TopSpeed Daily Update |  |
- A Look Ahead: The BMW i8 has the Potential to be a Flop
- Qoros C11
- All-electric Le Mans Prototype sets new record at Goodwood
- Ferrari F12 Berlinetta
- Volkswagen's Takeover of Porsche is Complete
- Chevrolet Camaro by Nelson Super Cars
- Chevy Exiting the WTC Championship After 2012
- Mazda MX-5
- Chevrolet Deluxe
- Infiniti M35h GT
| A Look Ahead: The BMW i8 has the Potential to be a Flop Posted: 05 Jul 2012 09:00 AM PDT
  We absolutely love the BMW i8, we really do, and we are excited to see exactly what BMW brings to showrooms with its anticipated 2013 release. As we sit back and ponder a little bit more about the i8, we begin to notice that the i8 has a pretty good chance of being an absolute flop. Now, before you BMW enthusiasts start picketing in front of the TopSpeed offices, hear us out, and understand that we are just saying there's a possibility. So BMW is touting around the 350 to 400 combined horsepower in the i8, but we often glance right past that "combined" word and only see the total output. In reality, the i8 only boasts about 220 ponies and 221 pound-feet of torque from its gasoline power plant. The remaining power comes from the two electric motors powering the front wheels. In addition, this combination is what allows the i8 to hit 60 mph in sub-5-second times. From what we are told by BMW, the i8 can run on electric power only for about 20 miles and the electric motors are battery powered, which gains no regenerative power from the 3-pot engine in the rear. So once the batteries die, you're stuck piloting this likely heavy car with only 220 ponies. This becomes even more of an issue, as BMW has kept rather mum on the topic of how far the car will actually go on the combined gas-electric power. If the batteries discharge, you are not going to sniff a 5-second 0 to 60 time, as a lot of the torque responsible for such lightning-fast acceleration is provided by these electric motors. Sans those electric aids, you are likely looking at a 8- or 9-second sprint to 60 mph, which is rather disappointing in a car that is certain to crest to $100K mark when it hits showrooms. Again, this is purely just a look ahead at what could potentially make the i8 a bust. We certainly hope that BMW has figured out a way to prevent this from happening. A Look Ahead: The BMW i8 has the Potential to be a Flop originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 5 July 2012 16:00 EST.
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| Posted: 05 Jul 2012 08:00 AM PDT
Qoros Auto is a young car company co-owned by Chinese Chery Automobile and Israeli Israel Corporation. It may not ring a bell in terms of its automotive designs, but its Vice Chairman is former Volkswagen AG Executive Volker Steinwascher and its Chief Designer is ex Mini Design Director Gert Hildebrand, so that’s a good start. Steinwascher has promised that Qoros cars will "combine German design quality and craftsmanship with Japanese convenience and functionality." Their first sedan, internally known as the C11, was taken out for some testing sessions in South Europe for the first time and our spy photographers were there to shed some light on this otherwise dark project. These images show that the future Qoros C11 will be about 4.6 meters long and will take on models like the Volkswagen Jetta. It will be powered by a 1.6 turbo engine delivered from Chery and will be connected to either a six-speed manual or a 6-speed DCT. The C11 will be followed by three other models - hatchback, crossover, and SUV - and all four models will also be available in Europe. The new C11 is expected to be unveiled sometime in 2013. Qoros C11 originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 5 July 2012 15:00 EST.
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| All-electric Le Mans Prototype sets new record at Goodwood Posted: 05 Jul 2012 07:00 AM PDT
Nissan wasn’t the only one to establish a world record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, even though theirs was probably the strangest: they drove the entire 1-mile Goodwood hill in reverse. A British racing team called Drayson Racing - don’t worry if you’ve never heard about them, we hadn’t either - managed to create an all-electric Le Mans Prototype that became the fastest electric car at Goodwood using the two years of experience the company has had at the Le Mans series. Called the B12/69EV, this electric prototype was built on a Lola racing chassis and is powered by a pair of electric motors that develop an impressive 850 HP. With this amount of power, the car ran the 1.16-mile hill climb in an impressive 53.53 seconds. smashing the previous times established by both the Nissan Leaf NISMO RC - 60.18-second - and the Tesla Roadster - 58.77 seconds. Hit the jump for a video of the record. All-electric Le Mans Prototype sets new record at Goodwood originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 5 July 2012 14:00 EST.
