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Aston Martin Racing Unveils New Le Mans Prototype Racer
Meet the 2011 Aston Martin AMR-One race car: the new prototype race car designed for the Le Mans LMP1-spec class, with snazzy Gulf livery, a (very British) 007 racing number, and a 2.0-liter inline-six engine. Wait, the mighty race car has an engine half the size of a DB9? Well, yes, somehow. Le Mans regulations for…
MINI Rocketman Video: First Look at 94-MPG City Car Concept
Looking to return to its roots in a high-tech way, the brand famous for thinking small has unveiled a new more-mini MINI at the Geneva Auto Show. Called the Rocketman concept, this isn’t a production car and it’s easy to see why, with a state-of-the-art carbon fiber spaceframe that allows it to be incredibly light…
Geneva 2011: Aston Martin Vantage S Shows There’s Always Room for Improvement
Faster? Sure. But better looking? Well, they’ve done it. The team at Aston Martin has beefed-up and beautified an already incredible car, turning the Vantage into the Vantage S. On display at the Geneva Auto Show for the first time ever, the Vantage S gets a revised front fascia with an even larger front air…
Geneva 2011: MINI Cooper SD Burns The Midnight Oil
Diesel hot hatches have always been a bit of an oddity – one would think that a big, heavy diesel engine would throw off the superb balance and lightweight that are the hallmarks of most front-wheel-drive hot hatchbacks, but the MINI Cooper SD is one diesel hot hatch that deserves the benefit of the doubt…
Geneva 2011: Rolls-Royce 102EX Makes Sure The Only Sound You Hear Is The Electric Motor
Rolls-Royce used to sell its cars with a tagline that bragged about the lack of cabin noise, with only the ticking of the in-cabin clock to be heard during your ride. Now, that tagline is somewhat moot, as the all-electric 102EX, unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show, is for all intents and purposes silent thanks…
Geneva 2011: Lotus Elise Club Racer Gets Smaller Engine, Lower Curb Weight
With the Lotus Elise now offered exclusively in Europe with a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder rather than the old 1.8-liter mill, it only makes sense that the limited edition Club Racer mode would follow suit. Power is rated at 134-hp and 118 lb-ft, although an optional Club Racer Power Pack (off-road use only) ups those numbers to…
Geneva 2011: Lotus Evora Enduro Concept Previews Future GT2 Race Car
Lotus continues to push ahead with its motorsports programs, unveiling at the Geneva Auto Show the Evora Enduro Concept that will form the basis of the British sports car maker’s GT2 race cars. Very much a test mule for those future cars, Lotus plans to develop this platform for competition by (what else?) using it…
Geneva 2011: Jaguar XKR-S World Premiere, Baby Blue Never Looked so Mean
Calling it “the fastest and most powerful car that Jaguar has ever built”, Global Band Director Adrian Hallmark extolled the powerful coupe’s virtues even further during its debut at the Geneva Auto Show today. “It is the most agile and most responsive, but” he paused, “it is still a GT.” Designed to perform like a…
Geneva 2011: Diesel Plug-In Hybrid Range_e Range Rover Coming in 2013
Debuting for the first time at the Geneva Auto Show, the Land Rover Range_e Range Rover is a plug-in hybrid concept based on the popular luxury SUV. Making use of both a hybrid powertrain and a 3.0-liter diesel V6, Land Rover Global Brand Director John Edwards has confirmed the Range_e will see production in the…
Geneva 2011: MINI Rocketman Returns To Roots With Smaller Hatchback
If you’ve ever seen an original Mini (which may be unlikely if you live in North America) you might find it hard to wrap your head around just how small the car really is. The current MINI Cooper, while small by our standards, absolutely dwarfs the original car, but MINI’s new Rocketman concept should set…
Geneva 2011: Bentley Continental Supersports Ice Speed Record Debuts
As if Bentley needed yet another excuse to launch a special edition of their Continental GT line, the Continental Supersports Ice Speed Record edition will debut at the 2011 Geneva Auto Show. The model, released in a 100 unit production run, will commemorate Finnish rally hero Juha Kankkunen’s record setting 202 mph blast on ice…
Geneva 2011: Aston Martin Virage Revealed in All its Shiny Copper Beauty
Caught on display a day ahead of its official reveal at the Geneva Auto Show, you might need to take a second look to realize this is in fact an all-new Aston Martin. Called the Virage, it’s remarkable similar to the DB9 and DBS, which comes as little surprise as it sits between the two…
Jaguar B99 Concept by Bertone Previews 3 Series Rival [Geneva Preview]
It may look long and sleek like a full sized luxury saloon, but that is just a part of this concept car’s appeal. Stretching no further than the length of a BMW 3 Series, the Jaguar B99 Concept by design-house Bertone is believed to be a glimpse at what Jaguar is planning as a successor…
2011 MINI Cooper S Models Get JCW Tuning Kit Upgrade Package [Geneva Preview]
As part of MINI‘s 2011 Cooper lineup and debuts at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, an announcement has been made that a John Cooper Works Tuning Kit will be available for the MINI Cooper S, MINI Cooper S Clubman and MINI Cooper S Convertible. The tuning kit will raise horsepower to 200-hp and torque to…
MG Returns to Rule Britannia
Consider this little disappearance an “extended vacation.” After shutting down operations in Longbridge back in 2005, MG has now returned to the UK, by way of China, with the British-built MG 6. MG Rover imploded in spectacular fashion back in 2005, but since then they have been hiding out in China. Owned by Nanjing Automobile…
Aston Martin Mulling Six-Cylinder Engines, the Return of the DB7?
