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This year’s Honda Civic Honda Factory Performance (HFP) Concept is an odd concoction. It’s based on the Civic Si with the powerful high-revving i-VTEC engine but has aerodynamic elements from the Honda Civic Hybrid in order to improve fuel efficiency.

The HFP Civic Si “Hybrid” features aerodynamic wheels similiar to those you find on the Civic Hybrid, a lighter HFP exhaust system and an upgraded HFP suspension. According to Honda, a similiar kit is already being used in the real world in the Super Taikyu Series race in Japan.

Look after the jump for more shots of the SEMA Civic sedan and coupe.

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The Mitsubishi Racing Lancer has emerged tops in its maiden race at the Baja Portalegre 500, piloted by Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret from France. It finished 515.16km of stages in 6 hours, 11 minutes and 48 seconds, winning by a margin of 4 minutes and 3 seconds.

According to Peterhansel, the 280 PS 3.0 liter V6 motor in the Racing Lancer is a huge improvement in all areas especially the strong torque that helps bring the Racing Lancer faster out of slower turns. He also commended the chassis and the suspension, which apparently was set up very well by Mitsubishi engineers.

Second and third place were BMW X3 SUVs. I wonder if those are actual X3s or tube frames with X3-like body panels just like the Racing Lancer.

Look after the jump for two more shots of the Racing Lancer.

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These tyres are definitely suited for the kind of pimped out rides that are making its debut at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas this week. Kumho has just unveiled what they claim is the world’s first 15-series profile tyre for 22 inch alloy wheels. The Kumho ECSTA SPT KU31 comes in a 385/15ZR22 size. Kumho says it has used computer simulation technology to optimise the ultra low profile sidewall structure in order to prevent the formation of standing waves or ripples. These problems can occur due to heat build-up at high speeds. Kumho also says the tyres have semi-run flat capability, though they did not go into detail what exactly semi-run flat means.

We heard news back in September that BMW had tasked its M Division with building a production version of the BMW Concept CS, but it seems that after relooking its accounts books, they’ve decided that they cannot afford it. They’ve just released Q3 2008 financial results and the company only managed an operating return on sales of less than 1.3%.

The Concept CS has been shelved for now, as internal calculations showed the car would not be helping that return on sales figures, plus they do not need such a halo vehicle at the moment. Instead, BMW will be focusing on Efficient Dynamics and its “project i”, which is expected to spawn a new city car (i = Isetta?) that will have a choice of either electric propulsion or a high efficiency combustion engine.

BMW also needs to focus on its plans to cut costs by 6 billion Euros a year by 2012. As it is, they’re struggling financially. Q3 2008 earnings before interest and tax fell 60% to 387 million euros compared to the same period last year, far from the estimated 574 million Euros that financial analysts had predicted.

So the 4-seater, 4-door Aston Martin Rapide rival BMW Concept CS remains for the moment just that, a concept and nothing more until the world gets through this recession.

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I found this TV commercial for the BMW Night Vision system slightly creepy for some reason, it reminded me of South Park’s Woodland Critter Christmas animals. But still, it’s quite a cute way to show how the BMW Night Vision system in the new F01 BMW 7-Series works. Watch the video after the jump.

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Toyota is working on a compact car to sell in India and reports say that they’ve set a target price tag of US$5,000 which is about 2.4 lakh INR or RM 17,600. This is about double the price of the Tata Nano’s expected retail price. The new compact car is set to hit the Indian roads in 2010, where it will also be produced for export to emerging countries such as Brazil, which has been referred to as the world’s biggest emerging market.

Although some of the media abroad have reported that the car will be based off a Daihatsu which is becoming rather common practice for the two Japanese automakers lately (Toyota owns a majority stake in Daihatsu), apparently Toyota Kirloskar Motor India managing director Hiroshi Nakagawa found it important to say that the new car will be very much a Toyota development, not a Daihatsu. Hmm, is there something wrong with Daihatsu’s reputation in India or something?

Nakagawa also declined to comment on the reported US$5,000 price tag, only saying that it would be in a different class than the Tata Nano - presumably this means it’s not as barebones as the Nano and will be higher up in the food chain.

The new Opel Insignia (badged as a Vauxhall in the UK) is now in China, badged as a Buick. The Insignia is wearing the Buick Regal badge, the nameplate of a car that used to be a D-segment contender in China but has since been replaced by the Buick LaCrosse, which is also sold in China.

The last time there was a Regal in China was back in mid-2004 before it was replaced by the LaCrosse. The Buick LaCrosse is due for replacement soon though, with its lifecycle expected to end in 2009. GM is also planning a new LaCrosse based on the same Epsilon II platform that the Insignia/Regal uses, so does this mean China will have two Buicks of similiar size?

It will initially be offered with two inline-4 petrol engines. One is a 2.4 liter normally aspirated unit putting out 165 horsepower, probably the LE5 from the GM Family II engine range. The other would be the 2.0 all-aluminium direct injection turbo found in the European Insignia, putting out 220 PS and 350Nm of torque between 2,000 to 5,200rpm. It also features twin balancer shafts to smoothen out vibration.

Look after the jump for a full gallery of the Buick Regal.

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Hyundai has just announced a new all-aluminium diesel engine family, the R-Engine family which comes in two displacements - 2.0 liter and 2.2 liter. These motors are key to Hyundai and Kia’s continued efforts to make it big in the European market, and they are Euro 5 compliant thanks to a close-coupled diesel particulate filter. The 2.0 liter unit produces 184 PS and 392Nm of torque while the 2.2 liter unit produces 200 PS and 436Nm of torque, which are pretty impressive figures for a single-turbocharged engine.

It uses an electronically controlled variable geometry turbocharger and a third generation commonrail system with piezo-electric injectors injecting fuel pressurized at 1,800 bar. It is driven by an internal steel silent timing chain, and also has a lower balance shaft encased in a stiffened ladder frame for increased rigidity. These measures helps reduce vibration.

The new R-Engine family will go into production in 2009 and will first appear in new SUVs and large saloons. The Hyundai ix55 and the new Kia Sorento will probably be one of the first few Hyundai vehicles to feature this engine.

Two out of three of the B-Zero project gets facelifted this week - and this is one of them, the Peugeot 107. One the exterior, the 107 facelift gets a new front bumper and 14 inch alloy wheel design, as well as two new colours - Mandaline Orange and Electra Blue. The interior gets a new Stilada trim, which consists of two choices - a black background trim with silver-grey flecks and a black background trim with orange-red flickr. The Alcantara trim gets an upgrade - its now specified in black with silver-grey stitching. Apparently both the petrol (A 3-cylinder Toyota motor) and diesel engines have been tweaked for better fuel consumption as well.

Look after the jump for a gallery of the facelifted 107.

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It’s common practice in Europe to sell commercial vehicles of small hatchbacks designed to carry one or two people at the front and a pure cargo carrying layout at the rear, so there are even things like the Peugeot 207 Van.

Mitsubishi is doing just that, as the Japanese car manufacturer is developing a commercial version of the Mitsubishi i MiEV electric hatchback (passenger version shown above) that is designed to handle cargo. The commercial i MiEV “van” will be launched in 2009, but production volume will be limited by the supply of lithium ion batteries available. The electric i-van will be offered in global markets, not just in Japan. It could be stretched or have a different bodyshell based on a stretched chassis to increase cargo area.

According to Mitsubishi, electric vehicles are quite suitable as commercial delivery vehicles as they have predictable driving patterns, relatively short ranges and they return to a common garage so planning the vehicle’s recharging schedule is easier.

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