AUTHENTIC CARS

Honda will unveil its Urban SUV concept car at the Detroit motor show that will become a new baby SUV. Seen here in images leaked on the internet ahead of its premiere, the production version of the Urban SUV concept is expected to go on sale within the next three years. The new car, which is widely tipped to be based on the Honda Jazz, will rival the Nissan Juke and Vauxhall Mokka in international markets. It is likely to be spun off the new Honda Jazz platform, which is due in the next two years, and with which the firm is targeting sales of up to 400,000 units a year in America and Europe. Unlike with previous generations of the car, Honda is giving its global regions freedom to develop the Jazz to suit local tastes. The European version is expected to be built at the firm's base in Swindon. The baby SUV is a key part of Honda president Takanobu Ito's ambitious plans to double global sales to six million cars a year by 2017. 

The all-new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, the seventh-generation of America’s most iconic sports car, is the homegrown star of the Detroit motor show. The new 450bhp 6.2-litre V8-powered Stingray is the most powerful standard version of the ‘Vette ever in its sixty-year history, and is also the most advanced yet with technology including a lightweight aluminium structure, part-carbonfibre bodywork and a seven-speed manual gearbox. The Stingray name also returns to the Corvette for the first time since 1976. While the look and shape of the new 4495mm long, 1877mm wide and 1235mm high Stingray is instantly recognisable as Corvette, the technology underneath breaks new ground for the the front-engined, rear-drive sports car.   At the heart of Stingray is a completely reworked version of General Motors’ familiar 6162cc small-block V8. The 450bhp direct-injection LT1 aluminium engine with continuously variable valve timing also produces 62.2kgm, with low-end torque ...

Mercedes-Benz has lifted the veil on its eagerly awaited CLA, revealing a strikingly styled entry-level four-door coupé. The CLA is little changed visually from the well-received Concept Style Coupé, which was shown as a precursor to the new car early last year. The CLA was revealed for the first time at a closed-door media reception prior to the Detroit motor show. The new model will enter the Mercedes line-up beneath the C-class.  The first public outing for the CLA will be at the Berlin Fashion Week, where it is set to play a prominent role as part of a broad-based marketing campaign that intends to see the CLA projected into a new segment for Mercedes.   Sales and marketing boss Joachim Schmidt said. “We aim to reach new target groups with the CLA, including those who never intended driving a Mercedes-Benz.”   Among the CLA’s rivals will be the Volkswagen Jetta, soon-to-be-revealed Audi A3 saloon and a secret BMW 1-series saloon currently undergoing d...

A lightly disguised Ferrari California mule is said to be testing powertrains and running gear for the next-gen model, likely to be on sale around 2014/15. A key detail is the engine in the test car, which on-lookers reported to sound like a turbocharged unit and is likely to be a version of a new V8 family now in production at Maranello. The raised bonnet line and extra cooling vents could also be a sign that the turbo engine has a taller package height that needs more under-bonnet space and heat management. The exhaust setup was also spotted to be unusual than the normal car. However, insiders say that the unusual exhaust arrangement on this mule is purely a test-car requirement, needed to clampdown on noise output at the Fiorano test circuit, where strict operating regulations are in force to pacify local residents. The new V8 family is Ferrari-designed and already in production having has just appeared in the Maserati Qattroporte in a twin-turbo 3.8-litre versi...

Mercedes-Benz’s AMG performance off-shoot is planning to provide the successor to today’s naturally aspirated 6.2-litre V8 powered Mercedes C63 AMG with an all-new turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 powerplant – the same unit earmarked for the company’s upcoming Mercedes SLC sports car. The new unit has been developed along modular lines and is said to share the same individual cylinder capacity, bore centre spacing and other specific details with the turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder earmarked for the Mercedes A45 AMG and Mercedes CLA45 AMG. Insiders indicate the new unit, which is claimed to deliver over 450bhp in an initial state of tune but is said to be capable of pushing out up to 600bhp, will eventually replace the naturally aspirated 5.5-litre V8 used exclusively by the Mercedes SLK55 AMG, providing a stepping stone to AMG’s larger turbocharged 5.5-litre V8. AMG boss Ola Kallenius stopped short of officially confirming the new engine to Autocar at the Los Angeles mot...

Images of a convertible GTC version of the Bentley Continental GT Speed have leaked onto the internet. The model has been tipped to make its world debut at the Detroit motor show next month. The spec of the flagship convertible from Crewe is unlikely to differ too greatly from the GT Speed coupe on which it is based. So expect power to come from a 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged W12 engine, with peak output of 616bhp. An eight-speed automatic gerabox should send drive to all four wheels. The coupe's 0-100kph time is 4.0sec, so expect the GT Speed convertible to be a couple of tenths off that due to the extra weight of its fabric roof mechanism.   The real headline could come from the top speed; the coupe's is 330kph, so it's possible the convertible could also have a top speed in excess of 321kph.   Bentley stiffened the chassis and uprated some hardware in the air-sprung suspension of the GT Speed coupe and also uprated the steering, so expect the same upg...

The new Range Rover Sport will have much greater visual differentiation from the standard Range Rover than before, design director Gerry McGovern has revealed. The second-generation Range Rover Sport is due to be revealed in the middle of 2013 before going on sale at the end of the year. McGovern said the new car “would be given more personality than before” and it would be “separated a bit more” from the Range Rover. Insiders have revealed that the new Range Rover Sport line-up will include a seven-seat option for the first time, a model that should sell particularly well in one of the Range Rover Sport’s biggest markets, North America. McGovern didn’t confirm it for production but said it would be a “challenge” to make a seven-seat Range Rover Sport. “It’s a sporty car with a sleek profile,” he said, “so creating it would be a challenge if it is successfully to carry extra seats.” Under the skin, the new Range Rover Sport will be closely related to the new Ra...