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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Euro , Hatchbacks , Lexus Europeans will get another premium compact car not bound for U.S. shores and this time it comes courtesy of Lexus. The automaker is targeting the BMW 1 Series and Audi A3, vehicles that its rivals have offered in the United States market. Lexus, though, only plans the vehicle for markets outside the U.S. where sales of smaller cars outpace their larger siblings. Apparently, Lexus has set a goal to sell 150,000 vehicles in Europe by 2015 and believes the new model is necessary to meet that number. At this point, we have no idea what platform the compact car would be based on, but Toyota certainly has a number of options, most notably the Auris , which is offered in the European market in hatchback form. There is also the possibility that the new entry-level Lexus could be based on an upcoming small hybrid model from Toyota that would slot beneath the Prius, a version of which the automaker plans to debut in the Lexus line. [Source:...
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Filed under: Tuners , Sedans/Saloons , Euro , Mitsubishi , UK Click above for a high-res gallery of the Mitsubishi Evolution X MR It was only a matter of time before Mitsubishi's British engineers tired of relentlessly beating the FQ300 and FQ360 versions of their homegrown Evos. So it's no surprise that after a 400-hp version of the Evo X successfully campaigned in the Britcar Championship , Mitsubishi finally gave the go-ahead to its crack team of in-house tweakers to produce a road going version for public consumption. The FQ400 is on its way. If the Mitsu team holds true to the original ADR Motorsport-developed Evo , expect a new turbocharger, exhaust manifold and fuel system, along with a reworked ECU to make use of the extra boost and petrol. Naturally, output will be related to the FQ400's name, with 400hp being delivered to all four wheels through a manual gearbox. A top speed of 170 mph and a 0-60 time of around 3.5 seconds shouldn't be too hard to achieve, and...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Wagons/Estates , Euro , Paris Motor Show , Toyota Click above for high-res gallery of the new Toyota Avensis The Euro-only Toyota Avensis is reminiscent of the Lexus IS350 in the same way that you'd tell someone, "You kind of look like someone I know, but not really." It's the rising linear sideline, somewhat high and compact profile, and squared-off rear that do it. But that's from a full-on side profile and around the back. Move around the front and it really just looks like a Toyota. The raked grille and molded lips in the front bumper are unexpected, as is the subtle sexiness of the wagon. Designed in France, the new Avensis grows a little over its predecessor by 5 cm in length and width. Under the hood, possibilities include three new Valvematic gasoline engines, and two diesels, while cogs can be swapped with a 6-speed manual or the dual-mode, Multidrive S automatic. Check out the exhaustive press release after the jump, and the...
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Filed under: Spy Photos , Sedans/Saloons , Euro , Audi Click above for a gallery of possible 2010 Audi A8 images The Audi A8 is understated and elegant...but its design is a little long in the tooth. It stays as is for model year 2009, but a significant revision is due for 2010, and we should expect to see that car unveiled sometime during the upcoming show season. Thanks the Gulf4Cars forum, we might have our first look at what to expect. Our Arabic's a little rusty, so we don't know where these scans (at least they appear to be scans) came from, but they look fairly solid, so let's comment on what we can see. Gallery: 2010 Audi A8? [Source: Gulf4Cars ] Continue reading Forum find: 2010 Audi A8? Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Tuners , Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , Euro , Mercedes-Benz , Brabus Click above for high-res gallery of the BRABUS C63 AMG BRABUS, the German tuner of all things Daimler, has laid its hands upon the C63 AMG and somehow teased out an additional 73 horsepower from the sedan's 6.2L V8. With a BRABUS badge on the back, the C63 AMG produces 530 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque, up from 457 and 442, respectively. Called the B63 S performance kit, the engine mods include free-flow high-performance metal catalysts, sport air filters and new programming for the ECU with custom mapping. With everything in place, the BRABUS C63 AMG can hit 62 mph in just 4.1 seconds and ultimately top out at 197 mph. Of course, the rest of the sedan has been beefed up to support the engine with components like a BRABUS performance brake system, 19-inch wheels and a height-adjustable BRABUS coil-over suspension. Finally, the German tuner has a whole catalogue of interior and exterior accessories to set...
