By Martin Ward on Wednesday, June 30, 2010

This week’s manufacturer news

 

FORD – Will debut the new Mondeo on 25th August at the Moscow Motor Show. The range will feature two new engines: a new 2.0 EcoBoost 240ps petrol and a 2.2 TDCI 200ps diesel. Further details and pricing are yet to be announced and it is expected to go on sale in the UK in October this year.

 

 

 

 

JAGUAR – Has announced the XKR 75 limited edition is to make its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on 2nd July. The model is being introduced to celebrate Jaguar’s 75th anniversary and will be available with an enhanced 5.0 litre supercharged V8 530ps petrol engine (510ps on original XKR). Features exclusive to the XKR 75 will include an aerodynamic body pack, an improved sports exhaust, red brake calipers and 20” Vortex alloy wheels. Production will be limited to 75 units and it will be available to order from July 2010 priced at £85,500 on the road.

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By Martin Ward on Wednesday, June 23, 2010

This week’s manufacturer news

 

LOTUS – Has announced the introduction of the new RGB special edition in both the Elise and Exige ranges. The special editions are being launched in recognition of Roger Becker, who was former Director of Vehicle Engineering at Lotus for 44 years before he retired in January 2010. The Elise SC RGB will have a 1.8 litre 218bhp petrol engine and will be priced at £38,550. The Exige S RGB will have a 1.8 litre 257bhp petrol engine and will be priced at £41,950. Both models will come with Sports and Touring packs as standard. The RGB special editions are due on sale in September 2010.

 

VAUXHALL – Has revealed first official photographs of the new Astra sport tourer. It will have the same 2685mm wheelbase as the Astra hatchback, but with an extra 28mm added to its maximum load length. It...

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By Martin Ward on Wednesday, June 16, 2010

This week’s manufacturer news

 

FORD – Is to offer 19” WRC-style white alloy wheels as an option of £500 to mark the end of production of the Focus RS hatch.

 

 

 

 

 

MCLAREN AUTOMOTIVE - The sports car company, McLaren Automotive, has announced its partners in the UK retail network as: Rybrook Holdings Ltd in Birmingham, Jardine Motors Group in London and Sytner Group in Manchester. These three automotive retailers will begin selling the up-and-coming MP4-12C model in spring 2011 under the names McLaren Birmingham, McLaren London and McLaren Manchester. The global debut for the new MP4-12C will take place at the Goodwood Festival of Speed next month.

VAUXHALL...

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By Martin Ward on Wednesday, June 09, 2010

This week’s manufacturer news

 

AUDI – The A6 Le Mans special edition has been re-badged to S Line special edition. Standard features and technical specifications remain the same.  

 

RENAULT – Has announced the introduction of the new Clio Gordini 200 special edition. Available with a 2.0 litre 200bhp engine and limited to just 500 units, the Gordini’s key features include: Malta blue paint with white Gordini stripes, white F1-style front blade, Gordini leather seats, body colour GT rear spoiler and 17” Gordini alloy wheels. It is expected to go on sale at the end of July.

 

VOLKSWAGEN – Has introduced a new 7 speed DSG gearbox to the Tiguan range, replacing the 6 speed auto. The new gearbox reduces CO2 emissions from 186g/km to 170g/km.

 

Test car – Aston Martin V12 Vantage

 

Aston Martin...

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By Martin Ward on Wednesday, June 02, 2010

This week’s manufacturer news

 

CITROEN – Has released first details and photographs of the new C4. It will be available with a new micro-hybrid e-HDI powertrain that will deliver CO2 emissions as low as 109g/km at launch and 99g/km on future models. Standard features will include lane departure warning system, xenon headlamps, blind spot monitoring system, cruise control and an eTouch system which allows the driver to monitor driving patterns and fuel consumption. The new C4 will be officially unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in September.

 

LAND ROVER – The Range Rover will celebrate its 40th birthday on 17th June. Work first began on a Range Rover prototype in 1966 and the first model, now known as ‘the classic’ was introduced in 1970, continuing in production with numerous upgrades and variants for just over 25 years. The latest...

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By Martin Ward on Wednesday, May 26, 2010

This week’s manufacturer news

 

TESLA/TOYOTA – Tesla Motors Inc and Toyota Motor Corporation has announced that they intend to cooperate in areas such as parts, production system and engineering support on the development of electric vehicles.

