Toyota TRD GT86 Special Edition

Following the UK debut of the TRD GT86 at last month's Goodwood Festival of Speed, we now have new photos and additional information on what is being described by Toyota as the "ultimate road going evolution" of the brand's rear wheel drive sports coupe. 

First unveiled in Japan at the Tokyo Auto Salon early in 2012, the Toyota Racing Development (TRD) GT86 is scheduled to go on sale in Britain as special edition model in the beginning of January 2013. 

The exterior modifications of the car include a lower front spoiler, complete with aerodynamic ‘fins’ ahead of the front wheels, wider side skirts, a venturi style under spoiler and a larger boot lid wing. 

There's also TRD badged oil filler cap while the car rides on new 18-inch forged alloy wheels finished in black and shod in Michelin performance tyres. 

Inside, the TRD treatment brings new sports “bucket” seats, additional instrumentation including the Sports Meter Link System comprising water temperature, and oil temperature and pressure gauges, plus a red push button start switch, and a TRD badged gearshift knob. 

The GT86's car’s engine remains stock, but TRD has made modifications to the chassis with a new adjustable suspension system and thicker anti-roll bars front and rear, and a more powerful mono block brake kit larger calipers and 355mm front and 345mm rear grooved and vented rotors. 

A new exhaust system with quad tailpipes that Toyota says improves engine response and sound completes the package.  

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2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo

The standard, 138-hp Hyundai Veloster overpromises and underdelivers. Its tame, unexceptional dynamics contrast with the wild styling and the curious three-door package. Yet even as we abandoned our hope for a Korean revelation during our first drive of that car last October, we remained optimistic that Hyundai would take a mulligan with the upcoming turbocharged model. 

Even before turning a single wheel in the Veloster Turbo, however, our expectations met harsh reality again this summer when product planners at Hyundai's U.S. headquarters revealed that the damping, the spring rates, and the bushings were all left unchanged for the Turbo. We had been hoping for a more mature setup -- something with the suppleness and sophistication of a Volkswagen GTI. Instead, the Turbo suffers the same busy, stiff-legged ride over cracks and heaves as the base car. 

Hyundai did address the Veloster's lackluster steering with a rack that is imperceptibly quicker and a power-assist calibration that is noticeably heavier. It's a significant step in the right direction, although there's still room for improvement in on-center responsiveness and feel. Weight remains commendably low at less than 2900 pounds and the car corners with good body control and a sense of stability. If the pavement is sufficiently smooth, you can find joy in stringing together a series of bends, but the Veloster lacks the composure of its competitors in the most demanding conditions. Thus, piloting the Veloster Turbo is nowhere near as visceral as the best hot hatches. 

It's a similar story with the 1.6-liter four-cylinder. Despite a resume that includes a twin-scroll turbocharger, dual variable valve timing, direct injection, and 201 hp and 195 pound-feet of torque (on regular gas), this overachiever lacks the personality we expected. Power delivery is more linear than in the similar-sized engines in the Nissan Juke and the Mini Cooper S, but the Veloster is much less lively. Fuel economy for the manual-transmission car is rated at 26/38 mpg city/highway, a very impressive number but one that's telling about the Turbo's character. Rather than a boisterous driver's car, Hyundai has built yet another 38-mpg small car. 

The optional six-speed automatic gains a sport mode in the Turbo that's supposed to speed up shifts. We say supposed to because it requires an unusually deep push on the accelerator to elicit a downshift. In fact, the sport mode's most noticeable change over the standard programming is the unnecessary and annoying act of locking the transmission out of top gear. Drivers seeking earlier downshifts and later upshifts will instead need to use the manual shift mode via the steering-wheel-mounted paddles. Or they can stick with the standard six-speed manual. 

Aesthetically, the Veloster Turbo is even more extroverted than the base car, with a gaping grille in place of the base car's convoluted fascia. Styling flourishes like LED accents in the headlights, new tail pipes for the center-exiting exhaust, 18-inch wheels with chrome accents, and a printed graphic on the headliner increase the attitude. Others, like the oversized circular reflectors in the lower rear fascia that could have been sourced from Home Depot, are less successful. Of all the design tweaks, though, our favorite is the matte gray paint, a $1000 option that's unique on a vehicle this affordable. (Just don't drive it through an automated car wash.) Heated, leather-trimmed seats, an eight-speaker stereo, push-button start, and a seven-inch touch screen are standard. As per Hyundai convention, the 2013 Veloster Turbo offers excellent infotainment with clear graphics and intuitive controls for iPhone integration, Bluetooth pairing, and Pandora Internet radio. Options are limited to a single package that adds navigation, a backup camera and rear parking sensors, a panoramic sunroof, a 115-volt power outlet, and automatic headlights for $2500. The automatic transmission adds another $1000 to the price. 

