Cars on the net

Last few days we enjoyed these pictures showing parts from Alfa Romeo MiTo interior. They are scanned from a print brochure. Hope we get our hands on some better soon. For now these will do

Following the introduction of AC Schnitzer’s sport program for the BMW 1-Series Coupe at last year’s ESSEN Show, the German tuning firm has now revealed its sport package for the convertible version of the compact bimmer.

Power-wise, AC Schnitzer kits boost the 135i’s output from 306 to 360Hp, the 120d’s from 177 to 200Hp and the 123d’s from 204 to 240Hp. The engine upgrades can be complemented with a sport suspension or for those who want the full works, a height adjustable racing suspension.

Visually, AC Schnitzer has enhanced the 1-Series Cabriolet with the addition of a bodykit that includes front and rear spoilers, sport exterior mirrors as well as with new alloy wheels which are available in a variety of designs (17 to 19-inch). Inside, the AC Schnitzer treatment includes a carbon fiber trim, a sport steering wheel and various aluminum accessories.

Italian Alfa Romeo and British Prodrive have together developed a UK only special edition for the Alfa Romeo Brera Coupe, called the Alfa Brera S. Prodrive is of course best known for their WRC successes and their recent close involvement with the Aston Martin sale to Prodrive owner David Richards, and has developed a new suspension for the recently facelifted Brera coupe.

The Alfa Romeo Brera S will be limited to just 500 units. Pricing and specifications will be revealed at its launch on May 19 2008 but Alfa Romeo has let slip that the car will feature exterior and interior enhancements besides the Prodrive suspension. The two existing petrol engines (185 bhp 2.2 liter four-cylinder and 260 bhp 3.2 liter V6) in standard specifications will be powering the new Brera.

According to Prodrive Project Leader, Peter Cambridge, the collaboration has “built on the existing model’s capabilities to deliver outstanding driver feedback and handling.”

Normally HAMANN-Motorsport is renowned as a tuning company for BMW and for refining sinfully expensive luxury cars.

But sometimes the Laupheim-based technicians move off the beaten tracks and devote themselves to something completely unexpected – in this case the Fiat 500. The HAMANN-technicians started with a lot of joy and enthusiasm for the cool little retro sports car and developed the extensive HAMANN sportivo–tuning programme. Striking 17-inch rims and a lively flag pattern optically emphasize the racy character of this little Italian. The strong sound of the HAMANN-sport exhaust system for the 1,4 litre petrol car also underlines this acoustically. A performance optimization for the diesel model, progressive chassis springs and a newly-developed braking system round out the racy appearance and provide a speedy joyride.

The design wheel HM sportivo I stands for trendy mobile appearance and perfect handling. The matt black varnish rim in one piece has a diamond-polished outer edge and is offered in the size 7.0 x 17. HAMANN recommends matching tyres in the sizes 195/40 ZR17 or 215/34 ZR 17 by its technology partner Hankook. A complete wheel-set can be obtained from 1,420 €. The HAMANN-set for lowering chassis leads to a further improvement in handling the car and ensures that the vehicle centre which is made up from four progressively spun springs is lowered by 30mm.

The sport exhaust system which was especially devised for the 1,4 litre petrol car renders a thrilling sonorous sound. The system includes a muffler (from 390 € onwards) with two round end pipes made of high-grade steel (70 mm diameter), a pre-muffler with metal catalyst and a sport fan manifold. All components can also be obtained individually. Also for this model, HAMANN developed a stable sport braking system for improved deceleration values. The set consists of two perforated and ventilated brake discs (diameter 280 x 28mm) at the front axle in connection with red 4-piston fixed yokes and steal flex brake lines. The back axle can be upgraded with brake discs measuring 240 mm in diameter.

The increased performance by HAMANN costs 699 € for the 1,3 Multijet 16V Fiat 500 diesel model. After re-programming the integrated control unit, the motor renders up to 90 hp / 66 kW at 4,000 r.p.m. (series: 75 hp / 55 KW) and a maximum torque of 230 Nm at 1,750 r.p.m. (series: 145 Nm at 1,500 r.p.m.).

The aluminium pedal set including footrest and a car mat set with an embroidered HAMANN sportive logo accentuate the interior and perfect the Fiat 500 programme in a stylish way.

This is a photoshop made by someone called H0SS Forero. The “story” is that this M1 is hiding in an airplane hanger.

We all know Volkswagen as a good quality German car with other words People’s car. Many years ago finding such car in USA was a quite hard task. Nowadays VW isn’t that tough to find. Yes, we are talking about the whole range Touareg, Passat, Jetta, New Beetle, Eos, Rabbit, GTI and R32. The place I am talking about is Atlanta Volkswagen dealer, which web site I recently came across.

I was quite surprised to learn about their wide aspect of services:
- the largest selection of cars by Volkswagen in Atlanta, Georgia
- huge selection of used cars for their Atlanta area customers
- assistance when applying for auto loan

If by any chance you find yourself near Marietta, make sure you drop by Marietta Volkswagen dealer also. They are Number One in both sales and customer satisfaction. Check them out for test drive.

I am going there too!

