Details On Bentley Continental GT V8

Bentley Continental GT V8

 The single turbocharged V8 will crank out 415 horsepower, an admirable figure, but nothing compared to the 555 horsepower twin-turbocharged V8. So, once again, why get just one? Many believe that this twin-turbo engine will help Bentley in its recent war to get more than 100 horsepower per liter in the new Continental GT and seeing as how it worked; a job well done by the English automaker.

Bentley Continental GT V8

In addition to the V8, Bentley is also offering up the 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged W12. The 2012 GT's W12 boasts 15 more horsepower, at 567, and 37 additional pound-feet of torque with 516, resulting in a 2.5-ton car that moves quite quickly. The V8 version has yet to be tested.

These smaller V8 engines are just a part of Bentley’s plan to add more diversity to the Continental lineup. The base V8 should lower the price of the GT by a considerable margin bringing it the ballpark of the moderately wealthy and we all know how important they are.

Bentley Continental GT V8

“The V8 is our hedge against fuel-price spikes, carbon-dioxide-related legislation and uncertainty in the global supercar market,” says Uli Eichhorn, Bentley's technical director to Autoweek.

Electric Volvo C30 Coming To Detroit Auto Show

Volvo has some ambitious plans for the future. In addition to the market launch of a plug-in hybrid in 2012, work is currently under way on evaluating the viability of an entirely electric-powered car.

At next month’s 2010 Detroit Auto Show, Volvo will present this car, the battery-powered all-electric C30 that we first read about back in September.

However, the C30 soon to be shown in Detroit actually takes the company one step further in the development process. It features both a complete interior and full instrumentation, as well as enhanced battery packaging.

The next step in 2010 is a factory-built series of test cars. Selected users will drive the test fleet during a two-year trial period in order to provide Volvo with valuable experience. Not just technical but also behavioural.

The electric C30 is like any other regular C30, however, driving the front wheels is an electric motor housed under the bonnet, just like the engine in a conventional car. One of the priorities within the project was to find the optimal placing of the battery. Volvo engineers found that the prop shaft tunnel and the place where the fuel tank normally is located were the best places. These locations are within the car's optimised crumple zone in the most common collision scenarios. Since the car runs solely on electricity, it requires a larger battery with higher capacity (24 kWh) than in the case of the plug-in hybrid (12 kWh).

The most obvious difference inside the car is the new instruments facing the driver. The gauges and graphics are somewhat different to those in a conventional Volvo. The instrument panel shows in principle only road speed and energy consumption. However, it also integrates a number of new symbols such as a gauge for battery charge status and other relevant information for this type of vehicle.

The driving experience is also different to that in a conventional car. The electric C30 has no gears and the motor's power is delivered seamlessly, with full power available immediately.

Most expensive Hyundai won't come to the UK

Hyundai Equus

Hyundai has just unveiled the new Equus. Priced between about £70,000 and £80,000 in its home market, it is the most expensive car ever produced by the Korean manufacturer.

With its five-litre V8 engine, it is aimed at the BMW 7-Series and Mercedes S-Class; a special bullet-proof version will be used by the Korean president. Hyundai says that the Equus is unlikely to be imported into the UK.

Given the rapid progress being made by the Korean manufacturers, Hyundai's ability to make a convincing car for this price bracket isn't in doubt. On the other hand, experience shows that even when the mainstream car-makers produce vehicles that are as good as those from the prestige brands, these struggle to be taken seriously by badge-conscious buyers – the best recent example being the Volkswagen Phaeton.

The most expensive model in Hyundai's current UK line-up is the rarely-seen £27,000 Genesis saloon; the Grandeur, which slots into the Hyundai range between the Genesis and the Equus, isn't sold here at all. In the long-run, if it is to compete convincingly at the top end in Europe, Hyundai probably needs to create its own luxury brand – as Toyota did with Lexus – or acquire one of the existing premium manufacturers. Both of these options are expensive, but neither would be beyond the resources of Hyundai-Kia, which is now the fourth largest car-maker in the world.