Even with a turbocharger, the Veloster's best attributes remain its value, fuel economy, and infotainment features. As with the base Veloster, you're more likely to experience emotions looking at the Turbo than driving it. When it comes to rational, practical automobiles, Hyundai can hang with the best, but in trying to capture passion and character, the Koreans are designing when they need to be engineering. 

Price: $22,725
Engine: 1.6L turbo I-4, 201 hp, 195 lb-ft
Transmissions: Six-speed automatic, six-speed manual
Drive: Front-wheel
EPA Mileage: 26/38 mpg (city/highway; manual) 

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Lotus Pulls Out of Paris Auto Show

Two years after Dany Bahar’s grandiose six-vehicle launch at the 2010 Paris auto show, the struggling sports-car maker won’t even have a stand at this year’s event. Lotus has pulled out of the show, we’ve learned from two independent sources. In a recent phone conversation, a company spokesman would not deny what was then a rumor but has now been confirmed by the show’s organizers.

Lotus’s no-show is not necessarily bad news. It recently put on a truly impressive display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, complete with historic and modern cars, proving it is alive and kicking. But the company’s strategy is under review after former CEO Dany Bahar’s sudden departure. The controversial former Red Bull and Ferrari executive had not only tried to take Lotus deep into Ferrari territory, he also hired rapper Swizz Beatz as a design consultant and teamed up with the tuner Mansory, the offerings of which are as extravagant as they are lacking in taste. It is alleged that breathtaking expenditures for Bahar’s lavish corporate lifestyle ultimately led to his exit.

We think that Lotus will do well to recapture its essence with lightweight and original sports cars, not with ultra-expensive supercars. It also needs to get its U.S.-market strategy on track. It won’t be in Paris, but we are confident in seeing a reborn Lotus at the upcoming auto shows—a reborn Lotus built on its history of engineering that was on display at Goodwood and not the smoke and mirrors of Paris two years ago.

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2013 Subaru BRZ Premium

There was little question that a Subaru BRZ would be a part of our Four Seasons fleet. Few cars are as hotly anticipated because the fruit of the Subaru/Toyota joint venture that created the BRZ and therefore the Scion FR-S. lightweight weight, crisp handling, affordability, and rear-wheel drive are the endearing characteristics of those twins.

If you need to get out the door for $25,000, you will be heading to a Scion dealership and looking forward to a printed map. The Subaru BRZ Premium, on the opposite hand, comes with HID headlamps, Bluetooth connectivity, and navigation, however its base worth is $26,265. need keyless ignition, heated leather seats, a trunk spoiler, and automatic climate control? That'll be another $2000 for the BRZ restricted. Since the BRZ is meant to be a pure sports automotive, we tend to opted for a Premium equipped with a 6-speed manual transmission. An automatic transmission will be had for $1100; no different stand-alone choices are on the market on either the Scion or the Subaru.

Our solely serious grievance once driving the BRZ on a track in Japan and over difficult roads within the south of France was the modest level of grip from the stock 215/45WR-17 Michelin Primacy HP tires. As soon as we tend to took delivery of our 2013 BRZ, we tend to known as Tire Rack, the official tire and wheel provider of Automobile Magazine, and ordered a group of 225/45R-17 BFGoodrich g-Force R1-S tires and seventeen x seven.5 Sparco Assetto Gara wheels. Since the BRZ will accommodate a whole set of wheels and tires within its cabin, we'll be ready to run R-compound tires on the track and extend the lifetime of our street tires by solely using them on the road.

The cheap base worth makes the BRZ an ideal candidate for tasteful modifications. We're already eyeing a coil-over suspension system and brake upgrade to enhance the track tire package and commonplace limited-slip differential. make sure to follow the BRZ's upgrades on automobilemag.com to visualize what quantity performance we are able to gain by fiddling with the brakes, tires, and suspension. We'll be logging countless track miles with this automotive and measuring changes in performance with every upgrade.

Of course, we'll still use the BRZ for vacations, grocery runs, and daily commuting, as we tend to do with all Four Seasons vehicles. We've already established a lottery system to sign out the automotive once Michigan's initial snowfall, as a result of we tend to expect the BRZ to be a riot this winter once we tend to match applicable seasonal rubber. For now, let's head to the track.

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2013 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring

After creating the 600-mile drive east to ny, our Mazda CX-5 immediately picked up and headed up to Cape Cope for slightly rest and relaxation. Well, senior editor Joe Lorio and his family did; it appears that the sky-blue Mazda will not be catching a clear stage anytime soon.

