AutoCar recently received some big news from BMW after speaking with BMW M’s chief, Frank van Meel.
According to their finding, the Bavarian automaker might be in the works with full-fledged M versions of the X3 and the X4. But further more, van Meel hinted that the M5 might also gain all-wheel drive as an option, which follows up to several rumors surfacing in the past.
Beginning with the X3 and the X4, the M version would most likely follow the way of their larger brethren, the X5 M and X6 M, which means more power, more performance, lots of chassis, suspension and steering tweaks, and more M badges than engine displacement in liters.
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Cadillac’s president, Johan de Nysschen, reportedly spoke at a press conference at the Washington Auto Show last week to share that we could expect to see more electrified cars in the near future in Cadillac’s lineup.
This is interesting to hear mainly since de Nysschen was initially against Audi’s initiative for plug-in vehicles when he ran the Ingolstadt-based automaker.
Now he’s at Cadillac, he seems to have changed his mind.
According to him, Cadillac’s brand electrification would go perfectly in line General Motors’ overall commitment to EVs, with examples like the Chevrolet Volt and the Cadillac ELR, despite the latter being an extremely slow seller.
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Lovers of fans of Zuffenhausen’s prancing horse should either prepare to cringe or click away immediately…
Enthusiast site FlatSixes.com reports via local news in Sacramento that a big Porsche show burned to a crisp in a recent fire, taking along with it, a slew of priceless classics. One of those classics is supposedly the world’s most original and pristine 911 RSR. Ouch…
That model is the last model year before the 911’s first major change up, a 1973 example, chassis number 911.360.1008. It was originally owned by the shop’s proprietor, an individual by the name of Mr. John Skoien.
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It’s no doubt that the new Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R is the most serious Mustang to ever come from the factory, all in an attempt to show up the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.
Click here for our original post on the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R.
To continue the hype, Evo reports the GT350R recently lapped the famous Nurburgring Nordschleife in just seven minutes and 32 seconds, which is more than five seconds faster than the Camaro Z/28’s time of seven minutes and 37 seconds.
That’s a serious time for car that’s most likely going to cost less than $100,000, especially when such a time is usually reserved for cars well above that price line.
Just to put things into perspective, that’s faster than a Ferrari 458 Italia and a time posted by the Nissan GT-R.
Source: Evo
CARandDRIVER reportedly heard from Porsche’s R&D chief, who said that the Boxster and Cayman are indeed getting new four-banger engines.
Porsche’s Wolfgang Hatz shared the news, but obviously kept his cards close except for the other hint of the four-cylinder engine’s arrival with the Cayman’s and Boxster’s mid-cycle refresh in 2016.
There’s also been speculation that the traditional flat-six might be retired in the way of some new turbocharged four-cylinders, allowing Porsche to squeeze more fuel economy out of its newer models.
Source: CARandDRIVER
Mercedes-AMG finally released the details on its new GT pricing. Those wanting Benz’s new baby SLS are going to have to cough up a hefty $129,900, not including the $925 destination charge.
For that, you get Mercedes’ all-new 4.0L twin-turbocharged V8, wrapped up in a carbon-aluminum-steel body that mimics the larger, more expensive and exclusive, SLS AMG.
Mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch auto, 60 zooms by in just 3.7 seconds.
Click here for more news on the Mercedes-Benz AMG GT.
Sales are scheduled to launch in April of this year.
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A new report is in from Car in the UK, who heard the Audi TT offroad concept was approved for production and should be ready by 2017.
The Audi TT offroad concept surfaced at the Beijing Auto Show last year and has since gained a lot of positive reception.
However, it hasn’t had its shortage of issues as Audi is currently locked in a nomenclature battle over the rights of the “Q2″ and “Q4″ nameplates with Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles. This new TT offroader could use one of those badges. Alternatively however, some speculated the model could be named TTQ instead.
The production TT offroad concept’s competitive market set includes the BMW X3 and X4 and the Mercedes-Benz GLA.
Source: CAR
Cadillac should be on the way to revealing a new compact crossover to sit below the midsize SRX, according to Reuters. And this doesn’t seem implausible since the increase in demand for crossovers is relentless.
The president of America’s top brass, Johan de Nysschen, spoke to reporters at the Washington Auto Show last week, hinting the new model. However, a launch date was not specified. But in another hint, he also said not to expect the model before 2019.
A lot of change has been happening with America’s luxury brand, particularly the move from Detroit to New York City, and a huge multi-billion dollar plan to overhaul Cadillac’s current generation of cars for the next. This includes a new entry-level car below the ATS, which should compete with the Mercedes-Benz CLA and the Audi A3.
Source: Reuters
McLaren’s been known to be working on a more powerful and track-biased version of its 650S, or MP4-12C successor.
Now, AutoCar learned a production version as the potential of being revealed at Geneva later this year in March.
According to the report, the new 675 LT as it’ll be called, should pay tribute to the longer versions of the original McLaren F1, also known as the F1 GTR “Long Tail.”
Power should be provided by a more powerful version of the 650S’s in-house 3.8L twin-turbocharged V8 with more than 675hp on tap. Also expect weight to be around 220lbs less than the standard 650S, despite the longer proportions. Production should be limited to 250 units.
Source: AutoCar
The Ford Focus RS has been one of the models left far out of reach from the hands of American buyers. But for the new generation, Ford decided to finally throw us a bone by producing a global Focus RS that could be sold on American shores.
From previous rumors, we know the new Focus RS gets a more powerful version of the brand’s latest 2.3L EcoBoost turbo-four, the same motor from the Ford Mustang EcoBoost and the Lincoln MKC. That means no more Volvo-sourced turbo-five.
But either way, the 2.3L four is estimated to produce around 325-250hp with torque-vectoring all-wheel drive. Prices are speculated to begin just a tad bit over $30,000 to boot.
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