The new 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder, which is only 11 lbs more than the 10-year-old 986 Porsche Boxster, will be the lightest Porsche you can buy. It has Boxster Spyder’s 3.4-liter six-cylinder engine putting out 320 horses — that’s 10 more HP than the Boxster S. So; this means that it’ll be 176 lbs lighter than the Boxster S and get a touch more power. The new Porsche gets an all-new sport suspension that lowers the Boxster Spyder 20 mm providing a lower center of gravity and a standard limited slip differential.

It is surprising but the price of the new lightweight Porsche is considered to be only $61,200 when it goes on sale in February.

 

VW is presenting the fourth consecutive concept model of the Up! family at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt.
E-Up! concept, measuring 3.19 meters in length, 1.64 meters in width and 1.47 meters in height with a wheelbase of 2.19 meters,  is smaller than a Fiat 500. However, VW’s designers managed to squeeze in 3+1 seats which means the front passenger seat is positioned 50 mm forward, thanks to the instruments being pushed further up front.
The mini’s rear seat backrest is split 40/60. With the backrest on the driver’s side folded down (that’s the 40 percent section), stowage capacity is increased from 85 to 180 liters while with both seats down, capacity grows to 320 liters.
The E-Up! is motivated by an electric motor that can deliver a peak output of 60kW / 80Hp and a constant 40kW / 53Hp, along with a maximum torque of 210Nm (154 lb-ft). VW says that the E-Up! can hit 50km/h (31mph) from standstill in 3.5 seconds and 100km/h (62mph) in 11.3 seconds while the mini’s top speed is 135km/h (84mph).
Energy is provided by a lithium-ion battery pack with a capacity of 18kWh that weighs in at 240 kg (530 lbs). The car’s total weight including the batteries is 1,085 kg (2,392 lbs).
Volkswagen reckons that a full recharge of the batteries at a 230V household plug would take a maximum of five hours while at a charging station, an 80 percent charge could be achieved within an hour.
The E-Up! is also equipped with solar cells on the roof that not only supply energy to the car’s electrical system, but furthermore help to cool the interior when the vehicle is parked by supplying energy to the ventilation system.

North American owners can now add a little more oomph to their cars without worrying about voiding the warranty as Lotus USA has announced the availability of a factory engineered, warranted and 50-state legal supercharger kit. The kit can be installed on any naturally aspirated Exige  or Elise powered by a Toyota 2ZZ-GE engine.

The package increases output from 189 HP to 218 HP while torque jumps from 133 ft.-lbs. up to 155 ft.-lbs. The increased maximum torque is available at a lower 5,000 rpm instead of the naturally aspirated 6,800 rpm.
“Lotus Exige and Elise owners are genuine driving enthusiasts and that’s what has attracted them to Lotus cars in the first place,” said Lotus Cars USA, Inc. Director of Operations Arnie Johnson. “They will fully appreciate the dramatically enhanced driving character these Lotus Supercharger Kits will bring their vehicles and the peace of mind from a fully warranted, factory engineered kit.”

The British firm said that the Supercharger Kit is available for purchase and installation at all authorized Lotus dealers in the U.S. and Canada.

The zero-emissions Nissan Leaf is a  mass production electric-vehicle that is slated for launch in late 2010 in Japan, the United States, and Europe. The five-door medium-sized hatchback is based on a unique platform and it is equipped with a fully electric drivetrain that consists of a 107HP electric motor and a lithium-ion battery pack that can be charged through any home outlet providing a driving range of more than 160km (100 miles).

Nissan said that it wants the car to be competitively priced in the range of a well-equipped C-segment vehicle something that points towards a €20,000 range in Europe and close to $30,000 in the USA.

While the Leaf’s styling won’t be winning any beauty contests, what it will do is give prospective buyers a sense of uniqueness without breaking the norm. That’s more evident with the interior design that has an almost concept-feeling to it. For the record, the Leaf is not a prototype study as what you see, is 99-percent what you’ll get when the Leaf hits showrooms in late 2010.

“Our car had to be the world’s first, medium-size, practical EV that motorists could afford and would want to use every day. And that’s what we’ve created,” said Nissan Product Chief Designer, Masato INOUE. “The styling will identify not only Nissan LEAF but also the owner as a participant in the new era of zero-emission mobility.”

At 4,445mm (175-in.) long, 1,770mm wide (69.7-in.) with a height of 1,550mm (61-in.) and a wheelbase of 2,700mm (106.3-in.), the Leaf is larger than your usual C-segment hatch. For example, the VW Golf is 4,199mm long (165-in.), 1,779mm wide (70-in.) with a height of 1,479mm (58.2-in.) and a wheelbase of 2,578mm (101.5-in.).

