MG TF Successor (Rendering)

The British automaker (Chinese-owned) MG will stop making the TF sports car, 16 years after it went into production in the United Kingdom. The good news is that the company is already working on a successor for the long-serving roadster. This decision was made last week when they've announced that they'll stop making the TF due to decreasing demand and component supply problems.

MG Motor UK Ltd also confirmed that a model that will replace the TF is in the works and it will be designed and developed in United Kingdom, and it should hit the streets in about two years or so. At the moment the automaker is pretty timid as far as revealing more info about the car, mostly because they want to focus on promoting their new MG 6 saloon, along with the soon-to-be-released MG 3, that will be available later on this year in the UK.

They did admit that the successor of the TF is a crucial project for them, a company that became popular for rolling out excellent affordable sports cars. According to Autocar.co.uk, MG is analyzing where the greatest market potential lies for a sports car. The two options that they are considering at the moment are adaptations of platforms that underpin the front-engined supermini MG 3, and the forthcoming Roewe 350-based MG 5 hatchback, which is a little bit larger.

The cheapest way to market would be through the platform of the MG 3, but with the MG 5 they could offer more space and power under the bonnet. The automaker is also working on a bigger MG saloon that will be launched in the United Kingdom, based on the facelift version of the Roewe 750/MG 7, a car that descents from the Rover 75, which will be able to talk about next month when the Shanghai auto show starts. At this event, we'll also see the Roewe badged-version of the SsangYong W5 4×4.

I really dislike that a company with such a long tradition as MG is being controlled by a Chinese company that knows nothing about cars. In the mean time, I can't imagine what would have happened to MG if there were no companies with sufficient funds to take them over. I guess it is better than nothing… I for one would never by a car that it's made in China, or brought to Europe and rebadged. Good thing that the successor of the MG TF will be developed in UK.

Source: autocar.co.uk

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MG TF Successor In The Works

2012 Mercedes C63 AMG Estate F1 Medical Car

The 2011 Formula 1 season kicks off this weekend with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. For this occasion, the German automaker Mercedes will debut its updated 2012 C63 AMG Estate Official F1 Medical Car. This model has been used in this competition for the last three seasons, but this year it will appear in its facelifted shape with an updated design and revised technology that includes the AMG SpeedShift MCT seven-speed gearbox.

2012 Mercedes C63 AMG Estate F1 Medical Car

In addition, the car has been fitted with an aluminum hood that has modified powerdomes, a new radiator grille, headlamps, along with an AMG rear apron and an updated front apron that sports larger intake apertures and side air vents.

2012 Mercedes C63 AMG Estate F1 Medical Car

The car has a powerful V8 6.3-liter engine that benefits from the AMG Performance Pacakge, offering 487 hp @ 6,800 rpm, good enough for a 0-60 mph sprint in 4.5 seconds, not fast enough for keeping up with the F1 cars, but quick enough to get on time whenever there is a problem. Other goodies of this AMG package include the high-performance braking system with internally ventilated composite brake discs for the front axle, and the variable intake manifold painted in titanium grey. The car will roll on 19-inch rims, wrapped around in 235/35 R19 rubber for the front wheels and 255/30 R19 for the ones in the back.

2012 Mercedes C63 AMG Estate F1 Medical Car

The Medical Car will sport the F1 logos, the stroboscopic flashing LED lights (front & rear), a roof light bar, along with the number plate that will be illuminated with LEDs and displaying the words "Medical Car".

As far as the cabin is concerned, the C63 AMG Estate will benefit from four sports bucket seats with 6-point seat belts. In addition, there are going to be two monitors integrated into the center console for monitoring the race, plus a radio set for communicating with the F1 Race Control.

2012 Mercedes C63 AMG Estate F1 Medical Car

The safety car for the 2011 Formula One season is going to be the beautiful Mercedes SLS AMG, which will be exactly the same as the one used for the 2010 season.

Expect a full coverage of the 2011 Formula One season.

Source: Carscoop

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2012 Mercedes C63 AMG Estate – F1 Medical Car At Australian GP

Chevrolet Camaro

At the Shanghai auto show that will be organized next month, General Motors will bring the latest generation of the Camaro, but it will have a different name: Ke Mai Luo. The car will be offered with a V6 direct-injection 3.6-liter engine at a starting price of RMB 500,000, which is approximately $76,400. The car will be very expensive there if we look at the price for the Camaro V6 in the United States – $22,680, making the model sold in China about three times more expensive!

GM said that in the last couple of years, the luxury sports car segment in China has increased significantly and that the market for cars priced between RMB 400,000 and 800,000 grew by a whopping 141% last year.

Source: Carscoop

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Chevrolet Ke Mai Luo (Camaro), Heading To China

Volkswagen SP

To be honest, I never heard of the Volkswagen SP before, mostly because this model was built only in Brazil for the local market. This year, the model will celebrate its 40^th anniversary and I have to say that I kinda like how it looks, especially from the sides.

