Automobiles Review – Page 530 – Car News, Car Reviews, Auto Shows, Car Photos, Car Videos

Renault Megane R.S. 275 Trophy-R – Pricing Announced

2014 Renault Megane R.S. 275 Trophy-R is the newest limited edition Sport hatch, which was introduced almost two months ago. Of course, the car comes equipped with variety of improvements as well as new more powerful engine: 2.0 liter four-cylinder turbocharged one. As the name of the car states, the unit delivers 275 hp (202 kW) at 5,500 rpm and 360Nm (265 lb-ft) of torque at 3,000 rpm. Furthermore, the new Renault Sport model benefits from new Akrapovic titanium exhaust system, which is lighter than the one used in its predecessor.

This car has achieved two weeks ago 7m 54.36s record for a rear-wheel drive car round the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife. The record was achieved thanks to the dedication of the teams at Renault Sport Technologies and the hundreds of hours of testing. The new lap record highlights once again the knowledge and expertise of the specialists at the brand.

Megane R.S. 275 Trophy-R comes as a standard with the Cup chassis with limited-slip differential, Öhlins Road&Track dampers and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres. The car has no rear seats, and in the front one can see Recaro Pole Position polycarbonate monocoque seats with three-point seat belts.

The exterior of the model has new two-tone colour scheme: Etoile Black roof mated with a Pearlescent White finish. Highlights here are also the Trophy-R branded F1-type front blade, chequered flag graphic at the bottom of the front doors and graphics on the sides in Vif Red.

Renault Megane R.S. 275 Trophy-R has already gone one sale in France with an initial price tag of €45,000.

Source: Renault

July 2, 2014

Buick Envision Teased Ahead Of Premiere In China

Buick Envision is to make a Chinese premiere. The vehicle has just been teased with an image showing it between brand’s two crossovers: the Encore and Enclave. The first one is positioned in the compact segment, while the second – in the extra-large one. This means that there is enough space for the company to consider introducing a vehicle in the mid-size crossover segment. And this is where the Envision model steps in.

The GM department in Shanghai announced that this new midsize SUV will make its debut in China later this year. The model is inspired by the Buick Envision concept. The latter is the latest member of the Buick SUV family, which has dynamic and assertive styling. It mixes emblematic Buick design characteristics with the brand’s new high-end, refined global design concepts.

Furthermore, Buick has also disclosed that the Envision will adopt a new-generation powertrain as well as company’s new all-wheel-drive technology. As a standard, the vehicle will add the fuel-saving start/stop technology.

The introduction of the model in China aims to make a new benchmark in country’s high-end midsize SUV segment in terms of space, safety, performance and specifications. Of course, Buick said that the Envision will complement the Encore and new Enclave in Buick’s China SUV portfolio, providing a range of choices for SUV buyers. This leads us to the thoughts that the vehicle will probably be introduced in other parts of the world too.

Source: Buick

July 2, 2014

Ferrari FXX Evoluzione on Sale

Miller Motorcars now offer an extremely rare Ferrari FXX Evoluzione. The hyper car does not have a price tag, but we expect seven figures, because only the optional Evo kit was priced at $300,000.

The Italian manufacturer has initiated the FXX program back in 2005 as a race-spec evolution of the Enzo. Two years later, the car was fitted with an Evoluzione package boosting the 6.3 liter naturally aspirated V12 engine from 800HP (588 kW) to 860HP (630 kW). The engine is connected to a 6-speed Semi-automatic transmission. 0-100 km/h in less than 2.4 seconds and a top speed of over 400 km/h (250 mph).

Some of the special features include a carbon fiber body over carbon fibre tub with rear alloy subframe. The brake system comes from Brembo – CCM (carbon-ceramic) discs with 6-piston calipers at the front and carbon-ceramic discs with 4-piston calipers at the rear.

Ferrari produced 30 units of the FXX and only a few received the optional Evo kit. The model features a different livery and an updated rear wing. The gearbox is also updated to shift in just 60 milliseconds. Ferrari also altered the suspension and brakes together with the traction control which came with nine user-selectable settings.

This particular car has only 322 km (200 miles) on the clock!

