Geneva Auto Show 2010: Toyota FT-86 concept

Toyota FT-86 Sports Concept – click above for high-res image gallery

Toyota Motor Co. president Akio Toyoda has stressed that his family's company must work to create more emotionally engaging products as part of its bid to reinvent its now-battered image. Central to that effort will be the production version of its well-received FT-86 Sports Concept, the two-door rear-driver that made its European debut at this week's Geneva Motor Show, where it drew quite a crowd.

Toyota now appears to be pushing its brand's enthusiast heritage, something it hasn't truly done with fresh products in some time – at least not outside of its Lexus brand. In any case, the Japanese automaker has just released a series of new photos, including a family portrait of sorts that places the FT-86 in the context of the Corolla AE86 (its most obvious spiritual predecessor) as well as the Celica and Supra. Although the press release available after the jump pays lip service to the MR2, none is pictured.

While there is no substantive new information about a production timetable for the comely coupe, Toyota has released a series of images of the FT-86 that are certainly worth perusing. You can check them out below while you're waiting for more info about the car's future.

GenevaAuto Show 2010: IED Tesla EYE Concept

IED Tesla EYE concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

The gaping openings on the front of the EYE design study vehicle from the Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin (IED) that's on display at the Geneva Motor Show this week would cause troublesome impacts on airflow if they were on a real electric car, we think. In the fantasyland of the auto show floor, though, they give the concept vehicle a menacing, moose-like nose (wait, does that make sense?). At least we can hope that the 11 transportation design master course students from IED who worked with Tesla Motors' chief designer Franz von Holzhausen on the project enjoyed the process.

Considering there's almost no chance we'll ever see the EYE concept cruising the streets, we'll just have to enjoy the car for what it is: a good-looking show car with a Tesla badge. Sure, we can imagine putting an electric powertrain in there and showing up at the soccer game in one of these, but for now we'll just have to click through the gallery below and ask ourselves if the IED students managed to create a new status symbol with the EYE, something they said they were shooting for.

Geneva Motor Show 2010: Renault Clio and Twingo get the Gordini treatment

It's amazing what a little paint and a few stickers can do for a small car. To illustrate that point, take a gander at the special Gordini edition Renault Clio and Twingo in the gallery below. Granted, the improvements reach much deeper than just those stickers, but the matte blue paint, white accents and white decals give these little runabouts a purposeful look and signal to the world that they are the top-of-the-performance-heap Gordini editions.

For those who need a refresher, Gordini is the name of a legendary Renault racing engineer. Amédée Gordini brought Renault some rally racing glory in the mid-'60s with the iconic R8 Gordini. Renault recently revived the name, reestablishing it as the top rung trim level on its already racy Renault Sport (R.S.) editions. Mechanically similar to their R.S. counterparts, they are mainly distinguished by retro styling touches (like the classic French racing blue paint scheme with white stripes) and an extra dose of exclusivity. Plus, they just look badass.

The first product in the new range, the Twingo Gordini R.S. had already debuted last November, but here at the Geneva Motor Show, the company unveiled their Gordini edition Clio as well. We have galleries of both cars for you below, the Mini-sized Twingo and the slightly larger Clio. Both cars have the performance upgrades found on R.S. models, with larger wheels, Brembo brakes, Conti SportContact3 tires, diffusers, heat extractors and that great livery. Check out the little "G" confetti in the stripes – classic.

Final three World Car of the Year finalists announced

The votes from 59 international journalists have been counted and the finalists for World Car of the Year have been named. The Detroit News is reporting that the Toyota Prius, Volkswagen Polo and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class have made the final cut, and the three vehicles will go toe-to-toe on April 1st (no foolin') at the start of the New York Auto Show, which is where the World COTY award is announced.

On the performance vehicle front, the Audi R8 V10, Porsche 911 GT3 and Ferrari California are jockeying for the big prize. We feel sorry for the judges who have to choose from among these three junkers, but we're sure they'll somehow make it fun for themselves.

Design finalists are the Citroen C3 Picasso, Kia Soul and Chevrolet Camaro, and from the green category we have the previously mentioned Prius, the Honda Insight and Volkswagen's BlueMotion diesel offerings. Check back on these pages to see the winners of the individual categories when they are announced in New York on April Fool's Day.