In 1968, Rudolf Leiding, who in the past was Audi's CEO, was named director of VW do Brasil, after the company accepted his only condition, which was to allow the development of models adapted for the Brazilian market.

Volkswagen Brazil teamed up with "Karmann-Ghia do Brasil" and they started developing a new coupe. The latter was producing at that time the outdated Karmann Ghia coupe. In the development of this new model they had to use as many components as possible from VW's local model range in order to spend as little money as possible.

They used the platform of the VW 1600, the Brazilian-spec Type 3 (forefather of the Passat). They took the engine, chassis and axles, while the car's steel body was conceived from scratch. Just like the 1600, the SP was fitted with twin headlights. At first, the car was fitted with a very weak 1.6-liter that developed only 54 hp, not worthy of a sports car. For this reason, Volkswagen decided to equip this engine to the entry-level model, dubbed SP-1.

The first model was sold in limited number, but with the SP-2 they've managed to deliver more than 10,000 units from June, 1972 until February, 1976, and most of them were sold in Brazil. Although the car was never commercialized officially in Europe, one of them found its way to Germany in '71, when Rudolf Leiding was called back to the automaker's headquarters in order to be installed as the CEO. The SP-2 that he brought was given as a gift to his wife.

Nowadays, there are a couple of European collectors that own a SP-2 coupe, and you can see one at Volkswagen's museum.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Source: Carscoop

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Volkswagen SP Celebrates Its 40th Anniversary

2012 Mini Coupe JCW

The BMW Group recently announced that the coupe version of the Mini will hit the dealerships at the end of this year and now we have more spy shots of the John Cooper Works (JCW) model, courtesy of Carscoop. This batch of photos was taken in Germany and you can see that the model will get an aggressive body kit with flared wheel arches and muscular bumpers.

2012 Mini Coupe JCW

In 2009 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Mini unveiled the concept versions of the Coupe and Roadster, and the production model will look just about the same, which is a good thing. Aside from the tail lamp crystals and the grille, the car that Mini plans to sell will look identical to the concept.

2012 Mini Coupe JCW

The JCW version in these photos has kept the concept's modified aerodynamic kit with the updated front and rear bumpers, along with beefier side skirts and those generous wheel arches that house bigger alloy rims.

2012 Mini Coupe JCW

As far as the interior is concerned, there is no rear seat bench as you will find in the hatchback version, which means that the coupe will get a bigger cargo space than the three-door variant. While the latter has 160 liters, the coupe will probably offer about 250 liters, which is significantly more.

The John Cooper Works model will be powered by a 1.6-liter twin-scroll turbocharged engine that cranks out 211 hp. The Cooper S version will be fitted with a 1.6-liter engine that will output 184 hp. The entry-level model will get a naturally aspirated 4-cylinder 1.6-liter gasoline power unit, good for 122 hp. In the future, Mini might also offer a diesel-powered engine, but nothing is certain at the moment.

The 2012 Mini Coupe (including JCW version) will most likely be unveiled this fall at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Source: Carscoop

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Spy Shots: 2012 Mini Coupe JCW

2012 Chrysler 300C SRT8

Our colleges from Worldcarfans have managed to take a couple of spy shots with the upcoming 2012 Chrysler 300C SRT8; wearing the most ridiculous camouflage I've ever seen. These photos were taken on the roads of Michigan and the prototype was fitted with 20-inch rims and generous brakes, which probably means that the car will share more than a few components with the Dodge Charger SRT8, a model that was unveiled back in February.

2012 Chrysler 300C SRT8

If you recall, the Dodge Charger SRT8 is powered by a massive HEMI V8 6.4-liter engine that cranks out 465 hp (471 PS / 347 kW) and 465 lb.-ft (630 Nm) of torque. This engine is mated to a 5-speed automatic gearbox worked by paddle shifters located on the steering wheel. Most likely, the Chrysler 300C SRT8 will get the same drivetrain configuration when it will be launched later on this year.

2012 Chrysler 300C SRT8

Source: WCF

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Spy Shots: 2012 Chrysler 300C SRT8

BMW 7-Series By Mansory

You know by now that rpmGO doesn't really like the tuning programs developed by Mansory because we think that they have the tendency to exaggerate and roll out flashy cars. This BMW 7-Series is an exception, as it looks very good in my opinion. The car has been fitted with a new aerodynamic kit that includes a front bumper with integrated LED daytime running lights, along with a new carbon grille.

BMW 7-Series By Mansory

It also got a roof spoiler, a new apron, plus a rear diffuser and integrated stainless steel quad pipes from the new installed exhaust system. This upgrade program is available for both the F01 and F02 7-Series.

