Blog on 2040Parts

Ram drops 3.7-liter V6, adds Pentastar for 2013

Ram will drop its 3.7-liter SOHC V6 engine for the 2013 Ram 1500 pickup. The 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 will take its place. The new engine will come standard with the company's eight-speed automatic transmission.

Ferrari Special Projects develops latest custom

Ferrari's Special Projects team is developing its fifth car for Ferrari collector and petro-chemical magnate Cheerag Arya, dubbed the Arya SP. Arya, who has seven Ferrari's including a 599 GTO and 599 XX, signed off the design after being shown twelve design sketches and now a clay model has been approved and development is set to begin. "I told the designers what I wanted and they presented me with a total of 12 designs.

BMW DesignworksUSA to revamp Singapore Airlines

BMW DesignworksUSA has been set the task of developing Singapore Airlines' new First Class seats and cabin interior. Given the fast-paced improvement in the quality of premium Asian air travel – Emirates and Cathay Pacific are two examples – Singapore Airlines has decided to revamp its First Class area while upgrading its in-flight entertainment system. The chief redesign will be limited to its First and Business Class sections as those are the main sources of revenue but economy passengers will see upgraded headrests and seating.

New Mazda6: Official

The 2013 Mazda 6 has been revealed ahead of a public debut at the Moscow Motor Show later this week. We had the new Mazda6 revealed last month, but only in bits. But now, ahead of its first public outing in Moscow this week, Mazda has revealed details of their new Mondeo-size offering.

Bentley Sports Car Concept at Paris 2012

It appears Bentley are planning to reveal a new sports car concept at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, perhaps as a pointer to a new, sportier, model. Bentley has a great motorsport history, but its current crop of cars – even the new Continental GT Speed – are heavy grand tourers rather than sports cars. But with Bentley looking for new directions in a bid to up its annual sales to 15,000, they are looking at new directions to build sales, one of which is the Bentley SUV.

Dany Bahar wants £6.7 million compensation from Lotus

The Dany Bahar saga at Lotus continues with Bahar claiming £6.7 million compensation for his firing as Lotus CEO. Back in May, ex-Ferrari man Dany Bahar was ousted as CEO of Lotus, confirmed a month later by Lotus parent DBR-Hicom who appointed Aslam Farikullah – an engineer, not a marketing man – to oversee a way forward for Lotus, and just last week Lotus put Bahar’s custom Esprit up for sale. But that appears not to be the end of dealings between DBR-Hicom and Bahar as Bahar has issued proceedings against his former employers seeking compensation of £6.7 million for wrongful dismissal.

Hyundai Veloster Turbo will cost £21,995

Hyundai has revealed the price of the Veloster Turbo SE as £21,995. It will arrive in UK showrooms next month. It’s been nine months since we learnt that Hyundai plan to offer the Veloster Turbo in the UK, and now we know it will arrive in Hyundai UK showrooms in September and cost £21,995.

Porsche 911 Carrera 4 (2012) first official pictures

Porsche has a new four-wheel drive - but it's not the Macan crossover, or an SUV of any description. The new-generation 911 has had the all-paw treatment, growing wider wings and fatter tyres in the process. It's also lost around 65kg compared with the old 997 Carrera 4, and Porsche claims it's a good deal faster too.

Cadillac ATS comes to Europe in autumn 2012

Cadillac's ATS compact saloon will go on sale in Europe following the car's centre-stage appearance on the Cadillac stand at the 2012 Paris motor show next month. With provisions made for right-hand drive versions, Cadillac is clearly serious about entering the UK market again, despite the sink-without-trace disappearing act that was the BLS. Why is Cadillac muscling into Europe with the ATS?

Mazda 6 launched at 2012 Moscow motor show

Mazda has unveiled its new 6 saloon at the 2012 Moscow motor show – a nod to the significance of the Eastern European markets for the Japanese car maker. This third-generation Mazda 6 will be the second model in Mazda’s line-up to feature both its suite of innovative SkyActiv drivetrain and chassis technologies and the company’s ‘Kodo – Soul of Motion’ design language. That’s a clunky design title, but the new 6 is anything but - it’s a handsome looking car in our eyes, and takes its riffs from the Mazda Takeri concept first seen at the 2011 Tokyo motor show.

Spyker, Youngman plan to build Saab-based cars

Dutch supercar maker Spyker says it will form two joint ventures with China's Zhejiang Youngman to produce Saab-based vehicles and a luxury SUV under the terms of a deal that will give Youngman a 29.9-percent share in Spyker. Youngman was one of the Chinese companies Spyker turned to for investment when it was trying to revive the Saab brand under its ownership. After failing to get approval for the sale from General Motors, a former Saab owner, the deal with Youngman collapsed and Saab was declared bankrupt in December 2011.

