Filed under: Convertible , Coupe , Sedan , SUV , Wagon , Plants/Manufacturing , Crossover , Hatchback , Chrysler , Alfa Romeo , Fiat Alfa Romeo 2uettottanta concept by Pininfarina – Click above for high-res image gallery Italiophiles rejoice! Though the move isn’t unexpected , Fiat’s Sergio Marchionne has officially confirmed that the Alfa Romeo brand will make a return appearance to the United States starting in 2012. The first vehicles that should hit American dealerships (of course, we don’t yet know where the cars will be sold, but Chrysler ’s woefully underutilized dealer network would be a good bet…) will be the midsize Giulia , which will come in both sedan and wagon variants, along with a compact SUV built in the States using European Giullietta hatchback underpinnings. One year later, Alfa plans to begin offering a five-door version of the beautiful MiTo hatchback in the States, which will be joined by a new Alfa Romeo Spider. Could it look something like the 2uettottanta concept from Geneva?
Renault is making getting in and out of its New Clio easier for Europeans with the introduction of Europe’s first original equipment swivel seat. Comprising a swivel base located beneath the original front passenger seat the optional swivel seat turns through 75 degrees at the pull of a lever situated underneath it. The seat locks automatically into place to ensure the passenger isn’t doing the twist as the vehicle is being driven… Tags: Europe , Renault , Seat Related Articles: Sortimo’s passenger seat organiser with swivel laptop stand Nestt: a car seat designed for the 21st century Formula One HANS device inspires Renault’s “Sleep Safe” head restraints Fold up Stroller converts to backpack Renault Z17 Urban Concept car for Geneva Show Hurphy Durphy: added safety for kids in cars
Filed under: Convertible , Performance , Geneva Motor Show , Fiat Abarth 500C – Click above for high-res image gallery For every car, there’s a prospective customer. And for a car like the Fiat 500C, a cutesy retro mini with a pseudo-cabrio sliding canvas roof, we hardly need to point out who that target demographic is. But as if to highlight what a difference the little things can make, the Abarth version is another beast entirely. By “little things”, here we mean stuff like a 140-horsepower, 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, a five-speed sequential paddle-shift transmission and a badass two-tone paint job. All that may not sound like much, but when applied to a little thing like the 500C, it represents the difference between the stock Fiat’s potential customer and the car nut who takes her out for an evening on the town.
Filed under: Concept Cars , Sedan , Geneva Motor Show , Europe , Peugeot 5 by Peugeot – Click above for high-res image gallery Ze Germans may be known for their efficiency, but try this on for size: French automaker Peugeot is gearing up to replace two sedans with – wait for it – just one! Feigned enthusiasm aside, this is the one that stands to take the job, and it’s a pretty sharp looking sedan. More telling, however, though dubbed a concept car, the 5 by Peugeot looks fairly close to production-ready status, especially compared to design studies like the RC HyMotion4 concept , another four-door concept from Peugeot unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in 2008. Oh, and we’re disregarding the lack of any interior on this show car. We expect a production version of the 5 by Peugeot to replace both the 407 and 607 within the next couple of years. In the meantime – particularly since Peugeot doesn’t market in North America – you can take a closer look in the gallery below.
Filed under: Budget , Geneva Motor Show , Etc. , Hatchback , Tata , Electric 2011 Tata Nano EV – Click above for high-res image gallery Tata Motors just debuted an electrified version of its Nano today at the Geneva Motor Show , promising no compromises in the way it drives compared to the regular 600cc Nano. The Tata Nano Electric Vehicle (EV) will be built on the existing Nano platform and still seats four adults, but adds “super polymer lithium ion batteries” to the mix. No word on power, but Tata does promise a range of 160 kilometers (99 miles) and acceleration of 0-60 kilometers per hour in under 10 seconds. Notice that’s 60 km/h, which equates to 37 miles per hour, so the Nano EV isn’t going to be one of those instant torque EV drag racers like the Tesla Roadster .