Says Lorio, "The CX-5 arrived in city simply in time for us to require it out of city, as we tend to got a jump on summer with a visit to Cape Cod. Mazda's compact-but-not-confining sport-ute was perfectly sized to hold a family of 3 packing heavily for a four-day trip."

 

 

"The practically formed cargo hold is larger than it's. we tend to conjointly hung 3 bikes off the rear, which just about actually did not do our highway fuel economy any favors (we averaged an indicated twenty nine mpg obtaining there and back, that is significantly but the advertised thirty two mpg)." Lorio isn't the primary to notice the actual fact that the CX-5 might over-promise with its 32-mpg highway rating.
 

"In many ways, the CX-5 is that the BMW 3-series of popularly priced compact crossovers," opines Lorio. "The driving position, the sharp steering, the eager turn-on, and also the firm nevertheless supple ride all contribute to that impression. however it isn't the 335i of crossovers -- additional just like the 318i, or another marginally powered variant sold solely in Europe.

"The SkyActiv a pair of.0-liter will move this issue along at an affordable clip, however given that you are insistent. Otherwise, this powertrain is 1st, foremost, and forever attempting to eke out the most effective attainable gas mileage. the difficulty is not such a lot acceleration because it is maintaining speed. Driving across Connecticut -- who knew it absolutely was thus hilly? -- the CX-5 usually had to drop all the way down to fourth to carry seventy mph on long grades. Fifth was too tall, coupled with sixth." alternative staffers have offered that they'd sacrifice the high-mpg rating for additional power from the 155-hp a pair of.0-liter Skyactiv four-cylinder.

 

Need for power is also a subjective qualifier, however interior rattles don't seem to be. whereas away on the Cape, the Lorios noticed a foul rattle returning from the rear of the CX-5. They thought it may be a consequence of the bike rack mounted on the Mazda's hatch, however Lorio emptied the automobile out when he got home, and also the rattle still persisted. "I then checked beneath the cargo floor for one thing not clamped down, beneath the automobile for one thing clearly out of place, and even checked the tightness of the lug nuts, however may notice no obvious cause." we tend to determined to not watch for the ten,000-mile service, that continues to be a ways that off, and took the Mazda in for an unscheduled check-up. The diagnosis? Some gravel had worked its approach into the proper rear management arm. it absolutely was removed for no charge, and also the rattle was gone.

The newly quieted CX-5 was then handed off to contributor Jamie Kitman. Never at a loss for words, he can little question have masses to mention next month.

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2014 Mercedes-Benz GLA

Today, Mercedes-Benz confirmed what we tend to all knew to be a positive thing—that an A-class–based, sub-GLK-class compact SUV (rendered above) goes to happen. The affirmation arrived as a footnote in an announcement concerning the German production facility that builds the new A-class; the crossover are going to be designed alongside the aforementioned hatchback in addition because the taller B-class at Mercedes’ producing facility in Rastatt (Germany.)

The announcement failed to divulge what Mercedes plans to decision the tiny SUV, however we’re fairly positive it'll be known as GLA. (For additional on the GLA, that we tend to previously thought would be known as the GLC, scan our deep dive here.) Expect to visualize the GLA—or no matter it’s finally called—arrive within the U.S. someday next year as a 2014 model. An AMG version could be a risk, if our powers of observation serve us correctly: What seems to be an AMG’d GLA created an look beneath a sheet in a very recent preview photo released by Benz’s go-fast division. 

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Aspid Teases BMW V8-Powered GT-21

Spanish specialty carmaker Aspid Cars has dropped the primary teaser pictures of its new GT-21 Invictus, a 2+2 seater sports automotive. this is often Aspid's second vehicle series when the hardcore Super Sports (SS), which sort of resembles a Lotus seven on steroids.

"The GT-21 Invictus enhances the Aspid Super Sport, however is larger and additional powerful says the car’s chief desin and company found, Ignacio Fernández Rodriquez. "It has been a difficult styling exercised however fortunately we've got a very gifted style team within the company."

Aspid's latest creation is made around a light-weight spaceframe and makes use of aerospace grade aluminium, ultra-light high-strength steels, and composites materials for the body to stay its weight at a coffee 990kg (2,182 lbs) when dry.

The GT-21 Invictus is 700mm longer than the SS at four,447mm (175 in.), whereas additionally measuring one,883mm (74.1 in.) wide and simply one,226mm (48.3 in.) tall.

