Archive for Rumours

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Mercedes-Benz has long been rumoured to be coming up with the CLE-Class, a coupe based on the C-Class, but what we’ve got so far is only the CLC-Class, a restyled hatchback version of the previous generation C-Class chassis.

Theophilus Chin has whipped up what he thinks the CLE-Class 4-door coupe could look like, with headlamps inspired by the SL-Class. It’s essentially a smaller version of the Mercedes Benz CLS-Class, and the CLS is a 4-door coupe version of the E-Class.

No news anywhere lately about the CLE-Class, so it may not be something that could ever come into existence after all. It was rumoured that the CLE would come with suicide-doors instead of being a proper 4-door car because the car would be much smaller than the E-Class-based CLS and the 4 doors would not look good on it.

A more hardcore and lightweight version of the Mk7 Ford Fiesta (shown above) is in the works, and like its higher performance Focus sibling, it will be called the Ford Fiesta RS. According to Auto Express, the new 7th generation Ford Fiesta will have two high performance versions instead of just the ST, similiar to the line-up planned for its bigger brother, the Ford Focus. The Fiesta will have a “warm” Fiesta ST, as well as an all-out hot hatch Ford Fiesta RS.

The Mk6 Fiesta ST came with a 150 PS 2.0 liter Duratec, so the new Mk7 RS has to top the 150 PS figure. While there are no official details yet, the Mk7 ST is rumoured to come with a new 1.6 liter EcoBoost turbocharged inline-4 engine instead of a large normally aspirated Duratec engine, so it will be very easy to tune up this engine for the RS version. Expect the ST to feature 150 horses or so, and the RS to top out at nearly 200 horsepower.

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It appears that a group of people have been working on a Super 2000 Proton Satria Neo rally car, and the above image sent in by LivinCars is proof that such a race machine is in the works. Yahoo Eurosport UK reports that the people behind this car is most likely Mellors Elliot Motorsport based at Bakewell in the Derbyshire region. Mellors Elliot Motorsport was the company that prepared the Proton PERT that Karamjit Singh raced and won in the Production Car World Championship. This is unconfirmed of course.

No specifications at the moment, but FIA regulations for Super 2000 cars include a maximum power output of 280 horsepower normally aspirated, so it’s just natural that the development team tune up the Neo to produce that amount of power to be competitive. There’s also a maximum displacement limit of 2.0 liters - so it’s not very likely that this will be powered by a Campro 1.6 engine. The engine must be mated to a 6-speed sequential gearbox with control specification made by Sadev, Xtrac or Ricardo.

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Ford is reportedly working on a new project called the Raptor, essentially a very powerful Ford F150 with long travel shocks from Fox Racing and a turbocharged V8 from the new “Boss” family. The Fox shock absorbers are similiar to the extra long travel suspension used in Baja 1000 desert racers, and will allow the new Raptor to quickly cross bad terrain without a sweat.

The new Boss family of large V8 engines will start from 6.2 liters, and produce at least 425 horsepower and 576Nm of torque in normally aspirated form. A twin turbo Boss with direct injection reportedly produces about 880Nm of torque. The Boss V8 competes with engines like GM’s 6.2 liter Vortec.

Shown above is a standard Ford F150. The “Raptor” is expected to be wider than the standard truck.

These are supposed to be leaked product images of the upcoming successor to the Mazda RX series of rotary coupes - the Mazda RX-9. Under the hood will be the new RENESIS 16X, a 1.6 liter twin rotor engine.

It looks like a much more toned down version of the Mazda Taiki, with the only similiarity remaining being the coupe shape and the rather extraterrestrial-looking front grille.

One more rear shot after the jump.

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Click here to read the rest of Is this the upcoming Mazda RX-9?

The Malaysian Reserve reports that a local firm has approached Proton with a proposal to take over Proton’s stake in Lotus. The business daily did not mention which local firm this is - but whispers through the grapevines say this might be Naza.

Naza wants to build its own cars. It’s first attempt at it’s own car was the Naza Sutera, now known as the Naza Forza. For future models, Lotus could provide Naza with the necessary platform to build its car on - the Versatile Vehicle Architecture. Also, as successful distributors of most of the supercar brands here in Malaysia, it could also take over the marketing of Lotus sports cars in this country.

Of course, we don’t actually know for sure if it is Naza, or if there is such a thing at all, so let’s wait and see if The Malaysian Reserves is right about this.

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Autocar reports that the next generation W212 E-Class will be unveiled in September 2008 - less than a year from now. Once again Mercedes Benz will be trying to get a younger generation of customers, and the new car will gain more hard edged looks, like its two siblings the new S-Class and the new C-Class.

The new Mercedes Benz E-Class will also get direct injection engines for its high end engines, probably the same new direct injected 3.5 liter V6 found in the Mercedes Benz CLS350 CGI. The new lean-burn CGI engine manages a fuel consumption of 9.1 to 9.3 liters per 100km in the European driving cycle, and delivers 292 horsepower and 365Nm of torque over 3,000 to 5,100rpm - an extra 20 horsepower and 4% more torque compared to the conventionally injected 3.5 liter V6.

The torque to displacement ratio also exceeds the usual slightly below 100Nm per liter ratio for normally aspirated engines.

For Malaysians, it would be interesting to see whether the E200K replacement gets a new turbocharged engine or not… as many feel the M271 is getting abit old.

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Autocar has the scoop on the next generation BMW 5-Series, expected to go on sale in March 2009. The new executive luxury sedan will grow 10mm in length because of a longer wheelbase. To minimize weight gain, the chassis will use a version of the current model’s aluminium spacefront front mated to a steel rear.

The top of the range non-M5 5-series will feature a 4.4 liter V8, but it will be twin parallel turbocharged to produce over 400 horsepower.

New technologies will include blind-spot recognition, and automatic lane change detection, and these systems will all be connected to each other with a FlexRay bus, a network technology that first made its debut on the BMW X5.

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BMW’s finance director Michael Ganal has indicated to German magazine auto motor und sport that an engine collaboration between Mercedes Benz and BMW could be announced before Christmas this month.

BMW already has a successful collaboration with PSA Peugeot Citroen for the engine used in the second generation R56 MINI. This new partnership with Mercedes Benz could involve next generation small BMWs or MINIs and Mercedes Benz models such as the A-Class and the B-Class sharing a common drivetrain.

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We will be able to see the final production version of the Nissan GT-R at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show next week, though many argue that we’ve already seen the production version with the GT-R PROTO shown previously.

While we have an idea what it will look like, specs have been not much but rumours so far, but AN reports that the new sports car will be powered by a 3.8 liter twin turbo V6 sending power through all four wheels with an all-wheel drive system, a GT-R trademark.

Given the modern performance turbocharged engine’s usual 100 to 150 horsepower to liter ratio, expect the new Nissan GT-R to be putting out over 400 horsepower.

It will come in a few colour options: three different shades of silver, white pearl, red and black. There will also be a GT-R Black Edition and a GT-R Premium Edition, other than the normal standard version which starts at US$66,500. The Premium Edition is expected to cost US$72,000.

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