Filed under: Concept Cars , Coupe , Performance , Geneva Motor Show , Europe Sbarro Autobau Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery Some of us were just barely mastering our Big Wheels back in the 1970s, but we imagine most of the concepts at those Salon de Geneves all looked hairy and wild. You know what we’re talking about. Star Trek meets George Barris design language, lower than your waist, nonsensical ingress/egress mechanisms, $5 afterthought interiors and colors pulled from the center of only the finest quaalude trips. Kinda like SEMA cars actually, but with European sensibility and sophistication. Meet the Sbarro Autobau , a concept car we know almost nothing about but really enjoy looking at.
Filed under: Budget , Wagon , Geneva Motor Show , Europe , Ford , UK 2012 Ford Focus Wagon – Click above for high-res image gallery We’ll be honest – we’re all pretty excited about the 2012 Ford Focus as it’s set to add new levels of refinement and technology to the booming C-segment in the United States. And while we’re pleased to see the return of the five-door hatchback, we’d be lying if we said we weren’t a bit jealous that other markets will be getting this haul-ready wagon variant. Plans for bringing the wagon to the States haven’t been completely ruled out, and executives have said that if market demand is there, Ford will answer (we’ve heard this one before). Still, Europe should be relatively impressed with the 2012 Focus Wagon , what with its new Kinetic design, optional MyFord Touch system, and a range of both petrol and diesel engines. Click through our attached gallery to see live shots of the not-for-U.S.
Filed under: Concept Cars , Hybrid , Sedan , Geneva Motor Show , Hyundai , Diesel Hyundai i-Flow Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery This guy, the Hyundai i-Flow Concept , is said to be a preview of a “future D-segment contender” from the Korean automaker. Showcasing an edgier take on the corporate design language that is currently beginning to infiltrate Hyundai’s very brisk dealership lots, the i-Flow goes for a smaller exterior footprint but more interior space with a severely pared-down cockpit. The frugality continues under the hood with a 1.7-liter turbodiesel hybrid powertrain making it all happen through a six-speed, dual-clutch transmission, and recycling – energy harvesting, that is – is taken almost all the way with flexible solar panels on the roof and additional power produced via exhaust heat. You can take a closer look at Hyundai’s future in our gallery of high-res photos below. Gallery: Geneva 2010: Hyundai i-Flow Concept Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
Filed under: Concept Cars , Coupe , Performance , Geneva Motor Show , Lotus , Luxury Lotus Evora Carbon Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery It took us two trips to notice, but the Evora 414E Hybrid wasn’t the only concept sharing the Lotus stand at the Geneva Motor Show . Taking its lightweight ethos to the next logical extreme, Lotus unveiled the rather unassuming Evora Carbon concept here in Switzerland, and as it’s name would imply, the exotic weave is the primary change to the new 2+2. The body panels, roof, diffuser and front splitter have all been replaced with carbon fiber components pulled from the FIA GT4-series coupe, and the interior has been swathed in Alcantara and more of the sexy composite. Lotus remains mum on exactly how many pounds have been shed thanks to the carbon fiber diet, but knowing the marque’s penchant for limited edition models, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a production model inspired by the concept within the next year. Gallery: Geneva 2010: Lotus Evora Carbon Concept Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
Filed under: Performance , Geneva Motor Show , Europe , Hatchback , Citroën Citroen DS3 Racing – Click above for high-res image gallery For those who may have yet to notice, Citroen ’s been dominating the World Rally Championship for the better part of a decade now. But notwithstanding the odd special edition C4 or Xsara, the French automaker hasn’t capitalized on its rally success in the same way as Subaru and Mitsubishi have. Soon Citroen Sport will be switching from the C4 to the new DS3 in line with the new WRC format, but they’re not waiting around to see how it fares before launching a rally-inspired version for the road. And this is it. Called the DS3 Racing , the premium hot hatch is a limited edition packed with bits and pieces garnered from its WRC dominance.