Source: millermotorcars.com

July 2, 2014

Dodge Celebrates Centennial Year

Do you know that this year one of the most iconic American muscle car automakers marks its 100th anniversary? The brand is Dodge and it is tearing into its centennial year as America’s mainstream performance brand. The exact day of celebration was yesterday, on 1st of July. In fact, after the brand has consolidated with SRT, Dodge is getting back to its performance roots with every single model it offers.

Both Dodge and SRT are aiming to offer a complete lineup of performance vehicles, which are to stand out in their own segments. Dodge is considered as the “mainstream performance” brand, while the SRT – as the “ultimate performance” halo of the Dodge brand. The combination results in complete and balanced performance.

At the heart if every Dodge vehicle is the passion of innovation and engineering. They are faster, better or smarter and offer an attitude that was built into the brand by the Dodge brothers themselves a century ago.

Dodge is taking the best of its innumerable successes over these 100 years: the technological advancements of the ’30s and ’40s, 50’s design evolution and the racing heritage of the ’60s, the horsepower of the ’70s, the efficiency of the ’80s and the iconic styling of the ’90s.

The brand has produced many types of vehicles: from muscle cars to compact cars, minivans, crossovers and full-size SUVs. For the new model year, Dodge’s models deliver exceptional horsepower, exclusive technology, unmatched capability and cool features, such as LED headlamps, Dodge signature racetrack tail lamps, dual exhaust, 8.4-inch touchscreen infotainment centers and 7-inch thin-film transistor (TFT) customizable gauge clusters.

2015 will see the market birth of Dodge Charger and Challenger, as well as the Dodge Challenger SRT equipped with the HEMI Hellcat. The latter delivers up to 707 horsepower which makes the Challenger the most powerful muscle car ever built. The Dodge brand 2015 lineup also includes the Dart, Durango, Grand Caravan and Journey, the new Crossroad model and of course – the performance beast Dodge Viper SRT.

Source: Dodge

July 2, 2014

Citroen DS 6WR Interior [images]

Citroen has published first official images of the interior of DS 6WR luxury SUV (sports utility vehicle). The cabin comes with a two-tone plush upholstery with aluminum trim elements on the doors, the center console and the steering wheel. There is also a nice LED interior lighting. The Grip Control system’s control switch is placed right next to the leather gear shifter.

Citroen DS 6WR SUV measures 4.55 meters in length, 1.86 meters in width and 1.61 meters in hegith with a 2.73 meter wheelbase. The strong presence is underlined by a set of 19” alloy wheels. The engine range includes a 160HP (118 kW) e-THP and a 200HP (147 kW) THP unit coupled to a 6-speed automatic gearbox.

The concept was unveiled at the 2014 Beijing Motor Show in April. It is scheduled to hit the market in September, this year. It will be manufactured locally and will be sold through a network of 60 dealerships.

“With the launch of the DS 6WR in the autumn, it (the brand) now markets three locally-produced models – a feat achieved in just one year. As DS sets out to become a premium brand on a worldwide scale, the results obtained in two years in China, the world’s number-one automotive market, encourage us in the pursuit of our business offensive”, commented Yves Bonnefont, Chief Executive Officer of the DS brand.

Source: Citroen

July 2, 2014

2015 Volkswagen Passat will be Unveiled Tomorrow

2015 Volkswagen Passat will be officially unveiled tomorrow, but more details have emerged on the web. The 2^nd best-selling model of Volkswagen will be presented on Thursday and according to Reuters will go upmarket in order to compete versus Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Audi A4 and of course, BMW 3-Series. This is very brave decision and we are eager to see, how the cheap Passat is going to beat the best-in-class saloons. There is also one more interesting issue, the new Passat is 4,767 mm long, which means that is a lot longer than its rivals.

The engine range is going to include a 2.0 liter TDI with several outputs – 150HP (110 kW); 190HP (140 kW) and the top-of-range – 240HP (176 kW). The smaller 1.6 liter TDI will have a 120HP (88 kW) version. The petrol range features a 1.4 liter TSI – 125HP (92 kW) and 150HP (110 kW) as well as a 1.8 liter TSI with 180HP (132 kW) and a mighty 2.0 liter TSI – 220HP (162 kW) or 280HP (206 kW) – taken from Seat Leon Cupra 280.

All engine meet EURO 6 regulations and Volkswagen has already announced a plug-in hybrid model. It will have a combined range of up over 960HP (600 miles) and will be able to travel up to 50 km (31 miles) on electricity.