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| Posted: 05 Jul 2012 06:00 AM PDT
Ferrari has just dropped the first official details on the replacement 599. Up until now, the vehicle has been dubbed the F620 GT, but its official name is the F12berlinetta. The best part is that it is the most powerful high-performance Ferrari road car ever launched. The new F12berlinetta was designed by the Ferrari Styling Center in cooperation with Pininfarina. It is said to be "a perfect balance of uncompromising aerodynamics with harmonious proportions interpreting the typical elements of Ferrari's front-engined V12 cars in an original and innovative way." The F12 Berlinetta is powered by a V12 engine with an impressive output of 740 HP - an increase of 120 HP over the previous 599 GTB Fiorano. This increase in power also comes with a decrease of fuel consumption, specifically a 30% reduction. With a total weight of just 3362 lbs, the F12berlinetta will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.1 seconds, while top speed goes up to over 211 mph. Ferrari has also announced that the new model lapped the Fiorano circuit in 1:23, faster than any other Ferrari road car. UPDATE 02/29/2012: Just a few hours after its official debut, Ferrari has unveiled an online configurator for the new F12 Berlinetta. So, go online and start playing with the colors. UPDATE 07/05/2012: You want some important 4th of July news from Ferrari? Well, here it is: the Italian automaker has released the official price for the F1 Berlinetta at €274,000, which is around $343,385 based on current exchange rates. Hit the jump to read more about the new Ferrari F12berlinetta. Ferrari F12 Berlinetta originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 5 July 2012 13:00 EST.
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| Volkswagen's Takeover of Porsche is Complete Posted: 05 Jul 2012 05:00 AM PDT
For the most part, business deals are massaged with care and come together with relative ease and little drama. We guess the Germans must do things a little differently, as the VW takeover of Porsche was anything but easy and drama-free. In fact, it was closer to the exact opposite. Seven years ago, Porsche was sitting pretty and decided it wanted to expand, but bit off way more than it could chew when it tried to buy out Volkswagen. This attempted takeover split Porsche's ownership group and eventually resulted in Porsche falling into extreme debt and abandoning the takeover plan. In 2009, the script flipped and VW ended up indirectly owning 49.9 percent of Porsche and striking an agreement in 2009 to buy up the remaining 50.1 percent. That agreement turned south when VW realized that the resulting tax payments for the purchase were its responsibility. Well, after some nifty dance steps with the taxman, VW managed to avoid paying taxes on the purchase and the deal was all but complete. Now we can finally announce that the deal is 100 percent complete, and VW is now the sole owner of Porsche AG. The total purchase deal is going to send €4.46 billion ($5.59 billion) and a single common share of VW stock to Porsche SE. Volkswagen plans to integrate Porsche into its automotive group on August 1, 2012. Porsche SE will also receive an additional €320 million ($401 million) in lost dividend payments and net synergies, due to the rapid integration of Porsche AG into VW's ownership group – basically VW is paying off Porsche SE to gain quicker control of its automotive group. With this, VW's impressive automotive group grows yet again. We are starting to wonder how big Volkswagen AG can really get before it's too big for its own good. Click past the jump to read the full and complicated presser from VW. Volkswagen's Takeover of Porsche is Complete originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 5 July 2012 12:00 EST.
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| Chevrolet Camaro by Nelson Super Cars Posted: 05 Jul 2012 04:00 AM PDT
As late as a decade ago, you probably would’ve wondered if there was any way that a muscle car like the Chevrolet Camaro could ever get its pony power up to four digits. But these days, it’s not a question of "if" anymore as it is "how much?" Take what Nelson Super Cars did to this 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. It’s owned by one Bruce Hanson and at first glance, it doesn’t look all that different from a stock model, but things aren’t always as clear as they seem. In order to accommodate that much power, Nelson Super Cars completely rebuilt the Camaro from the ground up, including the addition of a fiberglass hood, a roll cage, a safety net, and a slew of other safety features that’s likely required for a car carrying that much ponies under its hood. Speaking of power, Nelson Super Cars fitted the Camaro with a modified engine of sorts: a 6.4-liter twin-turbo LS3 engine that produces 1,500 horsepower. The best part of all the work done on the Camaro? It’s street-legal. Anytime you can get that much power from a muscle car like the Camaro and have it run on the road with no problems, you have to make sure that you’ve got your wits screwed on tight. Hit the jump to see a video of this 1,500 HP monster! Chevrolet Camaro by Nelson Super Cars originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 5 July 2012 11:00 EST.