 

VAUXHALL – Has announced the introduction of the Corsa Limited Edition. The new Black & White Limited Edition will feature glacier white bodywork with black detailing, black 17” alloy wheels and a black sapphire roof. It will also feature a VXR body styling kit, sports suspension and piano black centre console. It will be available with a 1.2 litre 16V 85ps petrol or a 1.3 litre CDTi 16V 75ps diesel, in three or five door variants. Prices will start at £13,995 and it will be available in showrooms from next month until the end of the year.

 

VOLKSWAGEN – Are to introduce a new trim to the Golf range. The Golf Match will directly replace the outgoing SE trim and will be available in three and five door variants with the following...

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By Martin Ward on Wednesday, May 19, 2010

This week’s manufacturer news

 

ALFA ROMEO – Has added two new engines to the Brera coupe and Spider convertible ranges. The engines are: 1.8 litre turbo 200bhp petrol and 2.0 litre JTDM 170bhp diesel.

 

BMW – An even quicker M3 will be offered in the UK from February 2011. The M3 GTS has a 4.4 litre (4,361cc) engine that produces 450hp, goes from 0-62mph in 4.4 seconds and has a top speed of 190mph. The M3 GTS has been designed for club sports racing events but is also street legal. Prices will be announced nearer to its on sale date.

 

LAND ROVER – Will introduce a 2WD option on the new compact Range Rover (codenamed LRX) in addition to the 4WD. The 2WD will have a CO2 emissions figure of 130g/km and will go on sale in 2011.

 

By the end of 2010 Land Rover will be testing the first diesel hybrid prototype called the 'range e', which is being developed using a Range Rover Sport platform. The test vehicle will use the existing 3.0 litre TDV6 diesel engine,...

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By Martin Ward on Wednesday, May 12, 2010

This week’s manufacturer news

 

AUDI – Ordering is now open in the UK for the new A1. Pricing starts at £13,145 on the road for the 1.2 TFSI SE manual, going up to £18,280 on the road for the 1.4 TFSI S Line S Tronic. Deliveries are expected in late 2010.

 

INFINITI – Has announced pricing for the new FX diesel. Prices start at £44,235 on the road for the FX 3.0d GT, going up to £50,815 on the road for the FX 3.0d S Premium. Orders for the FX diesel are open now.

 

SKODA – There will be a new Greenline variant introduced to the recently facelifted Fabia Estate and Roomster ranges. The Greenline II will be available with a new 1.2 TDI CR 75ps start/stop diesel engine that boasts CO2 figures of 89g/km (Fabia) and 109g/km (Roomster). Fuel consumption is expected to be 83.1 MPG for the Fabia and 67.3 MPG for the Roomster.

 

First driving impressions – Saab 95 – Trollhattan, Sweden

 

We went up to the factory in Sweden to have a first drive in the...

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By Martin Ward on Wednesday, May 05, 2010

This week’s manufacturer news

 

AUDI – Has announced the introduction of the R8 GT. It will use the V10 FSI engine from the existing model but with an increased output of 560ps and a 0-62 time of 3.6 seconds. It is 100kg lighter than the standard R8 and has a top speed of 199mph, making it the fastest Audi road car ever produced. Priced at £142,585 on the road, the R8 GT opens for ordering this summer, with first deliveries expected in spring 2011.

 

FIAT – Has announced the introduction of a new 500 special show car called the 500 thousandth, which celebrates the production of 500,000 Fiat 500 models. Fiat 500 users, and anyone who has a specific connection with the...

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By Martin Ward on Wednesday, April 28, 2010

This week’s manufacturer news

 

VAUXHALL – Has announced that the first pre-production Ampera has rolled off the assembly line. The Ampera is an electric vehicle with an engine generator which is capable of travelling up to forty miles on electric power. The engine generator kicks in when the battery starts to run low, allowing the vehicle to have a range of up to three hundred miles. The first Ampera is due to arrive in UK showrooms in early 2012.

 

VOLKSWAGEN – The new Phaeton has been unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show. The newly revised design comprises of a reprofiled bonnet, new front and rear lights, new front grille, new front and rear bumpers and new front wings. It is...

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