2013 Land Rover Defender gets minor updates 2013 Land Rover Defender gets minor updates

2013 Land Rover DefenderHas a revised color palette and upgraded interior

Tesla considering an electric supercar - report

Tesla Roadster

Could come as early as 2016

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has revealed that the company is considering an electric supercar.

Details are limited, but the model would reportedly compete with vehicles from Lamborghini and Ferrari. It would also have to battle other electric supercars like the Audi R8 e-tron and Mercedes SLS AMG E-Cell.

According to Musk, "We will do an electric supercar at some point. It was going to happen right after the Model X, but it is more important to the world that we do a more affordable electric car [first]." He added, "Hopefully, we will get to an electric supercar in four to five yea

G-Power M3 SK III (E92) with 720 HP - photo appreciation

BMW M3 by G-Power

The next generation of the BMW M3 is scheduled to debut next year at the Geneva Motor Show but until then you can feast your eyes once again on this custom M3 tuned by G-Power. It’s not your ordinary tuning program because the engineers managed to increase the original 4.0 displacement of the V8 engine to 4.6 liters by installing a new crankshaft and pistons from Mahle.

Same as the previously announced M3 Tornado RS, G-Power also fitted the M3 with a SK III ASA T1-723 supercharger and made some modifications to the exhaust and the air intake. Thanks to these significant modifications, the V8 4.6-liter engine of this BMW M3 is capable of producing no less than 720 HP (537 kW), enough for a 0-62 mph sprint in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 205.5 mph (330 km/h).

This tuning program is not all about increasing the HP figure as G-Power has also fitted the M3 with a Clubsport adjustable suspension and installed 20-inch Silverstone Diamond wheels wrapped around in Michelin tires. Carbon fiber was used for the boot lid and the hood, while a front bumper lip spoiler was added as a final touch.

Source: G-Power

2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk and Wrangler Moab announced

Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk concept

Designed to tackle the toughest terrain

Jeep has announced plans to offer two new special editions.

First up, the Wrangler Moab is named after the popular off-roading destination in Utah. It is based on the Sahara and features a power dome hood, heavy-duty bumpers and special badging. There's also a Trak-Lok rear differential and 17-inch alloy wheels with Goodyear Silent Armor tires.

Despite the model's rugged nature, the interior has leather seats, Iron Gray trim and a "Moab" embossed grab handle.

On the other hand, the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk is the production version of the concept that was introduced at the 2012 Easter Jeep Safari. It features grey accents, a black hood decal and 18-inch aluminum wheels. The model is also equipped with a Quadra-Lift air suspension, Selec-Terrain traction control and an electronically limited rear differential (on V8 models only).

Interior changes are limited, but include leather / suede seats and Mopar floor mats.

www.worldcarfans.com

Skoda Fabia vRS car review

If you’ve owned a Fabia vRS before, this new one will come as a surprise. Not only is it petrol powered where the previous car had a diesel motor. It also has a DSG gearbox – which can be left to pick its own gears but also gives the option for you to choose them by nudging paddles fitted just behind the wheel rim.

Its engine is an amazing thing, pushing out 180bhp from just 1.4-litres. A supercharged spins up to boost its low-revs urge but then a turbocharger takes over as engine speeds build.

So what’s it like to drive? Cracking. It’s agile and quick off the mark, feeling every bit as quick as its acceleration figures suggest. It’s noisy once that little motor gets going but that suits the nature of the car.

It’s an interesting piece of kit, the motor, made as it is to keep emissions output low and fuel economy good. It’ll also be fitted to an upcoming version of Audi’s new small car, the A1 and can also be found in Seat’s Ibiza Bocanegra. In that car it was disappointing – not raw enough and held back by its lack of a manual gearchange.

But here it’s just right, fizzing along at a fair crack and making the best of the Fabia’s considerable talents as a responsive driver-slanted car. And having the DSG gives the vRS two personalities: quick and feisty when you pick the shift points via the paddles, but laidback and friendly whenever you’re content to let the gearbox do the work.

It’s a good mix, especially when the car’s so comfortable and well set up. The ride’s an accomplished blend of firmness and smoothness that’s quite something when you consider this car’s low-pro tyres.