Alfa Romeo’s stylish Brera convertible or ‘Spider’ is already one of the best looking droptops currently on sale but to give its profile a boost just in time for the northern summer UK dealers are now offering a Limited Edition model fitted with a number of new features as standard.

The Alfa Spider Limited Edition features a choice of three color combinations (Carbonio Black, Alfa Red, Ghiaccio White) plus 19in alloy wheels, leather upholstery, electrically adjustable and heated memory front seats and door mirrors. The car is also now available with Fiat Group’s Blue&Me hands-free system with voice recognition and media player.

Under the hood sits the familiar 185hp 2.2L JTS petrol engine, which sees the car accelerate from 0-62mph in about 8.8 seconds and reach a top speed of more than 139mph. The new limited edition goes on sale from next month onwards with prices starting at £25,500 ($50,000).

Other models include a 3.2L V6 JTS with 260hp and a 2.4L JTD turbodiesel with 200hp on tap.

* On the road price: £27,954 - £32,454
* For : Handles superbly, acceptable comfort and refinement, semi-auto option
* Against : Engine sounds rather flat, cabin refinement not the step forward we had hoped

Driving
If you’re thinking the Evo isn’t as hardcore as it once was, you’d be right. From the word go it feels more refined, secure, solid and stable. Noise levels are lower - although tyre roar remains excessive – and it’s a much easier car to live with on a daily basis. But the Evo’s real genius lies in its suspension. The ride is no longer crashy, and although not plush ether, it never jars or jolts, unlike some rivals. It has been perfectly honed. There’s barely any roll or suspension movement, yet we can’t think of another car that glides as effortlessly or flows better over rough roads. It’s also beautifully balanced, has a sublime 4WD system, scalpel-shape steering and stunning body control. In contrast, the engine is a bit of a disappointment. It is more muted than before, sounding flat and dreary, and isn’t as explosive as it once was, either. We also found the SST semi-auto acted more like a fast automatic than a snappy manual.

Marketplace
One thing hasn’t changed with the latest hot Lancer – Mitsubishi’s liking for long and convoluted names. Luckily, simply uttering the words ‘Evo X’ to any car enthusiast will suffice. Offered in standard 290bhp 2.0-litre turbo guise, as the FQ-300, the company also sells faster FQ-330 and FQ-360 variants. Also now available, alongside the five-speed manual, is a twin-clutch semi-auto. This SST is only available in top-spec GSR trim (and expected to take two in every three sales), while the manual also comes in a cheaper GS version. Its obvious rival is the Subaru Impreza STi, but we found this disappointing. Mitsubishi would rather put the Evo X up against the Audi A3, BMW 335i – even the Porsche Cayman and other focused performance machines.

Owning
Although better than the old Evo IX, the interior remains rather uninspiring. OK, the hooded dials look good and the small-diameter steering wheel is lovely to hold, but cast your eye around and you’ll notice the cheap plastics, nasty dial lighting and downmarket switchgear. Even though it’s well assembled, the Evo X is a long way from luxurious. And although rear seat space is generous, the shallow boot doesn’t look anything like as big as the 400 litres Mitsubishi claims, plus there’s no split-fold option. This is because Mitsubishi wanted to strengthen the frame as much as possible – it’s 56 per cent stiffer than the old Evo IX. It is also very well equipped, with the GSR having standard sat nav and a 30Gb music hard drive. It also has far longer service intervals of 10,000 miles, plus an optional service plan that covers you for 30,000 miles of motoring for a one-off payment. One thing that hasn’t changed is the engine’s thirst, though. We averaged 17mpg (and one tank saw us record less than 10mpg!), and a modest 55-litre tank means you’ll be filling up every 200 miles. Retained values are also not in the premier league, insurance costs are predictably high and overall running costs are steep as well.

The most powerful series production Passat ever built is now available for sale in the UK market. Offered in both sedan and estate bodystyles, the VW Passat R36 is equipped with a naturally-aspirated 3.6-litre V6 engine developing 300Hp and 258 lbs ft of torque. Drive is channeled via a six-speed DSG gearbox through a 4MOTION all-wheel drive system that can divert torque to either axle depending on the grip available.

The Passat R36 Sedan is capable of accelerating from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 5.6 seconds while the estate takes 5.8 seconds. Both models top speed is electronically limited to 155 mph. Prices for new Passat R36 start at £30,990 on-the-road for the sedan and £32,150 for the estate model with buyers being able to choose among four colors ranging from silver to black, blue and grey.

The car you see above, dubbed the M-Zero by its designer Mael Oberkampf, looks like spawn of a BMW M6 and Aston Martin DB9. Up front it’s an all business BMW with a convincing set of “angry eye” headlights and a bit of snarl, but inspiration from Aston can be seen in the rear or by viewing the car in profile. Though the extra large wheels are a bit tunerrific for our tastes, the overall design wouldn’t make a bad BMW at all. Not that the Munich-based brand needs any more high-performance coupes to sell alongside the 1 Series, 3 Series and 6 Series coupes, but if there were an open slot in the lineup, the M-Zero would fit nicely. There’s no mention (at least in English) of what theoretical powerplant might be found beneath its bonnet, but we’d opt for the obvious and install the corporate workhorse 5.0L V10.