The Lexus Japanese page, today revealed first details on the 2009 IS facelift. The Japanese debut will be made on September 9th, while world debut is set for the Paris Auto Show.
The IS facelift also comes with minor changes, such as the VDIM handling system standard on the IS250 and aluminum wheels (17 inches, 18 inches).
More details are soon to follow.
Guess what? The much-awaited Rolls Royce RR4 will hit the streets with a surprising rear suicide doors.
You heard it right, folks. RR4 comes equipped with suicide doors.
What’s a suicide door, by the way? According to Wikipedia, a suicide door is a car door that is hinged on the edge closer to the rear of the vehicle. The term reflects a perceived increased danger of the door falling open when the car is moving.
For sometime, Rolls Royce officials kept inquiries at bay about the car’s detailed specs except that the designers molded it after the road-hugging BMW-7 series. The usual aluminum-steel base combination provides RR4 the necessary legroom for a comfortable driving.
Now its spy shots showed distinctive improvements. There’s the shorter wheelbase, for a start. This means that RR4 will use the BMW Series -7 platform, but with its own custom-built engine. This was no big deal, of course, since car enthusiasts had already seen it coming.
So what’s surprising about RR4? Spy shots showed hinges of its rear doors are built at the rearmost part of the panel, an unmistakable indication of suicide doors. Understandably, its manufacturers will juggle for semantics and call it “coach doors” instead.
Rolls Royce RR4, priced at a staggering £170,000, will be officially presented Geneva Motor Show this coming March 2009 and production will begin immediately a year after.
Until then, the reason why RR4 has suicide doors is as good as anybody’s guess.
The
S500 4MATIC of Mercedes-Benz receives a new performance kit from Inden-Design, a German tuning company. The engine control unit (ECU) has been reprogrammed to add 27 hp, raising the total output of 415 hp. The new kit offers a sport exhaust system with four tailpipes, new 20-inch BBW LeMans alloy wheels in 245/35R20 tires in front and 285/30R20 at the rear. The suspension has been lowered by 45 mm. No words about the price yet.
Mercedes S500 4MATIC by Inden-Design Picture Gallery
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Rumors about a four-door model from Koenigsegg started to circulate last week. Today we bring you first TopSpeed rendering of the future sporty sedan that will make its official debut in 2010 as a concept model at the Geneva Motor Show and as a production model in 2011. The currently unnamed sedan will compete with models like Aston Martin Rapide and Porsche Panamera.
The four-door model is supposed to have been under development for the past two years and will be made entirely out of carbon fiber. Power should come from a V8 engine that will develop around 700 hp. This engine will help the car to hit a top speed of around 215 mph. The sedan will be limited to only 70-80 units and will be cheaper than the CCX.
Aston Martin will launch an extra luxury model limited to only 77 units and priced at around $1.9 million. And according to Jon Sibal the supercar will look like this.
The Aston Martin One-77 is powered by a 7.0-liter V12 engine and will get a handcrafted aluminum body and a carbon fiber chassis. As a result it is likely to do 0-60mph in 3.5 seconds and have a top speed in excess of 200mph.
Ever watched those TV commercials where a well-known branded product is pitied against its competition? I’d bet you have. It’s an effective way to drive home the point about the former superiority when compared to its fledging rival. But for top-seeded
Lexus GS460 and newcomer 2009
Hyundai Genesis, the exact opposite occurs.
Stripped of its nameplate, the 2009
Hyundai Genesis looks identical with its Lexus counterpart. In fact, car enthusiasts say it’s almost an exact clone, and more—V8 engine, smooth aerodynamic designs, pure soft leather on dashboard and door panels, not to mention its seductive navigation system and multimedia accessories.
As for fuel efficiency, the newcomer trashes competition with a perfect 10. Genesis puts in a rated 368 horsepower using regular unleaded while Lexus chalks up 342 horsepower using premium. A significant savings in these times of rising gas prices.
So what’s the catch? Hyundai comes at an almost whooping 30% discount against its luxury counterpart. While Lexus sells at $50,000, a fully loaded Hyundai starts at $38,000. But the distinction doesn’t end there. It offers 5 years or 60,000 miles warranty compared to Lexus 4 years or 50,000 miles.
However, some car honchos believe that tag price is not the sole consideration when buying a sedan. The company image behind the car, personality, as well as impressions of power, play crucial purchase factors. And Lexus has all these stack in its favor.
My verdict? Hyundai rips an edge over its competition. Why would anyone settle for a bland carrot when he can have a whole burger at a much lesser co
Autocar caught the
new Rolls-Royce out testing in the rain – a place that any British car needs to do well. Internally known as the RR4 because this is now the fourth Rolls model, the production version is expected in 2010. It looks like the new car will keep the hallmark suicide doors of its big brothers. Although this is referred to the “baby” Rolls, it is based on the
BMW 7-Series, a car that no one accuses of being tiny.
Lexus unveiled the AWD version of its luxury LS 460 at the Moscow Motor Show, and today the company announced it will be available on the US market starting October. The AWD system will be available for both LS 460 and LS 460 L versions.
The AWD LS 460 and LS 460 L are powered by a 4.6-liter V8 mated to the world’s first eight-speed automatic transmission - identical to its rear-wheel drive equivalent. The AWD versions will produce 357 horsepower and 344 lb.-ft of torque and can accelerate from zero-to-60 mph in about 5.9 seconds.
During normal driving conditions, the front and rear torque distribution ratio is set at a rear-bias 40:60. The total variation in the AWD system can vary between 30:70 and 50:50 depending on driving conditions.
Press release after the jump.
>> read 
Audi is working on a four-door coupe that will take on models from Mercedes, VW and Jaguar. The future A7, set to be launched in 2009 will be built on the new A6 lightweight aluminum platform.
Under the hood the company will place a based 2.8-liter V6 FSI or the new supercharged 3.0-liter V6. The RS7 version will be powered by a 5.0-liter twin-turbo V10 engine, while the S7 will use a detuned version.
Check out preview on the 2010 A7 in here.
Hyundai revealed a teaser image of a model that will come to compete with the BMW 7-Series. Codenamed VI, the new model will make its official debut next February and will replace the front-wheel-drive Equus in the Korean market.
The new model will be a rear-driven car and will be powered by a 3.8-liter V6 or 4.6 and 5.0-liter V8 engine. We don’t know if this will be a global car, but good indicator would be how much the U.S. accepts its new Genesis.
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