BMW 7-Series By Mansory

They offer performance upgrades for both the 750i and the 760Li, which is the extended wheelbase version. For the first one, the V8 twin-turbo 4.4-liter can get a remap of the ECU and a sport air filter, increasing the engine's output to 483 hp (490 PS / 360 kW) and 531 lb.-ft (720 Nm), which is significantly more than the standard 402 hp (408 PS / 300 kW) and 440 lb.-ft (600 Nm).

BMW 7-Series By Mansory

Moving on, the 760Li with its massive V12 twin-turbo 6.0-liter engine can output 631 hp (640 PS / 470 kW) and 678 lb.-ft (920 Nm) torque, up from the standard 537 hp (544 PS / 400 kW) and 550 lb.-ft (750 Nm). With this extra oomph under the bonnet, the car can do the 0-60 mph sprint in only 4.2 seconds, which is 0.4 seconds quicker than the standard version.

BMW 7-Series By Mansory

Mansory has fitted the 7-Series with a brand new set of 10×22-inch wheels, covered by 265/35R22 performance tires in the front, and 295/30R22 in the back.

BMW 7-Series By Mansory

As far as the cabin is concerned they've installed a new ergonomically-designed, sport steering wheel that doesn't have BMW's logo (kind of rude in my opinion). Alcantra, leather, wood and carbon trims are all available for this 7-Series.

Source: Mansory

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BMW 7-Series By Mansory Revealed

The Japanese car manufacturer Lexus has announced that it plans on bringing the LF-Gh concept at this year's New York Auto Show. Despite the fact that they weren't willing to share any information about the car, our guess is that this concept will preview the next generation of the GS model, which should be announced later this year.

The car you see in these pictures is a development mule undergoing testing in Germany, and our colleges over at WCF managed to take these spy shots. This mule hints that the 2012 GS will be a little bit longer and wider in comparison with the outgoing generation. In addition, the new one will probably get a more aggressive L-Finesse design that will make it more interesting as a rival for the Infiniti M and the Audi A6.

The concept will get its official unveiling on April 19^th.

Source: Lexus via WCF

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Lexus LF-Gh Concept, Heading To The New York Auto Show

2012 Fisker Karma

It had to happen sooner or later. The Fisker Karma will go into production and the first deliveries are scheduled for next month. The car was first unveiled at the 2008 edition of the North American International Auto Show, and finally we now know that they'll start building it at the assembly lines in Finland. The company's spokesman, Roger Ormisher, told Automotive News that "this year we want to get over 7,000 deliveries."

2012 Fisker Karma

If you recall, the Fisker Karma is powered by a 20 kW lithium-ion battery that sends power to two electric motors that are capable of producing 402 hp (408 PS / 300 kW) and 959 lb.-ft (1,300 Nm) of torque, good enough for a 0-60 mph sprint in 5.9 seconds and a top speed of 124 mph (200 km/h).

2012 Fisker Karma

On electric mode, the car can be driven for up to 50 miles (80.5 km) before the battery is completely drained. After this happens, a turbocharged 2.0-liter gasoline engine kicks in and acts as a generator to recharge the battery. Thanks to this configuration, the Fisker Karma has an overall range of 300 miles (483 km) and can do a whopping 98 mpg (2.4 liters / 100 km), with CO2 emissions of only 83 g/km.

2012 Fisker Karma

In the United States, the car has a base price of $95,900, but customers will have to pay only $88,400, thanks to the $7,500 tax credit.

Source: AutomotiveNews via WCF

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Finally! Fisker Karma Goes Into Production

Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S Awards Edition

The Italian automaker Maserati is working on expanding its lineup of models and according to various sources, it will launch three new models in the next three years. The first one that will arrive is the successor of the beautiful Quattroporte, which we will probably see at this year's edition of the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Basically, it will be a GranTurismo sedan and will come with a V8 4.7-liter engine that will develop around 400 hp, or a little bit more. According to Inside Line, the model will move up the market, but previous reports said exactly the opposite, stating that the successor of the Quattroporte will move down the market in order to compete with the Mercedes S-Class, BMW 7-Series and the Audi A8.

In 2013, Maserati will launch a crossover based on the Dodge Durango and the Jeep Grand Cherokee. We can't tell you much about it, but most likely it will have a bespoke interior and unique styling. In addition, we can tell you that it will get Ferrari-sourced engines; at least that is what Fiat's CEO said.

In 2015, the car manufacturer will launch an entry-level sedan that will cost about $78,000. This baby Quattroporte will benefit from a V8 engine and will tackle the Audi A6, BMW 5-Series and the Mercedes E-Class. They will also launch a high performance version of this model, which will cost about $96,000, a car that will rival the BMW M5, Mercedes E63 AMG and the Audi S6/RS6.

Source: Inside Line via WCF

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Maserati Working On Lineup Expansion