Mercedes' 2010 E550 Coupe wins the E-class beauty contest

Is the 2010 Mercedes E550 Coupe pretty? This is no trivial matter. After all, why would you buy an E Coupe when for about the same money you could get Mercedes' new E Sedan? The mid-size four-door Benz is the standard by which all Mercedeses are measured. It's the company's bestselling model worldwide and the unimpeachable choice for every Beverly Hills tennis pro and real estate agent who ever lived. The E Sedan is bigger, more practical, more richly equipped. It's a car every bit as tightly nailed together, offering performance nearly equal to that of the sports-minded E Coupe. Only one reason: The E Sedan is beastly looking. In my review of June 12, I said the sedan was "very proper and Swabian and gloriously unartistic." In the months since, my opinion has only soured. I hate the way the car slumps at the head like a pole-axed buffalo. I loathe the over-shaved, winnowed taper around the grille. I detest the graceless quadrangle of windows on the sides. I gag on the exaggerated accent lines on the fuselage that don't visually intersect with anything in particular. It's a terrific machine, but really, the E Sedan's homeliness has a kind of malign ambition about it. Meanwhile, the E Coupe, the replacement for the long-lived CLK Coupe, is lovely. The grille -- with two horizontal bars supporting a softball-sized Mercedes emblem -- looks tougher, more masculine and declarative. The black-mesh intakes in the lower bumper are deeper and more aggressive. On the E Coupe, the accent lines actually give the shape some visual velocity, converging like metal contrails at the rear of the car with the deco-like fender flares. The roofline arches exquisitely over a pillarless canopy (that is, there's no "B" pillar roof support). Low, wide and rakish, the E Coupe design has an organized, coherent energy about it, a godly brow to the E Sedan's low forehead.

2010 Abarth Fiat Grande Punto SuperSport

Powered by a 180 HP 1.4, 16v engine that develops 270 Nm of torque at only 3,000 rpm, the Abarth Grande Punto "SuperSport" reaches a top speed of 215 km/h and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 7.5 seconds. This superb performance confirms the car's true racing spirit.

Further contributions to performance come from the modified suspension (one of the features of the "SS" kit), which includes new, more rigid and lower springs, 215/40 R18 tyres and specially designed 7.5 J X 18 alloy wheels. Thanks to this new kit the car has gained a far sportier setup and a roll centre some 20 mm lower. On top of this, the braking system has been equipped with perforated discs front and rear and performance brake pads at the front.

Inside, the Abarth Grande Punto "SuperSport" boasts "Abarth Corsa by Sabelt" leather seats (homologated and lightened in keeping with the car's racing spirit) and an Abarth Blue&MeTM MAP satellite navigation unit with a telemetric function developed in conjunction with Magneti Marelli. In all there are four functions that make this innovative device stand out. The first function, called "monitoring", displays the main acquired in-car parameters (engine rpm, vehicle speed, gear engaged) that are transferred from the Blue&MeTM to the PND (Portable Navigation Device) via Bluetooth. The second function, "Track", accessible if the driver is on one of the circuits present in the device's SD memory, displays a set of additional information such as the car's position on the track (ascertained by GPS) and lap time. The third function, "configuration", makes it possible to store telemetric data for a track and associate it with a personalised session (identified by the driver's name, circuit, date). The information recorded may be retrieved easily and also analysed at a later stage using the fourth "analysis" function.

MANSORY Vitesse Rose

MANSORY just doubled their world-premieres for the 63rd Frankfurt Motor Show. Back to Back with the new generation Chopster, MANSORY will unveil an exclusive limited edition of the Bentley Continental GT Speed named – Vitesse Rose. The MANSORY’s name Vitesse Rose stands for velocity and the dominating Rose colour of the luxurious coupe. The manufacture of the extravagant Continental GT Speed is limited to only three cars.

As we know MANSORY is a synonym of premium quality products and the Vitesse Rose don’t make an exception. The exclusive aerodynamics pack components are made of PU-RIM which guarantees the perfect quality and integration with the original Continental GT Speed design. The front and the rear apron are connected with side skirts and forms a unit that not only present a visual and colour-coordinated refinement but also improves the dynamics of the car. LED daylight running lights are integrated in the front apron for additional passive safety, and in combination with the carbon fibre bonnet enhances the contrast look of the two-door car.

Mazda MX-5 Superlight images

New images of the Mazda MX-5 Superlight have emerged on the evo website. The Superlight will make its debut at the Frankfurt IAA along with pretty much anything else with wheels. Expect the Mazda PR department to hit the ground running with these in the next day or so.