Courtesy : http://www.autoblog.com/

Geneva Motor Show : Koenigsegg Agera

Talk about a super way to kick off the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. And yes, we intend the pun. We all know and love the Koenigsegg CCX, but it's getting a bit long in the tooth, at least as far as supercars go. Introduced to the world at large at (no surprise) 2006 Geneva Motor Show, the Swedish rocket has wowed enthusiasts for the past five years. But that was then-and in the case of biofuled, 1,100 horsepower monster CCXR, then was a few months ago-the Agera is now.

Designed to stay ahead of the hypercar curve, the Agera can be thought of as an evolution of the CCX. If the previous Koenigsegg had any flaw, it was its slabby, just kinda... there looks. The Agera changes that, with a much more sculpted, almost pinched front end. We find it much more attractive than the CCX, but as always, judge for yourself. Other design highlights include the wheels that generate a vortex in order to better suck hot air away from the brakes. You've also got the oval doughnut taillights, the doughnut part meaning that hot air escapes the engine bay via holes in the taillights. Pretty cool, no?

Of course, what we really care about is what lies under the Agera's carbon fiber skin. It's the same 4.7-liter built-in-house Koenigsegg V8 from the CCX, but with a twist. Unlike the dual-superchargers found on the CCX, the Agera's engine gets twin-turbos. Power is typically bonkers, with 910 hp at 7,250 rpm. Though the real story might be the force-inducted torque. Are you sitting down? 738 pound-feet of the stuff is available from 2,680 rpm to 6,170 rpm, with a torque peak of 811 lb-ft. Also, we should point out that the Agera weighs 2,832 pounds.

The (manufacturer claimed) numbers are equally head spinning. Zero to sixty miles an hour takes 3.1 seconds, 0-124 mph happens in 13.7 seconds and the top speed is somewhere north of 245 miles per hour. The top speed might be (slightly) down from the CCXR (supposedly that beast can go faster than 250 mph) but check out the road-holding. Koenigsegg is claiming that the Agera can pull 1.6 g. Holy Swedish moly, man.

Geneva Motor Show : The Porsche 918 Spyder

We hate to go back to the well-used well on this one but we have no choice: The Porsche 918 Spyder Concept is even hotter in person than it is in photos. About the size of a Boxster, it's a little wider and a lot meaner. Underneath all that sharkness you get a 500-horsepower V8 in addition to 218 overall horsepower from the two axle-mounted electric motors. And that will get you to 60 in 3.2 lickety-split seconds as well along with the feelgood factor of 94 mph. How badly do we want this car made? Have a read of the press release after the jump and the gallery of high-res photos below while we think about it.

Geneva Motor Show : Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid

We got sneak peek of the first ever Lotus Hybrid a couple of days ago, and now we've seen the Evora 414E Hybrid in the metallic flesh. Just a slight refresher on the technology, the 414E makes 408 horsepower and a skull-popping 590 pound-feet of torque via electricity.

That's right, this is not your Prius-style hybrid. Like Chevy's Volt, the Evora 414E is an extended-range electric vehicle. Meaning that it runs on batteries (for up to 35 miles) before a 47-hp three-cylinder engine kicks on to provide power. Also, instead of one electric motor, the 414E has two. One for each rear wheel. And since most of the time the car will be running off lithium-ion batteries, Lotus is employing HALOsonic Internal and External Electronic Sound Synthesis systems to make the 414E sound like a "real" car.

On the outside, the 414E looks like your "standard" Evora, except that this here show car is covered in faux-electric circuitry. Plus it's painted in a gorgeous shade of matte copper. The real story though, is inside. Talk about Black and Gold! Even if the Evora 414E Hybrid never makes it to production (we hearing it will in two to three years) we hope they offer those seats as an option. Yes, we're odd people. Deal with it.

