European NewsAll News
Browse by News Category
Audi’s New R8 Gets Run Out of Maranello: Video
This is the latest installment in Audi’s brilliant marketing campaign that mocks other car makers and positions the brand as an alternative to traditional luxury vehicles. For the new 525hp 5.2-liter V-10-powered R8, the setting is Maranello, Italy – the home of Ferrari. When positioning itself as a luxury brand, Audi takes on the Germans…
Future BMW 1-Series and 3-Series to Get Turbocharged 3-Cylinder and 4-Cylinder Engines
BMW has made it clear that it is working hard to deliver performance as well as fuel economy, doing away with larger displacement motors wherever possible and introducing turbocharged smaller-displacement powerplants that produce as much (or more) power. While BMW has been able to give impressive performance to sporty models like the 135 and 335…
Ferrari F450 Concept to Debut at Frankfurt Auto Show
Spy photos of Ferrari’s F430 successor have almost become common-place over the past six months and now word comes that the Italian car maker may show a concept version of the exotic at the Frankfurt Auto Show this Fall. Known internally as the F142, the F430’s successor is more commonly called the F450, as it…
Audi Adds New Fuel-Saving Technologies
To help make its goal of a 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption by 2012, Audi has just released some new technologies for its vehicles, while expanding some existing fuel-efficiency features across its product rage. Audi’s three systems, (some new and some not-so-new) include a Start-Stop manual transmission, an Energy Recovery System and what Audi…
Maserati Bringing GranTurismo Drop-Top to Market
Maserati is planning a convertible version of the GranTurismo, similar to the Alfa Romeo 8C Compitizione drop-top which is based on the same platform. It doesn’t exactly take the foresight of a Nostradamus to predict that Maserati will bring a drop-top version of the GranTurismo to market, but the gents over at Car & Driver…
Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel Could See Production
When Lotus first showed the Exige 270E Tri-Fuel at the Geneva Auto Show back in 2008 it was seen more as an engineering project than a concept car. That, however, may change. Recently the vehicle was put on display at the Shanghai Auto Show in China and interest was so high China’s Lotus distributor is…
Audi Readying RS3 and A3 Hybrid
With the new A3 due out in 2011 rumors of performance and hybrid versions of the car have already emerged. In the performance category Audi is expected to release an RS3, which will be powered by the same turbocharged five-cylinder currently found in the TT-RS. Output won’t be quite as significant, but expect lots of…
Mini GTI in the Works?
BMW is currently looking at adding three new vehicles to the Mini lineup, including an enthusiast-targeted GTI model. U.K. auto pub AutoCar is reporting that the car would be build on the new five-door Mini platform that will also underpin the company’s upcoming crossover. We’d welcome such a vehicle as Mini is already an enthusiast…
Nissan-Renault Latest Candidate to Buy Saturn
The sale of Saturn to Nissan-Renault could see cars like this Mégane Renault Sport roaming U.S. streets. The rumor mill keeps churning out new and exciting candidates interested in buying GM’s Saturn brand. The most recent speculation is that Nissan/Renault might be interested. The Wall Street Journal is reporting the Nissan-Renault interest in Saturn, while…
Chrysler Bankruptcy Filings Shed Light on Which Fiat Models Headed for U.S.
