SCOOP: Seat Caught Testing Sportier Ibiza ST FR with 150HP

For being Volkswagen’s answer to Alfa Romeo (in theory at least), the Germans are sure taking their time to enhance Seat’s lineup with the most potent engines currently available in the group.

Take the Ibiza Sports Tourer (ST) for instance. In Germany, the small station wagon is offered with three petrol units: a 70HP 1.2-liter three-pot, an 85HP 1.4L and a 105HP 1.2-liter TSI, and three diesels: a 75HP 1.2 TDI, a 90HP 1.6 TDI and a 105HP 1.6 TDI.

But better late than never as Seat is preparing an FR version of the Ibiza ST fitted with the same 1.4-liter TSI turbocharged petrol engine with 150-horsepower found in the hatchback model.

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Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe Black Series Coming on July 24

*Regular Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe Pictured Above

At the press launch of the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, selected members of the media got a sneak preview of the all-new C63 AMG Coupe Black Series. And some of them, managed to capture a few photographs of the car but the pictures were hastily removed on most sites after Mercedes’ intervened.

This was supposed to be a secret preview, since the car isn’t scheduled to be unveiled before the German Grand Prix at Nurburgring at the 24th of July. Therefore, you can guess that Mercedes’ people aren’t too happy about the leak.

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Rumors: Kia to Unveil V8 RWD Sports Car Concept at Frankfurt Motor Show

During the past few years, Kia has completely transformed its image from a manufacturer of affordable, but rather unexceptional, cars to that of an automaker that offers a stylish and coherent range, thanks in no small part to the hiring of ex-VW Group designer Peter Schreyer. Now, however, it is moving in uncharted waters if a recent report from What Car is accurate. Read more »

2011 Frankfurt Show Preview: Renault Reimagines Kangoo with Frendzy Concept

After the sporty DeZir rear-wheel drive coupe, the funky Captur three-door crossover and more recently, the practical R-Space minivan, Renault is ready to share its latest concept model with the Frendzy, which was unveiled today ahead of its world premiere at the 64th Frankfurt Motor Show later this fall.

The Frendzy is a fresh take on the small van segment where Renault is currently represented by the Kangoo series that is available in both leisure and commercial versions.

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SPIED: 2012 BMW 3-Series Sedan Starts Taking Shape

The new, sixth generation of BMW’s 3-Series sedan, codenamed F30 is almost upon us and as a result, we’re seeing more and more prototype models with less camouflage making their appearance on the road or in this case, testing on the Nürburgring circuit in Germany.

Being that the 3-Series has been the backbone of BMW’s success over the years, it doesn’t come to much of a surprise that the F30 remains close to the current model in terms of design.

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ABT Kicks Off 2012 VW Beetle Tuning Party with the Speedle

The 2012 VW Beetle tuning wars have began. Leaving aside the Beetle RS project with some very light styling modifications by the enthusiast website VWVortex that we showed you back in June, ABT Sportsline is the first mainstream tuning firm to take on the all-new 2012 Volkswagen Beetle, or as the company likes to call it, the Speedle.

The noted VW Group tuner said it is still working on the performance upgrades for the latest Beetle, which won’t arrive in customer hands until September, but it can give us an idea of what to expect based on its current offerings.

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Rumors: Audi Quattro Coupe May be Given the Green Light by September

The Audi Quattro Concept wowed the crowds at the 2010 Paris motor show. The favorable reaction of both the public and the press to the one-off concept that was created to celebrate the original Quattro’s 30th anniversary has sparked many rumors that Audi is seriously considering making a production version. Read more »

Hamann Details Tuning Program for New BMW 6-Series Convertible, More to Come in Frankfurt

Earlier this year, BMW tuning specialist Hamann Motorsport teased its tuning program for the freshly launched 6-Series Convertible with the release of the first photos of the car.

Today, the German company gave out information on its initial offerings for the soft-top 6-Series and announced that it will unveil a more aggressive tune at the upcoming 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show this September.

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Leaked C&D Issue Spills the Beans on Brand New Porsche 911

The wall of secrecy surrounding the brand-new 2012 Porsche 911 has cracked thanks to a forum member of Teamspeed who downloaded and shared Car & Driver’s upcoming August issue in which the magazine has an exclusive first ride of the car. C&D joined the Porsche team during the new 911’s final tests in South Africa nd here’s what they found out.

The new 911 is code-named 991 and will be launched in September at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Compared to the 997 that it replaces, it is 2.5 inches longer and has a 4.0-inch longer wheelbase so that it can accommodate a hybrid system, presumably from the Panamera.

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2012 Bentley Continental GTC Speed Scooped in the Alps

Back in May, we saw Bentley trying out the drop-top version of its subtly evolved 2011 Continental GT, the GTC, at the Nurburgring racetrack. Now, our spies have spotted Bentley’s people working on the more athletic GTC Speed in the Alps.

Like the standard Continental GTC, the Speed shares the sharper styling cues of the coupe model launched last year adding a more aggressively designed front bumper with new openings, hood air vents and a discreet boot lid spoiler along with larger alloy wheels to the mix.

The GTC Speed will benefit from the revisions we saw on the coupe and which include a redesigned dashboard with an updated instrument panel and a new touch-screen interface plus new seats and trim materials.

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2012 BMW M6 Spied Testing, gets New M5’s Twin-Turbo V8

These are some of the clearest spy shots of BMW’s next M-branded model, the M6 Coupe, which will take its place as the flagship version of the new F13 6-Series.

