Blog on 2040Parts

Koenigsegg Hundra: One-off Koenigsegg Agera S – first details & pictures

The 100th Koenigsegg – the Koenigsegg Hundra, based on the Agera S – is heading for a debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. The Koenigsegg Hundra (hundra means 100th in Swedish) is a right hand drive Agera S in clear carbon with 24 carat gold leaf inlays – Artisan applied, of course – creating what Koenigsegg are calling “…an intriguing mix of traditional and hi-tech craftsmanship”. We’re assuming that the Koenigsegg Hundra is heading for Hong Kong because Koenigsegg has based it on the Agera S – which can produce the 1030 horses of the Agera R but without needing to use biofuel – and it’s right hand drive.

2013 Hyundai ix35 Facelift revealed

We have the first picture of the facelift for the 2013 Hyundai ix35 – which will debut at the Geneva Motor Show. Although it’s a small facelift. We’ve been expecting a facelift for the Hyundai ix35 to appear before Geneva, especially after we spotted an ix35 FCEV floating around in Korea last year with a new, more convincing nose.

100 years of Aston Martin

The history of Aston Martin is peppered with brilliant cars: the 1.5-liter, the Ulster, the DB4, the Zagato. The list is endless. Beautiful, yet powerful, on the road; glamorous, yet quick, on the track, Aston Martin has come to personify that special variety of tasteful, very British gentleman's sports car.

Hyundai Veloster roof recall expands

Hyundai is recalling more 2012 Veloster hatchbacks with panoramic sunroofs to fix a weakened assembly that may cause the sunroofs to shatter while driving. The recall impacts 6,071 Velosters manufactured from July 4-Oct. 31, 2011.

Porsche recalls Carrera, Carrera 4 for tailpipe fix

Porsche announced last week that it will recall more than 2,200 Carrera and Carrera 4 911s because internal testing indicated the tailpipe could crack and detach from the rear muffler on vehicles with more than 25,000 miles. Affected vehicles include 2012 and 2013 models built between March 7, 2012 and Nov. 12, 2012.

Pagani DID use different tyres to set the Top Gear lap record in the Huayra

We asked yesterday if the Pagani Huayra that set a new Top Gear lap record had cheated by using different tyres for the run. It did. Yesterday morning we reported that it seemed the Pagani Huayra that set the recent fastest lap on the Top Gear test track at Dunsfold may have had an advantage by using track tyres instead of road tyres.

Berger Chevy offers unique Camaro 1LE

Berger Chevrolet of Grand Rapids, Mich. is bringing a bit of Southern California to the Mitten with its uniquely styled Berger Chevy Camaro 1LE. It has an MSRP of $39,985, which is $2,950 more than the price of a stock Camaro 1LE.

Electric Land Rover Defender at Geneva 2013

Land Rover has built seven electric Defenders to act as research vehicles for EVs off-road. All seven Defender EVs will be at Geneva 2013. What it is is the 2013 Land Rover Defender – in a variety of body styles – with the diesel gubbins removed and replaced with a big bank of batteries and an electric motor, as Land Rover try to find out if EV off-roaders have real world application possibilities.

BMW Alpina B3 Bi-Turbo (2013) first official pictures

Alpina has revealed the first teaser shots of its hot 3-series supersaloon, the B3 BiTurbo, which packs 404bhp and 442lb ft. It's a BMW M3 by another name. The nitty gritty technical details will be revealed in full at next week's 2013 Geneva motor show, but for now read on for the spec of Alpina's potential giant-killer...

Ferrari F150 confirmed for Geneva. Well, there’s a surprise.

Ferrari’s new ‘limited edition special series car’ – the Ferrari F150 / New Enzo – has been confirmed for a reveal at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. You may be astonished to learn that Ferrari hasn’t officially confirmed that the replacement for the Enzo – codenamed Ferrari F150 – will actually debut at the Geneva Motor Show But it hasn’t. Well, it hasn’t if you’re simply a Ferrari lover.

