3/16/2015
body style, facelift, new design, new model, Scirocco, scirocco sport, Široko, sport coupe, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Scirocco, VW, VW SCIROCCO
2014 brought a facelift for the Volkswagen Scirocco, six years after the launch of the third-generation model.
An all-new Scirocco is expected in 2017 at the earliest, and reports so far are pointing towards a change of recipe, with the next-generation Scirocco tipped to migrate from the shooting brake shape towards a full-fledged sports coupe body style.
However, Photoshop manipulator X-Tomi has imagined the next-generation Scirocco as an evolution of the current model, applying styling cues from VW’s current arsenal (the Passat headlights being the most obvious) on the shooting brake body.
Honestly, it looks more like a facelift than an all-new model, but the same can be said about many of VW’s launches from recent years...
The next-generation VW Scirocco will continue to be based on the Golf platform, but unlike the current model, it will benefit from the modern MQB architecture. This should make it lighter by about 100 kg (220 lbs) – combine that with more powerful engines and the upcoming Scirocco promises to be more exciting than ever.
Renderings courtesy of X-Tomi Design
3/16/2015
americans, black mustang, China, chinese, Europe, europeans, Ford, Ford Mustang, like, Mustang, red mustang, shelbygt, sjelby
Now that the all-new Ford Mustang is officially on sale in North America and Asia and will soon arrive in Europe for the first time, the automaker has released preliminary data showing which colors are preferred by customers and enthusiasts worldwide for the iconic pony car.
It turns out that red and black are the most popular exterior colors for the 2015 Mustang, with red taking No. 1 spot in Europe and China, while the US prefers black – despite the fact that the most popular color overall for automobiles stateside is white.
In Europe, Race Red and Absolute Black each were preferred by 20 percent of site visitors, according to configurator data. European pony car enthusiasts have configured online approximately 1.1 million Mustangs.
In China, nearly 35 percent of Mustang orders are for Race Red, followed by Oxford White with 20 percent and black at just under 20 percent. More than 18,000 consumers in China signed up to take all-new Mustang for a test drive. More than 5 million Chinese consumers visited the local Ford website to learn more about the Mustang, and awareness for the sports car is said to be growing: one in 12 Chinese consumers are aware of the model.
The new Mustang reached dealer lots in the United States late last year and China in early 2015. It will go on sale in Europe this summer. In the US, Mustang sales rose 32 percent in February, making it the best-selling sports car in the country.
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Porsche is about to add a 7th model to its line-up, with the final decision to be taken by the board still pending.
“In the not too distant future, we will present a seventh model line. There are already promising plans, but no board decision yet”, Matthias Mueller, CEO of Porsche, said at Porsche’s annual press conference.
Porsche didn’t go into details though about what kind of model is under development. During the past months, several rumors have emerged talking about an mid-engined supercar, slotted between the 911 and the 918 to rival the likes of Ferrari and Mclaren, a smaller than the Panamera four-door or a shooting brake variant of the next Panamera. But the most intriguing one is about an all-electric model.
We can only speculate about this new model might be, but if you read carefully VW Group’s latest movements and follow the facts so far, it makes good sense if Porsche is indeed preparing an electric model. After the reveal of the electric R8 e-Tron and after the news that Audi is preparing an electric crossover (and not a sedan as they implied at first), an all-electric sedan from Porsche to take on Tesla’s Model S sounds nothing like a bad idea.
Porsche is enjoying one of the largest profit margins in the industry, even though it reduced from 18% to 15.8% last year, mostly due to the Macan and the cost of adding it in the line-up.
Porsche’s focus will remain in handling and powertrains, making clear that is not interested in offering the latest in in-car connectivity and automated driving. According to Mueller, Porsche’s clients “don’t want a smartphone on four wheels or the biggest touchscreen in the center console. At Porsche there’s no room for window dressing.”
Note: Future 928 Rendering and Sport Turismo concept pictured
The folks over at Galpin Auto Sports call this the "Ultimate American Muscle Car" and judging by both specs as well as looks, holy cow, they might be right!
The Rocket, co-designed by Galpin and Henrik Fisker, was first unveiled in concept form at the 2014 LA Auto Show, where it pretty much won us over thanks to its overly aggressive looks and 725 HP supercharged V8 unit.
Fisker was quoted back then saying that he was inspired by 60's American muscle cars, specifically the 68 Shelby GT500 and its long hood and huge air intakes.
