Porsche will be displaying the Porsche Cayenne GTS at the 2007 Frankfurt International Motor Show, the latest addition to the Cayenne SUV model line-up. The Porsche Cayenne GTS is the first Cayenne to feature Porsche Active Suspension Management, and it is equipped with steel springs. This combination previously reserved exclusively for Porsche’s sports cars is a first for the Cayenne SUV.

The Porsche Cayenne GTS takes the 4.8 liter V8 from the Cayenne S and tunes it up to produce 20 more horsepower – the result is 405hp at 6,500rpm and a Cayenne S-matching 500Nm of torque at 3,500rpm. It also has a shorter axle drive ratio than the Cayenne S – 4.1:1 as opposed to 3.55:1. 0 to 100km/h takes 6.1 seconds – 0.5 seconds quicker than the Cayenne S with a 6-speed manual gearbox.

The front and rear design are taken from the top of the range engined Cayenne Turbo, and the Cayenne GTS is available with two new exclusive colours: GTS Red and Nordic Gold Metallic. The GTS slots in between the S and the Turbo.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of 2008 Porsche Cayenne GTS

Like most Frankfurt previews, we get to see the car but not much of the details yet, so let’s just feast our eyes on this new second generation Mazda 6 for now and wait until more details surface.

Mazda say the new second generation 2008 Mazda 6 is lighter than it’s predecessor – something that breaks the tradition of newly released cars getting heavier and heavier with every generation. The new Mazda 6 does not share a platform with the Mondeo’s EUCD platform, instead uses a revised version of first generation CD3 platform.

From these photos, you can see three variants are available – a sedan, a liftback and a station wagon. Lots of photos to be checked out after the jump.

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Click here to read the rest of 2008 Mazda 6: 2nd generation Zoom-Zoom

Not much details are known on the SEAT Tribu Concept other than what you can see in these photos here that have been let out onto the internet before it’s debut at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. The 2-door compact SUV is most likely based on the Volkswagen Tiguan/Audi Q5 platform.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of SEAT Tribu Concept – initial photos

The production spawn of the Ford Iosis X concept car from Paris 2006 will make it’s debut at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, but for those who are not able to see it in the metal – like me, here are details and photos.

The Ford Kuga will be on sale in Europe in the first half of 2008. It is available in either front wheel drive or intelligent four wheel drive modes, and the variant to be shown at Frankfurt will be the 136 PS, 320Nm (340Nm overboost) 2.0 liter Duratorq TDCi common rail turbodiesel with Garett variable geometry turbocharger mated to a Durashift 6-speed manual. More details on engine variants will be available closer to the launch date.

The Ford Kuga is not exactly the same as the iosis X concept and we’re not talking about matters of exterior styling and interior. The roof itself has been adjusted to have a slightly higher silhouette to help with passenger headroom.

Since the Kuga is essentially a Focus SUV, expect the new Focus facelift to carry some of the Kuga’s ‘kinetic design’ styling cues.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Ford Kuga to be unveiled at Frankfurt 2007

The Audi RS6 Avant is Audi’s most powerful car ever, and although it is only set to be in the showrooms in April next year, Audi is giving us a preview at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. The Audi RS6 Avant is powered by a 5.2 liter twin-turbocharged V10 FSI engine that is loosely based on the normally aspirated V10 unit in the S6 and the S8.

Up from the 400-odd in the S-line Audis, the new RS6 engine puts out 580 horsepower peaking between 6,250rpm and 6,700rpm and 650Nm of peak torque available all the way from 1,500rpm to 6,250rpm. This power is channelled through a 6-speed tiptronic automatic to all four-wheels thanks to Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive. Translated into acceleration figures, this means 4.6 seconds to 100km/h and 14.9 seconds to 200km/h.

The engine uses a compression ratio of 10.5:1 which is particularly high for a forced inducted engine, thanks to FSI direct injection which delivers precisely metered amounts of fuel to the combustion chamber – this avoids knocking. It also uses a dry-sump lubrication system which ensures all parts of the engine including the turbochargers are well-lubed despite constant lateral acceleration of 1.2g.

The scorching estate rides on a sports suspension equipped with Dynamic Ride Control, which reduces pitching and rolling movements without the aid of electronics – instead only the laws of fluid dynamics comes into play. With Dynamic Ride Control, shock absorbers are connected diagonally via two oil lines and two control valves. Uneven road surfaces will produce flows of oil which will generate additional damping force at whichever absorber which needs it. The suspension system uses a four-link front suspension and a trepezoidal-link rear suspension.

The quattro system splits power between the front and rear wheels at a ratio of 40 to 60 in it’s basic setting. Steering is via a speed-sensitive servotronic system. There is also an ESP system with a sporty setting that intervenes later, and it can also be completely deactivated.