And the car itself looks sharp: wearing all the right racey add-ons but classy and understated inside. The slabby dash is workaday in the way you’d expect of a Skoda but the car’s well equipped. There are six airbags and a full suite of driver aids that even includes a hill holder to keep steady on inclines, a tyre pressure monitor, air conditioning and LED daytime running lights.

All this comes in a cabin that’s on the roomy side, while the Fabia’s boot is a good size and is practically shaped, too.

But if there’s not enough room here, Skoda also sells an estate version of the vRS.

It’s also strong value. While at the price Skoda isn’t quite giving them away, they’re cheaper than equivalents from other Volkswagen-owned brands but, to our minds, always as good and at times better.

Should you buy one? For some, the idea of a performance hatchback without a manual gearbox will raise an objection too far. But if that’s not you, the vRS has everything going for it.

• Engines1.4 petrol 4cyl, supercharged and turbocharged
• Power!80bhp
• 0-60 mph7.3secs
• Economy45.6mpg
• CO2g/km148
• Insurance groups
• EuroNCAP
• Airbags6
• Seats5

Source : Motors.co.uk

Nissan 370Z Roadster car review

Nissan’s 370Z is a car you’ll either get completely or not at all. Here we’ve got the Roadster version so it’s a soft top, two seats, brawny V6 motor upfront pushing power to the rear wheels.

It’s a quick car in the classic vein. But while most 370Zs sold have steel roofs, the cloth-capped version is no afterthought. While it has the same chassis, it’s full styled and engineered to hold an identity all its own. It’s sleek, muscular and beautifully proportioned. We’d hesitate to call it beautiful but we can see why you might want to. The car’s looks and power hark back to the 240Z, its 1970s ancestor that now has a cult following. Updates of iconic cars often lose something along the way but the 370Z’s the exception – it really does take everything that was good about its forebear and reworks it for 2011, sympathetically and well.

More directly, the 370Z replaces the 350Z in Nissan’s line-up. The resemblance is strong, but it’s shorter, has a bigger engine and is more aggressive.

It’s a car that’s all about driving, the more so if you go for the Roadster as we have here. This drops its cloth roof quickly at the press of a switch and it folds away tidily. Because of the space needed for the roof when stowed the cabin is even cosier and strictly a two-seater. If you’re fat or very tall, it could be a squeeze. And the boot’s tiny, marred by a high lip over which you’ll need to drag your bags. On the lid there’s a quaint set of instructions explaining how to fit a golf bag into the space available.

You sit low with a conventional hood instrument cluster ahead and a trio of smaller gauges ranged across the dash top. The 350Z’s cabin drew some criticism for poor quality so the 370Z’s is better. Not class-leading, but now upmarket enough. And at last there's a glove box - something the 350Z hasn't.

Spark it up and it feels meaty to drive – steering, brakes and throttle have a satisfying weight. Here, we’re sampling the auto version, which picks between its seven ratios by itself or lets you do it using paddle shifts behind the wheel – just as a racing pro might use. It’s a good system that sits well in the car. Diehards will favour the car’s six speed manual gearshift, fitted with a clever electronic aid that blips the throttle for perfect downshifts. At town speeds those big alloys and skinny-sided tyres crash across potholes but at least the deeply padded seats filter the worst of the shocks.

Putting the car’s 326bhp through its rear tyres is a challenge for Nissan and one that the 370Z meets ably. Unless you let rip and then, despite all the electronic checks and controls present, you can spin the wheels and see the back slide out. Incidentally, for those same reasons, we can say that it’s a terrible car to drive in snow and ice. By contrast, top down on a sunny car it delivers a life-gladdening drive.

Should you buy one? For what you get, it’s a bargain. As Nissan points up on its web site, in bhp per £ it’s way cheaper than the Audi TT or Porsche Boxster you might otherwise buy. It’ll even retain a fair whack of its value over time, although not quite so much as the Porsche will. But if you want one, it’ll be a simply fantastic thing to own. 

Engines3.7-litre V6 petrol

• Power326bhp
• 0-60 mph5.8secs
• Economy25.9mpg
• CO2g/km254
• Insurance groups48
• EuroNCAP
• Airbags4
• Seats2

Source : Motors.co.uk

Mazda Takeri concept European debut in Geneva - new images released

Mazda Takeri Mazda6 concept 13.02.2012