Author: yoann besnard

Nissan has released an interior sketch of the Forum concept car

After the exterior sketch, Nissan kindly released a sketch of the interior of the Forum concept car due to be unveiled at the next Detroit Motor Show.
Larger than the Cube model but smaller than the El Grand minivan, the Forum will be roomy enough to offer three rows. It will offer an interior which will feature innovative equipments such as a one-button audio muting system! It will also include a Bose media system with individual seat-mounted speakers for every row. The 2nd and the 3rd will offer monitoring cameras.
According to the sketch, the dashboard structure seems to be close enough to reality to be fitted soon in a production car. The Forum may not move to production but its interior is a preview of what Nissan models might offer in the future.
December 4, 2007
Video: Toyota driving simulator

Toyota has unveiled a size driving simulator for analysing the driving characteristics of average drivers. It will be used to test the new safety technologies. Located at the Toyota’s Higashifuji Technical Center in Susono City, the simulator uses video and acceleration technologies to provide an experience as close as real driving.
December 4, 2007
Teaser: VW Passat coupé

The picture you see here is from the teaser of the future Passat Coupé which will be unveiled either at the Detroit Motor Show in January or at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

Like the Mercedes CLS, it will be a four-door coupé derived from the Passat saloon. Secrecy surrounds the exact spec of the car, although it is said that the engine range will include a new 2.0-litre TFSi petrol engine which produces 230bhp and a 204bhp 2.0-litre TDI engine. There wil be the range-topping 300bhp 3.6-litre V6 unit seen in the Passat R36.

Positioned as a more upmarket model than the current Passat, the four-door coupé will provide seating for four people. The interior styling will feature luxury extras such as generous armrests, air conditioning front and back and a panoramic sunroof.
December 4, 2007
Next Mitsubishi Eclipse to be on sale in Europe

Company sources revealed that the Mitsubishi Concept-RA previews the next-generation Eclipse which might be sold in Europe for the first time.
At this stage, this is pure speculation as the information has not been confirmed, but selling the Eclipse on the European market would help Mitsubishi to revamp its brand image here. Of course, the Eclipse will have to be close to the concept car styling if the Japanese car maker wants the Eclipse model to succeed on the competitive small coupé market. Unfortunately, Mitsubishi’s long history proves that its models look always too conventional compared to its concept cars.
This is not the first time, Mitsubishi would sell a coupé in Europe as it imported the Mitsubishi 3000 GT in the ’90s. Unveiled in 1990, the car was derived from the HSX concept car seen at the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show. It featured a 3.0-litre V6 engine which had an output of 276bhp.
December 4, 2007
Byd has unveiled the final F8

The convertible is still in its embryonic stages, but soon the MG TF won’t be alone. Indeed, Byd has finally unveiled the production version of the F8 model, which is mash-up between the Mercedes-Benz CLK and the Renault Megane CC.

Unlike its muses, the F8 sits high in order to be able to run on the Chinese roads. on the inside, the quality appears poor, but Byd’s engineers have worked hard to feature the car with a keyless entry system and electric metal folding roof. The engine is unknown, but according to the manufacturer, the F8 can reach 112mph and run the 0-60mph in less than 14 seconds.

The Byd F8 will compete with the MG TF and the future Chery M14 due to be on sale in 2009, which takes its styling cues form the Peugeot 307 CC.
November 30, 2007
Audi TT-S and R8 concept to be unveiled at Detroit
Audi will unveil a R8 concept car and the TT-S at the next Detroit Motor Show in January. Secrecy surrounds the R8 concept car, although it is rumoured that it will be either the long-awaited convertible or the V10 powered version.
In a previous post, it has been reported that Audi is currently working on a R8 convertible. The sports car would be powered by the 4.2-litre V8 engine used in the coupé. The V10 engine has also been reported previously and seen around the Nürburgring.
Th TT-S will be a sportier version of the current TT, a bit like S3 or S4. From the S3, it will inherit its turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which produces 261bhp. It will be associated with the quattro four-wheel drive transmission.
November 30, 2007
Bertone fills for bankruptcy protection

