Car Throttle » Debuts

Ford Mustang Boss 302: Oh Yes!

James — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 06:38:24 +0000

One thing the world has no shortage of is limited-edition Mustangs. I’m not sure they make numbers high enough to count how many “special” Mustangs there have been over the years, but it’s somewhere between “A gazillion” and “X, where X=enough+1.” What’s a shame is that most of them are nothing more than silly tape-and-stickers packages. GT/California Special? Vinyl decals and some nice wheels. Shelby GT? Loud exhaust, filter-on-a-stick, a $10,000 Shelby badge and some chrome hood pins. Bullitt? A Mustang GT with less of the tacky Mustang GT stuff stuck on it. Just fabricated specialness that any gearhead can see through at first glance.

So when rumors started circulating that Ford would be bringing back the “Boss” Mustang moniker, I didn’t get my hopes up. I was expecting more of the same tape-and-stickers shenanigans, with the end result of a Mustang that’s not better, just goofier looking and more expensive. Thankfully, I seem to be wrong.

For those of you that didn’t live through the sixties, or don’t remember them (some say if you remember them, you weren’t there!) this is not the first time that “Boss 302″ has been etched on the side of a particularly nasty Mustang. The first Boss 302 (and big brother Boss 429) Mustangs were introduced in 1969, as a road-going homologation special for Trans-Am racing. To keep up with the more powerful Camaro Z/28′s, the Boss 302 used a high-compression, high-winding V8 that was a mixture of Windsor and Cleveland parts with worked heads, a free-breathing exhaust, and beefed up valvetrain and cooling to support race duty. While the big-block Boss 429 was homologated for roundy-roundy stock car racing, the lighter and more responsive Boss 302 endowed the Mustang with serious track presence, especially with the competition-style suspension and braking hardware. It was the car that put the name “Parnelli Jones” on the map. And it’s back. Oh yes.

As you’re probably sick of hearing by now, the 2011 Mustang GT heaved out the ancient single-cam 3v 4.6L Modular V8 in favor of a (mostly) brand new all-aluminum 5.0L 32v V8. Which means that once again, the Mustang has a 302 under the hood. And the standard model’s no slouch -- 412bhp/390lb-ft of torque, a 6-speed manual transmission, low four-second 0-60 times. The new Boss 302 is designed to fit in the Mustang lineup between the impressive GT 5.0 and the absurd supercharged GT500, and on paper it seems to do that to great effect.

Things have been fiddled with properly under the hood. The 5.0L engine’s output jumps from 412bhp to 440bhp, and torque drops from 390 to 380lb-ft. The change in output and character are down mainly to two modifications: a new high-volume intake manifold, and more aggressive cam profiles combined with a reprogramming of the Ti-VCT cam phasing system. Ford powertrain engineers say the changes were designed to increase top-end power without sacrificing driveability or a smooth idle, as the Boss 302 is intended for street or track use.

The drivetrain is equally impressive. The 6-speed manual is actuated through a short-throw shifter, the final-drive ratio is raised to 3.73:1 for stronger acceleration, and the rear differential has carbon-fibre plates for longevity. Interestingly, a Torsen (Torque-Sensing) reactive rear limited slip diff is available packaged with Recaro seats, which seems like a good choice.

They’ve also done a lot of work with the exhaust system. The Boss 302 has a “quad exit” setup, which brings back memories of the Mitsubishi VR-4′s “variable exhaust note” system. The Boss has 2 exhaust outlets out back as well as two on the side, and the flow of exhaust gasses is controlled by a series of metal discs -- so most of the gasses come out the back, but you still get a nice amount of noise out the sides as well. Even more interesting is that Ford Powertrain expects owners to say “Frog that, sidepipes!” and the system is configurable for full side-exit action for “off road use only.” You know, computer generated, filmed on a closed road in Mexico, professional drivers do-not-attempt-at-home, wink wink nudge nudge.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Boss Mustang if they just threw a bunch of parts at the motor and called it a day. It’s got to go ’round corners too! It’s got the typical suspension modifications -- higher springs rates at all four corners, lower static ride height, stiffer bushings, and a larger rear anti-roll bar. What’s really intriguing are the 5-setting adjustable dampers at each corner. Most adjustable dampers are a major pain in the rear to actually adjust -- usually you have to jack up the corner to unload the shock, pull out your bespoke perch tool, and fiddle with the damper in the fender well for ten minutes -- and that’s if you don’t have to remove the shock to adjust it in the first place! However, the dampers on the Boss are adjustable at the top of the shock towers on all four corners -- all you need is a straight screwdriver. Leave ‘em at 2 for daily driving, crank ‘em up to 5 for track duty, then put ‘em back down to 1 for highway cruising. Why isn’t everything this simple?