The recent unveiling of the new M5 sports saloon gives us an idea of what to expect in terms of performance as the M6 will be powered by the same twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 engine.

The force-fed V8 brings an end to a line of naturally aspirated engines for the M6 that started with the iconic straight six of the first generation and continued with the V10 of the outgoing model.

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SCOOP: 2012 Mercedes-Benz B-Class MPV Caught…White-Handed

Our team of spy photographers have snagged the production version of the upcoming 2012 Mercedes-Benz B-Class dressed in a see-through plastic wrap as the car was being loaded off the transportation truck.

Clearly descended from the current-generation of Stuttgart’s mini-MPV model, the new B-Class follows a more conservative styling language than its smaller sibling, the 2012 A-Class, official patent images of which we showed you in May (see here).

The five-seat 2012 B-Class is based on an all-new front-wheel drive platform, dubbed MFA, which features a conventional unibody and replaces the sandwich structure used on the current A and B-Class models.

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SCOOP: New Hot Ford Fiesta ST Caught Testing in Five-Door Trim

The last time we had news about the upcoming Fiesta ST was back in September 2010 when our spies snagged a three-door prototype in Germany. Now, we have some fresh pictures of the five-door version of the hottest Fiesta undergoing tests at the Nurburgring racetrack without much camouflage. Read more »

Toyota Europe Officially Presents 2012 Yaris, Sales Start this Summer

We first brought you news on the European version of third generation Yaris hatchback on Wednesday, but today, Toyota followed up with initial details on its VW Polo and Ford Fiesta rival.

Toyota’s newcomer in the European supermini segment will manufactured at the Japanese firm’s Valenciennes factory in France with sales to start before the end of this summer.

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BMW Officially Lifts the Veil on 2012 M5 with 560HP V8 Turbo [154 High-Res Photos]

With the first photos of the all-new 2012 M5 making the internet rounds since the early hours of Wednesday morning, BMW decided to lift the embargo and officially present the fifth generation of its high-performance saloon.

As with all previous M5s since the introduction of the first generation model back in 1984, the most important highlight of the car is tucked away behind the double kidney grilles. This time, BMW’s M division opted for a 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine that replaces the previous M5’s more exotic but less powerful, naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V10 with 507HP.

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All-new European Market 2012 Toyota Yaris Breaks Cover

Toyota has unveiled the European version of the new Yaris, its all-new supermini which will replace the model of the same name in the summer of 2011. The new Yaris is, quite predictably, based on the Yaris HSD Hybrid prototype that we saw last March in Geneva.

It adopts Toyota’s new design language, with more angular headlights and more prominent creases in the body, although the general shape does not stray too much from the previous generation model.

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2012 BMW M5: First Official Photos Leak on the Internet

These are the first official pictures of the all-new BMW M5. It is based on the latest generation of the 5-Series, the F10, and boasts all the visual cues that you expect from a car that has been honed by BMW’s famous M-division: namely huge air intakes in the front bumper, side vents in the front wings bearing the M-logo, 20-inch wheels with 265/35 front and 295/30 rear ZR-rated tires, and twin tailpipes at either end of the rear diffuser.

As anticipated, the new model breaks with tradition by using a twin-turbocharged V8 (the outgoing M5 had a V10 and the one before that a V8, with the previous versions making do with in-line straight sixes, all naturally aspirated) sourced from the X5 M and X6 M.

Losing two cylinders and gaining two turbochargers seems like a fair trade, though, since the new M5’s output is up by 45 hp, from 507 to 552, and, more importantly, maximum torque has risen from 383 to 501 lb-ft (53,0 to 69,4 kgm).

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Journalist Spies Next Renault Twingo RS at French Firm’s Test Center

During a presentation at Renault’s facilities in France, a foreign journalist attending the event managed to slip away from the crowd and snap a single photo of a small car testing on the company’s proving grounds before falling into the unloving arms of the security team.

The journalist-turned-into-spy photographer said the bagged prototype looked similar in size to the current Twingo city car. He added that the small hatchback model featured several sporty elements such as the bumper designs, wide tires and tall alloy wheels, which lead him to believe that it’s a prototype for the new Twingo RenaultSport (RS) or the Gordini RS, with the differences between the versions being purely aesthetic.

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Mercedes-Benz Shows Off its New 2012 ML-Class SUV on Film

By now, you know that Mercedes-Benz has released the new 2012 ML-Class ahead of its world premiere at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show. If you’re curious to see how the German firm’s American-made SUV looks on road, this is your lucky day as Mercedes has just published two official videos including a five-minute long film of its BMW X5 rival. You can watch both clips right after the break. Read more »

New Scoop Photos Shed More Light on 2012 BMW 3-Series Sedan

With the new 1-Series out in the open, it is time for us now to take a look at the next car in line for replacement in BMW’s range, the 3-Series sedan with these freshly shot spy photos. As we’re nearing closer to the launch, BMW continues to peel away the disguise with the latest F30 prototype having shed not only plenty of swirly decals but also the fake front and rear end additions giving us a better look of the car’s styling.

BMW hasn’t really messed around with the design of the 3-Series since the introduction of the E36 in 1990, and the new F30 isn’t an exception to the rule. The styling of the F30 is a clear evolution of the current E90 3-Series borrowing certain elements from the 5-Series such as the stronger belt-line combined with a lower and more aggressive front end with larger double kidneys. Previous spy shots reveal that BMW will follow a similar formula with the 3-Series’ interior.

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