Power is provided by an electric motor delivering 80kW or 107-horsepower and 280Nm (206 lb-ft) of torque while energy is drawn from a combination regenerative braking system and a lithium-ion battery pack positioned underneath the cabin floor to save space.

The Leaf’s batteries can be charged up to 80% of its full capacity in just under 30 minutes with a quick charger while a full charge at home through a 200V outlet is estimated to take approximately eight hours.

In theory, the idea sounds right, but we can help but wonder how buyers that live in large cities and do not own a garage will be able to charge the car’s battery – let alone if the batteries are depleted away from home.

Nissan claims that the Leaf will have a driving range in excess of 160 km or 100 miles while the hatchback will be able to achieve a top speed of over 90mph or 140 km/h.

The Leaf will also have an advanced IT system connected to a global data centre, providing support, information, and entertainment for drivers 24 hours a day.

Nissan will build the Leaf at its Oppama plant, Japan, with additional capacity planned for the firm’s Smyrna plant in Tennessee, USA. The EV’s lithium-ion batteries are produced in Zama, Japan, with additional capacity planned for the USA, the UK and Portugal, and other sites around the world.

The Korean tyre manufacturer decided to use the skills of its in-house designer and former Fiat Advanced Design employee, Rob Dolton, to demonstrate what tomorrow’s SUVs could be like. The result is a three-door crossover with a fully-electric drivetrain Fortis that comprises of four 100hp chassis-mounted motors, one for each wheel.

The electric motors are powered by a Lithium ion battery pack that can be recharged at home, work or at a recharge station.

The Fortis boasts ground-breaking tyre technology. The tread pattern can be adjusted at will to provide optimum performance for both on and off-road.

The tyre threads feature special metal biters that optimize off-road performance when employed, while for on-road use, the tyre cavity is inflated thus expanding the rubber areas to cover the metal biters.

Dolton also found a way to make use of used tyres as the vehicle’s bumper sections, doors, bonnet, front wings and rear hatch are all manufactured from recycled tyre rubber.

U.S. pricing is announced for the 2010 model year Impreza range that remains unchanged for the most part. Prices start at the same level as  2009MY Impreza, with a base MSRP for both the 170hp 2.5i five-door hatchback and  sedan  models of $17,495 (excluding destination and delivery fees). The Japanese automaker lowered the base price for the Impreza 2.5i Premium to $18,495, or $1,000 less than the 2009 model.

The company said that the Impreza 2.5i, 2.5GT and Outback Sport models receive a new grille while the company also introduced a new exterior color (Camellia Red Pearl) for the 224HP 2.5i & 2.5GT models and a new Steel Silver Metallic/Paprika Red Pearl for the Outback.

The 2010MY Impreza other changes include the introduction of the new Special Edition Package with a powermoonroof and fog lights as well as the All-Weather Package while Bluetooth hands-free cell phone capability is now standard on WRX Premium 2.5i and  Premium models with the navigation system.

The 2010 model year receives black alcantara trim and a black center console with red stitching with prices remaining unchanged at $34,995.

Mitsubishi’s European division has launched the 2010MY Pajero. The minor model year facelift brings a prepped up version of Mitsubishi’s 3.2-liter inline four turbo diesel engine that now makes 200HP and 441Nm or 325 lb-ft of torque, up from 160HP and 381Nm respectively.

Particularly, the combined consumption of the Pajero 3-door with a 5-speed manual gearbox has been reduced from 9.2 to 8.5 lt/100km with corresponding C02 emissions of 224g/km, down from 244g/km while the Pajero 5-door with the new auto box consumes on average 9.6 lt/100km instead of 10.6lt/100km.

Despite the 25 percent increase in performance, Mitsubishi claims that along with the introduction of a new 5-speed automatic transmission, the 2010 Pajero 3.2-liter DI-D achieves greater fuel efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions compared to the outgoing model.

The new Pajero 3.2 DI-D’s towing capacity has been increased from 2,800kg to 3,000kg in the three-door model and from 3,300kg to 3,500 kg in the five-door version.

Other improvements for the 2010 model year include a thicker windshield and additional insulation that help reduce noise levels, new 17- and 18-inch alloy wheel designs and an upgraded version of Mitsubishi’s Multi Communication System (MMCS) with a disk capacity of 40GB.