As far as rolling stock and anchors go, the Boss 302 sports some serious rubber: 19″ lightweight wheels all around, 9″ wide in the front and 9.5″ wide in the rear. All four corners are shod with Pirelli PZero’s (255/40 front, 285/35 rear) for maximum grip on a street tire. Braking duties are handled by 14″ Brembo rotors clamped by 4-piston calipers up front, while standard GT rear brakes get more aggressive pads. The Boss 302 uses braided brake lines to eliminate flex for better stopping power and modulation.

It appears the Boss 302 has going fast covered, and of course it’s also got looking fast covered as well. It’s going to be hard to not notice one of these driving by, even if it didn’t have blaring side-pipe exhausts. The Boss gets a black-or-white colored roof panel matched to the C-stripe on the side, as well as an aerodynamic front splitter and rear spoiler. The foglight housings are blocked off, too. You can get a Boss 302 in any color you want, as long as it’s obnoxious: Competition Orange, Performance White, Kona Blue (my choice), Yellow Blaze Tri-Coat, and Race Red.

Inside, the Boss 302 gets the goods as well. Along with the aforementioned optional Recaro seats shared with the GT500, there’s an Alcantara-lined steering wheel, dark metallic finish on the IP and doors, and a black 8-ball shift knob. Even more important: Ford’s ripped out 11 pounds of sound deadening so you can actually hear how awesome that motor sounds.

How does it all add up? Well, Ford says the Boss 302 is at least 2 seconds a lap faster around a race track than the standard GT 5.0, which is obviously no slouch. They say it’ll lap Laguna Seca faster than a 2010 M3, as well. And if all this isn’t enough, there will be a limited production run Boss 302 Laguna Seca edition, which has greater body rigidity, a stiffer suspension setup, and the full aero package from the race-prepped Boss 302R cars that FRP campaigns.

As is the norm with debuts like these, no pricing or availability information has been announced. But since the car is labelled as a 2012 model, a good bet would be summer of next year when they start showing up in showrooms. So if you want a Mustang with more of an attitude, but don’t want a giant sledgehammer of a car like the GT500, it’d probably be a good idea to get your deposit in now.

Infiniti G37 IPL Coupe: More is More

James — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:26:03 +0000

I’m an unabashed fan of Infiniti. They seem to “get” what enthusiasts want much more than their two primary competitors, namely Acura and Lexus. All three of these Japanese-brand luxury channels have been slinging their wares in the ‘states for 20+years now, but while Lexus continues to bark up the “I’m too rich for a Buick” tree and Acura continues to make cars that are – how do I put this nicely – difficult to look at, Infiniti is busy cranking out gorgeous cars on balanced rear wheel drive chassis with massive snarly engines and tons of horsepower for reasonable prices.

What they haven’t had, until now, is an AMG or M-style performance division. But when you consider that their cars accelerate faster and handle better than most everything they compete against, the necessity is questionable. Still, up until now those wanting more oomph out of their Infiniti have pretty much needed to turn to aftermarket companies like Jim Wolf Technology, HKS, Stillen, or any of the other dozens of companies that have sprung up around the mighty VQ engine.