Some of the features include LED taillights, optional LED headlights featuring Dynamic Light Assist. There is also a 12.3” instrument cluster, a head-up display, Side Assist with Rear Traffic Alert, Traffic Jam Assist, City Emergency Braking and others.

2015 Volkswagen Passat will be priced from €26,000.

Stay tuned!

Source: reuters

July 2, 2014

2014 BMW M4 Coupe Individual at Goodwood

BMW has shown a special M4 Coupe Individual at the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed. The sports car is built specially for the event and boasts a number of styling upgrades.

The exterior comes in a nice Tanzanite Blue metallic paint, a sports exhaust system and a lot of carbon fiber elements like a new front splitter, a rear diffuser and a rear spoiler. The interior boasts Merino leather seats and an Alcantara-wrapped sports steering wheel featuring a race display showing different information.

2014 BMW M4 Coupe is powered by a 3.0 liter TwinPower Turbo Inline six-cylinder – 431HP (317 kW) at 5,500RPM and 550Nm (406 lb-ft) at 1,850RPM. The engine is mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox as standard. 0-100 km/h in 4.3 seconds and a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph) or an optional 280 km/h (174 mph). The acceleration is even better, when fitted with the optional 7-speed ///M DCT – 4.1 seconds to 100 km/h. The new M3 and M4 are able to cover 100 km with just 8.8 liters (32.1 mpg UK) of fuel in the combined cycle with the manual transmission and 8.3 liter with the DCT.

As we recently learned, the car actually produces a lot more power – around 480HP (353 kW) and 648Nm (480 lb-ft) of torque. Of course, this is only in benefit of owners, but we suspect some tax evasion.

Source: BMW

July 2, 2014

2014 Renault Megane Hatch – Crash Test [video]

Euro NCAP has published a video with several crash tests with the new 2014 Renault Megane Hatch. As usual, the front impact takes place at 64 km/h (40 mph), and 40 % of the width of the car strike a deformable barrier. In the side impact, a mobile deformable barrier impacts the driver’s door at 50 km/h (31 mph). In the pole test, the vehicle is propelled sideways at 29 km/h (18 mph) into a rigid pole.

Euro NCAP has a new system, so the 2014 Megane Hatch get only three stars out of five in terms of overall safety.

The passenger compartment remained stable in the frontal impact. Renault showed that a similiar level of protection would be provided to occupants of different sizes and to those sat in different positions. In the side barrier test, the Megane Hatch scored maximum points with good protection of all body areas. In the more severe side pole impact, dummy readings of chest compression indicated marginal protection for that part of the body. The protection provided by the seat and head restraint against whiplash injuries was also marginal for the front seats and was rated as poor for the rear seats, based on a geometric assessment.

The front bumper provides good protection to pedestrians’s legs in all areas tested and scored maximum points. However, the protection offered by the front edge of the bonnet was predominantly poor. On the surface of the bonnet, protection offered to the head of a struck pedestrian was predominantly adequate but was poor along the bottom of the windscreen and on the stiff windscreen pillars.

Electronic stability control is standard equipment. A seatbelt reminder system is standard for the front and rear seats. The system for the front seats met Euro NCAP’s requirements. A driver-set speed limitation device is also standard equipment and met Euro NCAP’s requirements for systems of this type.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SotLkx0gz7A

Source: Euro NCAP

July 2, 2014

2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat [video]

2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is the most powerful muscle car leaving the factory. It will hit the market later this year and will demolish the rivalry. In fact, the 2015 Challenger SRT Hellcat is a bit more powerful than Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4. Still, it is a “normal” everyday car, but with a huge racing potential.

2015 Challenger SRT Hellcat is powered by a 6.2 liter supercharged V8 – 707HP (527 kW) and 880Nm (650 lb-ft) of torque. The company previously stated that the coupe will have over 600HP (447 kW), so we expected a bit over, not another 107HP. It is interesting that for the first time in Chrysler Group history, the all-new 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT with a Hellcat engine comes standard with two key fobs – red and black. The red key fob is the only key that can unlock the full power and torque of the car, while the black key fob limits the driver to a reduced engine output of just 500HP (368 kW).

The new 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat has been redesigned and totally re-engineered to be the most true-to-form muscle coupe on the market. It comes with some performance-enhancing technologies for the exterior and interior. There is also a new TorqueFlite 8-speed automatic transmission and an all-new interior inspired by the classic 1971 Challenger.

