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last updated 7/05/2010
New Golf estate: sensible or just kinda boring ?
Surely as damp autumn follows damp summer, surely as controversy follows Fernando Alonso, so the new MkVI Golf estate has followed the MkVI Golf hatch Here it is, looking uncannily like a Golf hatch with a bigger, squarer boot. It's set to hit showrooms in early November with the choice of three engines: a 120bhp 1.4-litre petrol and two diesels developing 104bhp and 138bhp. Next spring, they'll be joined by an entry-level 89bhp 1.6-litre diesel and a 103bhp 1.2-litre petrol engine. You can also order your 104bhp diesel in eco-happy 'BlueMotion' guise, which adds low rolling resistance tyres, battery regeneration and start-stop technology to improve fuel economy by seven per cent and lower CO2 emissions by eight per cent, to 67.3mpg and 109g/km respectively.All thoroughly sensible stuff, but what else did you expect from a Golf estate? No word, sadly, on a super-hot version of the estate - 266bhp turbo engine and all - but how cool would that be? The campaign starts here.
This car is not vailable in Australia.
Year of the (Prancing) Horse
Ferrari has just announced a special 599 for the Chinese market. It's based on the car with the HGTE handling pack though it has a few extra, Far Eastern touches.
Features such as the starter button, which glows jade green because jade is revered in China. And a luggage set embroidered with a map of the Silk Road, because that's in China. And a rev counter featuring ancient Chinese script in place of western numerals because, of course, that's Chinese. Actually, we like those and think they should feature on the new Astra or something, just to confuse some chavs.Artist Lu Hao was behind the special touches, and unconfirmed reports suggest he is also Chinese. Though we believe he missed a trick. Surely the Prancing Horse could have become some sort of elaborate dragon.Just 12 cars will be made and in a market of more than a billion people, it should sell like cheap chopsticks.
Stang in the tail
Looks like this Mustang could do with a little more weight over the front wheels. Clearly its new aluminium V8 is much skinnier than the lardy iron block it used to have.But this isn't any old Stang. It's a 2010 FR500CJ - that's CJ for 'Cobra Jet' - made by Ford Racing and designed to go straight from showroom to dragstrip. Cobra Jets have been launching themselves down quarter-mile strips since the 60s, and this latest car will have about 425bhp and cost around $75,000 click youtube video to check it out !
Toyota The FT-86, for the Drift KING ! about time !
See more Toyota FT-86 pics
Last year, we reported that Toyota and Subaru were collaborating to develop a lightweight, rear-wheel-drive coupe.We were excited.And now our excitement has reached the heady level of In A Bit of A Tizz, because here it is: the Toyota FT-86, set to debut at the Tokyo motor show later this month.The FT-86 is labelled a concept, but is expected to reach the road in 2011 alongside a Subaru-badged version. It's powered by Subaru's 2.0-litre boxer engine, which puts out 146bhp in current production form but should develop slightly more in future iterations. As we're well aware, the four-pot can be turbocharged to produce monstrous power outputs, but that would also put the price up: Toyota and Subaru are aiming to keep the cost as low as possible to attract younger drivers to the brand. The coupes should weigh in well under £20,000 when they go on sale in the UK.The FT-86 has a 2+2 seating configuration and measures 416cm in length, just a fraction longer than the Audi TT and around 18cm shorter than the Lotus Evora We'll find out much more about the FT-86 - and, perhaps, its Subaru counterpart - in Tokyo in a couple of weeks' time. For now a quick show of hands: who reckons Toyota might finally be rediscovering its mojo?
Wolf pack.. the new electric shock !
It's important to remain sceptical when an upstart manufacturer with no track record in building futuristic, all-electric supercars unveils plans for a futuristic, all-electric supercar.But how can you not be hopelessly optimistic when that company is called... e-Wolf?Yes, e-Wolf: the first company to combine the might of wild canines with the power of electricity. The German firm already builds a lightweight electric one-seater called the e1, and has just released renderings of the e2, a futuristic, all-electric supercar that it says will reach production in 2011.The e2 is powered by four 134bhp electric motors, one in each wheel, which are said to deliver peak torque of 737lb ft. In a car weighing around 900kg, that means a lot of theoretical fastness, though e-Wolf hasn't released any performance figures yet.However, the e2 is claimed to have a range of around 190 miles, with a battery pack that can be charged in just half an hour, presumably by plugging the car directly into the heart of an imploding star.Far more importantly, it looks cool, with plenty of Ferrari Enzo around the front and just a hint of that weird Spada CodaTronca about its angular flanks. E-Wolf says it will release more details on the e2 in the near future, before a production version reaches the road in 2011. Presumably it will be followed by a convertible model called the e-Wolf Spider. Yep, that's a naturalist joke right there.Plans for a British-built version, built in Yorkshire and called the e-Badger, remain entirely unconfirmed.
Even more Electrifying. eh Police car ?
Here's one for the next series of World's Wildest Traffic Police Road Camera Reckless Offences Volume 4!: the Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric police car And if you believe the entirely non-cheesy PR line, it will help the cops 'crack down on crime while cracking down on CO2 emissions'. Fighting talk, eh? Petty thieves all over the country will be literally quite worried as they consider whether to walk away from the pursuing electro-car or perhaps break into a light jog.Meanwhile, those pesky joyriders will be planning sophisticated escapes that involve 'simply driving about 100 miles at 50mph and waiting for that ridiculous rozzer to run out of charge - unless he uses his one blue light, in which case the battery will be dry by the time we get around the block'.The car has been on trial with Forces for about a year now, and West Midlands Constabulary will be the first to run one in full operations next month. We wish them luck.
BMW C1-E Concept Even More a Green machine...
Says BMW, "This is what a safe, environment-friendly and highly practical single track vehicle for city traffic could look like in the future." Well then, let's dissect that statement and see how BMW sought to accomplish these seemingly contradictory goals.First, safety. Between 2000 and 2003, BMW offered a scooter in Europe called the C1. Though a marketplace failure, that machine may still be the safest two-wheeler ever offered. Featuring a fully-enclosed cabin with integrated rollover protection, a front-end impact zone, a rider seat belt and a low center of gravity, the C1-E has safety baked right in from the start. To that package, BMW adds electronic aids that include Integral ABS, Tire Pressure Control, Anti-Slip Control and Traction Control. So... safety? Check.Environmentally-friendly? The scooter itself emits nothing - BMW borrowed the electric motor and control systems from electric scooter manufacturer Vectrix's battery pack), though, has been swapped out with a high-tech lithium ion unit for greater energy storage. Alternatively, BMW could equip the same basic platform with any electric motor or small internal combustion engine of its choice. So, check.Now, how about practicality? First, that enclosed rider cockpit means the C1-E could be used in nearly any kind of weather. Further, the bike features a large luggage compartment built-in behind the rider. As far as single-track vehicles go, this one's pretty darn practical. As much as we'd like to see the C1-E go into production, that's not currently in the cards. BMW built this concept as its contribution to the European eSUM safety project. Want to know more? Check out the gallery below and hit the jump for the press release.