Nissan’s finally decided to get in on the game, calling their performance subdivision IPL – for Infiniti Performance Line. The first fruit of their labor is the Infiniti G37 IPL Coupe, which is a bit of a mouthful but easy to understand. For those dreaming of a twin-turbo VQ powered Coupe with a 6-speed manual, LSD, 500 horsepower and rear wheel drive, sorry – you’re still going to have to ring up HKS or Greddy for that. Think more along the lines of Audi S-Line or Lexus F-Sport and you’re getting there.

The IPL Coupe gets a mild power bump, with the 3.7L 24v V6 producing 348bhp and 276lb-ft of torque. That’s an increase of 18bhp (from 330) and 6lb-ft of torque. The gain comes courtesy of a reprogrammed ECU (which brings the power peak up to an “are you serious?” 7400 rpm!) and the replacement of the Y-pipe crossover exhaust manifolds with true-dual exhaust pipes all the way to the tips. Considering the G37 was already an extremely rapid car, this is more like icing on the cake rather than a whole new cake. Still, more is… more.

In addition to the mild engine tweaks (c’mon, at least throw on a copy of JWT’s excellent POP-Charger intake setup!), the IPL coupe gets a handful of other mechanical and aesthetic tweaks. The suspension is stiffer (20% and 10% higher spring rates front and rear, respectively), the brakes get a more aggressive pad material, a viscous-type LSD is standard, and the 6-speed manual gets a short-throw linkage that’s sure to grind the second-gear synchro down to nothing in a week. If there’s something seriously wrong with you, it’s possible to order a G37 IPL coupe with a flappy-paddle 7-speed automatic gearbox, but don’t.

Of course, the G37 didn’t escape without a heavy-handed body kit consisting of an aggressive front fascia, rear bumper, and side sills. There’s a spoiler and some pretty massive 19″ alloy wheels pushed out the corners to make the G look a little meaner. Inside, the IPL gets it’s own sport seats with adjustable thigh bolsters and lumbar support and snazzy red stitching.

No pricing for the IPL goodies has been announced yet, but judging by the OEM fit-and-finish of it all, it’s probably not going to be cheap. I’m wondering if Infiniti will be only selling it as a package, or if you can pick and choose? I’d skip the chavvy bodykit and go with the engine, transmission, and suspension modifications – as the regular G37 is a much better looking package to me. You could save the money from the body work for some good dampers and a nice intake setup! Still, it’s a great start. Now, about that G37 Twin Turbo…

Hyundai Introduces Genesis Coupe 3.8 R-Spec

James — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:11:04 +0000

We’re big fans of the Hyundai Genesis Coupe here at CarThrottle. When our writer Tony reviewed it this March, he came away impressed with the car’s looks, performance, and refinement. In just 2 short years the Genesis Coupe has become a major player in the affordable performance market, and for 2010 it’s going to get even better.

Those familiar with the GenCoupe lineup know all about the Spec-R. The deal with options on the Genesis goes like this: there’s a base model, then an “uplevel” model with things like automatic headlights and climate control, leather seats, a crazy stereo, etc. At the top of the range is the track model, which has all those goodies plus stuff that matters like a limited-slip differential, Brembo brakes, stiffer suspension, and sticky Bridgestone Potenza tires. Last year, Hyundai rolled out the Genesis Coupe 2.0T Spec-R, which includes all those important performance upgrades without all the luxury accoutrement you don’t really need – a package for track rats and people that would rather go fast than marvel at their windshield wipers turning themselves on when it starts to rain.

For 2011, Hyundai has made some minor improvements to the basic Genesis, and added a new package: the Genesis Coupe 3.8 R-Spec. It has the same performance equipment as the normal Spec R, but instead of the weak 2.0L Turbo motor that was the sole choice previously, it’s stuffed with Hyundai’s impressive 3.8L 24v V6.

