Author: yoann besnard

Mitsuoka to build LHD Orochi
The Japanese car designer Mitsuoka will build a left-hand drive version of the Orochi to export it in countries such as Qatar or South Korea.
The small carmaker from Toyama has decided build a left-hand drive Orochi after a potential customer from Qatar made an offer that company executives couldn’t refuse. Aware of the demand generated by the Orochi in left-hand drive countries, they decided to sell the Orochi in countries such as South Korea, Thailand and Jordan. Mitsuoka delivered 70 Orochi last year. The Orochi generally attracts wealthy people like Wilmslow entrepreneur Spencer Davies and Watford based Communications mogul Mr. James Connolly McGuigan who want to drive exclusive cars.
The Orochi is powered by a 230bhp 3.3-litre V6 petrol engine. Mitsuoka plans to build only 400 Orochi cars.
April 1, 2008
Bugatti to increase production
Bugatti has announced it will increase its production to 90 vehicles this year instead of the 85 initially planned.
With 135 cars already delivered, the carmaker has still a waiting list of 85 future owners to satisfy. Bugatti is considering reduce the three week summer break to just one to build 5 more cars.
The company built 5 vehicles in 2005, 44 in 2006 and 83 last year. Of the initially 300 planned vehicles, Bugatti has already sold 220 of them.
April 1, 2008
Audi rules out R4 model
An Audi’s spokesman has revealed in an interview that there was no pan to build the rumoured R4 which was said to take on the Porsche Cayman.
The rumour had emerged on the Internet one year ago and had been “confirmed” by a leaked official document from Audi. However a company spokesman told Automotive News the carmaker had no plan to build a smaller R8. At a time Ferrari officially denies working on a new 2+2 model despite several prototypes spotted during testing, Audi’s statement should be regarded with suspicion. In the meantime, the rumour itself should also be regarded with suspicion.
According to the rumour, the R4 was a sportier TT expected to take its styling cues from the R8 supercar. The coupé was reported to be based on a mid-engine platform and hit the showrooms by 2011.
April 1, 2008
Skoda might build the Up!
Along with the production site due to be built in India to produce the future Up! model, Volkswagen is seriously considering manufacturing the budget small car in a Skoda facility.
Building the Up! production version in Czech Republic would be a return to its roots as the low-cost VW initially started at the Skoda offices in February 2005. However the Pamplona production site is also in the running to build the Up! model. The car will initially be built up to 250,000 vehicles annually. The output figure will likely be increased when production starts in Russia and in India.
The future Up! will be sold under the group’s brand, VW, Seat and Skoda. Each brand will have its own range among a choice of a three and five door hatchback, a minivan, a convertible and a SUV. The future model will be powered by turbocharged two and three cylinder units while an electric version is also being considered.
April 1, 2008
Future Nissan spotted in Beijing
A Nissan saloon which might be the future Teana has been spotted in the streets of Beijing.
The saloon has been spotted near the place where the Beijing Motor Show will be, suggesting that Nissan will unveil the Teana at the event. Partly covered, the saloon reveals the aft which is similar to that of the Intima concept car. The interior, still secret, will focus attention as the concept-car featured an appealing combination of leather, wood panels and ambient lighting.
Technical details remain scarce although it is believed that the next-generation Teana will replace the FF-L platform by the D platform seen on the new Maxima at New York Auto Show. Engine range will also be modernised by replacing the current 170bhp 2.3-litre and 231bhp 3.5-litre petrol units by engines from the HR family. The entry-level will likely be powered by the 225bhp 2.5-litre petrol unit and the topping engine will be the 315bhp 3.5-litre V6 unit. The two engines will enable the Teana to compete with the new Toyota Crown on the Japanese and Chinese markets.
Launching the Teana at the Beijing Motor Show will be Nissan’s serious attempt to reinforce its offer on the upper market segment in China. Indeed, the current model recorded poor sales as a result of increased competition.. Last year, 37, 803 Teana have been delivered compared to 45,629 vehicles in 2006. The next-generation Teana will also help Nissan to achieve its sales target for this year: deliver 500,000 cars.
