Archive for Spyshots

More details of the upcoming Ford Focus RS available on the net now - the latest scoop is a 280 horsepower upgraded version of the 2.5 liter inline-5 engine in the Focus ST, which makes its additional power via upgraded pistons, cams, valve springs, a bigger turbo, a larger intercooler, and a tuned up ECU.

The car may or may not get the new Ford/Volvo 6-speed PowerShift, and despite being aimed at the all-wheel drive Volkswagen Golf R32, it will be a front wheel drive car.

As previously mentioned, the Focus RS will be revealed at the London Motor Show in July this year, so stay tuned.

Source

Click to enlarge

These are the latest sketches of the upcoming 5-door version of the new Mitsubishi Lancer. It looks like a closer-to-production version of the original Mitsubishi Sportback Concept that was shown years ago. Expect a production or near-production car to be shown at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show in March.

One more photo after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Sketch

Click to enlarge

UPDATE: The 7-seater Toyota Rush has been launched in Malaysia! - Click for details, specifications, photos and pricing.

Two units of the Toyota Rush - one goldish and one blue have been snapped on the Putrajaya-UPM highway by reader Halim. These are definitely long wheelbase units, and whispers through the grassroots say that Toyota SAs around the country have informed of a launch before the end of the month, which is less than a week away!

Just as a recap, the Toyota Rush is available in various configurations around the world, but all come with a 1.5 liter VVT-i engine. You can have either a 4X4 or a 4X2 drivetrain, and either 5 seats or 7 seats. We will have to wait and see which models are offered here in Malaysia - the only thing that’s for sure now is the long wheelbase, with the short wheelbase model most likely to be used a Kembara replacement sometime in mid-2008.

View a short ad clip of the Toyota Rush after the jump - it’s been posted before but serves as a refresher.

Related Posts:
SPYSHOT: Toyota Rush long wheelbase on trailers
Toyota Rush long wheelbase suitable for Malaysia
2006 Daihatsu Be-Go (short wheelbase)
New Perodua Kembara Replacement due mid-2008

Click here to read the rest of Toyota Rush snapped with taped up badges!

A couple of months ago I posted about how a long wheelbase version of the Toyota Rush would be suitable for the Malaysian market. Now an anonymous reader has sent in snapshots of what appears to be a long wheelbase version of the Toyota Rush being transported on trailers to an unknown destination. We know this is the long wheelbase version because it has a much longer rear overhang than the short wheelbase version.

Perodua has previously indicated that the new Kembara replacement will be launched mid this year, so this is a bit too early for a Perodua Kembara replacement to be sighted on trailers. This leads me to believe that we might soon see two different versions of the same SUV being sold under two different badges - a short wheelbase Rush sold by Perodua badged as a Kembara, and a long wheelbase Rush sold by Toyota!

This strategy has been employed by Toyota and Daihatsu in Indonesia for quite some time now, as their market have both the Daihatsu Bego and the Toyota Rush, as well as the Daihatsu Xenia and the Toyota Avanza. Whether this strategy will work in Malaysia or not remains unknown, but it will be interesting to find out!

One more shot after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of SPYSHOT: Toyota Rush long wheelbase on trailers?

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

While the public attention is focused on the hot new soon to be launched Proton Saga replacement, Proton continues to test the upcoming new versions of the Proton Waja and the Proton GEN2 with the Campro CPS engine under the hood. Reader Hakimin managed to snap these shots while the cars were taking a break at the Ayer Keroh rest stop on the way from Malacca to KL.

The Campro CPS has already been unveiled in Thailand together with the new facelifted Proton GEN2. The new Campro CPS engine produces 125 horsepower at 6,500rpm and 150Nm of torque at 4,500rpm as compared to the normal Campros 110 horsepower at 6,000rpm and 148Nm of torque at 4,000rpm.

In the meantime, wait for my full report on the new Proton BLM which will be published at 5:30PM this Friday, 18th January 2008. I know brochures and spy photos are being posted all around the internet by forums and blogs which are not under the constant direct scrunity of Proton, so this blog might seem a little “outdated” now, but paultan.org will be able to bring you the car’s most well kept secret - how the new Saga drives and what the new IAFM-equipped Campro engine feels like - this Friday! Stay tuned.