Skoda Citigo Sport LOOKS Sporty

The Skoda Citigo Sport has been revealed as a sporty take on Skoda’s little city car, with more aggressive looks and lowered suspension. So Skoda are making a virtue out of the lack of any power boost for the new Citigo Sport by calling it the ‘Seemingly Powerful’ Citigo with sporty styling, lowered suspension and new interior. It looks the part, it just doesn’t go any better than the standard Citigo with its 1.0 litre 60PS engine.

Range Rover Evoque gets nine-speed gearbox for 2013

Land Rover is introducing the world's first nine-speed gearbox into its range, and the first model to benefit is the hugely successful Evoque crossover. The nine-speeder is not only lighter than the six-speed auto it replaces, but also cuts fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, and is claimed to improve refinement too. Here's the full tech spec...

Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale tweaked for 2013

Maserati has updated its most hardcore car for 2013. The new GranTurismo MC Stradale has more power and more extrovert styling than the outgoing car, and double the seat count too: Maserati is putting back seats back into the hottest GranTurismo. Isn't the MC Stradale supposed to be the lightweight, track-ready GranTurismo?

New Ford F-series prototypes spied testing

A pair of completely camouflaged trucks spied testing near the Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Mich. prove that the Blue Oval is definitely hard at work on its next generation F-series pickup headed our way in 2015. Beyond that, it's all speculation.

Pagani Huayra Top Gear Lap Record: Did Pagani cheat?

The opening episode of the new  series of Top Gear saw the new Pagani Huayra set a stunning Top Gear Track Lap record of 1:13.8. But was it fixed? No one takes Top Gear entirely seriously when it comes to car testing; after all, Top Gear is an entertainment show based on cars, not a car show that’s a bit entertaining.

Video: CDN-GM Interactive Design Competition featured by Faces of GM

'Faces of GM', one of General Motor's social media initiatives, has released its latest video featuring our recent collaborative contest, the CDN-GM Interactive Design Competition. Starring several of the winning students as well as the prize-giving event at the Detroit auto show last month, the video features a number of judges and mentors including Mark Adams, executive director global Buick and Cadillac Design. GM and Car Design News's online contest aims to find the next generation of GM designers by presenting a challenge for students to tackle before being mentored on how to improve their designs.

Futuristic, self-balancing Gyro-X to be restored

Alex Tremulis was an eclectic visionary who saw the future in swoops, curls, bubble tops, and hand-formed metal. At the precarious age of 19, without any training, he landed at Cord Automobile and helped develop the legendary Model 810. In the 1940s he penned the Tucker and the Chrysler Thunderbolt.

Range Rover Evoque gets 9-Speed auto ‘box

Land Rover are to fit a new 9-speed automatic gearbox from ZF to the 2014 Range Rover Evoque. Will show at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. There are some of us old enough to remember cars that had three-speed ‘boxes, and it only seems five minutes since five-speed manual ‘boxes became the norm.

New Volkswagen Golf GTI spec revealed: Gets 217bhp or 227bhp

Volkswagen has revealed the new 2013 Golf GTI Specs ahead of a Geneva showing. Gets 217bhp or an extra 10bhp with the Performance Package. As we already know, the new Golf GTI comes with a 2.0 litre TFSI engine good for 217bhp or, if you opt for the Performance Package, you can have an extra 10bhp – enough to cut the standard GTI’s 0-62mph (6.5s) by 0.1 seconds and add an ectra 3mph to the top speed (rises to 155mph).

Hyundai & Kia responsible for big positive impact on European economy

A report by economics consultants London Economics reveals the big positive impact Hyundai and Kia are having on the European economy. We already know that both Hyundai and Kia are looking at 2013 more as an exercise in building their ’Brand’, rather than simply selling more and more credible cars. ‘Brand’ is often as much about perceptions as anything else, so if you can address any possible negatives for your brand, as well as producing cracking products, you’re on to a winner.

Hennessey readies 2014 Chevy Corvette Stingray package with 1,000 hp

The 2014 Corvette Stingray made its world debut at the Detroit auto show less than two months ago, but Texas tuner John Hennessey is already working on upgrades. Hennessey Performance plans to offer upgrades for both the C7 coupe and the C7 convertible. Supercharged systems will bring output to 700 hp and higher-priced twin-turbo setups push power to anywhere from 800 hp-1,000 hp.