The Fiat Panda is just one of several cars that will be sold in the U.S. under the Chrysler/Fiat alliance. It will most likely be badged as a Jeep. There has been plenty of speculation as to which Fiat vehicles will make it on to North American roads as a result of the merger with…
New 2010 Mercedes E-Class $4,600 Less Than ’09 Model
Mercedes will price the all-new 2010 E-Class significantly less than the outgoing model. In fact, the 2010 E350 will retail for just under $50,000 – $49,475 to be exact. That price is $4,600 less than the ’09 E-Class. “We are continuing the strategy we started with the new C class two years ago by pricing…
Lotus Elise Purist Edition Announced
Lotus has confirmed that it will introduce a Purist Edition of the Elise for sale in the U.S. this year. The philosophy behind this new model is to bring the Elise back to what it was when it first crossed the pond and landed on U.S. shores. That means it will be a more basic…
Mercedes Working to Design Cars With 20 Percent Better Aerodynamics
Mercedes-Benz is working to bring a vehicle with a drag coefficient of just 0.20 cd to market by as early as 2015. The company has been hard at work improving the aerodynamic efficiency of its vehicles in an attempt to reduce overall fuel consumption. The 0.20 cd target might seem ambitious, were it not…
Audi R8 Roadster Rumors Resurface
The original V8-powered R8 had only been on the streets for a few days when rumors began to surface about a drop-top roadster version of the exotic Audi. Then Audi threw a curve ball with the 12-cylinder turbo-diesel R8 concept before unveiling the V10-powered monster. Now that the V10 R8 is on the streets,…
BMW X1 Caught Undisguised
BMW recently took the covers off what appears to be a production-ready version of the upcoming X1 compact crossover to make some promotional shots of the car. But the folks at BMW weren’t the only ones with a camera. One of the members of forum-auto.com snapped this picture of the entry-level luxury crossover and it…
Porsche Boxster Speedster Spied
According to a recent report in U.K. mag AutoExpress, Porsche is currently testing a special edition Boxster Speedster model. Photographers caught the car out testing and if you look closely you can see the two “speedster” humps in the bodywork, right behind the driver and passenger seats. The sleek new model is expected to debut…
Magna Emerges as Fiat Rival Over Purchase of Opel
Only yesterday it seemed as though Italian car maker Fiat was likely to purchase GM’s European Opel brand, but now a new player has emerged. Magna International, the Austrian-Canadian parts supplier to OEMs like Chrysler, Ford and Mercedes has “announced” plans to purchase a controlling share in Opel. The news didn’t come from Magna, however,…
Aston Martin One-77 Wins Prestigious Concorso d’Eleganza Design Award at Villa d’Este
Aston Martin unveiled a completed version of its One-77 supercar at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este over the weekend and those lucky enough to be there were not disappointed. The car was entered into the design contest for concept cars and prototypes and it easily took the top prize, the Concorso d’Eleganza Design Award, with more…
BMW Undercuts Mercedes and Porsche With X5 M and X6 M Pricing
Official pricing for the new BMW X5 M and X6 M has found its way onto the interwebs ahead of the official announcement by BMW. Surprisingly both models, while anything but cheap, are far less expensive than expected. We’d also wager they are less expensive than BMW could charge if it wanted to. The X5…
New Ferrari 599XX Info and Photos Released
Ferrari chose this busy automotive news day to release more info on the track-only 599xx. At least it would be new info if you missed our coverage of the U.S. debut of the supercar at the New York Auto Show. We don’t mind giving you a quick run-through of the details. Besides, it’s a great…
Secret New Volkswagen Sedan Coming in 2012
In an exclusive interview with Automotive News, Volkswagen North America CEO Stefan Jacoby let slip precious few details about the secret new sedan that is slated for production. But he did admit its existence, even saying that the final design of the vehicle had been agreed upon in just the past few weeks in Wolfsburg. Whether…
Audi Drops S8 and A8 W12 Models for 2010
Over the past two days there has been a constant stream of info coming from Audi about all sorts of changes in the product lineup for 2010. And here’s another one… the S8 is dead. That’s right, the Lamborghini V-10-powered testosterone version of the A8 is destined for the history books after 2009. In the…
Revised Porsche GT3 Runs 7:40 on Nürburgring
Porsche has announced that its new and improved GT3 ran an impressive 7:40 second lap around the Nürburgring. A company spokesman also didn’t miss out on the opportunity to reiterate Porsche’s stance that Nissan fudged the GT-R’s lap times. Andreas Preuninger, the head of High Performance Cars at Porsche, said that the time was technically…
Audi to Offer A5 With 2.0 TFSI Engine
We reported earlier today that Audi has cut the 3.2-liter V6 engine from much of its lineup and now it seems the company is expanding the use of the impressive 2.0 TFSI engine. Starting this summer Audi will offer the A5 with the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder powerplant. Output will be rated at 211hp and 258…
