rear bumper with special exhaust tips to distinguish it from ordinary BMW 7-Series. Twenty-inch V-spoke light alloy wheels and Blue Water Metallic paint—plus giant graphics—complete the mostly subtle design changes.


The same engine, however, will be coupled with an electric motor fully integrated into the transmission housing in a mild-hybrid arrangement. The electric motor is rated at 20 horsepower but more importantly, 155 lb-ft of torque, providing both more economy and more performance along with reduced emissions. The output of the electric motor is added to that of the 4.4-liter engine’s already prodigious 400 horsepower and 440 lb-ft of torque, increasing performance. However at part throttle the electric motor takes part of the load that would otherwise be handled by the gas engine and that, along with the stop/start feature that’s included, allow fuel savings of 15 percent to be recorded under the EU test cycle.

Robertson stated that luxury and comfort of the 7 Series won’t be compromised. Based on our prior experience with the BMW Hydrogen 7’s wholly transparent transfer from gasoline to hydrogen fuel leads us to believe the ActiveHybrid will be just as smooth.

Illlustrations: Top, Dr. Klaus Draeger discusses the BMW Concept 7 Series ActiveHybrid at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show; bottom, BMW Concept X6 ActiveHybrid. Photos courtesy BMW.
via:examiner



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Honda Cancels All Sportscars Development Projects - including S2000 Successor

Honda has put an end to the next generation Honda S2000 in a restructuring plan meant to flex the company's green muscle while bringing them back to basics. A halt to the S2000 will no doubt leave many fans of the roadster disappointed.


Honda CEO Takeo Fukui has made company objectives clear: 500,000 hybrids built by 2012, including the Honda Insight and the 80mpg Honda Jazz. It is too bad they could not figure out a way to keep the Honda S2000 in the fold. Hopefully, they will take another look at the project when the economy recovers.


The plan was first announced in an end-of-the-year speech by Honda CEO Takeo Fukui. In that speech, he directly addressed the need to cut projects like the Honda NSX (Acura NSX, in America), as the need to be sustainable outweighed the demand for sports cars. The new direction was a result of the rapidly declining economy, and sudden -yet massive- fluctuations in oil pricing. Fukui believes products that larger audiences want, and are capable of paying for, will insulate the company from any more exposure to a global economic crisis.
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New details for 2011 VW Beetle

VW had planned to split the Beetle range in two – with a petite back-to-basics version based on the Up/NSF and a bigger, Golf-based model to replace the current ageing Bug.

However, the group's decision to make the Up front-engined has scuppered this plan. Which means we’ll see the new Beetle arriving in early 2010, following the traditional footsteps of today's model, and powered by a raft of petrol and diesel engines with the choice of manual and DSG 'boxes.
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Rumormill: GTbyCitroen could be built in limited numbers

The game car specs came in at 3,000 pounds and 782 horses, some of those powered by hydrogen. If a real car -- actually suggested to be a grand tourer by Citroen's press release -- were built, we hope they opt for a version of the Peugeot 908's diesel V12.

For 700 hp and 800 ft-lbs, we'd have no problem driving a car that looks like a catfish up front and a platypus out back. No matter what they put in it, expect it to be tres chere if it ever gets built.


So while it turns out that PSA is actually not looking to buy Honda's F1 team (that's why they call it the rumormill), the brand could have seriously sporting aspirations of a different sort.


According to Jean-Pierre Ploué, PSA's chief designer, there might be a 20-edition run of the GTbyCitroen, the car Citroen created for Sony's GT5.


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Rendered Speculation: 2011 Porsche Cayenne

These artist's rendering are based on spy shots of the next-generation Cayenne Porsche currently has in development.


Porsche says it wants the next Cayenne to be more fuel-efficient and plans on offering a diesel and as well as a hybrid version. Already a current-generation Cayenne hybrid is expected next year along with a diesel too. Each will be a first for the up until now exclusively petrol/gasoline Porsche brand.
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Volkswagen Fast-track UP Production Version Development - Set to be named 'Chico'

The two-seat, three-door subcompact will be laid out similarly to the Smart fortwo, and shares underpinnings with the Up but is shorter and lower to reduce drag and improve fuel economy.


Design cues will be similar. Projected powertrains include a 1.2 liter four-cylinder gasoline engine with cylinder deactivation, a 1.2 liter three-cylinder common-rail diesel shared with the next-generation Polo, and Volkswagen is considering the possibility of an electric Chico as well.


Fuel economy projections range from 117 to 141 mpg for the diesel. Efficiency will be further improved with regenerative braking, stop-start fuel shutoff systems, and low rolling resistance tires.

The frugal Chico could be on sale in the UK as early as 2011, with a £6000 starting price. If there are plans to sell the car in the U.S., Volkswagen hasn't revealed them yet.



Insiders report that Volkswagen doesn't plan to be left out of the growing city-car market. The brand that practically invented the "people's car" is fast-tracking a shortened production version of the Up concept to compete with the Toyota iQ and Smart fortwo.


The new entry-level car is expected to be called "Chico," using the name of a 1991 Volkswagen concept car.
via:
World Car Fans



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Speculations: Audi S5 V8 Engine to be Downgraded to Supercharged V6

Naturally aspirated V8 power seems to be getting the shaft from more and more German powerhouses these days as automakers begin to grapple with high fuel prices and CO2 emissions. Audi is now said to be going the same route, starting with its S5 which currently enjoys a 4.2-litre V8 kicking out 260 kW (354 bhp) and peak torque of 440Nm.
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Mercedes AMG Diesel Model Dubbed Super Hammer to Launch Within Three Years

AMG has made a diesel before, in 2002, which was the C30 AMG and was based on the Sport Coupe body. Today "normal", higher-end diesels produce as much power and torque as that car, but back then it was quite an outstanding achievement.