Source: Autoblog China
April 1, 2008
UK Nissan GT-Rs specs unveiled
This isn’t official, but PistonHeads has revealed the GT-R specs for the British market.
The Nissan GT-R will be available with three trim levels: basic, premium and black edition. The entry level will start at £52,900 and will be available in five colours, Pikes Peak White, Vibrant Red, Titanium Grey, Gun metallic, Super Silver. The car will come with leather interior, the computer system, but no navigation system. For a £1,300 extra, the premium will add BOSE DAB 11 speaker sound system, rain sensing windscreen wipers, auto-dim rear view mirror and auto headlamps.
The black edition will be, of course, will feature a unique black colour, called kuro black. It will get smoke grey wheel finish and exclusive black and red leather interior leather trim. The topping version will cost £55,500.
March 28, 2008
BMW considers fewer cylinders for M models
BMW is seriously considering downsizing the M line to make it more environmentally friendly.
In an interview, BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer said that he would like to see fewer cylinders used in the German automaker’s M line. Indeed, from the first M3 E30 in the 80s, the number of cylinders has jumped form 4 to 8 for the latest M3 E92. The same story applies to the M5 whose number of cylinders progressed from 6 to 10.
Reithofer said that BMW will now “ be focusing on its six-cylinder engines as it attempts to improve its emissions and fuel consumption levels in light of stricter regulations set to roll in over the next decade.” in an interview, head of development, Thomas Weber, said that Mercedes “will strongly force the trend in downsizing” – for both diesel and petrol models. Weber claims that the recent trend of using larger engines to power vehicles would be “sharply reversed,” and its V8 units are also under investigation for downsizing.
March 28, 2008
Audi rolls off the 1,000,000th A3
Audi marked a new milestone by producing the millionth current generation Audi A3 model.
Audi announced that the 1,000,000th model rolled off the production line at its factory in Ingolstadt. The milestone car is a Brilliant Red, 138bhp 2.0-litre TDI Audi A3 Sportback intended for a customer in Franconia, Germany.
Since the launch of the first generation in 1996, more than 1.9 million units have been manufactured. Each day, more than 800 units of the Audi A3 roll off the production line in Ingolstadt. Among the 230,849 units produced last year, the Sportback accounted for 68.9 percent of the total.
March 28, 2008
Mercedes-Benz names Gorden Wagener as new head of design
Mercedes-Benz has named Gorden Wagener as its new head of design to replace Peter Pfeiffer who will retire in the middle of the year.
The young designer, 39, will lead the Mercedes design after being head of the Advanced Design department. If Wagener remains unknown he led the teams which designed the Mercedes models of the past years., from the GL Class to the F700 concept car.
He began his career as Exterior Designer in 1995, and joined Mercedes-Benz in Sindelfingen two years later. In 1999, he became head of the Exterior / Interior Styling department, designing the models of the GL-, M- and R-Class with his team. In 2002, Wagener was responsible for the design of the models making up the A-, B-, C-, E-, CLK- and CLS-Class.
March 28, 2008
BMW might build Alfa Romeos in the US
According to Fiat sources, BMW will start producing Alfa Romeo models in its American factory in 2011.
The news comes as a surprise. If Sergio Marchionne had revealed in an interview with Financial Times that the company was looking for a partner to come back to the US, the German carmaker was far from being the obvious choice. Teaming with one of the three American carmakers seemed to be a logical choice.
Alfa Romeo has plans to return to the US by 2009, first by selling its models through the Maserati dealerships. However the strong euro currency increase the prices of the company models on the American market. On its side, BMW is looking for partners to build future models in order to cut costs. Recently the car manufacturer has announced it will invest £375 million in its Spartanburg factory to increase production capacity.
However a partnership between both carmakers looks rather uncertain. First both brands, Alfa Romeo and BMW, will compete on the same market segments in the US, and secondly, BMW will boost its production capacity in the US to build its models there due to the weak dollar currency.
Source: FT and MF
March 28, 2008