Geneva Motor Show : 2011 Porsche Cayenne Hybrid

Porsche's got a lot on the Cayenne line, and having had a look at the new Hybrid and Turbo variants we don't believe they have anything to worry about. The Hybrid is the first from the automaker, but will be just one of five Cayenne trims on offer, and gets you 23-percent better mileage for what is sure to be a hefty premium. Overall system horsepower is 380 horsepower, yet often times you won't even notice it because you'll be "sailing," which is when the drivetrain is decoupled from the engine and happens at speeds up to 97 mph. Follow the jump for the skinny, and check them both out – as well as that curvaceous interior in the Hybrid – in the gallery of high-res photos below.

Geneva Motor Show :Citroen Survolt

Citroen Survolt Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

Of all the automakers in the world – and by the world, we mean the world outside the United States – Citroen's design arguably runs the gamut more than any other's. On the one hand, you've got cheap, compact and quirky hatchbacks like the comically named Revolte concept revealed in Frankfurt half a year back. On the other, you've got the GTbyCitroen, an extreme exotic supercar concept, now slated for limited production. In between lies a gorge as big as, well, France itself. But the chevron-emblazoned automaker has bridged the divide this year in Geneva with an intriguing concept called the Survolt.

Not digging the Revolte/GT comparo? Think Bugatti Veyron meets Chevy Volt, circa "Hackers". Beneath the compact sportscar shape, splattered with more neon graphics than "Tron", lies an all-electric powertrain. Citroen's provided little in the way of details regarding the propulsion, but you can read more esoteric prose about the design in the press release after the jump. Better yet, check it out for yourself in the gallery of live shots from the Geneva show floor below, and the studio shots in the gallery below that.

Geneva Motor Show : Nissan Juke

Nissan won't have its official press conference for a few hours, but we've already snagged these shots of the production Juke, an oddly styled smaller-than-you-think crossover that's poised to hit North America for 2011. In person, the Juke is perhaps less bizarre than one might think, with the exuberance of its alien face reined in with comparatively modest alloy wheels, traditional doors and Volvo C30-like taillamps. If you're wondering where the Juke fits into the Nissan lineup that already has the Murano, Rogue and the Qashqai, this vehicle is markedly smaller than the Murano and actually appears smaller than the Rogue.

The interior is pure Nissan, though it looks like the Japanese automaker has put a few more dollars into some of its interior plastics and materials than it has in the past. In particular, the new HVAC controls have a crisp and colorful display, and the transmission tunnel has a quasi motorcycle-tank look about it.

For Europe, the Juke is available with a pair of 1.6-liter gasoline engines in either normally aspirated or turbocharged direct-injected form, as well as a 1.5-liter diesel, the latter of which is unlikely to make it to North America. The compact CUV will be made in both front- and all-wheel drive configurations, the latter being a newly developed torque-vectoring system dubbed ALL-Mode 4x4-i that is capable of splitting power 50:50 from front-to-rear as well as side-to-side.

We expect to see the Juke make its North American debut in New York. While you're waiting, check out our high-res galleries below and the official press release after the jump.

Geneva Motor Show :2011 Mazda5

Mazda's Nagare design theme has infiltrated nearly every model in its lineup, with only a few lone hold-outs. Here in Geneva, one of the last unmolested models has finally gone under the knife and the result is the 2011 Mazda 5.

In addition to the new smiling fascia, five-point grille, deeper chin spoiler and flared front fenders, the new 5 gets a trio of dramatic, wave-live character lines sweeping from the front door and terminating into the deeply drawn rear tailamps. The combination ditches the somewhat anonymous profile of the previous model, it's just a shame the rear looks disproportionately top heavy.

The interior gets a quick once over, with thicker, wider seats, power sliding doors and a reworked center stack, with the standard seven seats carrying over and the new 2.5-liter four-cylinder from the new Mazda3 finding its way underhood when it hits the States later this year.

Geneva Motor Show 2010: Porsche 911 Turbo S

The Porsche 911 Turbo S isn't new, it's just, well, more. All those options boxes on the Porsche Turbo (and you know how Porsche loves options boxes) don't need to be ticked – Porsche already checked them for you. It's the torque vectoring, seven-speed-DSG-and-dynamic-engine-mount-having, chrono-sport-timing, all-singing, all-dancing adaptive ("bending") headlight wearing wunderkind. Oh, and it gets 24.8 miles per gallon. Which makes the "S" short for "sipping." Kinda.