Audi has released the first official teaser shots and basic information about its much anticipated A5 Sportback. This includes details on the entry prices and the engine type. Sportback is the third variant of the A5 series after the Coupe and Convertible. It is five-door coupe with a low roofline and a large hatchback that draws its inspiration from the Sportback concept study revealed in Detroit Auto Show in January this year.

According to Audi the Sportback’s baggage volume of 480 liters or 17.0 cubic feet is nearly equal to A4 Avant. However, there’s also the option to fold the rear seats down and the volume will increase to 980 liters or 34.6 cubic feet.

The engine range of the A5 Sportback will include two gasoline and three diesel engines. The two gasoline units with the capacity of the 2.0-liter TFSI will have an output of 211HP and 350 Nm or 258 lb-ft of torque, while the 3.2-liter V6 will generate 265HP. The engines will be combined with Audi’s all-wheel drive quattro system.

The A5 Sportback is scheduled to arrive at European dealerships in September with an entry price of €36,050 in Germany for the 2.0 TDI versions. A cheaper model of the vehicle is possible to also appear in the middle of 2010. Audi A5 Sportback will not be sold in the U.S. market.

Introduced at the Detroit Auto Show this year, the Stirling Moss will be the very last iteration of the McLaren SLR line. Its striking lines seem to illicit a love-it-or-hate-it reaction, but no one can argue that Mercedes-Benz didn’t come up with something unique as a send off to its flagship model. Not that you can buy one anyway – only 75 are planned for production and will only be offered to the most loyal of SLR customers. So what does 750,000 euros get you? In addition to the unique body and interior, each car comes with M-B’s bread-and-butter supercharged V8 pumping out 650 horsepower plus the ability to go 200+ mph without so much as a windshield protecting you from bugs at triple digit speeds. Sounds like a pretty good deal to us. Still can’t decide if the McLaren SLR Stirling Moss is your style? Mercedes-Benz has published a plethora of new photos of its €750,000 (approx $960,000) SLR Stirling Moss speedster that will be built in a limited run of 75 units. The SLR Stirling Moss comes with a 650-horsepower supercharged V8 engine that launches the car from standstill to 100 km/h (62mph) in less than 3.5 seconds, and on to a top speed of 350 km/h or 218 mph.

By the introduction of the XF sedan the renaissance of Jaguar has really began. It was then, when the first Jaguar model in, well a long time, that deserved serious consideration from luxury sport sedan buyers and the first that could hold its own against rivals from BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi. The second salvo came at this year’s Detroit Auto Show where Jaguar unveiled the XFR. Being powered by a supercharged, direct-inject version of Jaguar’s 5.0L V8 that produces 510 horsepower, the XFR was specifically designed to stare down the BMW M5 and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG.
Jaguar North America has just announced pricing for the 2010 model XF, and the XFR model rings at $80,000 even. That’s a few thousand less than both the M5 and E63 AMG, and the XFR produces more power than both. The Audi S6, meanwhile, is less expensive than all three, but also significantly less powerful with just 435 hp (the 580-hp RS6 isn’t sold in the U.S.).

‘Auto Motor und Sport‘ (German car magazine) is reporting that the VW Group is planning to introduce SEAT and Skoda variants of its forthcoming mid-engine roadster that will be based on theBlueSport concept unveiled at this year’s Detroit Auto Show. VW’s edition of the roadster will most likely be offered with the firm’s TSI / TFSI gasoline and TDI diesel engines.

While a SEAT variant of the mid-engine roadster sounds logical given that the Spanish brand is supposed to be somewhat sporty (as long as it comes with a unique styling and a lower price tag than the VW’s proposal), a Skoda version doesn’t really make much sense in our opinion.

The Czech automaker has made a name for itself as a producer of reasonably priced family cars and we can’t see how a two-seater roadster fits into this image. Unless VW has other plans for Skoda, producing a third variant (maybe even forth if Audi gets its own version) will only confuse the Group’s buyers and most probably, lure away customers from SEAT.

General Motors’ increasingly empty coffers could entrust the Cadillac Converj show car to ‘concept only’ status. The Detroit Auto Show coupe has been the subject of production rumors since the Automotive News is reporting that GM may not have enough money to make Converj a reality.
“Ready to go? Well,it’s a high enough priority to displace something else, and that we can actually make money on the vehicle, and that there is potential customer interest and so forth.
The angularly gorgeous Cadillac was designed around the same extended-range Voltec architecture as Chevrolet’s forthcoming Volt, itself a spectacularly expensive research and development effort. GM is clearly committed to making the Volt a production reality, and if it ever has hopes of making money on its plug-in hybrid technology, a higher-priced, higher-margin product like from an upper-crust brand like Cadillac would seem like one of the best ways to defray R&D costs. In short, GM may still have to accompany due diligence on the Converj’s business case, but if there’s any money at all left in the company’s bank accounts, we still think the future for the showstopper is a bright one. Given the 2011 date attached to the Volt, we would expect the Caddy to roll into showrooms for 2012.