Porsche seized the moment to finally and officially unveil its much-anticipated 918 Spyder in production form over the Internet. Sure, Porsche’s supercar isn’t exactly news, nor is it really a mystery. But while we’ve received our fair share of teasers and trickling information and revealing over time, Porsche never really officially unveiled the car in production form, virtually ready to go…until now.
As we already know, the Porsche 918 will utilize a unique hybrid system that consists of a 4.6L V8 good for 608hp with two extra electric motors, mated to each of the front and rear axles. This was accomplished thanks to the use of a chassis made almost entirely of carbon fiber. That of course means a low curb weight.
Additionally, Porsche finally disclosed that the all-new 918 Spyder supercar will be sold as a 2015 model. Oh, and did we forget to mention that they also gave us a crap ton of photos?
Check out the press release after the jump.
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Following a couple teasers that seemed to have popped up out of nowhere, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. officially announced that the sixth installment to the Playstation-based Gran Turismo racing simulator is on its way and will be here by this year’s holiday season.
The game will be offered for PlayStation 3, despite the fact that some rumors have been circulating suggesting that Playstation 4 is just around the corner in a few years. Either way, Gran Turismo 6 hopes to up the ante in the console-based racing simulator wars against the likes of Microsoft XBox360’s Forza franchise.
While most of the cars available in Gran Turismo 5 will carry over, Sony Computer Entertainment added a new series of road and race cars, bringing the total tally up 1,200 drivable autos from throughout history. Additionally, Sony claims that they increased the customizability of cars within the game through several thousand aerodynamic parts, complete with custom wheels for better personalization.
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Acura recently released a press statement confirming that production of the all-new much-anticipated Acura NSX sports car will take place at the brand’s major Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio. Roughly $70 million will go into the project, which transforms 184,000 square feet of Honda’s former North American Logistics facility into the NSX’s production location.
Check out more news on the Acura NSX.
“Thirty years ago, building cars in America was a big dream. Working together, here in Ohio and across North America we turned this dream into reality,” said Hidenobu Iwata, Honda of America’s CEO. “The location of this facility is in the midst of one of the greatest collections of engineering and production talent in the world. So it makes sense that we will renew the dream and build this high-tech, supercar in Marysville, Ohio.”
This also marks the first and only time the Acura NSX production in North America as the original NSX was built at Honda’s Takanezawa Plant in Japan beginning in 1990. Plant then moved to Honda’s Suzuka Plant in 2004 until production was ceased in 2005.
For full details, check out the press release after the jump.
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While news has been circulating of a rumored Infiniti hybrid halo sports car that will slot above the anticipated Q70 flagship sedan, AutomotiveNews also reports that Infiniti will be expanding their crossover offerings to expand the lineup and to improve sales.
The outlet heard from Infiniti’s president, Johan de Nysschen: “We will also in the future, introduce models above where the Q70 stops today, the Q70 being the former M,” de Nysschen said today during the line off ceremony for the new Q50 sedan at Infiniti’s Tochigi assembly plant. “In our crossover range, we can imagine significant additions to that lineup as well.”
It’s obvious that de Nysschen has his work cut out for him as Nissan’s CEO Carlos Ghosn elected the former head of Audi of America to lead the way for Infiniti luxury sports car maker. Ghosn wants de Nysschen to transform Infiniti so that they brand will produce up to 500,000 sales by 2016, an increase of 170,000 from last year.
“I would imagine that by the end of this decade,” de Nysschen added, “we would not only breach the 500,000 mark but the 600,000 mark.”
- By: Chris Chin
Source: AutomotiveNews
Mercedes-Benz celebrated a major moment by unveiling the all-new 2014 S-Class flagship at the Airbus A380 Delivery Center in Hamburg, Germany a couple days ago. Coming in a variety of forms and jam-packed with the latest technology that money can buy in a mainstream luxury automobile, the new 2014 W222 Mercedes-Benz S-Class promises to raise the standards once again for the automobile industry as it carries on the mission to be “the best automobile in the world.”
It’s already well-established that automobile makers are specifically catering to the Asian markets, where most of the potential buying power for the automobile industry exists as China continues to be the largest growing market for automobiles in the world. But then, there are the frivolous lot who like to be chauffeured and driven around, which is highly demanded throughout China.
That said, the long-wheelbase S-Class is the car in the spotlight for this debut, which dons a new internal chassis naming scheme by being designated the V222, while the short-wheelbase model retains the traditional W222 designation. Despite being slightly larger than the outgoing W221 S-Class, Mercedes-Benz says the new long-wheelbase model doesn’t weigh that much more allowing for performance and fuel economy to be maintained.