2013 Porsche Carrera 4 set for reveal Paris motor show reveal

Porsche has lifted the veil on the fifth-generation 911 Carrera 4 all-wheel-drive sports car ahead of a September premiere at the Paris motor show. It is expected to reach North American showrooms in February as a 2013 model. The 911 Carrera 4 has a widened body with rear side panels extending 0.9 inches beyond the standard rear-wheel-drive 911, which allows for wider rear wheels and tires.

Ford releases more details of 2013 EcoBoost Explorer Sport

Ford Motor Co. has released official details of the seven-passenger 2013 Ford Explorer Sport; it's the top trim line of the model. We first learned of the sporty version in March during the New York auto show.

Ford debuts another Australian hot rod

Ford's Australian-based Performance Vehicles operation has unveiled its fastest car to date—the Falcon-based FPV GT R-spec. To be assembled at Ford Performance Vehicle's headquarters on the outskirts of Melbourne, the rear-wheel drive GT R-spec packs the same engine as the earlier GT335, a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 producing 449 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque. But, a range of chassis modifications, including a retuned suspension, wider 19-inch rear wheels and tires and new launch control system are claimed to provide the greater off-the-line speed than any previous model from Ford's Australian outpost.

Florida man claims ownership of long-lost Cunningham Corvette

A Florida man says the long-lost 1960 Chevrolet Corvette race car that made a brief public appearance in Carlisle, Pa., last week was owned and raced by his father in the 1970s, and claims the car belongs to him. The challenged ownership of the maroon-colored car--one of three raced in the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans by Briggs Cunningham and valued by some collectors at more than $1 million--could be the reason organizers of the Corvettes at Carlisle show canceled a planned public display on Aug. 24 less than 30 minutes before the scheduled start time.

New Lexus LF-LC Concept at Australian Motor Show with 500bhp Hybrid powertrain

Lexus are teasing a new version of the LF-LC Concept with 4WD and a 500bhp hybrid powertrain for the Australian Motor Show. When Lexus revealed the LF-LC Concept at the Detroit Motor Show at the start of 2012 our collective jaws dropped. It was a stunning two door coupe with the nose from the GS, a profile that had hints of the LFA, a stunning interior and the hope Lexus were brave enough to put it in to production.

Ferrari SP Arya – a one-off Ferrari 599 GTO for Cheerag Arya

Indian-born and Dubai-based Cheerag Arya has commissioned a special one-off Ferrari 599 GTO – the Ferrari SP Arya. When your pockets are very deep and your love of all things Maranello runs in your blood, Ferrari Special Projects will bend over backwards to give you what you want. Just as they did with Eric Clapton and the  Ferrari SP12 EC Indian born businessman Cheerag Arya (know as CA), still only 32, spent many years working in the US but now lives in Dubai where he runs his family’s petrochemical business and indulges in his passion for Ferrari, particularly Ferrari’s big GT cars.

Spyker & Youngman D8 SUV & Phoenix Joint Venture

Spyker and China’s Youngman are launching joint ventures to build the Spyker D8 SUV and develop the Saab Phoenix platform. Did you really think Victor Muller would come out of Saab with nothing? Especially after he told is in April he was looking for investors to push the Spyker D8 SSUV in to production? Muller’s Spyker and China’s Youngman – putative seller and buyer of Saab – are teaming up with a pair of joint ventures that will see Spyker’s long awaited Super SUV – the once D12 SUV and now D8 – coming to market, and Saab’s Phoenix Platform exploited.

Saab sale to NEVS delayed

The sale of what’s left of Saab to National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) has been delayed over funding and rights to the Saab name. We all thought, finally, that the end of the Saab saga had come when National Electric Vehicle Sweden was successful in gaining approval from the Saab administrators to acquire what was left of Saab after GM and Spyker failed to agree the sale of Saab as a going concern. The sad fact is that NEVS aren’t planning to carry on the proud tradition of Saab, with its innovative and quirky cars so loved by design professionals, but plan to put the Saab badge on a range of new electric cars.

New Porsche 911 Carrera 4: Official

Porsche has revealed details of the new Porsche Carrera 4 ahead of its debut at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. After we published the first leaked photos of the 2013 Porsche Carrera 4 at the weekend it seemed likely that Porsche’s own reveal wouldn’t be far behind, and here it is. As expected, we get the reveal not just of the 911 Carrera 4 and Carrera 4S, but the cabriolet version as well as the coupe; a full set of new Porsche 911s.

Mahindra XUV500 heading for Europe

Mahindra & Mahindra – India’s biggest SUV maker – is heading for Europe with the Mahindra XUV500 SUV. Mahindra & Mahindra are India’s biggest maker of SUVs, but are perhaps best known in Europe for the Ssangyong brand, but they’re on a quest to be major car player in the rest of the world, not just India. That quest is behind their acquisition of failing Korean car maker Ssangyong and the attempt to grab what was left of Saab from the liquidators.

