Autoblog

Audi made it clear last March that the baby R8 was dead. Despite numerous rumors that Audi would get its own version of the upcoming Porsche Boxster/Cayman replacement, the decision was made to nix plans to create the mid-engine Audi R4 over fears that it would cannibalize sales from its Porsche-badged brethren. An Audi spokesperson went so far as to say that, "It was never in our product planning." Well, AutoExpress is reporting that tales of the R4's demise have been a bit premature.

Apparently the new mid-engined R4 is a go. It will occupy a slot in the Audi lineup above the TT and below the R8, with prices starting around £35,000. Like the R8 it will be a two-seater only, available as either a coupe or roadster. AutoExpress even has an image of the car showing a strong familial resemblance to the big-brother R8. To distinguish it from its Porsche siblings, the Audi is said to be getting Quattro AWD and aluminum construction. Powerplants should include the full range of TFSI engines, from the 2.0L turbo, all the way up to the new supercharged and turbocharged 335-hp 2.5L five-cylinder from the TT RS. A high-performance diesel and a gas V6 are also said to be in the mix. Expect a traditional six-speed manual as standard and a seven-speed, S-tronic twin-clutch, semi-automatic as an option.

The R4 won't appear until 2011 at the earliest, allowing Porsche time to launch the Boxster/Cayman first. If that's not enough good news for Audi fans, AE is also reporting that the company is planning an R6 to go head-to-head with the Jag E-Type replacement as well as the Porsche 911. The R10 has also been green-lit, giving Audi a full range of R-badged sports cars for just about any budget. However, AE failed to mention anything about the supposed R3 and its Volkswagen counterpart.

[Source: AutoExpress]

Carscoop is reporting that Toyota has finally confirmed what many have long suspected: The next Scion tC will be a variant of the upcoming Subaru-Toyota rear-wheel-drive coupe project. At a press conference back in April, Toyota CEO Katsuaki Watanabe had confirmed that his company was jointly developing a pair of rear-wheel-drive sports cars with Subaru. Each brand would get its own version of the car, which would each be powered by one of Subaru's boxer engines.

It looks like that powerplant will be around 2.0L in size and put out around 200 horsepower. Based on an all-new RWD platform, the affordable coupe should show up Stateside by the end of 2010, or possibly early 2011. That new tC will probably be joined by a version of the iQ minicar in Scion dealerships as well, also according to Carscoop's Toyota insiders. A reborn, rebadged Celica and a Smart-fighter could be a compelling pair for Toyota's youth brand. As always, we'll keep you posted.

[Source: Carscoop]

Rumors have been circulating for almost a year that Nissan plans to campaign the GT-R in several different series outside of SuperGT, including the Grand Am championship and the 24 Hours of LeMans. Japan's Best Car magazine supposedly has it on good authority that Nissan is developing a road-going model of the LeMans competition car that will carry an "LM Edition" badge and be sold in limited numbers.

According to the Japanese pub, the twin-turbo, 3.8-liter V6 will be putting out approximately 600 hp and will be equipped with upgraded brakes, lightweight wheels, a beefed up transmission and reworked suspension components, in addition to a new aero kit to increase downforce.

Nissan has produced several limited edition models of each generation of the Skyline GT-R before, including an LM Edition of the R33 that campaigned in LeMans in the late 90s. One good turn deserves another, and with 600 hp under the hood, things are bound to get interesting both on the track and on the street.

[Source: BestCar via Carscoop]

Tata is looking to move quickly to expand Jaguar's range of saloons, and why not with such a legacy of sports cars and world-beaters from which to draw? Jaguar became a household name due in large part to racing successes with such cars as the legendary XK120, C-Type and D-Type. More recently in the '90s, the British automaker has tested the exotic waters with its slinky XJ220 supercar. Rumors of a less expensive sports car in the vein of a Porsche Boxster are currently filtering out from dealerships that have spoken with the marque's new management, along with convertible and coupe versions of the popular XF sedan, which has already served to spark a renewed interest in the brand.

Considering that the X-Type is largely considered a colossal failure, don't expect another low-cost sedan. And, though some of its competitors (BMW, we're looking at you) seem to think selling as many SUVs as possible is still a good thing, Tata also owns Land Rover and doesn't want its two iconic British automakers to compete with one another. Sounds rational.


[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

On the same day that General Motors announced it would be discontinuing talks with Cerberus over a possible purchase of Chrysler, news hits by way of Reuters that a replacement suitor has sprung up. Wow, that didn't take long. The latest partner is none other than Hyundai, Korea's largest automaker. Not surprisingly, it's the Jeep brand that is again taking center stage according to these initial rumors. Everybody wants Jeep, it seems. If true, the possibility of breaking Chrysler's automotive operations into bits and pieces once again seems like a distinct possibility. What's more, after acknowledging that GM is abandoning talks of a "strategic acquisition," Chrysler's Bob Nardelli may now be back on the phone with Carlos Ghosn, head of the Nissan/Renault juggernaut, along with, presumably, anybody else who is willing to listen and has a pulse.