The R-Spec list of changes is a pretty impressive one. The engine and powertrain remain the same, but the suspension, braking, and other things are revised. There are higher spring rates, stiffer dampers, thicker strut bars front and rear, and a front strut tower brace to make the R-Spec corner like it should, but the neatest thing about the suspension are the standard adjustable front camber plates and bolts – so you can dial in more negative camber for sharper turn-in while you’re on the track, then put it back so you don’t eat tires on the road. The R-Spec rolls on beefy Bridgestone Potenza RE050A’s in staggered sizes, 225/40/19 front and 245/40/19 rear on R-Spec specific alloy wheels. RE050A’s are what I refer to as “cheater OEM” tires, meaning they stick like glue but have a DOT treadwear rating of 140 – the DOT minimum for a street tire. I guess that means you’ll be fitting Pirelli PZero Rosso’s in 6 months? There’s also a Torsen-type limited slip differential in the rear to make sure all 306bhp and 266lb-ft of torque from the snarling V6 reach the ground and rocket you out of a corner pointing the right way.

On the “whoa” side of things, the R-Spec comes with Brembo brakes at all four corners, 13.4″ front and 13.0″ rear with four-piston calipers all around. There’s also a bunch of things Hyundai leaves out on the R-Spec to, and I qoute, “reduce weight, complexity, and cost.” See why I love this brand? You don’t get: automatic headlights, cruise control, automatic climate control, fancy shiny plastic trim, the option of an automatic transmission, or a kitchen sink.

On the other side of the GenCoupe equation, the interior has seen a series of refinements for 2011 to make it a nicer place to spend time. There’s matte finish soft touch plastic everywhere (which, if it’s like VW’s, will have chipped off in 3 years), padded armrests, cloth-wrapped A-pillars, a nicer steering wheel, and a few other minor things. I’ve got to say, with the available satnav touchscreen, the Genesis Coupe interior is looking a lot less low-rent than it was last year. So, I’ve pretty much run out of things to complain about. As if I had much in the first place. Pricing or market availability has not yet been announced, but stay tuned. The R-Spec 3.8 should come in somewhere around the price of a mid-level 3.8, making it perhaps the most fun and best deal of the whole lineup.

Volvo Introduces V60 Wagon

Tony — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 03:30:19 +0000

Volvo has been through a lot of up and downs lately, while the sales process drug on. Its a scenario that both Swedish automakers, Saab and Volvo, have gone through – albeit Volvo to a much lesser extent.

With the sale to Geely announced, Volvo can begin to focus on product. The S60 was recently launched and an important part of Volvo’s future rests on the shoulders of that car. From all indications, it appears Volvo’s future is in good hands based off of the S60 – now the V60 as well.

Scandinavian design is back, and better than ever. The new product coming from Volvo (and Saab with the 9-5) looks seriously good.

Gone are the staid, boxy lines of previous Volvos, and in is a muscled, hunkered down look that flows perfectly. And yet, it still looks very “Volvo” – imagine that.

The rear looks a bit similar to the C30, with a great amount of attention given to design details and interacting lines. There is a large rear window with black insert and Volvo’s traditional vertical taillights have been given a redesign a la the XC60. You get it – we like it. A lot.

The unique interior of the S60 carries over to the V60. There is a 40/20/40-split rear seat and a fold-flat front passenger seat that provides for a very flexible interior. In addition, rear seat headrests can be folded electrically to create an entirely flat rear load floor.

While load space wasn’t a priority over a “coupe-like” design, Volvo says load space was meticulously designed to offer the most possible within the constraints of the design.

The V60 was designed alongside the S60 sedan. There is a wide tailgate with extra space behind the wheel housings and under the load floor to free up available space.

As expected, the V60 is equipped with the latest Volvo safety technologies like City Safety and the Pedestrian Detection system. It also has Advanced Stability Control and Corner Traction Control.

ASC has a new roll angle sensor that makes it possible to identify a skidding tendency at a very early stage. Corner Traction Control “uses torque vectoring so the car corners even more smoothly.” This is accomplished by braking the car’s inner driven wheel in cornerning, causing more power to be transmitted to the outer driven wheel.

Engine options are numerous, starting out with the high-performance T6 at the top of the range. The turbocharged 3.0-liter makes 304 horsepower 440 Nm of torque.

