A natural progression to the offroader-looking stationwagon Peugeot 206 Escapade and Peugeot Escapade Concept would be a similar version based on the Peugeot 207, and them French guys have done it - here’s the Peugeot 207 SW Outdoor Concept.

Car manufacturers have realised that the market taste for the classic station wagon look is diminishing, thus offroader design elements like the roof rails and wheel arches have been pumped in to take advantage of the current SUV craze. Some of the features of this concept vehicle which gives us a previous of the upcoming SW variant of the Peugeot 207 are a panoramic glass roof, and a split-opening rear hatch. Expect the over the top lamp designs to be gone when the production version is unveiled.

The engine is a 1.6 liter HDi with diesel particulate filter, making 240Nm of torque from as low as 1,750rpm, with an overboost feature which brings torque up to 260Nm. The engine makes roughtly 107 horsepower at 4,000rpm.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Peugeot 207 SW Outdoor Concept

Roland Gumpert was one of the key employees of Audi. He was the motorsports division manager in the 1970s and the 1980s, a good two decades where he led Audi to win 4 Rally World Championship titles. This car, the Gumpert Apollo is a his brainchild, what one might consider the Lotus Elise of the Audi world.

Construction options for the Gumpert Apollo is fairly flexible, you can either opt for a GRP reinforced fiberglass resin, or a full carbon fibre bodywork. The 4.2 liter V8 is lifted from the Audi RS4 and is twin-turbocharged, boosting power from the normally aspirated 450hp to a nice 650hp at 6,800rpm and 809 newton meters of torque at 5,000rpm, a pretty high value as the engine is a high revving one, redlining at over 8,000rpm. This is for the top line model.

A mid-line model will feature a supercharged version with 460hp, while the base line is the standard normally aspirated 4.2 liter V8. Even so, the base line still has good performance stats, with 0-100km/h at 4.1 seconds and a top speed of 290km/h. All variants use a 6-speed sequential gearbox with twin clutches.

The Gumpert Apollo is 167.3 inches in length, 76.0 inches wide and 43.2 inches tall with a 106.8 inch wheelbase. Body drag coefficient is about 0.39 cD, really not very impressive by today’s standards.

Click here to read the rest of Gumpert Apollo powered by Audi

Acura says it’s Advanced Sports Car Concept which made it’s debut at the 2007 North American International Auto Show gives a preview of the styling cues of the next generation Honda NSX, designed by it’s Los Angeles-based design team that will be based at the new Acura Design Center. Sleek styling cues include slim and wide LED headlights, a modernized wraparound rear light design and a long pronounced hood.

Technical specs: the car will feature a front engined, rear wheel drive design, with a version of Honda’s SH-AWD modified to be rear-wheel drive only. First appearing on the 2004 Acura RL, SH-AWD, or perhaps SH-RWD as it should be named in this case, can adjust torque delivery 100% to either the left or right wheel. The engine is expected to be a normally aspirated V10. Other specs: a 2763mm wheelbase, 19 inch front and 20 inch rear performance tires mounted to custom billet-machined, polished aluminum wheels that hide powerful, ventilated carbon ceramic brake discs and eight-piston calipers.

Click here to read the rest of Acura Advanced Sports Car Concept

Remember the previous announcement I posted on toll road alternatives? Well, the NST article is now out. Grab a copy of NST today, or read the article at NST Online.

[ CLICK HERE FOR PDF VERSION ]

BMW is bringing in the BMW Alpina B7 into the US market, with the model set to be on show during the 2007 Chicago Motor Show this month. Alpina, an official BMW tuner, has taken the BMW 7-Series and fitted it with BMW’s 4.4 liter V8 engine. Of course, it wouldn’t do justice leaving the engine stock, so Alpina tweaked it with a supercharger, resulting in a monster V8 that makes 500hp at 5,500rpm, and 700Nm of torque at 4,250rpm. Horsepower matches the new E60 M5’s 5.0 liter V10 but kicks in at a much lower rpm, and the force blown motor beats the E60 M5’s torque figures by 120Nm. Clad in a nice trademark Alpina blue, the big luxury saloon goes from 0-100km/h in only 4.8 seconds, only a fraction slower than the E60 M5’s 4.7 seconds.