Italian coachbuilders are in the doldrums. After Pininfarini, which is looking for more manufacturing contracts, Bertone announced that it was asking for a ‘concardo preventivo’ equivalent to a bankruptcy protection and the Italian government to pay its 1,300 employees.
Like Pininfarina, Bertone suffers from a unpredictable and highly volatile manufacturing business and to date, Bertone has no contract despite having the capacity to build up to 70,000 cars a year. It’s not that Bertone rested on laurels, but some planned contracts collapsed: TVR, Fiat refusing to build the Suagnà…
Nevertheless, Bertone have some hopes with Massimo Di Risio, owner of a large dealer network in Italy. Indeed, the Italian CEO plans to sell its own small SUV on the Italian market. Designed in Italy, the SUV will have its platform and body built in China by Gonow. The car will be imported in Italy where it will receive a Fiat Multijet engine. Bertone is in the running for the job of producing 12,000 units per year while it needs to build 30,000 cars to break even. Let’s hope the future will be better for the coachbuilder.
November 30, 2007
Mitsubishi RA-Concept revealed

Mitsubishi has released the first sketches of the concept-car it will reveal at next year’s Detroit Motor Show. It might be a styling exercise that previews the next-generation Eclipse coupé sold on the US market. Dubbed RA-Concept, the coupé is based on an aluminium space frame and features a diesel engine, the first concept-car with such an engine to be revealed at an American motor show.

The coupé features an aggressive overall shape with sharp lines, air intakes and an arched roof line. The rear end reminds us the Porshce Bosxter while the front features the new corporate fascia. The sketches are appealing but Mitsubishi has a habit to discard the most innovative and interesting ideas when moving from the drawing board to reality.
Sitting on an aluminium space frame, the RA-Concept features an all-wheel drive transmission coupled with an improved version of the Dual clutch gearbox called Twin Clutch SST. The car will be powered by a 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbocharged diesel which has an power output of 201bhp and a torque of 310 lb ft thanks to the MIVEC, a continuously variable valve timing control, and a turbocharger with variable geometry. The car is equipped with a new catalytic converter that combines a diesel oxidation catalyst, a NOx trap catalyst and a diesel particulate filter in order to comply with the US regulations.
November 30, 2007
Audi RS label to go mainstream

In a recent interview with Auto Motor und Sport, Werner Frowein, the director of Quattro GmbH revealed that the RS label is intended to go mainstream in the future. In an attempt to increase its sales, the Audi’s sports subsidiary will shorten its development cycle in order to release RS models sooner. At this moment, RS models are being sold in the last two years of the vehicle’s lifecycle. Audi has a target of releasing a RS model within the first two years of the vehicle’s life.
This change of strategy will boost sales despite a strong growth recorded in the previous years. The sales jumped from 2,500 vehicles in 2000 to 9,300 units this year. By model, Audi sold 5,300 RS4s and 4,000 R8s. Next year the company will sell 5,500 R8s, 5,000 RS6s and 1,000 RS4s. It will also reveal the eagerly awaited Q7 powered by a V12 TDi, the TT-RS and the expected R8-RS, which will be equipped with the same engine found in the RS6, but without turbochargers.
November 30, 2007
Nissan Silvia comes back in 2010

This is not the first time we heard about a future Silvia, but this time the rumour might be true. According to various sources, the car has already been given the green light by Carlos Ghosn and the carmaker’s COO Toshiyuki Shiga. The coupé will be introduced within three years. A new model beneath the Z and the GT-R would reinforce Nissan’s line-up. It would also help Nissan to seduce young buyers on the Japanese market where sales have been sluggish for many years.
Mystery surrounds the future model, although some observers try to guess the car’s spec. According to the Japanese magazine, Best Car, the future Silvia would share its underpinning with the future Z and would feature a 2.0-litre 4 cylinders engine provided by Renault Sport. The coupé would provide seating for four persons. On the Japanese market, the car would be sold at around £10,000. There are no information regarding a potential sale in Europe. If Nissan sold it on our market, the car would likely be twice more expensive than the Japanese model.
In Europe, Nissan would benefit from the image generated by the previous generations, and might be a serious contender for German carmakers and, of course, the future Laguna coupé.
Source: Best Car
November 30, 2007