But let’s not beat around the bush as there are a lot of expectations for the all-new 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class. That’s due to the fact that if anyone wanted a solid pointer of what kind of neat innovation to expect in your basic bread and butter automobiles, the go-to trendsetter has been the big Benzito. And this should go without explanation.
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Audi is proceeding very carefully with its future Q7 replacement to ensure that it’s a smash hit. And to reaffirm the Q7’s new potential—which means expectations for good fuel economy, especially with their TDI models—AutomotiveNews reports that the next-gen crossover will go on a massive 800lbs diet.
Additionally, because there’s a major improvement with weight, the Q7 will also receive a hybrid version and will be made in Bratislava, Slovakia, right alongside its platform cousins, the Porsche Cayenne and the Volkswagen Touareg.
The new Audi Q7 will be based on Volkswagen’s latest longitudinal modular platform and will arrive next summer in Europe.
- By: Chris Chin
Source: AutomotiveNews
Mercedes-Benz has been on a roll with unveiling teasers of the new S-Class as the Silver Arrow gears up for the flagship’s unveiling tomorrow at the Airbus A380 Delivery Center in Hamburg, Germany.
So far, the inaugural models begin with the S350 BlueTEC diesel variant donning a 3.0L V6 good for 258hp and 457 lb-ft of torque, capable of a 0-62 time of just 6.8 seconds. Next to the S350 will be the ubiquitous “500” model, the S500, which sports a 4.7L V8 good for 455hp and 516 lb-ft of torque (if it were the old days, it would be S470). Next is the S400 Hybrid, donning a 3.5L V6 hybrid setup good for 306hp and 273 lb-ft of torque—that is from the V6 alone. 0-62 will swift by in 6.8 seconds for a top run of 155 MPH on all three models.
The interior, which gets a nice video teaser, will receive LED ambient lighting, a standard wood and leather steering wheel, a Burmester sound system, panoramic sunroof, and the usual soft-close foors and illuminated door sills.
There will also be a unique 10-wat rear adjustable “Chauffer Seat” option with a power foot rest for those who like to be shuttled about. Fold-out tables and a bespoke rear console will also be available. New tech will range from newly developed Active Seat Belts, rear seat airbags, a top of the line Night View Assist PLUS system, Magic Body Control (which probably describes the S-Class’s active suspension systems) and Air Balance Package (for the interior air filter) that includes a neat perfume dispensing function.
Check out the teaser after the jump.
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Sony Computer Entertainment has released a teaser that’s been titled, “Celebrating 15 years of Gran Turismo,” which hints at a potential successor to the Playstation-based racing simulator.
In the video, the message “something big is happening at Silverstone on May 15th” appears, obviously suggesting that a press conference will occur at Silverstone Circuit in the United Kingdom tomorrow. And rightfully so as the Gran Turismo franchise celebrates 15 years this year.
The event is said to feature a fleet of cars from Audi, BMW, Honda, Ford, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, and Toyota. Five infamous GT Academy champions will also be present to show off their “real-world racing skills with some high-speed passenger laps around the famous circuit.”
Not much else is known about the new installment to the Gran Turismo line, though NewEgg has been reported to have listed the new game for sale available beginning November 28th for $59.99.
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So do you want to see exactly how insane the new 2013 Lamborghini Egoista Concept is? Well, then look no further as some videos have surfaced. As if you thought it couldn’t get any more ridiculous than the Veneno Concept that was revealed not too long ago.
The first video briefly encapsulates the string of events that led up to the unveiling of the concept, which took place at the Grande Giro 500 celebration in Sant’ Agata.
The second video however is where you see, and hear, some of the magic that occurs with the Egoista. It’s as if Bruce Wayne literally had his way with the design for his personal daily runabout.
All I can say is get ready to get mesmerized after the jump. And turn your volume up in the last ¾ section of the second video…
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This week marks a fairly huge moment for the automobile industry and that’s because Mercedes-Benz has officially announced that they’ll be revealing the all-new W222 generation S-Class. The entire automobile industry that is, because it’s pretty well received that if anyone wants a solid pointer of what kind of neat innovation to expect in your basic bread and butter automobiles, the go-to trendsetter has been the big Benzito. And this should go without explanation.
So far, Mercedes-Benz released a slew of photos that seem to document the Mercedes-Benz S-Class’s arrival in Hamburg, Germany, where it will be unveiled tomorrow in sort of a benchmark parallel at the infamous Airbus A380 delivery center.
Sales are expected to begin in the following months in the form of the short and long wheelbase models, followed by the much-anticipated return of the classic S-Class Coupe variants, with an all-new convertible also due. A limo version that will follow the spirit of the original 600 Pullman will also follow as a Maybach-replacement.
- By: Chris Chin
Source: Mercedes-Benz via WCF (1, 2)
