AutoWeek and Road & Track has photos of the upcoming Version 10 Subaru Impreza, and they include shots of the sedan as well! While the previous images by Motor Trend looked pretty much like artist’s impressions and only showed the hatch, now we somewhat have confirmation that this is how the new Impreza will look like, as these are actual photos. My eyes hurt, what have they done to those tail lights on the hatchback?!

Check after the jump for more photos of both the sedan and hatch variants, including the non-performance version.

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Ford will be using the recently unveiled Mazda2 platform as the base for it’s next generation Ford Fiesta, and word is that it’s going to come with a softroader option. With the likes of the CrossPolo and the Suzuki SX4, why am I not suprised?

The other conventional models will be the usual 3-door and 5-door models, but in the future Ford is considering extending the Fiesta to become a supermini-MPV, which to some might not be unimaginable, but hey, supermini-MPVs are already in Malaysia! Just take a look at the Toyota Avanza.

Here’s a video of American actor/comedian Eddie Griffin crashing his Ferrari Enzo. Do you feel the pain? Video after the jump!

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It appears that the Nissan Teana will not be replacing the aging Nissan Cefiro after all. Edaran Tan Chong Motor is somehow placing the Teana in the top of the line Japanese D-segment CBU segment, occupied currently by the lone Honda Accord 3.0 V6. The Nissan Teana will be fully imported from Thailand and will go for RM230,000 OTR.

RM230,000 will buy you a generally nice looking car, however it seems overpriced for what it is. The Toyota Camry 2.4, also a CBU from Thailand, goes for only RM168,303.00, making it seem like a bargain. It also makes you wonder why the Teana has to be priced the way it is now, when Toyota can get the Camry in for much cheaper.

The Honda Accord 3.0 V6 CBU also comes from Thailand, and goes for RM212,800, even cheaper than the Teana V6 2.3L! It also has bigger and more powerful engine, plus a sunroof, but the Teana has 6 airbags while the Accord 3.0 V6 only has 4. However, the Teana also still uses a 4-speed auto, while rivals have gone 5 speeds.

The Teana could give it’s competitors an edge and end up being somewhat worth it in terms of ride and handling though, but I can’t exactly do a comparison looking at spec sheets so we’ll have to leave it at this for the moment. There must be some reason why the Teana ended up being priced like this, but I don’t know why.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Nissan Teana on sale for RM230,000 OTR!

We spotted this beautiful car at the recent Porsche Cayenne facelift launch at Bukit Kiara Equestrian Country Club. Aston Martins are generally not known for much of their technical specification. Not exactly a car for geeks to drool over the latest in technology, unlike cars like the Porsche 911 Turbo with turbines made of space age material and what not. Yet there’s just something special about Aston Martins and their design language that turns heads.

If I’m not mistaken, there are only two Aston Martin DB9s in KL. This is the second one, and I do not know who owns it. The first DB9 belongs to J.P. Chin, and has the number plate “DB9″. UPDATE: Reader Daniel Tin wrote in to inform that there is a third Aston Martin DB9 in the country with number plate MAY18.

Three lucky owners, are there any more?

Check out more photos after the jump.

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The last time BMW offered a high-priced limited-run exotic sports car was the BMW Z8, with 5,703 units sold between the years 2000 to 2003. The E52 Z8 was a production variants of a concept shown in 1997 called the BMW Z07. It had an all-aluminium chassis and body, and was powered by a 4.9 liter 32 valve V8, making 400 horsepower and 500Nm. This engine was also used in the E39 M5, and in the Z8 is positioned behind the front axle to provide that 50:50 weight distribution that every BMW must have. It had a 6-speed manual, but Alpina’s took the Z8 and created the V8 Roadster using a different engine and gearbox combo.

The Alpina version was instead powered by a 4.8 liter V8 from the first gen BMW X5, tuned up to make 375hp which was less than the original Z8, however made more torque: 520Nm peaking at a lower RPM than the original engine. The Z8 was also a Bond car, it made it’s appearance in The World is Not Enough in 1999.

We might see something similiar soon - BMW will be revealing the BMW Z9 Concept at the 2007 Shanghai Auto Show beginning April 20th 2007. An industry source says this Z9 Concept will definitely make it into production, and BMW expects to sell 15,000 BMW Z9 cars a year. It will be positioned against similiar luxury sportscars like the Mercedes Benz SL and the Audi R8.

Previously a car called the Z9 Concept (shown above) had already been shown back in 1999 at Frankfurt 99, which was a 2-door roadster with gullwing doors and powered by a 245hp, 560Nm 3.9 liter V8 turbodiesel, an engine lifted from the 740d back then. I don’t think the new Z9 Concept will be anything like that old 1999 concept, as it’s been 8 years! Styling cues from the old Z9 Concept looks like they ended up in the 6-Series.

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Fiat’s Abarth in-house tuning division will be making a comeback with the new Fiat Grande Punto Abarth. Set to bring Fiat back into the hot hatch game, the Grande Punto Abarth will feature a 1.4 liter Turbocharged engine making 150 horsepower at 5,500rpm on regular grade petrol, or 155 horsepower on RON98. With this engine, you get 6-speeds of manual fun to shift through. Peak torque is at 3,000rpm, with 230Nm, but only if you activate the sports mode which up the boost. Otherwise it is 206Nm at 2,000rpm. A more powerful version is also set to be revealed, with a total of 180 horses under the hood from the same engine.

The suspension system uses a McPherson layout at the front, and a torsion axle at the rear, similiar in setup to the Honda Civic 5-door Type R, something that has attracted criticism but somehow manages to perform well on the track. Brakes have Brembo twin pot calipers up front on 305mm ventilated discs, while the rear caliper is a single piston setup gripping 264mm discs.

An Abarth-tuned Fiat 500 is also in the works, which could prove to be quite fun.

More photos after the jump.

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Lexus is rumoured to be developing a more track-oriented lightweight version of the Lexus IS-F, which is seen by some to be too tame to be a competitor to the Audi RS4 and the BMW M3. Obviously inspired by lightweight editions of it’s competitors like the M3 CSL, the new lightweight version is to be called the Lexus IS-F Evo, will use carbon fibre bodywork and have it’s interior stripped out. 0-100km/h acceleration times are expected to be under 5 seconds.

Them Koreans sure have a sense of humour. Kia’s April fool’s prank was the Kia Concept i kit car, or i’KIA, an obvious parody of Swedish furniture company Ikea, which built it’s brand on the whole concept of affordable DIY furnishing.

The Kia Concept i Self-Build, if it actually existed, would allow buyers to choose their own engine, transmission, trim specs, and even body, whether sedan, hatch, stationwagon or even pick-up. Based on choices, the consumer would be supplied modules, and the consumer would assemble the car himself at home.

Our Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will be meeting up with Volkswagen officials soon, which might include the big guy himself, Martin Winterkorn. A senior official that is close to the tie-up talks says “There is genuinely good faith between the parties”, contrary to what the Singapore Straits Times reported last week.

The PM also added that talks at the official level are nearing conclusion and a full report is expected to be presented to him anytime now. It is also a priority to conclude talks as soon as possible, as the earlier deadline of 31st March 2007 had already been missed, thus the talks are actually running late now.

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