This is the B55, a silly one-off project by workers at Mercedes’ Rastatt plant that involved shoving an old “55” AMG engine into a new B-Class, running a driveshaft through the “sandwich floor” and hooking it up to an old E-Class wagon rear axle. The result: 383 HP, a 0-60 time in the 5 second range, and what Autocar terms “surprisingly mature dynamic properties.” Possibly even more surprisingly, the whole project was done without a lick of help from the nutters at AMG, and required no frame modifications. Best of all is how  comfortingly old-school the project is: the days of turning an FWD compact car into a V8 RWD beast are rapidly drawing to a close. Need proof? For the next-generation of A/B-Class, AMG is going in a very different direction, creating an “A25 AMG” which will use a two liter turbocharged four-banger, putting around 300 HP through a dual-clutch transmission and Haldex AWD. This “STI by AMG” will doubtless be infinitely more practical, efficient and useable than the B55’s old-school V8/RWD setup… but more than a few gearheads will be sad to see these kinds of unhinged anachronisms ride off into the sunset.

Where did GMC get the idea to take a short-bed pickup, widen the track, fit some Fox shocks and generally beef it up to create a factory off-road “halo” truck? Oh right, from Ford. If you’re not convinced that Detroit still has at least one foot firmly stuck in the past, this halo niche-chasing behemoth should help clear up some of that doubt.

Lotus has perplexed and antagonized a number of auto enthusiasts by announcing its intent to expand beyond niche sportscars and become a global sport-luxe brand in the vein of Porsche and Ferrari. By announcing five future cars at once, Lotus made an audacious splash in the industry, and painted a giant target on its back. At the same time, Lotus’s initial plans called for the use of Toyota V8s and hybrid systems, leading some to wonder if Lotus was even being audacious enough. After all, assuming it could play with Porsche’s and Ferraris using only mass-market customer engines was somehow cravenly conservative to the point of being obnoxiously ballsy. Surely Lotus realizes that bespoke drivetrains are crucial to building a global sportscar brand? Well, apparently the Hethel boys didn’t get it… at least until their potential customers made an issue of it.

Read More >

When “Maximum” Bob Lutz showed up on the advisory board at Lotus, we were hardly surprised about his choice of post-retirement projects. After all, Lotus is one of the most audacious (privately-funded) turnaround attempts in an industry that runs on turnarounds, and Lutz is the king of building automotive hype, fresh off of one of the most overexposed automotive projects in recent memory, the Chevy Volt. Besides, Lotus’s shot at an overnight leap from niche enthusiast brand to Ferrari and Porsche-rivaling juggernaut is so brazenly implausible, that Lutz actually lends credibility to the project. At least, he would do if he didn’t have that irrepressible knack for saying things like

People keep asking me if I’m sure the new plan will work, and of course I can’t guarantee that. It’s a risk. But I’m quite certain it stands a better chance than the Lotus status quo, which for sure would eventually lead this great brand into terminal decline

Lutz goes on to tell Autocar that Lotus’s billion dollar turnaround “a big gamble,” and admits that “a fair bit of showbiz” is driving Lotus’s quantum leap towards becoming a full-line sportscar and supercar maker. Does it sound like Lutz might have some mixed feelings about Lotus’s rush to trample its enthusiast credentials? More maximum mixed feelings below the fold.

Read More >

In 1973, Lotus shocked its fans by announcing that its seminal model, the Super Seven, would no longer be sold as a Lotus. Lotus’s largest dealer at the time bought the rights to the Lotus 7 design and began manufacturing the stripped-down roadster as the Caterham 7. Since then, Caterham has built versions of the 7 without interruption, cementing Colin Chapman’s most influential design as a modern enthusiast classic. Now could it all be about to happen again? Autocar reports that

Caterham has revealed plans to launch an all-new model at the Autosport International show next month. The firm is providing few clues as to the identity of the new model, but has said the model will not be another variant of the Seven and will be the first all-new Caterham since the 21 from the 1990s.

