These are the first pictures of the 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia, the successor to the F430. It is set for an official debut in September at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show, but Ferrari has already released a few key details.
The “big” car magazines usually get hold of official photos and info about brand new vehicles well before launch, straight from the trusting car manufacturers themselves. The excuse is usually that it helps the rags prepare next month’s tree-killing issue in ample time before the launch date. However, these magazines occasionally jump the gun and publish their advance info a bit early, with no real consequences. The latest perpetrator is Germany’s trashy Autozeitung, as scans from the magazine have hit the web, depicting the all-new 2010 Saab 9-5 in its full glory.
A special version of the Mercedes-Benz SLK is now available in the GCC. Apparently this 2LOOK Edition is now available to order, in “exclusive obsidian black metallic” or “special finish designo mystic white” while being limited to just 300 vehicles worldwide.
Renault has unveiled the Logan across all its GCC dealers. The sub-compact sedan is essentially a rebadged version of the Dacia Logan, whose original aim could best be described as being the cheapest car in Europe.
Expanding its line-up with redundant models, Audi has unveiled the 2010 A5 Sportback, a five-door model that is apparently trying to be a coupe, a sedan and a station wagon all at the same time, according to the VW-owned German company. The Sportback joins the Coupé and Cabriolet as the third member of the A5 model family.
A German magazine is reporting that a Porsche Panamera Turbo driven by Porsche test driver Walter Röhrl has lapped the popular Nürburgring race track in 7 minutes 56 seconds, which shaves about three seconds off the record 7 minutes 59.32 seconds time set by the Cadillac CTS-V to claim the title of fastest sedan on the ‘Ring.
This here is an image of the Mercedes SLS AMG, the replacement for the out-of-production Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR supercar, with styling cues and gullwing doors inherited from the classic 300 SL. Some claim that this is a real “official” photo, although it could just be a computer-generated rendering.
The American governmental transport safety agency, NHTSA, has ordered the recall of all Volkswagen Touareg vehicles between the model-years 2007 and 2009 to address a factory defect. The fastening struts on the roof-edge spoiler can crack, causing the spoiler to become loose and possibly detach from the vehicle without warning, even though initially the spoiler may feel secure.
After weeks of pointless teaser images to rile up naive automotive writers, the 2010 Jaguar XJ has finally been officially unveiled in a worldwide broadcast. Just like the midsize XF before it, the all-new fullsize XJ is a complete departure from the traditional Jaguar designs of old.
In a blast from the recent past, BMW tuner G-Power has turned its attention to the previous-generation BMW M3 E46, offering a supercharger for the old model that makes it powerful enough to challenge the new M3.