Why does Europe get to keep all the hot hatches? After we brought you a preview of the new Honda Civic hatchback last week, we now get a glimpse at the next Ford Ka ST. Based on the 2009 Ka, the ST version will be revealed in 2010. The ST should face some stiff competition from cars like Abarth 500 and Renaultsport Twingo 133.
The Ka ST will feature a bodykit with flared wheelarches and sporty front and rear bumpers. Its dynamic aspect will be accentuated by the by the racing stripes and the multi-spoke alloy wheels, side skirts and a venturi-style rear end, completed with twin exhausts.
Under the hood there will be a 1.4-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine that delivers 135bhp. The 0 to 60 mph sprint will be made in 8 seconds while top speed will be around 125mph.
Mugen, Honda’s tuning partner, unveiled at the Moscow Motor Show its take on the Civic 5D. Even if we don’t have any details about its specifications, you can see that the Civic 5D MUGEN concept features new front and rear bumpers, side skirts, hood and a new rear wing.
Stay tuned for more details.
The second Ibiza version launched this week by Seat is Ecomotive, the most ecological car of its segment (CO2 emission is just 99 g/km). Official debut will be made at the Paris Auto Show.
Available in both the 5-door and SportCoupé versions, the Ibiza Ecomotive is equipped with a three cylinder 80 hp 1.4 TDI with DPF particulate filter which not only allows the engine to reduce emissions under the 100 g/km mark, but also reduces fuel consumption.
Press release after the jump.
>> read 
Seat today unveiled first images and details on the 2009 Ibiza Cupra. The car debuts the brand new 1.4 TSI engine that delivers 180 hp and is mated to a seven speed DSG gearbox with steering wheel shift-paddles. Although Seat is not available in the U.S., it nice to keep tabs on what the Volkswagen group is putting together.
The new Ibiza CUPRA features an exclusive design with a spectacular front end where the “Arrow Design” concept lends maximum expressivity, especially due to the newly designed bumper, featuring the air intake vents surrounding the central grille, and the overall athletic looks, with its outstanding 17” alloy wheels, prominent shoulders that house the rear lights, and the newly designed, centrally placed trapezoid tailpipe.
Press release after the jump.
>> read 2009 Seat Ibiza Cupra Picture Gallery
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Although the sixth generation of the VW Golf was unveiled, this didn’t stop JMS Racelook from presenting its body kit for the popular Golf V. The new body kit consists in a front bumper (priced at €400 or $590) with 3 big intake vents, new side skirts featuring air ducts on the end and a new rear apron with or without any exhaust system cutout.
JMS delivers also a new exhaust system with left and right 90 millimeter tips at a price of €509 or $750. Also, new Eta Beta 8×19’’ alloy wheels are available fitted with 225/35R19 tires.
After unveiling the sixth generation Golf, Volkswagen is now testing the GTI version that is set to be revealed in at the Paris Motor Show in October.
The Golf GTI will be powered by an evolution of the current 2.0-liter turbocharged TFSI engine producing 211bhp. There will be a choice of gearboxes: a six speed manual or a new seven-speed sequential. Three and five-door versions are in the pipeline—we’re showing you a rendering of the three-door with a possible bodykit.
Volkswagen will put in the next GTI the same active suspension system that debuted in the latest Scirocco, a system that adjusts damper stiffness, increasing it to improve agility or reducing it to boost refinement.
2009 Volkswagen Golf VI
Here’s another hatch that Europe gets to tease the U.S. with. Renault has not been bringing cars to the United States for almost 20 years now. In that time they’ve put out some cars we may wish we’d had, including this new Renault Sport Twingo. The new car is based on the everyday Twingo, but it is given a 1.6-liter engine that puts out 133 horsepower. That kind of power in a tiny car combined with a sport chassis can make for a cool little car. If the car were sold here, the current exchange rate would put the price at around $23,000.
Enjoy some video of performance driver training given by Renault. The French company offers a training school for new owners for the reasonable price of €1.
Press release after the jump.
>> read Renault Sport Twingo Picture Gallery
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Since 2004, General Motors has sold this version of the Astra around the world through different companies like Opel, Vauxhall and Holden. Last year Saturn got its own version of the world car. For 2009 the Astra gets updated to keep it in line with its foreign cousins.
The Saturn Astra is offered in three-door and five-door models, each featuring a taut, European derived suspension that delivers a sharp, responsive driving experience. Power comes from a 1.8L, 138 hp four-cylinder engine, and highway fuel economy for the manual transmission-equipped Astra is rated at 32 mpg; 30 for Astras with the available automatic.
The Saturn Astra comes in two trim levels (XE and XR) for five-door models, and a single trim (XR) in the three-door configuration.
Press release after the jump.<
>> read
2009 Saturn Astra Picture Gallery
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Ka, Ford Ka. Inserting a car into a movie is nothing new. One of the best examples is if it wasn’t for Dustin Hoffman running around California in his Spider for the movie “The Graduate”, Alfa Romeo may have not existed very long in the U.S. at all. A lesser example is the new Mondeo’s warm reception it got in the last James Bond film “Casino Royale”. But the film gave Ford some great buzz about the new family sedan, so now it’s trying it again, this time with the budget-minded Ka. But Bond’s ego can’t fit in the little car so it will be given to his female friend.
So far there have been no announced plans to bring the Ka to the U.S. Possibly if the Ka gets real interest from American moviegoers, then it might become part of the other European models Ford will offer in the USA. For the new movie “The Quantum of Solace”, Ford has assembled a new Ka that is unique with metallic gold paint and an exclusive exterior graphics and interior trim combination. So much for machine gun headlights and grill mounted missiles.
Ford Ka to be James Bond’s newest sidekick Picture Gallery
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A new concept car was design recently by Ondrej Jirec, a design student from the Czech Republic who is beginning his studies at the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California in 2008. The new concept car called Audi O, a diesel/electric hybrid that combines perfectly an innovative audio system with a sporty hatchback.
The exterior design of the Audi O is close to the Audi styling: the big front grille and the LED headlights. The doors have glass windows running along the bottom edge, and at the rear of the car the pullout door echoes the design of the squared off Audi grille.
The interior is bright and roomy thanks to the panoramic roof. To keep out the external noise that may interfere with the sound system the engine compartment is separated by a double firewall. Audi O has a unique audio system with Internet connectivity and a build in 650 GB hard drive.
A Bluetooth system allows the car to connect to other Audi O cars and play music (one car is the source of the music, while the others serve as speakers). Another interesting feature of the Audi O is the pullout rear door fitted with a DJ set with mixing decks. The decks can also be removed and used anywhere outside the car.
This interesting concept will please not only the music lovers but also the car enthusiasts that enjoy driving their car surrounded by music.
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