The 2015 Dodge Challenger and Challenger SRTs are built at the Brampton, Ontario, Assembly Plant and will start arriving in Dodge dealerships in the third quarter of 2014.

Stay tuned for full specs and pricing!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fhnO95drbA

Source: Dodge

July 2, 2014

2016 Chevrolet Camaro To Get Four-Cylinder Engine

2016 Chevrolet Camaro will probably get some changes when compared to the current generation car. However, they won’t include design modifications, but rather some engine tweaks. There has been rumored that the new Chevy will be equipped as an option with four cylinder engine. These assumptions are based on the reports that the car will be lighter by several hundred pounds. Furthermore, the new 2016 Camaro will also grow on size, meaning that it won’t use anymore the short-wheelbase version of Alpha from the Cadillac ATS. It will be rather built on the long-wheelbase CTS.

In other words this will make the new Camaro 2.3 inches longer than the current generation. The overall length of the car is expected to be around 114.6 inches, and this means that it will be 7.5 inches longer than the 2015 Ford Mustang, but still shorter than the current Dodge Challenger.

The smaller, entry-level engine fitted to the coupe, is expected to be like the one used in the Cadillac ATS and CTS – the 2.0-liter turbocharged powertrain. This unit produces 272 horsepower (200 kW) and 400 Nm (295 pound-feet) of torque. Actually, most probably the car will be equipped with modified 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine, which we have seen in the new Mustang. This unit is capable of more than 305 hp (2205 kW) and 407 Nm (300 lb-ft) of torque.

Of course, there has been nothing said about discontinuation of the current 3.6-liter V-6 and 6.2-liter V-8 units. 2016 Chevrolet Camaro will make an official world debut in the beginning of 2015. It is expected to go on sale later that year.

July 1, 2014

Audi Launches 2014 RS6 Avant Plus?

2014 Audi RS6 Avant was unveiled back in December 2012. The standard engine of the car is downsized twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 TFSI which produces a peak output of 560 hp (412 kW) between 5,700 and 6,700 rpm, and a constant 700 Nm (517 lb-ft) of torque between 1,750 and 5,500 rpm. With this unit the car needs only 3.9 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h. We have just understood from our colleagues at GTSpirit that Audi is planning to introduce to the market more powerful version of the 2014 Audi RS6 Avant.

According to them, a dealer based in the UK has leaked the official details about the updated model. The uprated RS6 Avant Plus will be powered by the same engine, however it will be boosted to deliver up to 600 hp (441 kW), which means a 40 hp.

Next to the engine modifications, the car will also get improvements in terms of agility and handling. Probably this will be achieved via weight-savings. Another exciting fact that has also leaked is that the new RS6 Avant Plus will be a full production model.

Of course, some cosmetic treatments are also expected to happen. For instance: badging and interior enhancements. Given that the information on the 2014 RS6 Avant Plus has already leaked, we think that the official details from Audi will be disclosed shortly.

Source: www.gtspirit.com

July 1, 2014

2015 Cadillac ATS Sedan Shown “Behind-The-Scenes” [VIDEO]

2015 Cadillac ATS Sedan has just been filmed in company’s newest television commercial. This means that with the released “behind-the-scenes” video below the car is actually making an early reveal. The advertisement was shot exclusively in Niagara’s wine area. The luxurious and speedy car turned heads of pedestrians and onlookers as it raced along the landscape of the Niagara Escarpment.

As you can see, the ATS Sedan has a refreshed lower fascia. In addition it also seems to feature revised front bumper. At the front we see the same grille like in the coupe and here the company has featured also its redesigned badge.

The latest version of the model was introduced back in 2012 as a 2013 model year vehicle. The rear-drive ATS brought Cadillac’s blend of technologically driven performance, elegance and design. It was powered by two V-6 four cylinder engines, 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder and Cadillac’s award-winning 3.6L V-6.

The latter is the range topping one and its power is estimated at 318 hp (237 kW). Both manual and automatic transmissions came as an option, and also optional were the rear-wheel and all-wheel-drive configurations. We are expecting an official reveal and details soon. Stay tuned!

httpv://youtu.be/-P1yVGh5fHA

Video Source: YouTube

News Source: Cadillac

July 1, 2014

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