Of course, to match the sweet engine, you get Alpina sport-tuned suspension with Active Roll Stabilization, an aerodynamically designed bodykit to help with high speed handling as well as huge 21 inch wheels with Z-rated speed performance tyres.

More photos after the jump, and enlarged versions are viewable by clicking each photo.

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These are the latest attempts by talented graphic artists at predicting how the 2010 BMW 5-series will look like. The next generation BMW 5-series is expected to be codenamed the F10, one of the first of new BMWs to adopt the F-code for chassis, abandoning the current E-code. This very detailed rendering hints of a larger and fatter 5-series, and the headlamps used are similiar to the one on the Coupe, much sexier than AutoBild’s 3-series headlamps on their rendering of the F10. Have a look at the rear (after the jump), and you’ll realise this is pretty much just like a 3-Coupe, fattened up with four doors. The current E60 BMW 5-series has just been facelifted.

For speculation on the size of the new F10 BMW 5-series, as well as another computer rendering by AutoBild, check out the related posts below. Also, check after the jump for a rendering of the rear.

Related Posts:
BMW F10 5-Series
BMW launches E60 BMW 5-series facelift

Click here to read the rest of 2010 BMW 5-series (F10) Artist’s Impression

On the international front, car companies have started going online with their advertising because it just plain makes sense, it’s more interactive, it’s results are so much more trackable, and readership can actually be verified. However, screw-ups happen some times. Just like in a newspaper you have to be careful what article your ad appears next to, you have to exercise the same caution on the internet as well.

Above is an example of an unsuitable page that a Toyota eyeblaster ad appeared on - some might find it funny, some may not!

Audi has set up a teaser microsite for the upcoming Audi A5 Coupe, the latest car to join the Audi family. As previously posted, the A5 is an exciting car to be waiting for, as it will be the first car to debut with Audi’s new flexible MLP platform, short for Modular Platform for longtitudinally mounted engines. Read the related posts links below to find out more about this MLP platform.

Anyway, from the official teaser image above on the A5 Microsite, you can clearly see the top profile, and a little bit of the side profile, it is clear that there is only one door on each side of the car, making this a classic two-door coupe, none of that 4-door crossover coupe-sedan stuff. However, there is talk that a larger A7 Coupe will be a 4-door coupe.

The Audi A5 will be shown at the Geneva Motor Show 2007, but in the meanwhile, check out the microsite: Audi A5 Microsite

Related Posts:
Audi A5 to feature new MLP platform
2008 Audi A5 Artists Impression

Mazda has created three design concepts for the Mazda CX-7, it’s recently launched crossover 5-seater SUV slotted between the Mazda Tribute and the Mazda CX-9. Unlike the Mazda CX-9, it’s 7-seater older brother, the CX-7 is not built on the Mazda6/Ford CD3 platform but instead is a hybrid platform which borrows from the Mazda MPV and Mazda5, of which the latter is in turn based on the Mazda3/Ford C1 platform.

The three concepts are: “Adrenaline”, “Phobia” and “Wickledly Red”, designed by Mazda together with Rhys Millen, Troy Lee Designs and DG Motorsports respectively. More photos after the jump along with descriptions of the concepts.

Other than offering inspiration and showing off the trick-out-ability of the Mazda CX-7, you could also interpret this as a sign that Mazda is looking into developing a Mazdaspeed CX-7, or Mazda CX-7 MPS, whichever name depending on market.

Click here to read the rest of Pimped up Mazda CX-7 concepts by Mazda USA

The Melling Hellcat is the brainchild of legendary British engine designer Al Melling, who has been toying with mainly engines and custom bikes, but the Hellcat is set to be his first car. The Hellcat features a V10 engine with billet aluminium milled engine block and cylinder heads. The car will be a front engined, rear wheel drive car, and those two poor rear wheels are expected to put down over 1,175 horsepower to the tarmac, a figure obtained thanks to the V10 engine’s four turbochargers.

Melling build four cars a month in his Rochdale factory in the UK, and plans to build about 100 a month in a factory in the US.

Click here to read the rest of Melling Hellcat - 1,175hp quad turbo V10!