Car Reviews

2008 Nissan Navara X-BACK

Nissan UK added a new special editions for the Navara pick-up. Called X-Back, the special edition is priced at £23,795.

The X-BACK offers SUV levels of comfort, refinement and performance while still offering ‘go anywhere, do anything’ qualities. There’s ample room for five plus one of the largest load beds in its class.

The potent 2.5-liter four-cylinder turbo diesel engine punches out 171 PS and an awesome 403Nm of torque at 2,000 rpm, yet it remains economical, achieving 28.8mpg on the combined cycle. And with all that torque it doesn’t hang about between gears either. Drive is transmitted to the road by a tried and tested four-wheel drive system.

Volkswagen 2028 concepts

Curious what the future will bring for the automotive industry? Take a look at the www.volkswagen2028.com and you shall have your answer!

Volkswagen revealed today three concept car that are a glimpse at the future: the"one", "ego" and "room". What the 2028 year will bring fo us? Apparently traffic lights and cars talking to each other, driving just for the fun with emission-free cars.

2009 Citroen C3 Picasso

Citroen will unveil the all new C3 family body style at this year’s Paris Motor Show, ahead of launch in first-quarter 2009. The C3 Picasso is a concept vehicle that revolutionizes user-friendliness with its intuitive modular design that allows owners to optimize interior space in record time.

Measuring 4.08 m long, 1.73 m wide and 1.62 m tall, it has a surprisingly compact front end and a strictly vertical rear end. These original proportions provide an incredible amount of cabin room. The boot is equally capacious, boasting up to 500 litres VDA under the parcel shelf with all five seats in place.

Fiat 500 Abarth Opening Edition

Abarth will release a special edition "500 Opening Edition" limited to only 100 units. The special edition is fitted with a revised version of the stock 1.4-liter turbo engine that produces 160Hp at 5750 rpm and a maximum torque of 230 Nm at 3000 rpm. The engine is mated to a 5-speed gearbox.

The Abarth 500 Opening Edition makes the 0 to 60 mph sprint in just 7.4 sec and hits a top speed of 211 km/h (131mph).

It also features: front and rear perforated disc brakes, high performance front brake pads, a special ‘powered by BMC’ air filter, special low springs and 17" alloys painted white or titanium complete with 205/40 R16 ZR 17 Pirelli Pzero Nero tires.

On the exterior the limited edition features a red brake calipers and privacy windows. The customers will have the chance to choose between two colours: Campovolo grey and pearlised White. Other features unique to the 500 Abarth Opening Edition include a grey or white fuel cap and key cover.

SMS Mustang Concept

Steve Saleen is celebrating his 25 years in the automotive business and the launch of his new company SMS with the launch of a new concept: the new SMS 25th Anniversary Mustang Concept.

The Mustang Concept is powered by a upercharged 5.0-liter V-8 engine that delivers 720 hp and a peak torque of 670 lb-ft. Saleen did not revealed the 0 to 60 mph numbers, but declared: "The performance is astounding; the SMS Twenty Fifth Anniversary Mustang has reached nearly the same levels of performance as was previously achieved in the S7 Twin Turbo!".

The Concept feature a "light blade" lighting system and sequential rear turn signals. There are functional carbon fiber pieces and numerous billet aluminum design accents. The vehicle is completed with SMS "Chromosome Silver" paint with Saleen’s signature anniversary yellow, white and black graphic accents.

2010 Aston Martin Vanquish

Aston Martin ended Vanquish’s production in 2007. But rumors about a successor for the supercar started to circulate even before the car ended its life. And today TopSpeed brings you a rendering of how the successor may look like.

With design clearly inspired by the 2008 DBS, the future Vanquish will be even more aggressive and sportier than its predecessor.

Under the hood Aston Martin will place an even more powerful engine, probably the same used in the DBS, with output going up to 500 hp (currently model has an output of 460 hp) and maybe at 550 hp for the Vanquish S version (up from the current 520 hp).