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Filed under: Coupes , Sedans/Saloons , Euro , Green , BMW , Rumormill Four-cylinder BMWs are commonplace in Europe, but here in the States you can't buy anything Bavarian with less than six pistons. Inside Line is reporting that the German automaker may change that by adding the direct-injected 2.0L four-pot from Europe to the 3-Series. The 170-hp engine powers the 320i and 120i across the pond. The models are well-received there, and for good reason, too. The ultra-efficient powerplant averages over 38 mpg in the European combined test cycle while still providing the razor-sharp handling that is BMW's trademark. BMW project director Oliver Friedmann said that a four-cylinder petrol Bimmer would have a "desirable effect" here in the U.S., but didn't commit any concrete plans for a U.S. four-banger. He did say that the U.S. probably isn't ready for a diesel four-cylinder, but we beg to differ. Our friends at AutoblogGreen had a blast in the twin-turbo 123d and managed...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Euro , Acura , Honda Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Honda Legend Remember when Superman chose to relinquish his super powers for love in the Man of Steel's first sequel? Without that 'S' on his chest, Clark Kent quickly got the crap kicked out of him by a truck driver. If the 2009 Acura RL (right) with its giant shield grille is Superman, then the Euro-only 2009 Honda Legend is surely Clark Kent. So many people have decried the new shield grille that we thought it'd be interesting to gauge reaction to the new Legend, which is basically the same car as the RL without the Acura overtones. To our eyes the Legend's new face is as boring and uninteresting as Acura's new grille is obnoxious, which truly does it make it the Clark Kent of cars. Gallery: 2009 Honda Legend [Source: Autoblog Spanish ] Continue reading 2009 Honda Legend reveals de-shielded Acura RL Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Euro , Paris Motor Show , Toyota Click above for high-res gallery with the new Toyota Avensis Toyota will use the upcoming Paris Motor Show in October to unveil its redesigned flagship model for Europe, the Avensis. Think of it as the old country's version of the Avalon. Though we only have a rear 3/4 shot to go by, the new Avensis looks considerably more chunky than the current model, with a short deck lid, large rear tail-lights, a strong shoulder line and some interesting concave surfacing above the side sills. We don't know much else, other than that it will be offered with more powerful and cleaner engines when it goes on sale in Europe around January. Toyota also announced that it will be bringing out the production version of its iQ city car and the Urban Cruiser for the Paris show. The Urban Cruiser is basically a ruggedized, soft-roading version of the Scion xD, while the iQ is based on the concept of the same name that debuted at the Frankfurt...
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Filed under: Economy , Sedans/Saloons , SUVs , Euro , Plants/Manufacturing , Ford click above to view more high-res shots of the Euro-Focus News flash: small cars like the Ford Focus are selling beyond expectations (ours anyway) while trucks and SUVs are sitting on dealer lots much longer than auto manufacturers would like. For this reason, Ford is moving as quickly as possible to switch a few of its truck plants into car plants, including its Michigan Truck plant where behemoth SUVs like the Expedition and Navigator were being built. The switchover is going to cost the automaker since these are not flexible manufacturing facilities, with the first bit of retooling ringing the registers to the tune of $75 million bucks -- and that's just for a new bodyshop. The total cost to retool the plant will be in the hundreds of millions. As they say, it takes money to make money. While the plant is being refurbished, workers will be shuffled to the nearby Wayne plant to build even more Focuses...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Euro , Misc. Auto Shows , Renault Click for a hi-res gallery of the Renault Symbol/Thesis As Russia develops into an increasingly important market for many Asian and European carmakers, the Moscow Motor Show is becoming a more important venue. Alongside such new launches as the Lexus LS460 AWD , Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and Audi RS6 sedan , Renault will be unveiling a new version of its simple Symbol sedan. The car will be sold in such markets as Eastern and Central Europe, Russia, Turkey and North Africa, labeled alternatively as the Symbol or Thalia. The styling is rather uninspired, and the mechanics are nothing to write home about, with power anticipated to come from the same range as found in the new Dacia Logan unveiled by Renault's budget subsidiary just last month. Hard to believe we almost didn't notice this one. You know the drill: Follow the jump to read the press release, and click on the thumbnails below to view the images in our high-resolution...