The RS6 Avant comes with standard steel brakes, but there is an optional ceramic brake system which calls for larger 20-inch wheels (standard are 19 inch). The tyres for the 19 inch and 20 inch wheel options are 225/40R19 and 275/35/R20 respectively.

Seriously, it’s not very often you can say you’ve got a car that accelerates this fast but yet still has a maximum of 1,660 liters of luggage space, unless you have the M5 Touring of course. I can see why there’s a market for these cars.

More photos are available after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Audi RS6 Avant with twin turbo V10

Chris Bangle explains the BMW X6 in this video titled “BMW Concept X6 – The Idea”. Some of the questions you have in your mind about why the X6 exists in the first place are in the video, and Bangle attempts to answer them. Video after jump.

Click here to read the rest of BMW X6 Teaser Video

The Fiat Panda Aria concept car marks the return of the twin-cylinder engine to cars, something which Fiat thinks is the next step to reducing fuel consumption and improving emissions. For the longest time, the smallest of cars like the K-cars of Japan have been using 3-cylinder inline engines. Fiat’s new SGE 900cc Turbo twin-cylinder engine knocks one off the cylinder count.

Fiat Powertrain Technologies decided to downsize from a conventional 4-cylinder engine to a 2-cylinder turbocharged engine. The engine incorporates Fiat’s Multiair electronic inlet valve control system (fancy word for throttle-less intake), turbocharging, and a Stop and Start device to reduce fuel consumption during heavy traffic. Two versions of the engine are available, with a third one under development.

The first variant is a 80 horsepower version that uses a petrol-methane fuel supply system. It runs on a mixture of 70% methane and 30% hydrogen. Then you have the Mono Fuel petrol-only version which puts out 105 horsepower. The third one currently being developed is a normally aspirated version making 65 horsepower.

The engine is 20% lighter and takes up 25% less space than a 4-cylinder engine that makes a similiar power output.

Other than the engine, the Fiat Panda Aria has a few other interesting features. The interior is upholstered with natural fibres, woven coconut fibre and biodegradable elements, while the exterior panelling is made of semi-transparent eco-resin and the structure is treated with opaque ‘totouch’ paint. Even the tyres are Pirelli’s experimental ultra-green tyres which use new compounds and new aromatic oil-free textile weaves.

One more rear shot after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Fiat Panda Aria features two-cylinder turbo engine

Once again word has surfaced on a small Saab to be positioned under the Saab 9-3 sedan. Saab’s last attempt at a sub-9-3 car was the Saab 9-2X or more fondly known as the “Saabaru”, which was a rebadge of the Subaru Impreza station wagon. Saab only sold that for 2 years – 2005 and 2006. Saab wants to try again.

“It might be the most dramatically styled. The idea is to have an iconic shape. It wouldn’t be a toy. This is not a two-seat exotic roadster. It would have a level of functionality. It could be a hatchback. We don’t know yet,” says Steve Shannon, Saab’s general manager in the US. He further added that the new small Saab would target active 20 to 30 year olds. A target release date is sometime in the next decade.

Early 2006, there was word of a Saab 9-1, a small car to take on the likes of the BMW 1-Series and the Audi A3. The Saab 9-1 was to be based on the upcoming GM Delta II platform, which will also underpin new cars like the Chevrolet Volt. You will find an artist’s impression of the new small Saab at the beginning of this post.

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A brochure of the JDM market Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X has been scanned and posted at the Lancer Register Forum, revealing to us the first official details and power ratings of the new rally-inspired sports sedan, though the car that the rest of the world will get might be slightly different in terms of power outputs.

The 4B11T makes 280 PS at 6,500rpm and 422Nm of torque at 3,500rpm. You can see the engine’s torque curve in the little graph embedded in this post. This is slightly better than the Evo VIII’s 4G63T that makes an equivalent output but lower peak torque at only 400Nm.

Two models will be available – the GSR and the RS. The RS is the lighter, more bare basics version – so bare that it doesn’t even have that trademark Evo rear wing, knowing very well that owners will most probably dump it for a carbon fibre GT wing-type design. The GSR can be equipped with either a 5-speed manual or a 6-speed Twin Clutch SST gearbox, while the RS only comes with a 5-speed manual.

Click here to view all pages of the brochure scan.

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Renault is thinking about making a Renaultsport version of the new Renault Laguna III, making it the first Laguna to have a sporty tuned up performance version. There are currently two Renault models that have Renaultsport variants – the Clio and the Megane which are B-segment and C-segment cars respectively.