The body will be made of carbon fiber to reduce weight and increase performances, so that the 0 to 60 mph sprint to be made in around 4 seconds and the top speed to go up to 190 mph for the standard version and at more than 200 mph for the S version.

2009 Citroen C4

Citroen will present at the the Moscow International Motor Show, which will open on 26 August 2008, a restyled version of the successful C4.

Citroen has made some judicious styling tweaks to strengthen the car’s successful design, which has been a hit with the public right from the start. The restyle focused on the front end, emphasizing its elegance, strength and energy.

The interior has also been redesigned. Citroen has added new upholstery and a new grain on several trim parts, and incorporated the rev counter in the middle of the dashboard.

Engine-wise, the C4 is now available with two new petrol engines co-developed with BMW. The VTi 120 and THP 150 units bring even more on-road pleasure and significantly reduce fuel consumption and emissions.

The HDi diesel engine range has been further enhanced, with many powerplants qualifying for the Airdream eco-signature. The 2-litre HDi diesel engine is the first to comply with the future Euro V standard in this family. Through the use of new technology (such as low-rolling resistance tyres), several versions with the HDi 92 or HDi 110 paired with a manual or EGS6 gearbox can limit their emissions to 120 g/km of CO2.

Volkswagen announced stop of pick-up for Europe

Starting the beginning of this year rumors about a pick-up from Volkswagen started to circulate all over the internet. Among other markets the "Robust" was supposed to also come on the European market. But due to high oil prices, Volkswagen announced this pick-up will not come to the European market.

A Volkswagen spokesman said an analysis showed there is no sufficient market for such a vehicle with a huge loading space and given the high oil prices, the overall conditions for such a Pick-up has "radically changed".

The pick-up was planned to be built at Hannover from 2010.

Robust will still be built, but at VW’s Argentinian plant in Pacheco and sold in emerging markets. The annual unit production of Pick-up Robust is planned at 90,000 units.

Toyota F1 "Dark Knight" Race Car

Toyota has announced a partnership with Warner Bros. to promote the latest Batman movie: "The Dark Knight" that will be revealed on July 25.

Formula 1 met Hollywood at Silverstone on 3 July when Panasonic Toyota Racing’s TF108 Formula 1 car drove head-to-head with the ’Batmobile’, as part of a promotion for the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight.

Timo Glock drove the TF108 alongside the Batmobile, which made a Formula 1-style pit stop, while Jarno Trulli had the chance to sample the Bat-Pod vehicle. In addition to the on-track action, Panasonic Toyota Racing is also featuring The Dark Knight artwork on the TF108, the drivers’ outfits, and the team’s motorhome. Available video includes highlights from the event and driving shots of the TF108 race car and of the Batmobile around the Silverstone circuit.

2009 BMW 7-Series

BMW revealed today the official informations about the luxury 7-Series that will make its world debut in autumn at the Paris Auto Show.

The new BMW 7 Series comes as standard with BMW’s newly developed Dynamic Damping Control. Likewise featured as standard, Dynamic Driving Control enables the driver at the touch of a button to choose the degree of damping force, the gearshift dynamics of the automatic transmission, as well as the control maps for the gas pedal and steering assistance. Anti-sway control is available as an additional option, with its intervention and effect tailored to the damper set-up and program selected by the driver.

The new BMW 7 Series is entering the market with a V8 and a straight-six gasoline engine both featuring Twin Turbo technology and direct fuel injection (High Precision Injection) as well as the first representative of a new generation of six-cylinder diesel engines.

The eight-cylinder developing maximum output of 407 hp between 5,500 and 6,400 rpm in the BMW 750i, for example, is the most efficient engine in its performance class and the only engine of its kind worldwide with the turbochargers fitted in the V-space between the two rows of cylinders.

For the BMW 740i, output of the six-cylinder Twin Turbo has been raised to 240 kW/326 hp at 5,800 rpm. The newly developed six-cylinder diesel in the BMW 730d, in turn, develops maximum output of 180 kW/ 245 hp at 4,000 rpm. And it goes without saying that all engines comply in full with the strict EU 5 emission standard.

Press release after the jump.