[Source: Reuters]

It sounds like a match made in heaven. A new duo of sedans styled by Aston Martin with Mercedes-Benz engineering prowess propping them up. Assuming that these two automakers can get their next super-sedans bolted together well enough, the first sedan from the recently-revived Lagonda brand and the next Maybach may be jointly designed by the two companies, which just recently began collaborating with each other. Early reports indicate that the two premium saloons would be based on the latest S-Class chassis architecture, with the Maybach brand getting the most luxurious accouterments and the Lagonda holding the sporty end of the stick.

Powertrain options for these two luxury vehicles would come from Daimler as a revised version of the V12 engine that currently powers the Maybach limos and which may even by hybridized. The jointly developed super saloons would theoretically cut the development time and budget for each by significant amounts, assuming that these two sets of management can find a way to work together. We have high hopes.

[Source: Autocar]

If current rumors prove accurate, General Motors has big plans for its line of high-feature V6s, and with good reason. These six-cylinder engines make class competitive power and are very smooth. Thanks to direct injection, the engine range also offers excellent fuel efficiency when mated to GM's equally new six-speed automatic transmission. We recently heard that a new 3.0-liter version of this powertrain duo would make an appearance in the new 2010 Buick LaCrosse, and now we're hearing the engine will also be optional in the upcoming Chevy Equinox and standard in Cadillac's new SRX. Expect the new 3.0-liter V6 to offer around 250 horses and fuel efficiency slightly under 30 mpg on the highway. The Equinox's standard engine will be a new 2.3-liter direct-inject inline four-cylinder unit making something north of 200-horsepower, while the uplevel Caddy SRX should get the optional 300-plus horsepower 3.6L powerplant as found in the CTS.

[Source: GM Inside News]

Porsche doesn't currently offer anything with fewer than six cylinders, but much of the German automaker's illustrious history was made with boxer-style four-cylinder engines, starting with the iconic 356. Following stories in September of a new entry-level Porsche model to slot just below the Boxster are new rumors indicating that the next-gen Boxster itself will be endowed with a new four-banger.

A big reason that the sportscar maker is said to be considering losing two precious cylinders are emissions standards and the growing pressure to reduce fuel consumption. To wit, Porsche's 2.7L flat-six in the current Boxster and Cayman is the most efficient powerplant the automaker offers and still emits 222g/km of carbon into the atmosphere, a figure that's way too high for upcoming European standards. So it's clear Porsche must do something to improve its poor emissions and fuel consumption figures. The hard part will be doing so without angering its hardcore customer base in the process.


[Source: Autocar]

Rumors from LLN that a separate Prius brand are "a go" are actually nothing more than a maybe. According to Toyota's own blog, the automaker can confirm that it's considering a hybrid-only brand that would see separate space in dealerships -- much like what is already being done with the Scion brand -- but a final decision has not yet been made and Toyota's not even sure what products would fall under that new brand name, besides, of course, the Prius. Rumors, though, abound regarding new hybrids from Toyota, including Prius-like hatchbacks both a bit larger and a bit smaller than the current model alongside a hybrid price-leader to do proper battle with the new Honda Insight. Now, if they'd just address those rumors of an 80-mile-per-gallon Volt-fighting hybrid that have also been swirling around the interwebs...


[Source: Toyota]

We reported last month that General Motors could move the next Cadillac Escalade to its Lambda platform that's currently used by the Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave and Chevy Traverse, and now GM Inside News is reporting via an inside source that the Suburban/Yukon XL may also get the unibody treatment. With replacements for the smaller Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Escalade reportedly cancelled, we think all signs are pointing to each GMT900-based SUV moving over to the Lambda platform with some of the current slow-selling Lambda-based models being cut altogether.

But the craziness doesn't end there. GM Inside News also reports an even more surprising vehicle could get moved to the crossover platform: the Dodge Caravan, assuming of course that the General follows through on talks to purchase Chrysler from Cerberus. You may recall that GM abandoned the minivan market earlier this year in favor of its Lambda-based crossovers.

The Lambda platform must be extremely modular if it can be stretched enough to accommodate the size of the Suburban along with the people- and cargo-carrying capacity of a Dodge minivan. Also on the rumormill menu is a possible Chevrolet version of the minivan. These changes are supposedly set to take place by 2014, and plenty of things can and will change by then. In other words, talk this all with a grain of salt.

[Source: GM Inside News]