Whereas the SS utilizes a 398hp (402PS) two.0-liter turbo'd four, the GT-21 Invictus employs a BMW-sourced four.4-liter turbocharged V8 engine manufacturing 450-horses. A dual-clutch transmission with F1-style shift paddles on the steering wheel transfers power to the rear wheels.

The Spaniards estimate that the 2+2 seater are capable of reaching 100km/h (62mph) in but 3 seconds and prime out at 300km/h (186mph).

The company said production of the (GT-21) Invictus are restricted to 250 units per year with pricing to be announced.

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Nissan Says New Note Previews

If you had a hunch that the Brand new Nissan Note for world market as well as Japan and Europe would kind the bottom for a replacement to the North yankee market Versa hatchback, you will pat yourself on the rear.

The Japanese carmaker simply announced that future generation of the sub-compact Versa hatchback, which can arrive among future year, "will receive a contemporary new look that takes style cues from the new Note".

Nissan added that each the new Note and Versa are based mostly on the company's world V-platform, however observed that "the Versa can embrace options tailored to its markets in North and South America."

While Nissan will not divulge any further details till nearer to launch, the sensible cash ought to attend a rather changed version of the Note with market-specific powertrain choices.

In addition to the announcement on hatchback model Nissan said that the 2013 model year version of the Versa sedan that was launched simply last year, has been updated to realize forty miles per gallon on the highway.

The Versa series has been successful for the Nissan with the present hatchback and sedan models having sold sixty,919 units within the States from January through June 2012, beating its nearest competitors as well as the Honda match, Hyundai Accent and Ford Fiesta.  

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2013 Lexus has released pricing information

Lexus has released pricing information for the redesigned 2013 ES sedan lineup: The V-6–powered ES350 can begin at $36,995, whereas the new ES300h hybrid model rings in at $39,745. Pleasantly, the 2013 ES350 truly prices $605 but the 2012 model; the hybrid is new to the ES line this year, therefore there isn’t extremely a back-to-back comparison to be created for it. (For a full rundown of all the ES’s changes for 2013, examine our initial drives on the ES350 and ES300h.)

On the flip facet, Lexus claims the ES300h boasts very cheap hybrid worth premium in its entire lineup—it prices simply $2750 over the regular-grade ES350. As way as hybrids go, that worth bump is fairly tame, particularly given the fuel-economy improvement the four-cylinder/electric motor combo provides. The EPA predicts the ES300h can come forty mpg within the town and thirty-nine on the highway; the ES350 gets a way more mundane 21/31 rating.

Given the nearly unchanged pricing—at least for the ES350—the 2013 ES’s worth standing against its competitors largely is that the same. The ES350 still starts a lot of on top of the Buick LaCrosse’s worth of entry (it’s value noting that the Buick gets a typical mild-hybrid system), and its base worth is barely slightly on top of that of the 2012 Acura TL. The Brand new Lexus ES sedans arrive in dealerships next month and consumers are ready to choose between a bevy of optional equipment that has blind-spot monitoring, pre collision system a Mark Levinson audio system, and navigation. Tags: Lexus, Lexus ES300h, Lexus ES350, pricing 

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BMW Rumored to be acting on M235i Coupe for 2014

With solely half dozen00 1-Series M Coupes (pictured above) creating it to the States out of a complete of 6,000 examples worldwide, the new two-door model could be a rare beast.

For those that couldn't get their hand on the foremost compact and reasonable M model, Autoweek magazine is reporting that BMW is getting ready a sort of successor within the style of an M Performance coupe based mostly on the recently launched in Europe, M135i hatchback.

M Performance is BMW's new sub-brand that sits between the regular models and therefore the thoroughbred M sports cars – one thing like Audi's S and RS vary.

Citing within sources, the publication claims that BMW can gift a coupe version of the second-generation 1-Series renamed because the 2-Series at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show with an M Performance variant to follow a couple of months later at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show.

Keep in mind, however, that BMW has not officially confirmed the amendment of names for the coupe and convertible models of the 1-Series and 3-Series lineups to 2-Series and 4-Series respectively.

Regardless of what BMW can decision the coupe model, the magazine says the M235i can use a similar N55 three.0-liter turbocharged inline-six delivering 316hp (320PS) at five,800rpm and 450Nm (332 lb-ft) from one,300 to 4,500rpm because the M135i hatchback coupled to either a 6-speed manual gearbox or an 8-speed automatic.

It is doable that just like the M135i, the M235i also will be offered with all-wheel drive as an possibility.

What Autoweek forgets to say in its article though is that an M Performance version of this 1-Series Coupe has already return to the States underneath the guise of the 135is Coupe and Convertible, each of that are powered by the M135i's N55 three.0-liter turbo engine, rated at 320hp.
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