What’s most fascinating about this is that Caterham’s “entirely new” car (which, by the standards of the firm probably means the design is less than 30 years old) is coming out just as Lotus is once again moving up the sportscar ladder to roll out ever larger and more mainstream models. With the next Lotus Elise set to gain a considerable amount of weight (reportedly some 400 lbs), the Lotus faithful are doubtless hoping that Caterham snags the rights to Lotus’s mid-engined, latter-day Seven, and builds it for another 30 years. Of course, if that happens I’ll want my cut of the proceeds… not to mention a crazed R500 version. On the other hand, for all we know, Caterham is actually planning on building an SUV or four-door coupe, or some other nonsense.

Russia has complained long and bitterly that Western firms refuse to share technology with its home-grown auto industry, but now the billionaire owner of the New Jersey Nets has introduced Russia’s first home-grown hybrid cars in hopes of proving that Russia can compete in the global car industry. But, according to the WSJ, the launch of the brand known as “Yo” (“ë” in Russian) was not without its problems

Mr. Prokhorov said he intends to “break the stereotype saying Russia can’t produce good cars,” even though an executive needed three attempts to successfully start the prototype car with a mobile phone using a remote-start feature.

But then what do you expect from a Russian-built prototype of a hybrid car that’s set to cost only $10k?
Read More >

When you think of cars and Saudi Arabia, you’d be forgiven for thinking of incredibly expensive European cars, typically modified in a particularly distasteful fashion by one of the more crass tuning houses. And indeed, the first Saudi-designed vehicle was a fairly garish SUV known as the Ghazal. But the second-ever Saudi-developed vehicle is actually a very modest, entry-level compact car, known as the Aseela (“Original” in Arabic). This strange little vehicle was developed by the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology’s National Program for Automobile Technology, and debuted this week at the Riyad Auto Show. According to themedialine.com

officials said it was to serve as the basis for a domestic auto manufacturing industry that Saudi Arabia is trying to develop

Yes Virginia, Saudi Arabia is trying to develop an auto manufacturing industry. Well, sort of. According to the report, the Saudis plan on building a $16m production line which will build between 2,000 and 5,000 of the $13,000 Aseelas per year… which makes this more of a “hobby project” than a true “industry.” By contrast, the plan is to build 20k of the ghastly Ghazals over the next three years, at a cost of about half a billion dollars. But then, Saudi Arabia might be one of the few countries where an ugly SUV would fare better than an inoffensive little compact.

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a Mitsubishi Evo… or not. What we’re actually looking at here is a Proton Jebat, Malaysia’s (copied) answer to the Evo X. And though Proton got the Evo X’s looks down to a T, they weren’t quite able to replicate the rally-bred Mitsu’s secret sauce performance-wise. Proton’s two-liter turbo four makes a mere 237 HP and 253 lb-ft compared to the Evo’s 291 HP and 300 lb-ft. Still, because the Inspira on which the Jebat is based is essentially a rebadged Lancer, there’s a chance that the Jebat has a Mitsu-developed AWD system under the skin… but Proton’s not saying. And the Lancer-alike Jebat isn’t the only rebadged Proton the Malaysian OEM has put out of late. A rebadged Lotus Europa was also shown at the recent Malaysian Auto Show as the Proton Lekir, powered by a 1.6 liter Proton engine. Yes, Virginia, countries other than China are dependent on rebadges and knock-offs for new product…

Last night, I was on the phone with one of my VC friends (that’s VC as in Venture Capital, not as in Vietcong, don’t get any ideas) and he decried the paucity of free cash: “From Joe Shmoe to billionaire investors, all are holding on to their money.” It can’t be all that bad if what Autoguide says is right, and if De Tomaso will be back from the dead. They say, there will be De Tomasos at the Geneva Autoshow. Read More >