Filed under: Concept Cars , Hybrid , Geneva Motor Show , Hatchback , Audi , Electric Audi A1 e-tron concept – Click above for high-res image gallery After teasing us with a few goodies yesterday, Audi has just released technical details on its new A1 e-tron concept that debuts later today at the Geneva Motor Show . As we already knew, the A1 uses an extended range electric architecture like the Chevrolet Volt , but with a compact and power-dense Wankel rotary engine/generator to keep the battery alive after power from the grid is depleted. The diagrams released by Audi show that the Wankel is mounted in the car’s rear behind the T-shaped battery pack that sits mostly under the rear seat. The lithium ion battery pack has a capacity of 12 kilowatt-hours, which is claimed to provide about 30 miles of range on a charge. Unlike the 1,000+ pound pack in the original e-tron concept, this unit weighs in at just 330 pounds.
Filed under: Hybrid , Geneva Motor Show , Hatchback , Lexus , Luxury Lexus CT 200h – Click above for high-res image gallery It was just last week that Lexus dropped all the details on its upcoming new CT 200h ( click here to refresh your memory), and now, as promised, the Japanese automaker has officially unveiled the hybrid hatchback at the Geneva Motor Show . Naturally, we snapped off a series of live photos for your viewing enjoyment. Interestingly, though Lexus has yet to confirm what markets the CT will enter, our men on the scene report back, “Lexus executives were adamant about a near-simultaneous global launch a year from now. In their own words, the United States and Japan will receive the CT 200h, even if it was developed as an euro-centric model. First deliveries should begin in Q1 2011.” Until we get official confirmation on that point from Lexus, take that information and file it firmly in the rumormill folder, but it could mean good things to come for those interested in a fuel efficient premium hatchback to go up against Audi’s diesel-powered A3 .
Filed under: Coupe , Performance , Geneva Motor Show , Lamborghini Lamborghini Gallardo L 570-4 Superleggera – Click above for high-res image gallery In case you hadn’t noticed, the 2010 Geneva Motor Show is about to start and one of the big debuts on day one will be this, the 2011 Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera . It’s the first successor to the original Gallardo Superleggera (“superlight” in Italian) that debuted in 2007 and will sit atop the Gallardo range as the little Lambo to beat. Just like the first car, the new 570-4 Superleggera is 70 kilograms, or 154 lbs, lighter than the Gallardo below it, in this case the LP 560-4. Its dry weight is just 2,954 lbs, which itself is far below the last superlight Gallardo at 3,153 lbs. Whereas that car was powered by 5.0 liters of V10 fury producing 530 horsepower, the new 570-4 model is propelled by a direct-injected 5.2-liter V10 of the same origin making its namesake 570 hp.
Filed under: Coupe , Performance , Geneva Motor Show , Audi 2011 Audi RS5 – Click above for high-res image gallery The next über-model from Audi’s Quattro GmbH division won’t officially debut in Geneva for another week, but images from its brochure have already made their way onto the web. The Audi RS5 coupe will no doubt take the performance of Audi’s B8 platform to levels beyond the much-loved and departed RS4 . What we don’t know at this point is how high that level will go, and what the motive power will be. It’s probably safe to assume it’ll fall somewhere between the 420 horsepower of the Audi RS4 and the 571 hp of the current Audi RS6 . Since the V10 used the R8 and RS6 isn’t really in keeping with Audi’s current engine-downsizing philosophy (not to mention that the 10-cylinder probably wouldn’t fir into the smaller A5’s engine bay), perhaps we’ll a turbo or supercharged version of the 4.2-liter V8 in the current S5, or a maybe even a more severely amplified version of the 3.0-liter TFSI V6 from the S4.
Filed under: Coupe , Performance , Geneva Motor Show , Europe , Jaguar 2011 Jaguar XKR Special Edition – Click above for high-res image gallery You know that cat? It’s not only out of the bag, but the bag has been beaten, robbed and burned to a crisp. Translation: Jaguar is bringing a brawny, hopped-up version of its XKR to Geneva. Dubbed the XKR Special Edition, this Jag is actually a combo platter of two other XKR specials. Still with us?