“We are thinking about it but we have not decided yet. The chassis with four-wheel steering could be used as the base for the car. The question is which engine would we use, and do we have enough customers who would want the car. We will see with the launch of the standard Laguna and the Coupe at the end of next year. But I would like it,” says Patrice Ratti, programmer director for Renault’s larger cars.

The upcoming yet to be launched coupe version of the Renault Laguna III will also get a new system called Active Drive that will give the car four-wheel steering capabilities. It will first debut on the coupe when it is launched in late 2008, but will eventually be available on the Laguna III sedan and estate later.

This strange concept car is not as strange as it’s name – the Citroen C-Cactus Concept. It’s powered by a Hybrid HDi powertrain – that’s a PSA Peugeot Citroen technology that uses a 70hp HDi diesel engine with DPFS mated to a 30hp electric motor installed in the clutch housing. The hybrid system also has a Zero Emissions Vehicle mode that runs on the electric motor only.

The Citroen C-Cactus Concept is built on the Citroen C4’s platform. It was built according to the following values – essential, intelligent and ecologically aware. It only weighs 1,306kg which is not too heavy by today’s standards, but what’s interesting is the way Citroen engineers built it.

They’ve simplified the number of parts and mechanisms in the car to an extreme, grouped several functions in a single part, and removed all parts that are non-essential to the running of the car, or to the comfort and well-being of it’s passengers. Yes, this is done to the extent that there is no dashboard – all functions are integrated onto the fixed hub steering wheel, like indicators, lights, wipers, horn and cruise control, tachometer, headlamp controls and warning signals.

Even the doors have been simplified to the extent that power windows or even traditional windows that go down and up are not used, instead there is a simple sliding mechanism. The door panels are made of two parts, compared to twelve in a conventional hatchback door. The seats are also only made of two parts – the foam, and the frame inclusive of rails that fixes to the car.

More images after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Citroen C-Cactus Concept

Fiat will be showing off it’s Fiat Grande Punto Abarth “esse-esse” (Super Sport, or SS) prototype at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. The SS tuning kit boosts power of the basic Abarth up to 180 horsepower, up from the stock 150 horsepower that the Abarth’s turbocharged 1.4 liter engine makes.

Other enhancements include a lower stance and more powerful brakes, plus it will have SS badging around the car.

One more photo after the jump.

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Click here to read the rest of Fiat Grande Punto Abarth SS

[ UPDATE: The Suzuki SX4 1.6 automatic has been launched in Malaysia! Click here for more details, specifications, photos and most importantly PRICES! ]

Reader Akmal spotted this little hatchback at the JPJ Putrajaya building. Although the photo is blur – probably as a result of a phone with no autofocus – from the rear you can make out that this is a Suzuki SX4 hatchback, which probably means we will be getting a fourth Suzuki model in Malaysia soon. The SX4 will be joining the existing ranks of the Swift, Grand Vitara and the APV.

Suzuki Malaysia is lacking a sedan model so yet another hatchback seems redundant, but they could be planning to introduce both sedan and hatchback models of the Suzuki SX4 like what Tan Chong has done with the Nissan Latio. The Suzuki SX4 has also been rebadged by Fiat as the Fiat Sedici.

The Suzuki SX4 is a little B-segment hatchback and can be equipped with offroader styling, much like the Volkswagen CrossPolo. It can be equipped with all-wheel-drive. Read more on the SX4 in the related links below:

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Mercedes-Benz has been building it’s transmissions like the 7G-Tronic in-house, unlike most manufacturers who buy them from a transmission specialist, like how BMW gets it’s sweet quick-shifting 6-speed autos from ZF.

In an effort to cut costs and increase innovation, Mercedes-Benz is now considering sourcing transmission from a third party transmission builder. It is on the lookout for an 8-speed dual clutch transmission for next generation Mercedes-Benz cars.

It’s rival BMW has M DCT, a 7-speed dual clutch transmission sourced exclusively from Getrag. Getrag also supplies dual clutch transmissions to Ford, branded as Powershift. The next generation 7-Series is expected to get an 8-speed automatic from ZF. Japanese rival Lexus gets it’s 8-speed automatic transmissions from Aisin.

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Motor Trend reports that the Lexus GS-F will only make it’s debut with the next generation Lexus GS, which would be the fourth generation since the first GS was unveiled in 1993, based on the 1991 Toyota Aristo. The current third generation Lexus GS was released late 2005 and is due to be replaced by the fourth generation in 2011, with the GS-F coming the following year in 2012.

If the project gets a green light, the 2012 Lexus GS-F is expected to make it’s debut with the Lexus LF-H supercar’s V10 engine mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. Above is an artist’s impression by Theophilus Chin of what the GS-F could look like if based on the current third gen Lexus GS. It takes styling cues from its younger sibling, the V8-powered Lexus IS-F.

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