2013 facelift for BMW Z4 & new Z4 M35i

BMW are planning to facelift the Z4 for 2013 and add a new M Performance model – the BMW Z4 M35i – to replace the Z4 sDrive35iS. Four years since the current BMW Z4 was launched at the Detroit Motor Show in January 2009, it looks like BMW’s roadster is getting a facelift to keep it fresh, and a new M Performance model – the BMW Z4 M35iS. Changes to the 2013 Z4 are likely to be modest, with the usual facelift fare of new bumpers, new lights, new alloys, titivated ‘more upmarket’ interior and tweaks to the engines to offer more power with better economy and lower emissions.

Aston Martin ‘Power Beauty Soul’ European Tour

Aston Martin are taking the Vanquish, V12 Zagato and V12 Vantage Roadster on a PR tour of European Aston Martin dealers. For a car company with limited technical resources, one platform and two engines, Aston Martin are making a pretty good fist of launching new models. We’ve recently had the launch of the Aston Martin Vanquish – successor to the DBS – with a harder edge and a bigger price tag, the V12 Vantage Roadster with the glorious V12 where it should be – in the front of an open-topped car for aural joy – and the V12 Zagat0, a limited run collaboration with Zagato at three times the price of the donor car.

2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 & 4S, Coupe & Convertible first photos leak

The first photos of the 2013 4WD Porsche 911 Carrera 4 & 4S – coupe and cabriolet – have leaked out ahead of a Paris 2012 debut. Update: The new Porsche 911 Carrera 4 has now been officially revealed. The latest version of the Porsche 911 (Porsche 911) arrived at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, and Porsche are planning to reveal the four wheel drive versions – the Porsche 911 $ and 4S, Coupe and cabriolet – at the 2012 Paris Motor Show.

Jaguar signs up Lana Del Rey to make the F-Type cool

Jaguar has revealed it has signed up singer songwriter Lana Del Rey to help promote the new F-Type sports car. Land Rover chose to use Mrs Beckham to promote the Range Rover Evoque, and went as far as allowing her input in a limited edition Evoque Beckham, a move that probably generated more column inches of PR for Land Rover than any amount of money could buy. So Jaguar are going a similar way with the F-Type, but instead of signing a Spice Girl they’ve had the sense to look at what is new and cool, and they’ve very sensibly decided the face of the F-Type is going to be singer songwriter Lana Del Rey.

Cunningham Corvette pulled from Carlisle show

Less than 24 hours after the long-lost No. 1 Briggs Cunningham Chevrolet Corvette received a public viewing, the car has gone back into hiding. The car was set for a public showing Friday afternoon during the Corvettes at Carlisle show in Carlisle, Pa.

Autoweek in review: The Woodward Dream Cruise and Pebble Beach Concours, Ferrari F12 and a lost Cunningham Corvette

For 2012, Autoweek dove headfirst into covering one of the best rolling car shows in the world, the Woodward Dream Cruise. With a whole section devoted to its build-up and celebration, we've got photos, videos and stories galore. At the same time, the West Coast got the annual treatment in Monterey for Pebble Beach Concours and all the car-crazy events that go with it.

Now it’s the SEAT Mii’s turn to get an auto ‘box

The SEAT Mii City car has followed in the footsteps of the VW Up! by adding an auto gearbox option, but only on the Mii 1.0 75PS SE. The SEAT Mii is the Spanish version of the VW Up!

Subaru WRX STI price cut & new power upgrade option

Subaru UK has slashed the price of the base WRX STI by £6k and added a new power upgrade option. The supercar saloon for the Playstation generation that is the Subaru WRX STI has just become a great deal more affordable as Subaru UK slash an incredible £6,000 off the list price, with the WRX STI now available from just £26,995. The WRX STI is already a stunning performer with its 2.5 litre four-pot delivering 287bhp and 300lb/ft of torque and able to get to 62mph in just 5.2 seconds, but if that isn’t enough Subaru has now launched a new power upgrade option.

Nissan Micra ELLE: It’s a Micra for the Ladies

Nissan has revealed a limited edition Micra – the Micra ELLE – produced in conjunction with Elle Magazine. There is a strong argument that the Nissan Micra is predominantly aimed at the fairer sex, and if that was in doubt the new Micra ELLE confirms it. Nissan has joined up with Elle Magazine to produce a limited run of 500 of the Micra Elle with cosmetic titivation (what else?) including panoramic roof (helps with putting makeup on), extra chrome (nice and sparkly), titanium grey alloys (which will unfortunately show every kerbing dent) and fog lights (for when it’s not foggy).