Next is the four-cylinder Gasoline Turbocharged Direct Injection (GTDI) engines, available in 2.0-liter and 1.6-liter iterations. The 2.0T GTDI makes 203 hp, while the 1.6-liter is available in two iterations, making 150 hp (T3) and 180 hp (T4). Moving to diesels, there is the 5-cylinder D5 and D3, producing 205 and 163 horsepower, respectively.

All in all, the V60 wagon is shaping up to be an impressive new product for Volvo’s lineup. Volvo plans to sell 50,000 V60s, 90 percent to European buyers. Five of the largest markets are Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany.

What about selling the V60 the United States? No mention was made of it. However, given the dismal sales results of past wagons in the U.S, it doesn’t look likely. For now, it seems like the XC60 is the de facto S60 wagon for the U.S market.

Jaguar XKR 75: Kitties’ Got Claws!

James — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:53:57 +0000

Jaguar’s latest XKR super-coupe is not exactly lacking in the performance department. With a 32-valve 5.0L direct-injected, supercharged V8 the British hot-rod spits 510 thundering horsepower to the ground, allowing it to do things like this in front of Jaguar’s PR cameras:

And in celebration of the marque’s 75th birthday, Jaguar took a pair of diamond hones to the quickest kitties’ claws, eking another 20bhp and 22lb-ft of torque out of the V8. That brings the totals up to 530 and 483, from a piddling 510 and 461 previously. The XKR 75 also boasts lowered, stiffened suspension and a louder exhaust to let everyone know what a pipe-chomping badass you are. Jaaaaag says the XKR 75 will blast to 60mph in 4.4 seconds and howl up to 174mph flat-out, 2-tenths of a second faster than the pokey standard XKR.

The XKR 75 also gets some aesthetic jewelery to distinguish it from regular XKR’s. I’m particularly fond of the gray “shoulder highlight” stripes, which really bring the gorgeous curves of Henrik Fisker’s design out. There are also small touches like red brake calipers hiding behind 20″ satin finish wheels, a suede headliner, a piano black center console, and ivory stitching on the grey leather seats. Not exactly old-school burled walnut and deep-pile wool carpeting like Jag’s of old, but it’s modern and sexy and very, very cool stuff. Jag clearly sees these days that they need to sell modern cars with modern designs to modern people to stay afloat, and it’s good to see them breaking out of their traditions.

The XKR 75 will be limited to 75 units (of course), priced at a hefty £85,500 including VAT in the UK, with deliveries starting in October. It seems expensive until you consider how much more the slower, almost identical-looking Aston Martin DB9 costs these days. If you want the meanest snarling cat Jag’s ever put on the road (short of the XJ220) you had better get your order in now!

Finally Official: The Cosworth Subaru Impreza STI CS400!

James — Wed, 26 May 2010 03:24:56 +0000

I’ll readily admit, I’ve been waiting for this car to surface fully with baited breath for months. I mean, it combines two of my absolute favorite things in the automotive universe: flat-four Subarus, and British tuning firm Cosworth, who can turn even a complete turd of a motor into something respectable. If you need proof of this, remember: The Cosworth 2.0L in the Sierra/Escort Cossie was based on a Pinto block, and the Cossie boys also made a screaming 16v all-aluminum version of Chevrolet’s lamer-than-lame Vega motor.

Now, perhaps the Cossie fellas are being a bit ostentatious with their claims that this latest creation, the Impreza-based STI CS400, will humble supercars. But when your Impreza hatchback is capable of a 3.7 second 0-100km/h time, maybe there’s something to be said for the substance of your claims. That’s up there with Lamborghini Gallardos and 911 Turbos in the “going fast” category. So how does one extract this much performance from a tiny 2.5L pancake-four motor?

