W2 concept car

Chinese carmaker Roewe who acquired the rights to build MG-Rover cars from the dismantled British automaker in 2005, is getting ready to introduce its second sedan model after the Rover 75 derived 750E at the Beijing Auto Show this April. The Roewe 550 is the production model of the impressive –for Chinese standards that is- W2 concept car that made its debut at last year’s Shanghai Auto Show. Sadly, Roewe’s design team decided to make a few changes to the W2’s styling and in particular, they totally redesigned the front end which now looks like a VW Passat that obtained braces

Dodge Challenger SRT8

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes of a car magazine shoot out? Well here’s your chance to find out as the guys over at Streetfire where invited by Carpix, a professional car photograph and video agency in LA for an exclusive shoot of the 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8 alongside its 1970’s ancestor. The pictures where taken on behalf of Top Gear

2009 Shelby GT500KR Mustangs

Ford recently announced that, because of the high demand, besides the 1,000 2009 Shelby GT500KR Mustangs already planned, an additional 751 units will be produced. Of those 751 car, 571 will be available in the US while the rest of the cars will be sold in the countries that didn’t get 2008 models. “The response to this car has been overwhelming, so I’m glad we can share it with more Mustang enthusiasts,” said Carroll Shelby. “This car is really special to me and demonstrates that when Shelby Automobiles gets together with Ford SVT and Ford Racing, we can deliver a Mustang that will compete with the best in the world.”

The 2009 Shelby GT500KR features a 540 hp 5.4-liter supercharged V8 engine with a Ford Racing Power Upgrade Pack, short-throw shifter and unique suspension tuning, while the exterior features unique carbon composite hood, wheels, and unique striping.

The GT500 is built at AutoAlliance International Inc., in Flat Rock, Michigan and from there, the cars are shipped to the Shelby Automobile facility in Las Vegas, where a Ford Racing Performance Pack, exhaust system and short-throw shifter are installed. Ford said that the first 2009 Shelby GT500KR Mustangs will be delivered this spring.

Hyundai Genesis damaged in transport truck accident

Well, sometimes all you can say when you see something like this is “Shit Happens!”. We don’t have any details, but from the photos we can assume that the truck ended up somehow on the sidewalk, causing the upper Genesis to break loose and fall on the one below. And probably the transport company thanked God insurance was invented.

Renault Laguna GT

Today, Renault announced that the Renault Laguna GT will go on sale thus spring. France will get the car first, starting from April 12 and the rest of Europe by the summer of 2008. The Laguna GT will be available in saloon and estate version and will come with a three-year or 150,000km warranty.

Under the hood, the new Renault Laguna GT will be offered with both petrol and diesel powerplants. The diesel version will be powered by a 2.0 dCi engine, producing 180hp (131kW) at 3,750rpm and peak torque of 400Nm from 2,000rpm. Powered by this engine, the Laguna accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8.5 seconds, has an estimated fuel consumption of just 6.5 litres/100km and 172 g/km CO2 emissions.

The petrol version is powered by a sport version of the 2.0 liter 16-valve engine, which produces 205hp (150kW) at 5,000rpm and peak torque of 300Nm from 3,000rpm. The acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) is made in 7.8 seconds, the estimated fuel consumption is 8.2 litres/100km and 194 g/km CO2 emissions.

Developed by Renault and Renault Sport Technologies, the Laguna GT uses the Active Drive chassis with four-wheel steering. The car is fitted with a sensor on the steering column that sends steering wheel angle information via the CAN network to the 4WD control unit, located behind the rear axle. The 4WD control unit also inputs vehicle speed from the ESP/ABS unit. This makes the car very easy to handle in town and agile on winding roads.

On the exterior, the new Renault Laguna GT looks very sporty, with the long plunging bonnet, new lateral air-intakes, aerodynamic sills, twin tailpipe, gloss black wing mirrors, smoked rear lamps and it rides on Celsium wheels equipped with 225/45 18-inch special Bridgestone Potenza tyres, a Formula One spin-off. On the inside, the Laguna GT is also very sporty, with the exclusive GT logo embossed on the light grey alcantara of the front seatbacks, special three-spoke leather sports steering wheel with grey stitching, cross-drilled aluminium pedal, sports gearshift lever knob, dark charcoal Riviera leather upholstery with reinforced lateral support.

India to get the Suzuki Swift DZire

Tomorrow, SuzukiMaruti, the Indian branch of Suzuki, will present the new Suzuki Swift DZire, a sedan version of the Swift, which plans to complete some other low cost sedans popular in India, such as the Dacia Logan or the Tata Indigo.

Specially developed for the Indian market, it seems that the base 1.3 liter petrol model (with power steering and air conditioning, but no stereo, for example) will be priced somewhere around Rs 4.5 lakh ($11,000), while the 1.3 liter diesel version will be priced at Rs 5.2 lakh ($12,900).

Crashed Nissan GT-R in Malaysia

Back in January we’ve presented the first known Nissan GT-R crash, which happened in Hong Kong. And now, we’re sorry to break your hearts again, but we’ve got another one, this time in Malaysia. We don’t know anything about what caused this crash and who’s to blaim, but one thing’s for sure, another great bit the dust.