
Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Fisker, Electric, Luxury The Fisker Atlantic extended-range plug-in vehicle will start production about a year after its previously estimated mid-2013 date, Inside EVs blog reports, citing leaked company documents that were dated "a few weeks ago." The Atlantic, formerly known as Project Nina, will compete pricewise against the BMW 3 Series and 5 Series sedans, as well as the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and E-Class, Jaguar XF and Audi A4 and A6. That would put the model in the $50,000 to $60,000 range, according to the publication. The model, which will still be produced at Fisker's Delaware plant, will have 300 horsepower, a 0-60 time of 6.5 seconds and emissions of 50 grams per kilometer of CO2, Inside EVs reports, citing the documents. "As these documents are obviously leaked investor documents and highly confidential, I am not prepared to comment any further," a Fisker representative tells Autoblog sister site, AutoblogGreen. The status of the Atlantic has been in question since plans for the former General Motors plant in Delaware were put on hold once the U.S. Department of Energy froze most of the $529 million in loans earmarked for the California-based company. Fisker unveiled the Atlantic at the New York Auto Show last month, saying that the car's price tag would be "a much lower price point" than Fisker's Karma sedan.Leaked Fisker Atlantic documents reveal big production delay, specs originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 May 2012 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Concept Cars, Performance, SUV, Crossover, Lamborghini Long before Lamborghini unveiled the Urus concept for its new SUV at the Beijing Motor Show last month, we got two chances to preview the show truck: once at the factory in Italy and once at a private preview in New York. The Italian automaker's development chief Maurizio Reggiani wasn't prepared to talk about powertrain options at the time, but in speaking with Automotive News, he's now given us a hint of what to expect should the Volkswagen Group board give the project the green light. As expected, the Urus would have to be based on the same platform that is slated to underpin the next Volkswagen Touareg, Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne and Bentley EXP 9 F (if similarly approved) in order to make good business sense. Unfortunately, that new PL73 architecture is made principally of steel, a material that Lamborghini has been getting away from in favor of new types of carbon fiber construction. In order to keep weight down - Lambo is targeting 4,400 lbs for the Urus, significantly less than its potential competitors - it would need to make other components out of carbon to compensate. That covers the mass side of the power-to-weight ratio that is integral to any performance vehicle. As for the power, Reggiani says the company has yet to make a final decision. The last time Lamborghini made an SUV - the legendary LM002 "Rambo Lambo" - it was powered by the same high-revving V12 as the Countach, lending to speculation that the Urus could incorporate the new V12 from the Aventador or the V10 from the Gallardo. Reggiani, however, indicates that the new twin-turbo V8 powering the latest Audi RS models and the Bentley Continental is a more likely choice, given that it would help keep weight down and provide more low-end torque than the naturally-aspired 10 or 12-pots the Raging Bull marque currently produces for its sports cars.Lamborghini eyes low weight, Audi-sourced twin-turbo V8 for production Urus originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 May 2012 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Sedan, China, Volvo, Luxury Regular readers should be plenty familiar with the trend in the Chinese market towards long-wheelbase versions of the luxury sedans we have here. It's just what high-end customers in the decentralizing economy look for. And European automakers have been only too glad to oblige. BMW, Audi, Porsche and Infiniti have all recently stretched their existing luxury sedans to lure new buyers in the rapidly developing Chinese market, and now word has it that Volvo is following suit with a long-wheelbase version of the S60. The Chinese-owned Swedish automaker already produces a stretched version of the S80 in China, but has reportedly found little success. The hope is that the S60 - which for all its positive attributes does not have a particularly spacious rear bench - will plug that gap better in long-wheelbase form.Volvo planning long-wheelbase S60L for Chinese market originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 May 2012 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Etc., Europe, Videos, Audi, Racing Certain videos, when the protagonists speak a foreign language, don't need subtitles: Mexican telenovelas, dolphins in love and auto racing are but three. Although the narration is in Spanish and there isn't any racing in this video of former WRC Champion Carlos Sainz and current DTM driver Miguel Molina lapping the Autódromo Terramar, the action needs no translation. Terramar, in Spain, is the second oldest racing track in Europe after England's Brooklands, built in 1922 to host Grand Prix cars. Its owner's vision stretched further this his financial backing, so the two-kilometer oval track with 60-degree bankings hosted only one sanctioned race in 1923. After that, it was used sporadically, holding its last event in 1950. It is now part of land used for a chicken farm. That didn't stop Sainz and Molina from seeing how fast they could lap the 80-year-old circuit in a Red Bull Racing Audi R8 LMS. The video is a bit long, but it's well-shot and definitely worth watching for the high banking and bumpy airborn Audi shots alone. Check out the action by scrolling down to watch the video.Continue reading Watch Carlos Sainz flog this Audi R8 LMS around an 80-year-old GP trackWatch Carlos Sainz flog this Audi R8 LMS around an 80-year-old GP track originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 May 2012 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Performance, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Hatchback, BMW, Luxury The BMW M135i is still doing development laps, but that hasn't stopped BMW from getting prospective buyers ready for it. In a 1:44 promo called "It!", two adults play the kiddies' favorite game in the hot hatches through the container-box lanes of an empty port at night. If you're dead-set against the car then this probably won't make you like it, but this does lay down the first promotional marker in the 1,000-horsepower M135i/Mercedes-Benz A25 AMG/Audi RS3. battle. Take a look below to watch.Continue reading BMW plays tag with its new M135iBMW plays tag with its new M135i originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 13 May 2012 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Volkswagen Running a high-end automobile manufacturer like Bentley or Bugatti has got to be a dream job for most any business executive. And Wolfgang Dürheimer gets to run them both - but not for much longer, according to the latest reports coming in from trade publication Automotive News Europe. According to ANE, the former Porsche development chief is set to move to Audi in a broad management restructure aimed at reducing the average age of Ingolstadt's seven-member management board. In his new capacity, Dürheimer (53) is tipped to replace Audi's current development chief, Michael Dick (60), who is expected to retire later this year. Along with Dürheimer, Volkswagen marketing director Luca de Meo (44, formerly of Fiat) is expected to replace Audi sales chief Peter Schwartzenbauer (60), while Volkswagen purchasing manager Bernd Martens replaces his Audi counterpart Ulf Berkenhagen, who will take up the same role at the group's commercial vehicles division. Audi production chief Frank Dreves is also expected to leave his post, though no replacement was named in the report. Of course with any game of musical chairs - or "Reise nach Jerusalem" as they call it in German for some reason - replacements will need to be found for the positions being left vacant. We'll be watching who is named head of Bentley and Bugatti, both roles that Dürheimer assumed from Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen (pictured above at right), who last we heard was still in the group organizing its classic vehicles division.Bentley/Bugatti chief Durheimer moving to Audi in management shake-up originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 13 May 2012 14:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

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