AMG head Volker Mornhinweg told Autocar that the Super Hammer would hark back to the W124 E-Class based AMG Hammer which was a sharp shooter of high note, complete with a petrol engine. This time around diesel is your daddy, and yeah, will daddy deliver. Suggestions point to a twin turbo diesel which will make that magical 500bhp figure. Big number for a diesel, but then again, diesels aren't about horses but torque. And at such a power figure, torque can be expected at a minimum of 900Nm.


Super Hammer will not be a big car though, choosing instead the chassis of a C-Class, most probably to be first seen inside the next E-Class. These bodies suit Mornhinweg's purposes of making the car compact, light and efficient. Possibly cabriolets and coupes will be part of the Super Hammer lineup too.
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Car News: Jaguar XF Based Coupe or Roadster Plus Lightweight Sports Car On the Way

Jaguar, under the careful stewardship of Tata Motors, is reportedly considering three new cars for market. We understand a coupe or roadster version of the upcoming new XF is on the cards, and so is a smaller sports car. The compact coupe car would be positioned below the XK while the sports car would be sent to compete with Porsche Boxster/ BMW Z4/ Merc SLK. A big luxury car is also on the table, possibly pitched against Rolls Royce and Bentley.
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Detroit: Volkswagen Changes Roadster Debut

Volkswagen is reportedly working on an affordable mid-engine sports car, which it plans to release sometime early next decade. A concept of the car was originally slated for debut at this month’s Los Angeles Auto Show, however a company spokesman has now revealed the concept’s released has been pushed back to the Detroit Auto Show in January.All Content



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Car News: Nissan GT-R Le Mans Edition: Limited Production Model with 600HP!

Forget about the forthcoming Nissan GT-R V-Spec; if you're searching for the most extreme version of the 'Godzilla' look no further than to the Le Mans Edition that marks its return on the GT-R R35. Japan's Best Car magazine has learned from inside sources that along with the development of a Le Mans competition car, Nissan is also working on a street-legal version of the GT-R which will be named LM Edition and will be built in an extremely limited number of units.

Even though official information is still scarce, sources state that the GT-R LM Edition will be powered by a modified version of the standard car's 480HP 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine producing a whopping 600HP. If the base-model is considered to be one of the fastest cars around, we can only imagine what the LM Edition will be like.

Nissan GT-R Le Mans EditionThis won't be the first time that the GT-R will gain an LM edition as in the late-1990's Nissan had marketed a limited production Skyline GT-R R33 referred to as "LM Limited" which was only available in a Competition Blue finish. The vehicle was built to honor the Skyline's that took part in the 24-hours of Le Mans.


Understandably, the GT-R LM Edition will feature an array of upgrades including larger brakes, lighter alloy wheels, suspension and transmission tweaks as well as aerodynamic improvements through the use of a new bodykit.
Source: Carscoop

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Car News: Lamborghini Estoque Production Version Details Surface

Estoque, the four-door Lamborghini concept we first saw at the Paris Motor Show, is headed for production in 2011 where its price tag will come in at less than £150,000. More than this, Estoque should offer a number of engine options including diesel.


What it will be though is a car notched above Porsche's upcoming Panamera and the Audi A7, good for a 500bhp-plus, 450lb ft of torque engine, probably the same 5.2-litre V10 currently working its socks off in other Lambo models. Lower down V8s are to be found, alongside a super diesel and possibly even a, hybrid. Lamborghini, like other motor brands, is under tremendous stress to reduce CO2 emissions and therefore takes the engine choice quite seriously, considering its heritage.


When Autocar spoke to Lamborghini R&D boss Maurizio Reggiani, he said Estoque is a unique platform from Lamborghini, contrary to earlier speculation that it will share its underpinnings with the Audi A8. . "If," he said, "you consider the length of the wheelbase and the size of the wheels (the Estoque concept boasts 23 inch rims at the rear), this could not be an A8 floorplan."


"But the opportunity is there to develop a turbocharged, maybe even a diesel engine for Estoque, and since the car could be well-priced and could sell in quite large numbers for us, it's a big chance for us. No Lamborghini will ever emit 120g/km, but still we have to improve our figures and make progress."


"We will never offer our super-sports cars with diesel engines," Reggiani said, "and we will never resort to turbocharging for those cars either; to do either would betray our heritage and customers, and for Murcielago and Gallardo we can make the savings in other ways. More Photos



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Car News: Four-Cylinder Porsche Boxster Coming in 2011

The rumor mill has been running rampant with speculation in regards to a new entry-level Porsche, but according to a recent report the entry-level model won't be a step below the Boxster but rather a four-cylinder version of it.
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Spyker D12 Peking to Paris headed to production, priced at $294,252

Three years after it made its debut at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show, the Spyker D12 Peking to Paris SUV will go into production next year. Spyker has already received 100 orders for the oddly shaped SUV which is said to be a Porsche Cayenne rival.


Speaking of Porsche, the D12 Peking to Paris actually uses an Audi sourced W12 engine that produces 500-hp. That allows it to go from 0 to 60 mph in 5 seconds with a top speed of 185 mph. Pricing for the car has been confirmed at £186,000 ($294,252 USD). Production will take place at Spyker’s Zeewolde factory. Spykers were once hand-built but will now be constructed on a conventional production line.
via teamspeed.com




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