Audi plays paintball with RS4 Avants

The latest generation of cars from Ingolstadt has finally mitigated the nose-heavy feeling we didn't enjoy in previous automobiles from the company. Now they've mitigated the lack of paintball guns, adding them to a pair of RS4 Avants -- done up in Spy-vs.-Spy black and white, natch -- and setting them loose in a hangar, framing the whole shebang with a smidge of Super Nintendo-vintage video-gaminess. Still no dice on getting one in the states, though.

Lexus, Subaru, Mazda score highest Consumer Reports' rankings

Japanese brands, led by Lexus, Subaru and Mazda, continue to dominate Consumer Reports' rankings of the best light vehicles on the market, claiming "top pick" honors in seven out of 10 product segments and capturing the top seven spots for overall brand reliability and performance. The brands that scored best on the magazine's report cards for 2013 were Lexus, with a score of 79 out of 100, followed by Subaru and Mazda, which both scored a 76. Toyota, Acura, Honda and Scion rounded out the top seven.

New Ford Kuga: Titanium and Titanium X make up 87% of sales

The new Ford Kuga is now hitting UK showrooms, and Ford has revealed that 87% of buyers are opting for the range-topping Titanium and Titanium X models. But what’s most interesting – in what is supposed to be a cash-strapped economy – is that a full 87 per cent of all the new Kugas ordered so far have been the range-topping Titanium and Titanium X models, and the average up-spend on options is another £1,000 on top of that. That means that although the Ford Kuga range starts at £21,000, 87 per cent of buyers are actually spending between £25-30k on their new compact SUV, which must warm the cockles of Ford’s heart.

Hyundai ix35 FCEV production starts – & previews the ix35 facelift?

Hyundai has started production of the ix35 Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle which perhaps previews the facelift for the ix35. We revealed last year that Hyundai were pushing ahead with their hydrogen fuel cell cars (and eschewing battery EVs in the process) with plans to start rolling the Hyundai ix35 FCEV off the production line by the end of 2012. That plan slipped just a little, but the first ix35 FCEV has now rolled of the production line in Korea (pictured above) as Hyundai work towards full scale production of the ix35 FCEV by 2015.

McLaren P1 – 0-124mph in under 7 seconds & just 375 P1s being built

The new McLaren P1 – to be unveiled at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show – will hit 124mph in under 7 seconds. Just 375 being built. McLaren say that the P1 – which we know has 903 bhp – will get to 62mph ‘under 3 seconds’, to 124mph in ‘under 7 seconds’ and to 186mph in ‘less than 17 seconds’.

Report: Teen driving deaths increase in 2012

Deaths among new drivers in the beginning of 2012 increased 19 percent, according to a report from the Governors Highway Safety Association. Overall, 16- and 17-year-old driver deaths increased from 202 to 240. The report is based on preliminary data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia for the first six months of 2012.

McLaren P1 (2013) official performance figures announced

McLaren has finally revealed the price and performance figures for its P1 supercar. The hybrid P1 will launch from 0-62mph in less than three seconds, hit 124mph in under seven seconds, and reach 186mph in around 17 seconds, according to McLaren's official figures. The P1's top speed is electronically limited to 217mph.

New Volkswagen Golf GTi at Geneva Motor Show 2013

Volkswagen will unveil the production version of its MK7 Golf GTi at next week’s Geneva Motor Show, marking more than 30 years of the venerable hot hatch. This isn't the first time we've seen this car: back in September, Volkswagen showed a concept version of the GTi at the Paris Motor Show. Concept it might have been but a visit to Spec Savers is required before trying to spot the changes between that car and this production version.

VW XL1 (2013) 314mpg eco-car heads for production

VW supremo Ferdinand Piech has kept his promise of putting the XL1 super-eco car into production. VW has confirmed the 313mpg XL1 will be built in limited numbers, around 50 of which are earmarked for UK sale. It's an expensive way to save money on fuel though: projected prices for the XL1 run into six figures.