Note to those who comment “slow newsday?” whenever there is something that can be construed as even mildly uncomplimentary towards GM (sorry if you bought the stock.) You are right. The newsday must be glacial. First, the Freep’s investigative reporters unearthed a slowdown at Toyota. Now, the crosstown competition at the DetN found GM’s super-secret car of the future. Stop press! It will be that epic fail, formerly known as the Segway. Read More >

When Bob Lutz came back from retirement for the umpteenth time, one of the first orders of business was to kill the Z28 Camaro. The only thing that was in high gear at the times was carmageddon, electric cars were the wave of an uncertain future, and come on, how more politically incorrect can you get than with an 8 cylinder that makes anywhere between 500 and 600 hp, while producing enough plant food to keep the world’s rainforests lush and green? Rainforests rejoice: Read More >

When Lamborghini told the press that it would not be building a production version of the Estoque “four-door coupe” the reason the Sant’Agata firm gave was that

“the timing and market conditions are just not right for an additional model line.”

Which made us wonder why Lambo didn’t take the opportunity to say something like

“Lamborghini refuses to build bland, uninspired vehicles in a faddish niche just because several competitors are”

But now that the Estoque is reportedly back on for production, that would have been a bit of a self-sabotaging move. Or at least it would be if the Estoque didn’t already sabotage Lamborghini’s brand equity by being a bland, me-too entry into an already played-out niche. Which is a pity: Lambo saw the four-seat supercar niche coming  decades ago, and built one of its most distinctive designs ever to fill it. And say what you want about this Estoque, it’s certainly no Espada. But hey, it could have been worse…

Read More >

Opel has let it slip to the European media that it will build a new Calibra coupe based on the Opel Insignia (Buick Regal)… and that a convertible is in the works as well. The hardtop will hit German dealers in 2012, with a convertible coming in 2013 alongside a planned OPC/VXR version with 325 HP and AWD. We definitely won’t get that version because GM won’t let Buick play with its 2.8T V6, but a big Buick coupe and an accompanying convertible would sure be a good way to cap off the brand’s recent renaissance (provided the Epsilon II platform feels renaissance-quality in three years). Since GM’s Nick Reilly says the coupe will be inspired by the Opel OPC concept, we’ve included a few images for the Buick faithful to photoshop the Trishield onto. Then there’s just the small issue of whether this midsized FWD coupe is worthy of becoming the next Riviera….

The designer of Cadillac’s recent ULC city car concept seems to think so. Niki Smart tells Autocar

The time is ripe for Cadillac to make this car. We need a bigger spread of models, particularly for Europe. The Mini’s success is proof of people’s open-mindedness.

Whether or not Cadillac needs a subcompact car in its lineup, Smart’s point that the MINI is proof of consumers’ “open-mindedness” is worth examining. Specifically because MINI was launched as a unique brand, its success is more of a testament to the brand’s slick marketing than any consumer “open-mindedness.” After all, BMW made certain to launch the MINI as a MINI before bringing out a BMW version of its front-drive chassis… and when it does bring out a BMW-branded version, it can probably expect a certain amount of pushback from hard-core fans of the brand.

Read More >

The NSX is one of those in-the-know cars that are impossible to find used, and seem unlikely to ever be matched by a new car. It marked a high point for the Honda brand, and it redefined on-road performance in a manner that now seems remarkably ahead of its time. At a time when the horsepower wars were just beginning, the NSX went to battle with lightweight aluminum construction and a high-tech (yo) V6… and 20 years after it first debuted, it still stacks up nicely on paper compared to a $75k Lotus Evora.  But the NSX’s heritage as a “working class hero” supercar (to borrow the words of Justin Berkowitz) took a hit when Honda decided to me-too the Lexus LF-A and create a front-engined V-10-powered “NSX” that was blasted as an anti-NSX and sent off to do racing duty when Honda hit the Carpocalypse. But apparently there’s a new New NSX in development…

Read More >