2010 Aston Martin DBS UB-2010 Special Edition

From the March, 2010 issue of Automobile MagazineIt’s been nearly a decade since Dr. Ulrich Bez assumed the helm at Aston Martin, but instead of awarding its CEO a jewel-encrusted tie-tack, the folks at Gaydon crafted a better gift to celebrate his milestone: a special-edition DBS.

Dubbed the UB-2010 Limited Edition, the special DBS models are a product of Aston’s Works Service program, which is typically employed by customers desiring personalization to the nth degree. In this instance, Bez himself specified the unique color scheme, which includes an “Azurite Black” paint hue, metallic bronze leather with woven seat inserts, and a special “Cryptic Titan” interior trim finish. Each DBS UB-2010 will wear special doorsill plates with Bez’s signature. 

Aston says Bez will personally sign off on each of the UB-2010 cars, lending his signature to the car’s final inspection plate as well. Only 40 examples of the UB-2010 will be manufactured --20 coupes and 20 Volantes -- but Aston has yet to set prices for the special-edition cars. Should you miss out on the run, however, we imagine Works Service could build you something similar -- sans the Bez autograph -- for the right price. 

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Hyundai i30 Wagon

Hyundai has showed off photos of its new i30 Wagon that will make its world debut at the Geneva Motor Show next month. The all-new wagon will join the i30 hatchback in Hyundai's European lineup later this year. 

We know the i30 hatchback here in the States as the all-new 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT, which made its debut earlier this month alongside the two-door Hyundai Elantra Coupe at the Chicago Auto Show. American buyers also get a third, sedan version of the Elantra, as well. The new i30 Wagon is powered by the same engines as the Euro i30 Hatchback, including three gas and three diesel engines, ranging from 89 to 133 hp. Overall length of the wagon is up 7.3 inches to 176.6 inches compared the hatchback, and cargo room behind the rear seats has grown to 18.6 cubic feet; with the rear seats folded cargo space is more than tripled to nearly 58 cubic feet. 

 

 

Hyundai's i30 Wagon was designed alongside the i30 hatchback at Hyundai's R&D center in Ruesselsheim, Germany, "enabling the stylists to fashion a coherent design that bears a strong family resemblance inspired by Hyundai's fluidic sculpture form language," according to Hyundai. The i30 hatchback and wagon are nearly identical on the front, but from the B-pillar back the wagon's roofline extends further back giving it a proper station wagon look while retaining Hyundai's family resemblance. 

 

 

The rear window wraps around the D-pillar to decrease blind spots. The i30 Wagon will be the second bodystyle of the i30 line sold in Europe, and Hyundai has no plans to bring it across the pond. Should Hyundai bring a proper Elantra Wagon stateside, for a full lineup of C-segment cars? Or does the upcoming GT model fill the bill for a practical, yet sporty five-door? Share your thoughts in the comments below.  

 

 

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Kia Cee'd Hatchback

The first-generation Kia Cee'd ushered in a new design language for Kia in Europe, and it looks as if history is about to repeat itself. The next-generation Cee'd, which is slated to debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show in March, appears to push the design envelope even further.

The latest Cee'd - which is likely to remain a European exclusive - remains a hatchback, but shares only its daylight opening shape with its forebear. The new Cee'd packs plenty of Kia's latest design DNA into a compact vehicle: the corporate "tiger nose" grille is more prominent than ever, and flanked by long, tapered headlamps and a dramatically flared hood. As usual, the car also receives LED running lamps placed along the lower edges of the headlamp housings.

Further back, the new Cee'd shares a number of cues with the smaller Rio: taillights are mounted high up the curvaceous rear end, although the bumper cut echoes the shape of the hatch stamping itself. The lower diffuser is also a little more sophisticated, with raised accents surrounding the rear reflectors, license plate, and lower diffuser.

Inside, the interior is anything but drab. Like the Optima, the Cee'd's instrument panel wraps into the center stack. Grey plastic materials used on the dashboard itself are broken up with strips of glossy piano black trim. Door panels are two-toned, and the leather seats shown here feature contrast stitching. The look is refreshingly high-end - which is welcome, considering the C-segment continues to move upmarket in around the globe.

As for the mechanicals, it's still anyone's guess: Kia has been tight-lipped about the car's selection of engines. Currently, European models feature a range of gasoline and diesel engines that make anywhere between 89 and 126 horsepower, but it's been rumored that the Procee'd, the three-door version of the Cee'd, could make use of the the same 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine used in the new Hyundai Veloster Turbo.

Also unknown at the moment is whether or not this car will make it to the United States. We wouldn't be surprised if it didn't: after all, the previous Cee'd was designed expressly for the European market, which left North America with the Forte. We may not see a Cee'd on our shores, but we can only hope the next Kia C-segment offering for North America looks this good.  

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Toyota NS4 Plug-In Hybrid

Toyota unveiled the NS4 plug-in hybrid at the 2012 North American Auto Show. Toyota is using the NS4 to demonstrate future safety features, connectivity technology, efficient drivetrain, and design ideas. Many members of the crowd were expecting to see another variation on the Prius theme and were surprised to see one of Toyota’s most interesting designs. 

 

Powered by the next-generation of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive, the NS4 is NOT envisioned as a halo vehicle at the top of the Prius sub-brand, but rather is meant to indicate that as public interest in alternative powertrain vehicles increases, HSD will be extended to more non-Prius vehicles. As for that “next generation” HSD, it features smaller and lighter components, improved overall fuel economy, better acceleration, longer all-electric range, and a short charge time, but does NOT adapt a Volt-style drive system that enables the internal combustion engine to turn the wheels directly for improved efficiency and permits full-range speed and acceleration in electric mode. 

 

 

Connectivity is said to be elevated to a new level in the NS4 with a user-interface that includes a multi-touch screen that looks and feels like a smartphone. We’re assured that it will be simple and intuitive to operate, conveying information quickly without distraction while maximizing driver awareness (didn’t Ford say that about SYNC?). This system is supposedly capable of “learning” driver preferences and habits to anticipate driver responses in certain situations. Other interesting features of the liftback sedan include doors that swing up and out to clear high curbs (like an Aston Martin Rapide’s), and new hydrophobic glass (naturally sheds water and fog) that manages to reduce glare and ultraviolet light transmission without blocking radio waves (did you know that earlier anti-UV glass made some cars shield the signal from criminal-tracing ankle-bracelets?). 

 

 

On the safety front, there’s a suite of collision-avoidance systems that use millimeter-wave radar and stereo-vision cameras to predict and avoid lane-departure, rear-end, and pedestrian collisions. The headlights are fully adaptive to provide high-beam illumination while preventing glare when other cars or pedestrians are present. For now, the NS4 is purely a concept car and we find all of the tech goodies reasonably interesting, but what we REALLY hope is that cars like the Camry get a bit of this styling love by 2015–or earlier  . 

 

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