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Thursday, June 16, 2011

Hot Jaguar XKR-S

Swayed by recent media reports from Britain, Carscoop reader L il-k Amaru returned to his virtual drawing board and photoshoped a convertible version of the hardcore Jaguar XKR-S, which was unwrapped in coupe format at the 2011 Geneva Salon this past March.

If the rumors about the XKR-S Convertible turn out to be true, expect the open top model to feature the same styling and performance modifications as the coupe.

This means aggressive styling upgrades such as the vented front and rear bumpers, side skirts and big rear spoiler, as well as a boosted 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine with 550-horses and 680Nm (501 lb-ft) of peak torque along with a revised and lowered sports suspension plus a beefier braking system.

Toyota Yaris 2012

We first brought you news on the European version of third generation Yaris hatchback on Wednesday, but today, Toyota followed up with initial details on its VW Polo and Ford Fiesta rival.

Toyota’s newcomer in the European supermini segment will manufactured at the Japanese firm’s Valenciennes factory in France with sales to start before the end of this summer.

At launch, the 2012 Yaris will be offered with three different engines, two of which run on gasoline, the 1.0-litre VVT-i and 1.33-litre dual VVT-I, and the other, a 1.4-litre D-4D, on diesel. A hybrid version based on the 2011 Geneva Motor Show concept car has been confirmed for next year with more details to be released at a later date.

The Japanese automaker said the new Yaris will offer affordable multimedia connectivity with the introduction of Toyota Touch & Go featuring a rather large 6.1-inch display with touch screen technology. According to the company, it will be standard equipment on 95 per cent of sales.

Commenting on the introduction of the new Yaris, Didier Leroy, President and CEO Toyota Motor Europe, said: “[The] New Yaris represents Toyota’s strongest offer yet in the important supermini segment. With its new levels of ingenuity, efficiency and quality, we are confident it can build upon Yaris’s previous success and help Toyota rejuvenate its presence in Europe and move towards one million annual sales in the region in the medium term.”

Saab UK Announces 2012

If there was ever an award for bad timing, Saab’s UK division would probably be a front-runner this month. You see, there is something fundamentally wrong with announcing pricing and details on a new product when its production has been suspended (even if, as Saab claims, proves to be temporary, in which case, why not wait?).

In any case and with Saab’s future depending on deals that still need to be approved from Swedish, European and Chinese officials, the company gave out UK pricing information on the 2012 model year 9-5 range, which benefits from the introduction of the SportWagon and a series of enhancements, including additional features and further reduced CO2 emissions for all engines.

The main attraction of the 9-5’s 2012 lineup is the presentation of the estate model with the SportWagon moniker. Boasting a more practical body style with an adaptable load capacity of up to 1,600 litres, or 527 litres with the rear seats up, the 9-5 SportWagon is available with several engine choices. These include a 2.0-liter turbo diesel in 160HP and 190HP outputs, a 1.6-liter Turbo petrol with 180HP, a 2.0-liter petrol with 220HP in both FWD and AWD flavors, and a top-end 2.8-liter Turbo with 300HP and standard AWD.

On-the-road prices for the station wagon model range from £26,995 to £39,195.

Saab says it has fine-tuned all 9-5 engines, which as a result, deliver an average CO2 reduction and fuel consumption improvement of 4.7 percent. Changes have been made to the chassis as well with suspension upgrades on all models while Saab’s all-wheel-drive system now includes an electronic, limited-slip differential (eLSD) as standard on Aero XWD models.

Finally, the Swedish automaker has added new interior trim finishes on both Vector SE and Aero variants, while satellite navigation and digital radio (DAB) becomes standard on all models.

Saab UK said it will begin accepting orders now with customer deliveries to commence in Autumn 2011.

Ford’s European Cars

Ford’s auto sales across its 51 European markets (including Russia, Turkey and certain countries from North Africa) in May rose 13 percent to 143,800 units, up by 16,600 units from a year earlier. May sales in the firm’s traditional 19 European markets rose by 10.5 percentage points to 116,500, up by 11,100.

Year to date, the company’s sales across its total 51 markets across Europe in the first five months of 2011 were up 0.6 percent to 684,000 vehicles compared to the same period in 2010, while in its traditional 19 European markets, Ford saw its sales drop 4.6 percent to 570,400 units.

Ford said the lower sales in the 19 European markets were due to the scrappage schemes that were still in place in the early part of 2010 as well as the company’s decision to selectively reduce participation in low margin business.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Audi A1 1.4 TFSI with 165HP

German tuning firm Senner has a new solution for anyone looking to upgrade their desperately plain Audi A1 supermini. The tune starts with the A1’s 1.4-liter TFSI gasoline engine, which normally produces 122-horsepower and 265Nm of peak torque. A custom-tailored ECU along with a sports exhaust system bumps those figures to 165HP and 265Nm (195.5 lb-ft). The engine tune is complemented by an adjustable sports suspension from KW.

For the baby Audi’s exterior, Senner Tuning chose a teak brown metallic hue contrasted by white accents on the mirrors, roof arches, side sills and the massive Barracuda Tzunamee 19-inch alloy wheels shod in beefy 225/35 R19.

The package also includes a re-sprayed front grille in a glossy black finish along with a new front apron, side skirts and a modified rear bumper that houses a diffuser and two exhaust outlets.

Inside, the A1 features sports seats trimmed in two-tone fabrics with matching floor mats and an upgraded infotainment system.

Senner Tuning said it offers the A1 as a complete car priced at €36,590 (~US$52,300), which includes some €10,000 (US$14,300) worth of parts and labor.

Nissan Rebadges Mazda5 MPV for Japan

After preparing its customers with an announcement in January, Nissan today went ahead and introduced a re-badged version of the Mazda5 MPV (called Premacy in its home market) in the form of the new Lafesta Highway Star. The compact minivan is supplied to Nissan by Mazda on an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) basis, and will be sold exclusively in Japan.

The transformation of the Mazda5 into the Lafesta Highway Star was a rather straightforward process accomplished by adding Nissan’s logos inside and out, restyling the front end that gains a new hood, lights and bumpers, smoothing out the Mazda’s swoopy profile lines and adding a chrome strip between the tail lamps.

The 7-seater model is offered with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine coupled to an automatic transmission with five-speeds in the front-wheel drive model and four-speeds in the all-wheel drive versions.

In Japan, prices for the new Lafesta Highway Star range from 1,991,850 Yen to 2,483,250 Yen (US$24,650 to $30,700) with Nissan aiming to sell around 1,200 units per month.

BMW New 1 Series Coupe

The all-new BMW 1-Series five-door hatchback has only just been announced, yet bimmer enthusiasts are already dreaming up the car’s future lineup. Some of the more talented individuals went one step further drawing up renderings of the Coupe and Convertible models, which as we recently reported, may or may not carry the 2-Series sticker as part of broader change in names, and even a three-door hatchback with the famed M badge.

Follow the break to check out the creative work of the members of Bimmerpost and leave your thoughts below.