Mercedes-Benz GLA Crossover

The star of Mercedes-Benz's Auto China 2013 in Shanghai, the new GLA Concept, was officially unveiled today, following a premature release of photos and initial information on Wednesday.
It represents Stuttgart's vision of a compact off-roader built on the underpinnings of its A-Class hatchback to compete against the BMW X1 and Audi Q3, with the company's CEO Dieter Zetsche having already confirmed that the production model will be released in a few months' time at the 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show in September before it goes on sale next year.

"The Concept GLA marks a new approach for us in the compact SUV segment – this is a sporty and more coupé-like evolution of this category of vehicle," commented Mercedes Cars Executive Vice President, Joachim Schmidt. "The Concept GLA is a compact SUV that combines its sporting spirit with the all-round qualities of a tough, leisure-time companion. 'Escape the everyday' is the message that this car conveys to its driver," he added.

Riding on the same front- and all-wheel drive MFA architecture as the A-Class hatch and CLA compact premium sedan, the GLA is 4.38 meters (172.4 inches) long, 1.97 meters (77.6 inches) wide and 1.57 meters (61.8 inches) tall, with a 2,690mm (105.9 inches) wheelbase.

The overall sense we get from the study is that of a beefed up A-Class hatch with plenty of SUV references like the roof rails and metal skid plates under the bumpers, a more blunt front end, and more muscular fenders. The same applies to the interior, where with the exception of the use of more flashy materials and trims, the only other significant difference over the hatch is the newly styled instrument panel. As one would expect, both the exterior and interior styling of the car will be toned down a notch or two when it enters the production phase.

As a concept, the GLA also introduces a raft of features that we won't be seeing on the showroom floor model, including the laser-beam projectors encompassed in the headlamps, which not only provide the light to drive by, but as pointed out by Mercedes, "are also capable of projecting pictures or films onto a screen or other surface".

For its motivation, the GLA borrows the A250's 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine that’s good for 208hp (211PS), paired to a seven-speed dual-clutch 7G-DCT transmission and 4MATIC all-wheel drive. Naturally, the production GLA will offer more engine and transmission choices (both diesel and petrol), with the range to be topped off by the GLA 45 AMG producing well over 300 horses.

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VW CrossBlue Coupe Concept

The CrossBlue Coupe is longer, wider and less tall than VW’s Touareg, measuring 4.89 meters in length, 2.01 meters in width and 1.68 meters in height. Also, with 0-100 km/h (0-62mph) coming up in 5.9 seconds and a top speed of 235 km/h (147 mph) it’s no slouch, thanks to its “Twin Drive” powertrain.

It has a peak power output of 409HP /415PS, sent to all four wheels through a six-speed DSG dual-clutch transmission. The main part of the power is provided by a 291HP / 295PS three-liter turbocharged gasoline-fed V6, while electric motors mounted on the front and rear axles add the difference.

They draw their juice from a nine kWh battery pack, which is good for an all-electric range of 33 km (~ 20 miles). EV mode can be maintained up to a speed 120 km/h (75 mph), so highway cruising sans using petrol is a possibility.

The main benefit of the hybrid system is, of course, the extra efficiency, and VW claims the concept is good for 6.9 l/100 km/h (40.9 mpg UK / 34.1 mpg US) without the aid of the electric motors, and with them working as they should, that can be boosted to as low/high as 3.0 l/100km, which equates to 79 mpg US or 94.1 mpg UK. This means that with the 80-liter fuel tank brimmed, a range of around 1,200 km (~745 miles) can be achieved.

Volkswagen says the concept has “five comfortable seats”, which are upholstered in Nappa leather. The people behind this interior really deserve credit, because despite looking like something you would expect to see in a concept, it appears to be fully-functional, with all the controls you’d expect to find. Judging by the way it looks and how it appears to be put together, it could make it into production in this form – it even has two cup holders in the center console, and a cubby space right next to them.

Aside from the unavoidable speculation, it gets a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system, and an even bigger 12.3-inch “cockpit display” – the digital gauge cluster. Also, in a similar manner to the Tesla Model S, all buttons aside for the hazard lights have been turned into touch-sensitive panels. Oh, and it gets two iPads, mounted on each of the front seats’

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2013 Buick Riviera Concept Coupe

While that study never materialized into a production car, GM's Shanghai GM and Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) joint ventures are giving the project a fresh try with a new concept at this weekend's 2013 Shanghai motor show.

"The new Riviera offers a preview of Buick’s future design language," said Shanghai GM President Ye Yongming. "By seamlessly integrating advanced technologies, flexible functions and contemporary aesthetics, the new Riviera heralds the start of a new chapter for the 110-year-old Buick brand."

Buick says the new Riviera coupe concept's styling took inspiration from the Chinese saying, "The greatest good is like water", with a sweeping design and flowing lines, though, we should note that it doesn't look like a great departure from the original 2007 study.

The new interpretation of the Riviera luxury coupe adopts GM's all-new, dual-mode W-PHEV (wireless plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) propulsion system, allowing the driver to use the car on battery-power alone or in hybrid mode.

Other highlights include the ability to charge the batteries through a traditional cable or wirelessly via a sensory recharge panel on the car's chassis, four-wheel steering, an electromagnetic-controlled suspension and an air spring package.

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Volvo S60 Polestar Enters Limited Production

Truth to be said, last year's S60 Polestar Performance Concept was a big success in terms of publicity for Volvo, with the one-off, 508-horsepower-strong sports sedan turning many heads towards the Swedish carmaker. To refresh your memory, said saloon was sold to an unnamed American collector for $300,000 or about €228,500 at today's exchange rates.
At the time, both Volvo and its official racing and performance partner Polestar had said that they were considering a limited production run of the car. To some extent, the two companies have made that happen.

We say "to some extent" because the limited production S60 Polestar does not have all the performance goods or the 508-horses of the concept, and for the time being, the 345hp (350PS) model will be offered exclusively for the Australian market. However, Volvo said that the new S60 Polestar was developed as a pilot project and that further markets "are under investigation" pending the response of the Australian launch.

"We received a fantastic response to our Volvo C30 and S60 Polestar concept cars, so we are very happy to now introduce our first production car to the Australian market," said Christian Dahl, Managing Director of Polestar. "This is an important step forward for Polestar, one that promises an exciting future."

What Volvo and Polestar did with the new car is take the standard S60 T6 R-Design and upgrade it with select parts from the S60 Polestar Performance Concept such as dampers from Öhlins, high capacity brakes, while also tweaking the car's aerodynamics with new kit including a front splitter, rear wing and diffuser.

Under the hood, the 3.0-liter six-cylinder turbo-charged T6 engine gains a bigger turbo, new intercooler, revised engine mapping and racing exhaust to lift output to 345hp (350PS / 257kW) and more than 500+Nm (369+lb-ft) of peak torque.

A tuned six-speed automatic gearbox transfers power to the road through an all-wheel drive system featuring modified software for more rear torque. Volvo says that the weight remains unchanged over the standard S60 T6 R-Design at 1,684 kg (4,176 pounds).

The S60 Polestar goes from 0 to 100km/h (62mph) in 4.9 seconds and has a limited top speed of 250km/h (155mph).

"The Volvo S60 Polestar is a car that we are truly proud of, our first step to a production car available to the customers," said Robert Dahlgren, Volvo Polestar Racing driver.

"We have taken the best bits of the standard S60 T6 and our S60 Polestar Concept Car, creating a vehicle that puts a smile on your face when you drive it over your favourite twisty road. At the same time, it is more than capable of everyday driving, too," he added.

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