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Filed under: Economy , Sedans/Saloons , Euro , Chevrolet , GM Click above for high-res gallery of the 2011 Chevy Cruze They're here! The first official pics of the 2011 Chevy Cruze have been released by General Motors, and we're not ashamed to say it - we like it. Of course, we're comparing it to the current small car in GM's lineup, the Cobalt, so the bar is pretty low. That said, GM's new small car takes the split-grille motif made famous by the Malibu and makes it more interesting with sharp creases rather than rounded corners. The front end features headlights that extend up and "point" to the A-pillars, and a strong character line running the length of the vehicle sits below a concave bend that sweeps up to meet the windows. GM claims that fit and finish of the Cruze will be world class for a small car, and that its interior will use "grained surfaces, soft-touch materials and low gloss trim panels" to improve its perceived quality. Unfortunately...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Euro , Peugeot Click above for a hi-res gallery of the Peugeot RC... With the semi-annual auto salon returning to Paris this fall, you can expect France's major automakers to make a big splash this year. Peugeot is preparing to unveil a new concept car, and has given us a bit of a heads-up in the form of a few images and some teasingly cryptic details. With the name of the actual car not yet released, Peugeot is referring to the show car as the RC, adopting the same thematic nomenclature as the RC Spade and RC Diamond concepts from 2002 and the 908RC concept sedan from the last Paris Motor Show in 2006. Like those concepts, this one is not meant to directly preview a production car in the pipeline. However, it does foreshadow Peugeot's new design direction. The four-door concept's styling melds smooth flowing lines and sharp creases to make for a stunning shape, and moves the huge lion emblem farther south, not...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Sedans/Saloons , Euro , Paris Motor Show , Citroen Click above for a gallery of the Citroen C6 Office Citroën and Intersection magazine have integrated KITT-like visual style with a number of in-car distractions to create the C6 Office, a rolling style project aimed at European business overlords. It'll make its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, a favorite the yacht-and-helo set it's meant to appeal to. From there, it'll head to Paris Fashion Week for another go-round before the bourgeoisie before finally presenting itself to the rabble at the Paris Motor Show. The variety of partners involved in the creation include Blackberry and Kenwood on the technical side, while Krug champagne and swanky food store Fauchon ensure that backseat wheeler-dealers stay drunk and well-fed. Alcantara appears to adorn everything above the beltline inside and a "Black Shadow" finish covers the exterior surfaces, from the grillework down to the Parotech...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Wagons/Estates , Euro , Paris Motor Show , Audi Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2009 Audi RS6 sedan. It looks like we won't have to wait for the Paris Motor Show to get our first glimpse of the 2009 Audi RS6 sedan and it's lesser A6 siblings. Audi has released all the details on its new four-door M5-eater, packing a direct-injected, twin-turbo'd V10 putting out 580 hp and 479 lb.-ft. of torque. The same mill that powers the Avant version allows the sedan to sprint to 60 in 4.5-seconds on its way to an electronically-limited top speed of 155 mph. The duo of turbos huffs 1.6 bars of boost into the dry sump-equipped 5.0-liter V10, with peak torque arriving at 1,500 RPM and maximum horsepower available at 6,250 RPM. A six-speed tiptronic transmission allows drivers to choose between automatic or manual mode, reducing shift times by one-tenth of second, and sending power to Audi's Quattro all-wheel-drive system. Dynamic Ride Control reduces...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Euro , Alfa Romeo , Rendered Speculation Alfa Romeo's marketing people have been bouncing around the idea of ditching the current three-digit numbering system and proceeding with a nameplate nomenclature . The shift - already in place on some models and not on others - could increase the appeal of certain models even more, while helping them avoid a crossroads that will inevitably come up when models like the 159 need to be replaced. Italian magazine Quattroruote has come up with a composite image of what it thinks that vehicle could look like. Unfortunately the results are rather cumbersome, essentially Photoshopping the nose from the MiTo onto the existing 159 body. The rear-end rendering is not much better, but intriguingly appears to carry a New York State license plate. While the existing 159 remains one of the most striking mid-size sedans on the market, we hope its successor - speculatively reviving the Giulia nameplate of old - will look a heck...
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