Luckily, he was able to replicate that dramatic look, and now we have this, the first production Rocket to stare at. Fittingly, it's wearing gloss black and subtle racing stripes so as not to upset the dark theme which follows through to the 21" 10 spoke ADV.1 wheels.
Its carbon fiber body was constructed by GFMI Metalcrafters, while its Cat-Black exhaust system with quad tips comes from Bassani Xhaust. The hexagonal grille at the front does look a little Jaguar-ish but we're not going to take away any points for that.
Meanwhile, other styling changes include the new front bumper, new hood, extended rear wheel arches, bootlid lip spoiler, a new rear bumper and a Gran Turismo brake package from Brembo.
You can have yours in either Black, Ingot Silver, Magnetic, Oxford White, Race Red, Deep Impact Blue or Competition Orange - or basically 7 of the 10 available factory Mustang colors.
Naturally, with all that power, comes stiffer responsibility, and so the Rocket also features a custom suspension setup which you'd definitely need in order to keep this thing in check.
As for straight line performance, no official numbers yet, but there are those who estimate (unofficially) that the Rocket will reach 60 mph (96km/h) in 3.5 seconds, followed by a top speed of 186 mph (300 km/h) - which doesn't sound right to us. It should be a lot faster than that.
Oh and also, it's hard to decide which looks better, the production Rocket or the silver prototype sitting next to it. So let's call it a tie.
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Europe has an all-new VW Passat, but North America will have to wait a while until the next-generation model arrives. However, the US-spec Passat will go through a significant refresh for the 2016 model year.
According to previous reports, VW is preparing some consistent styling tweaks, more dramatic than the brand’s usual makeovers. But the facelift will bring more than just cosmetic changes, with the North American VW Passat also getting new features and driver’s assistance systems.
Photoshop ace Remco Meulendijk tried to imagine the Passat’s makeover with two renderings that give the car new LED headlights and taillights in tune with VW’s latest models, as well as restyled bumpers, grille and fog lights.
I don’t know about you, but for me this is exactly the type of facelift I would expect from VW. Let’s just hope changes will be more significant than that...
March 12 was a very special day in the Czech Republic, as the first ever 3rd gen Skoda Superb rolled off the line at the Skoda plant in Kvasiny.
This model is wearing 'Business Grey' and it looks like it's on its way to a very proud and tasteful owner. Or at least we hope that's the case. By the looks of it, it's definitely not an entry-level model, its steering wheel is on the proper side and we're also very fond of the wheel design.
Luckily, the Kvasiny production facilities have already been modernized in preparation for the production of the new Superb. A new "Body Production" facility was also put into operation, while other production buildings and production areas were simply expanded.
The new body facility alone cost Skoda 1.7 billion Czech Koruna which is a little over $66 million - but it was clearly an investment they had to make.
Skoda seems to think that the new Superb is (already) setting the standard in the mid-class segment. We'd love it if that was the case, which is why we're glad that we can't argue against them, at least not yet.
We like its looks and all its new tech, and we're sure it's going to do great on the European market.
Audi will debut the successor to today's A8 luxury saloon in 2017 and it will be the brand's first car to make the transition from assisted to piloted-driving adopting tech previewed on the RS7 Piloted Driving Concept.
According to Audi research and development boss, Ulrich Hackenberg, the next A8 will have the traffic-jam pilot on board, which when activated, takes over longitudinal and lateral guidance when it detects a traffic jam on a highway at speeds between 0 and 60 km/h (37 mph), as well as piloted parking, which in recent concepts, allows the car to park by itself while owners stand by.
Hackenberg did not elaborate on how these two systems will work on the production A8.
"The prerequisites for piloted driving are radar, laser and ultrasound sensors as well as cameras in and at the outside of the car," said Hackenberg. "This is how we generate a precise picture of the traffic situation. We therefore create a stable, redundant system that masters all situations in road traffic.
"We are already testing piloted driving in Germany, the United States and Asia," he added. "In this way, we are learning a lot about the behavior of our cars, our drivers and other road users in real road traffic."
Hackenberg also revealed that next A8 will be the first production to fully incorporate the design language of the Prologue Coupe and Avant Concepts, which he described as "muscular and athletic and at the same time flowing and elegant". Both studies are the work of Audi's new Head of Design, Marc Lichte, who assumed this position in February of 2014.
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