Boost, and lots of it. The twin-cam EJ257 is treated to new pistons, connecting rods, Cosworth bearings, a high-pressure oil pump, a set of heavy-duty metal headgaskets, a larger turbocharger, a free-flow exhaust system, and a remapped ECU – typical Subie mods. Total power output is a stunning 395bhp along with 398 lb-ft of torque – or about 33% more on both ends than the already powerful stock STI engine is cranking out. Thankfully, Cosworth doesn’t stop there. An adjustable suspension with Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs drop the Impreza’s chassis 10mm, 18″ wheels mount sticky DOT-legal race slicks that widen the track by 12mm, while larger 355mm AP Racing brakes up front keep things in check.

Thankfully Cosworth hasn’t seen fit to stick a bunch of goofy body parts on the Impreza, with just a handful of tasteful mods setting the CS400 apart from it’s more mainstream brethren. A new front bumper, foglights, a body-colored grille, and a small rear lip spoiler set the car off, along with some “Cosworth” and “CS400″ badging to remind you why you paid that much for an Impreza. There’s not much changed inside, with piano-black lacquer trim, Recaro seats, Cosworth badging and tinted glass rounding out the changes.

With a 0-100km/h time of 3.7 seconds and an electronically-limited top speed of 155mph, the Cosworth-engineered CS400 is fully capable of running with the big boys. And with a price tag of £49,995 it’s priced like the big boys too. The question of “is it really worth almost $75,000 for a Subaru Impreza?” is most likely an irrelevant one, as Cosworth is only producing 75 examples of the re-engineered CS400 in right-hand-drive for the UK market. Regardless, if you get your hands on one, you’ll have the fastest road-going Subaru ever, not to mention “Cosworth” badges that are worth their weight in gold, so that’s got to be worth something, right?

Audi R8 GT Packs More Power, Less Weight

James — Tue, 04 May 2010 18:16:27 +0000

The Audi R8 5.2 FSI is already one of the most desirable cars on earth. I mean, come on – it’s a combination of Lamborghini craziness with Audi civility and beautiful design. It makes a sound like God playing a trumpet, accelerates like it’s just been rear-ended by a runaway dump truck, and will make beautiful four-wheel powerslides with one hand on the wheel. The interior is immaculate, it’s got an external-gated 6 speed, and… well, I could go on for days. It took up where the NSX left off; offering supercar performance with everyday civility in a perfectly engineered package.

And now Audi has seen fit to add a little spice to the recipe, and it looks like it’s about to get a little more exciting. Meet the R8 GT – a lightened, more powerful, more exciting derivative of the already enticing R8 V10. It’s equal parts Colin Chapman (add lightness!) and Jeremy Clarkson (Powaaaaaaaaah!). The R8 GT is 100kg (220lbs) lighter than the standard R8 V10, bringing kerb weight down from 3,582 to 3,362lbs. This primarily comes from body modifications – thinner windshield, perspex side windows and rear glass, as well as some carbon fibre reinforced plastic components. The interior drops weight too – for one thing, the carpeting is 18 pounds lighter. This almost makes me think there is no carpeting; but maybe the regular carpeting really WAS that heavy. The seats use GRP shells to drop 70 pounds, and numerous other less interesting changes (like the battery being 7 pounds lighter) add up to the 100kg savings.

On the other end of things, the R8′s Lamborghini-derived V10 grows from 525bhp to 560, meaning it actually makes more than the engine in the LP560-4 Gallardo – an interesting marketing choice! Audi’s keeping tight-lipped about where the extra power’s coming from, saying the additional horses are a result of electronic programming changes. Maybe it was just de-tuned electronically before, and they hit the “undo” button? At any rate, it’s a monster of an engine: a 90° 5.2L V10 with direct fuel injection, a 12.5:1 compression ratio, and an insane 8,700 rpm rev limiter. Sadly, the R8 GT will only be available with the 6-speed R-Tronic transmission – a single-clutch automatic gearbox which Lamborghini calls e-Gear. It’s a chuntering, unrefined thing that’s better suited to a racetrack than the road. C’mon, Audi – where’s the 7-speed twin dry clutch DSG ‘box? You can put it in the S4 but not in the top-of-the-line R8? Thankfully, there’s launch control…

…which allows the R8 to reach 100km/h in a scant 3.6 seconds. Now, 10 years ago that would’ve been a “you’re kidding!” sort of figure, but when you’ve got $75,000 GT-R’s doing 0-60 in 3.4 seconds without launch control, and 911 Turbo S’s that’ll do 3.2 seconds with launch control and PDK, it’s… Oh, who cares. Anything in the mid to low three’s is absolutely insane, and arguing over tenths of a second is a lesson in missing the forest for the trees. This car is a rocketship no matter how you slice the cake.