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| Chevy Exiting the WTC Championship After 2012 Posted: 05 Jul 2012 03:00 AM PDT
Chevrolet popped into the FIA World Touring Car Championship in 2005 with a fully modified Lacetti and was a near immediate success. In 2008, Chevy switched over to a modified Cruze and the wins kept coming. Actually, Chevy pretty much dominated the series for eight years, taking home the checkered flag in 59 races, taking home two drivers' championships, and two constructors' championships. Despite all of its success, Chevy has chosen to end its stay in this not-so-popular racing series following the 2012 season. This comes as quite a surprise, given the fact that Chevy once again leads the drivers' championship and constructors' championship boards this year. Rarely does a manufacturer have such success in a series and chooses to pull out so sudden. A silver lining to this announcement is that it is just mid-season, so all of its drivers and other various workers can try to find work elsewhere in the series or maybe in other racing series. With all of the success it has had, we are willing to bet that all of the employees and drivers on this team will have no trouble at all finding work, and some may even move onto bigger and better things. The exact reasoning for Chevy pulling out was not given. We can connect dots pretty well and when you have a brand that is struggling to sell in Europe, despite its success in a European racing series, it is obvious that pouring money into said European racing series is throwing good money after bad. Chevy Exiting the WTC Championship After 2012 originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 5 July 2012 10:00 EST.
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| Posted: 02 Jul 2012 01:00 PM PDT
The Mazda MX-5 Miata is already undergoing a complete overhaul to enter its new generation, but the company has apparently realized the dire need for the Miata to be refreshed before it becomes completely obsolete ahead of the new generation’s debut. Thanks to a leaked Japanese brochure, we now have a few images of the 2013 MX-5 Roadster. Launched in 2005, the third generation MX-5 (NC) received its first major update in 2008. It’s barely been touched since then, but 2013 will come with a second round of updates before the car gets canned for the new generation. These leaked images reveal that the new MX-5 will receive a newly designed front bumper featuring a five-point grille with a more curved upper part, redesigned fog-lamp surrounds, and black bezels for the headlamps. Mazda will also be offering a new set of alloy wheels, plus a new choice of exterior colors. For the interior, the 2013 MX-5 will get a newly designed dashboard cowl and blacked-out instrument panel gauges. It also looks like Mazda took care of improving the safety systems as the 2013 MX-5 comes with an "active-hood" that pops up to reduce injuries in car-pedestrian accidents. More details on the 2013 Mazda MX-5 will be unveiled soon, so stay tuned! Mazda MX-5 originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 2 July 2012 20:00 EST.
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| Posted: 04 Jul 2012 11:00 PM PDT
For the most part, custom cars are a thing of beauty. This latest example offered up by RK Motorsports Charlotte is no exception to that rule. This beastly hunk of metal before you is a 1950 Chevrolet Deluxe coupe that is fully restored and customized to within an inch of its life. Front to tail, side to side, on the inside and under the hood have all been touched one way or another with the help of numerous custom car shops and custom fabricators. And it all seems to come together is absolute harmony, making a stunning looking piece. One thing that we know is that a custom car may also be very deceiving, as some people "customize" their cars to hide severe flaws, or the customization itself is severely flawed. The question begging to be answered is whether this 1950 Chevy Deluxe is the real deal or just another poorly thrown together custom rod that looks good from far away. Click past the jump to read our full review and find out. Chevrolet Deluxe originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 5 July 2012 06:00 EST.
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| Posted: 04 Jul 2012 09:00 PM PDT
Infiniti has just added a new version to its M35h line-up: the new M35h GT arrives in Infiniti dealers from July and will be priced from £41,101 - or about $65,000 at the current exchange rates. With this price the new GT model is about £3970 ($6,200) cheaper than the current Premium version. The M35h’s hybrid system combines a 3.5-liter V6 engine with a 68 HP electric motor mated to a 7-speed Adaptive Shift Control (ASC) automatic transmission. This system helps the sedan to deliver an impressive fuel economy of 29 mpg (combined). The new GT version is offered with an impressive list of standard equipments including a 16-speaker Bose® surround system, Infiniti’s latest Connectiviti+ navigation/entertainment system, semi-aniline leather seat facings, heated and ventilated front seats, bi-Xenon headlights with Adaptive Front-Lighting System (AFS), alloy wheels and White Ash wood trim finished with real silver powder. "Cost of ownership is an important consideration in any new car purchase. With the M35h GT grade it now means that the P11D values have been reduced and along with the recently improved CO2 rating there are lower bills for companies and for their drivers," said Infiniti UK Fleet Sales Manager, Simon Lewis. Infiniti M35h GT originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 5 July 2012 04:00 EST.
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