Related Posts:
2008 Proton GEN2 Facelift with CPS launched in Malaysia
Facelifted Proton GEN2 with Campro CPS engine launched in Thailand!

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.

Related Posts:
Mazda RENESIS 16X Rotary Engine
Mazda Taiki Concept

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

Click to enlarge

Reader NathenNod snapped these photos of another Nissan Bluebird Sylphy on test in the Segambut today. This is the second photographed sighting of the Civic-sized car on this blog this year. Will we see the Nissan Sentra replaced with an aptly-priced new Nissan Bluebird Sylphy next year?

More spyshots after the jump.

Related Posts:
2006 Nissan Bluebird Sylphy
Nissan Bluebird Sylphy spotted in Malaysia!

Click here to read the rest of Taped up Nissan Bluebird Sylphy spotted again!

Click to enlarge

Now this is something really really strange. The upcoming replacement for the Proton Saga codenamed the Proton BLM has been spotted on the road, without any camouflage, and registered! Yes, the car had a proper number plate instead of a trade plate, but I’ve censored it off these photos. If you notice, there’s even a road tax sticker on the windscreen. The car only had its Proton badges removed/covered up, but other than that it shows pretty much the full details of the car.

The Proton BLM looks rather decent, and the rear will remind people of the outgoing Mercedes Benz W203 C-Class. Proton has taken the conservative route to the BLM’s styling as it has to have a huge mass appeal, and being safe is always a good idea when it comes to designing a car for volume sales, just look at Toyota’s design language. There are no oddities like the step-up window line of the Savvy, or the bling turbine wheels of the Satria Neo.

It looks like a nice, compact and anonymous-looking small B-segment sedan, with a boot that looks like it could store an estimated 400 to 450 liters of luggage. If Proton continues its new philosophy of designing cars for the consumers, expect nifty conveniences such as hinges that do not intrude into boot space, a decent amount of interior storage space, and a frugal 1.3 liter engine with both manual and automatic gearboxes.

The interior design should take cues from the current Proton Saga, which has had its interior updated with the latest facelift. Expect the interior to be a sensible one, something more Persona than Satria Neo - this means no crazy bright blue lights to light up your meter panel unlike the current Saga interior.

The word through the grapevines is that Proton is looking to a launch date sometime in the first half of January 2008. I cannot wait to see the old Proton Saga finally replaced! Not sure what the name is, but Proton might decide to keep the Proton Saga name for continuity, just like how it kept the Persona name for its new Wira replacement, as Persona was the Wira’s export name.

Spyshots snapped by 0hmyg0d and posted with permission.

Two more spyshots after the jump.

Related Posts:
Proton and the Indian automotive industry
Black and white Proton BLM spyshot
New Proton BLM spyshot - this time in turquoise!
Another rear shot of the Proton BLM
Is this the new Proton BLM?
Clearer Proton BLM side profile spyshots
Proton BLM Artist’s Impression by Maru

Click here to read the rest of New Saga replacement Proton BLM sighted with minimal disguise on the road!

LATEST UPDATE: Nissan Grand Livina 1.6 and 1.8 launched in Malaysia

This trailerload of Nissan Livina MPVs was snapped by reader Gupta. The MPVs were undisguised - this should mean a launch is imminent really soon! We can count at least three colours here - white, grey and black.

Check out a few more photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Nissan Livina spotted on trailers in Malaysia

While it is a common practice these days to turn hatchbacks into sedans, some hatches really shouldn’t be turned into sedans. One such hatch is the Suzuki Swift, which looks really good as a hatch but as these spyshots show, looks as odd as a Chery QQ6 when it is given a notchback sedan body style.

This photo was snapped at Suzuki India… is this the replacement for the Maruti Suzuki Esteem sedan (essentially a sedan based on an older Suzuki Swift)?

The new Suzuki Swift Sedan will hit Indian showrooms in February 2008.

Source