With the debut of the Virage, yet another V12-powered luxury exotic this week, it appears as though Aston Martin might actually be making plans for non-V12-powered cars. And no, we’re not talking about V8s, like the Vantage, but a return to the straight-six. According to PistonHeads.com, Dr. Ulrich Bez, the top man at Aston, commented…
Aston Martin Virage: New V12 Exotic Brings Aston Lineup to Five Models [Geneva Preview]
The global economy must be back on track, because Aston Martin has just released a new model in what seems like an already crowded segment. Likely in response to a growing threat from Bentley, the new Virage slots in Aston’s lineup between the DB9 and the ultra-exotic DBS. Power comes from (what else?) the very…
MINI Rocketman Concept: Carbon Spaceframe City Car Gets 94-MPG [Geneva Preview]
When the new MINI Cooper debuted back in 2001, it was impossible not to note how much larger the car was than its classic predecessor. The less-than-mini size of the vehicle is even more obvious in Europe, where the majority of cars on the road share roughly the same dimensions. It comes as little surprise…
Jaguar Land Rover Consider Chinese Manufacturing Partnership
Jaguar and Land Rover are in talks with Chinese carmaker Great Wall over a potential manufacturing partnership in China, according to two executives from Great Wall. While nothing is certain at this stage, what’s clear is that Jaguar and Land Rover are two internationally-recognized brands that do not have any manufacturing presence in China, one…
MINI Rocketman Tipped as Name of New 80-MPG Carbon Spaceframe City Car
MINI‘s rumored city car, set to debut at the Geneva Auto Show, now has a name. According to reports, the more mini MINI will be called the Rocketman and will make use of parent company BMW’s carbon fiber investments to showcase an entirely carbon fiber spaceframe chassis. This should give it an incredibly low curb…
MINI City Car Concept to Bow at Geneva Auto Show
MINI will unveil a new city-car concept at the Geneva Auto Show next week as it continues to study the possibility of a smaller model to sit below the Cooper hard-top in the current lineup. According to reports, the car will be a 3 +1 layout, along the lines of the Toyota iQ and will…
Rolls-Royce 102EX Electric Car Concept to Debut at Geneva Auto Show
Rolls-Royce will take a big step towards bringing to market an electric vehicle, debuting an electric version of its flagship Phantom model at the Geneva Auto Show in just over a weeks time. Rolls has announced it will debut the car, known as either the 102 EX or Phantom Experimental Electric (EE), and then take…
Lotus Elise Club Racer Revealed With Less Weight, New 1.6L Engine [Geneva Preview]
Due to increasingly strict fuel economy standards, Lotus was forced to scrap its 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine for the Elise and Exige in Europe. The good news is that the smaller 1.6-liter engine now in use helps cut a little more weight from the car, dropping it down to just 1,931 lbs. For years Lotus has…
Bentley Planning 5-Door Coupe, SUV and Entry-Level Grand Tourer
Bentley has bold plans to expand its vehicle range in the future, adding three all new models to its lineup. The green light hasn’t been given to any new products yet, but according to a report by AutoCar, Bentley’s new CEO (and the former head of R&D at Porsche) has indicated the three new products…