On the handling side of things, the R8 GT gets some suspension tweaks to make it even more of a road vacuum. There are manually-adjustable coil-over shocks with higher static negative camber rates for increased grip and turn-in response. The ride height is about 10mm lower than the standard R8 V10. Wheels are massive light-weight 19″ alloys at all four corners, 8.5″ wide in the front and 11″ in the rear. Tires are massive 235/35 front and 295/30 rear, with the option of wider 305-width rear tires on wider rims in the back, as well as Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires (basically DOT-legal race slicks) as an option. Can you imagine the kind of grip this thing has?

Braking is taken care of by fancy carbon-ceramic rotors (380mm front/356mm rear) clamped by six-piston calipers in the front. These are another point of contention in reviews of various Gallardo derivatives, so hopefully they’re not the same units that are praised for their track efficacy but panned for their total uselessness on a road car. Still, 380mm rotors – that’s humongous. Finally, the R8 GT’s stability program has been re-calibrated to allows – the exact words of the Audi press release – “spectacular, but safe, oversteer when exiting a corner.”

That’s about all you had to say, Audi! The R8 GT will be limited to a production run of only 333 units, and will be priced at €193,00, or $256,00. No word yet on whether Audi will ship any over to the ‘states, but with their record of failing to do this (RS6, TT-RS) I wouldn’t bet the farm on it. To those lucky 333 owners – can I take a spin?

Beijing 2010: Updated Maybachs

Tony — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:08:47 +0000

If you aren’t yet convinced that Beijing is the new place to launch the world’s most decadent new luxury sedans, is this enough evidence?

While Rolls-Royce and Bentley, owned by Volkswagen and BMW, have been very successful, Maybach, owned Mercedes-Benz, hasn’t met the same success.

There have been many reports that the brand would be cut, but it doesn’t look like that is the case – yet. Besides, the segment is highly lucrative – we guess that they’ll give Maybach another go with a new model.

For a company like Mercedes that has a lot of pride, it would be a deep blow to exit the high-end market and acknowledge failure. Mercedes needs a competitor to Rolls-Royce and Bentley.

The exterior of the Maybach range benefits from a new grille that is differentiated between standard and S models, a new hood, tail lights and door mirrors designed to reduce wind noise.

In the interior, there’s a new partition separating the front and rear compartments, and reclining seats standard on the long-wheelbase 62 model are newly available on the passenger side of the 57 as well.

Remember the perfume dispenser from the special Zeppelin model? That is now available on the rest of the Maybach range, as well as available wireless internet (we’d want that!) and seat piping sporting Swarovski crystals.

The V-12 engine has been tweaked, with reduced emissions and fuel consumption in the standard model. The S model gets a bump of 18-horsepower, bringing the total output to 630. The changes are minimal – we’re looking forward to seeing an all-new Maybach (if we ever get one!).

Beijing 2010: VW Phaeton Facelift Released

Tony — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 17:11:42 +0000

The luxury introductions are coming fast at the Beijing Auto Show – so far Citroen has debuted the Metropolis Concept, Audi has introduced the A8 L, Mercedes the Shooting Break Concept and BMW is planning to introduce the 5-Series extended version.

Volkswagen and its brands are on a roll globally, and company is seeing the opportunity to again make another push with the Phaeton.

When the Phaeton was introduced in 2002, VW was on a roll then, like they are now. It didn’t do nearly as well as the company hoped though, as it was priced too high to make a dent in the sales of established competitors.

The changes to the Phaeton are minimal – bringing it in line with the latest VW styling trend and updating the technology.

The wide, horizontal themes that have been introduced on other VWs look good here – the look is more powerful and stately, befitting the car’s pricetag. This writer likes the chrome full-width grille.

Out back, the taillight shape remains the same as the original, but it gets reworked inner-LED lighting, as well as a different bumper. In addition, the interior’s overall design hasn’t been touched. You get it by now – the changes are hardly revolutionary.

The Phaeton didn’t need significant updating though – years after its introduction, it is still a highly competitive vehicle, which is a remarkable feat. VW dumped large amounts of money into the car’s development to make it the best it could be. As such got all that it needed in this update – a styling nip and tuck and technology upgrades to keep up with the competition.

The Phaeton has added Dynamic Light Assist (camera-based dynamic main beam regulation) and a navigation system that can integrate online data from Google.

There is also an optional front camera enables the Phaeton to ‘see’ road signs, with speed limit signs showing up on the instrument panel and navigation screen. The system will also be able to recognise and depict ‘no overtaking’ signs – which VW says is a world first.

Can VW finally erase the “flop” tag currently associated with the Phaeton? Many have predicted a similar fate as the original Phaeton for the Hyundai Equus, but so far Hyundai has proven adept at handling luxury introductions like the Genesis. We don’t know the verdict yet on the Equus, but it is likely that it will do well due to aggressive pricing in comparison to the competition.

Given the fact that the car has been in production for a while, that might enable VW to price the Phaeton lower and more competitively in order to succeed, something they couldn’t do when it first came out. Perhaps the Phaeton’s story isn’t over yet? Time will tell.

Beijing 2010: Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Break Concept

Tony — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 23:06:33 +0000

We know what you’re thinking about the headline – we thought it too. Shooting break? Everyone knows it’s spelt shooting brake – well, actually not, according Mercedes.

The original way of spelling it is break, and its origin comes from back to the horse-drawn carriage days, being the name given to carriages used to “break” in wild horses and also to restrict (or “brake”) their urge to move, so that they could be put to use as work horses.

You learn something new every day! Beyond that, we dare them to use a cool name like this for production instead of a a boring name like wagon. Anyway, enough about the name, let’s check the thing out.

There is no doubt one of the most iconic and important introductions of the last decade has been the Mercedes-Benz CLS “four-door coupe.”

It has spawned a whole host of copycats -VW Passat CC, Hyundai Sonata – as well as a new class of vehicles like the upcoming Audi A7 Sportback, Porsche Panamera and even the Aston Martin Rapide.

The CLS Shooting Break Concept shows a further development of that concept, on a four-door vehicle, but this time applied to a shooting brake. If Mercedes can make a four-door coupe, they can make a four-door shooting brake – or so the thinking goes.

The styling is a departure, with a bolder, more dramatic front end that Mercedes says takes styling cues from the SLS AMG.

The headlights are full light-emitting diode (LED) units, and they thankfully have no trace of the pervasive dual-headlight setup that all Mercedes cars have been known for in recent years.

Out back, the Shooting Break Concept looks good (got to love that roofline), but we can’t help but think the taillights are a bit generic – they definitely don’t scream Mercedes to us.

The interior, on the other hand, is nothing but impressive. It uses a similar design template to the interior found in the new E-Class, but it is taken to a whole other level. A lot of this is probably concept detailing, but we hope some of it makes it to production.

The mission of the CLS Shooting Break is to offer each of the four-passengers a high amount of luxury, as well as a spacious load area behind them. That is something sedans don’t offer. It definitely is an intriguing possibility for production that really hasn’t been much explored by mainstream automakers.

The powertrain is also a precusor to Mercedes’ next-generation V-6, direct injected and set at a 60° cylinder with a displacement of 3.5 liters. The engine makes 306 horsepower and 370 pound feet of torque.

As is the case with most of what is coming to Beiijing, the CLS Shooting Break Concept looks headed for production – this is likely just a thinly-veiled preview concept. Anyhow, we’re excited to hear more about it, and to see Mercedes daring to be a bit different.