WHAT IT IS: The follow-up to the spectacularly slow-selling Phaeton. It will continue to be assembled at a lavish factory in Dresden, Germany, and once again will share powertrains and technology with high-end Audis and the Bentley Continental range.WHY IT MATTERS: The Phaeton represents the VW brand’s highest aspirations. As before, the Phaeton will attempt to move VW upmarket into the BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes sphere. PLATFORM: Architecture usually reserved for Audis (dubbed MLB) will undergird the Phaeton. A longitudinally mounted engine and all-wheel drive are its hallmarks, as is the extensive use of aluminum. POWERTRAIN: A new, twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 with 345 horses will power base versions. A few will come with the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 that is shared with the Continental range and the Audi S8. Even fewer will come with a W-12. COMPETITION: Audi A8, BMW 7-series, Jaguar XJ, Lexus LS, Mercedes-Benz S-class. WHAT MIGHT GO WRONG: Perched way above the rest of the VW lineup, the new Phaeton may continue to confuse shoppers. ESTIMATED ARRIVAL AND PRICE: Anticipated in late 2013, starting at about $65,000.
CLASSIC cars in industrial quantities. That's what you would have got if you'd joined me and thousands of others at the NEC last weekend.Anyone familiar with the Footman James Classic Motor Show will know it's a big deal - it is, arguably, the only show that caters for fans of all things a bit old and oily on a national scale - but this year the organisers, freed from the constraints of having to share a gig with Top Gear Live, really pulled out the stops to make it bigger and bolder than ever before. It was massive.Simply getting in is quite unlike any other show I've been to. You park up and get on a bus, which takes you to an elevator, followed by a Heathrow Airport-style moving walkway that seems to go on forever, which leads on to a labyrinth of corridors which in turn brings you to the back of the queue for tickets. This, I think, is deliberate; it's to prepare you for the sheer amount of walking the show itself involves.Last weekend was a giddying array of just about every vaguely old vehicle ever made - yes, there were Hillman Imps and Ford Anglias at one end and Astons and Ferraris at the other, but if you're the sort of person who lies awake at night dreaming of owning a Vauxhall Nova then you were well catered for too. But our party must have walked miles checking out the seemingly endless sea of classic cars. If anything, it was slightly overwhelming. I stopped taking photos after the 175th click out of sympathy for my camera, but one classic car buff I spoke to had taken hundreds of shots.I emerged seven hours later with cream-crackered feet and weighed down with bags of freebies, and with the prospect of the long drive back from Birmingham to look forward to. If I'd known just how big it was going to be I would've made a weekend of it - one day for the cars, another for the autojumble - because just the one day is nowhere near enough to take it all in.It's great to think that even in an age when Britain's turned its back on national motorshows, with the motor makers favouring Frankfurt and Geneva instead, we can still put on an automotive extravaganza on this sort of scale. I'll just make sure I bring comfier shoes next time.
PEUGEOT'S back on the ball, if the new 208 is anything to go by.The French firm's built up a fine reputation for building feisty hatchbacks with a sense of fun - as anyone familiar with the 205, 306 and 106 will surely testify - but to my mind at least the more recent models, particularly the 207, never really caught the imagination in the same way. Deep down, I reckon that's why Peugeot's pulled out all the stops to get it right with its latest supermini contender.For starters, it looks good, with a sharply-sculpted shape and carefully chosen proportions which at a stroke render the old 207 a bit blobby and comparision. It's the same story on the inside too, with interior fabrics and plastics which owe plenty to its big brother, the 508 saloon. The main thing which strikes you is the unusual way the controls are laid out - you look over the steering wheel to see the dials, rather than through it - but it's as intuitive as it is innovative. Same story goes for the tablet-style computer sitting atop the centre console, although I suspect having an actual iPad dock there instead might have been a smarter move.But the best thing about the 208 by far is the way it drives. You'd expect that the 1.6 Feline version I tried wouldn't be lacking in pace - at £16,895, it's holding the warm hatch fort until the eagerly-anticipated GTi version arrives - but where it really shines is in the fluidity of its handling and in its natural agility in the sort of low-speed urban darting in and around town.For the past three years I've always argued the Fiesta is the best of the superminis but the 208 is now a better looking, more entertaining and technologically superior package to Ford's finest. After a couple of years in the hatchback wilderness, Peugeot's got its mojo back and produced one of the best cars I've driven all year.
A MERSEYSIDE dad has spoken of his pride this week after his son landed a dream job designing a Chinese car company's latest models.Jeff O'Brien, from Thornton, told Life On Cars that after impressing car industry executives with his design flair his son Alex has now jetted off to Shanghai to help design vehicles for Qoros, a joint Israeli-Chinese firm which will be launching its first cars in the UK next year.Mr O'Brien said yesterday: "Alex's designing and sketching skills are out of this world, and after completing the car design course at the University of Coventry he impressed a lot of design executives for different companies, who all saw what he'd come up with and wanted to take a look. One of them was a manager at Qoros, who spoke to Alex and was absolutely delighted with him."Alex wanted to work with Qoros because it's a new company, and they're really keen to use some of his design skills in their models."The model which former Manor High School pupil Alex created to conclude his design course, a sports car design aimed at supercar builders Bugatti (pictured above), attracted attention from car industry executives at an exhibition, used to showcase the UK's latest car design talent, held in Coventry last year. Father and son worked together on the car, with Jeff, a retired Craft, Design and Technology tutor, helping to fashion the wheels for the model of Alex's sports car design.Although work commitments in Shanghai meant Alex was unavailable to speak to Life On Cars, a Qoros spokesperson said of its new range of cars: "Qoros is a fresh, new brand without legacy. It is driven by a passionate international team of expert designers, engineers and marketers who are united in their desire to develop sophisticated and highly individual products."The company is dedicated to meeting an ever-increasing demand for cars that are highly differentiated from other products within a crowded automotive marketplace. In addition to design that is both elegant and functional, Qoros products will be distinguished by a strong focus on state-of-the-art technology, with high levels of user-friendly in-car connectivity and vehicle safety standards which compare to the best in Europe."The first Qoros car to be sold in the UK, an as-yet-unnamed four door saloon, will make its European debut at the Geneva Motorshow next March.
MINI is geared up for 2013 in seriously sporty mood and with further additions to its model range. The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) 2013 in Detroit hosts the world premiere of the MINI John Cooper Works Paceman. The three-door model is the latest offering from the John Cooper Works sub-brand and, with its race-bred powertrain and chassis technology, brings the promise of a high-octane race feeling to the streets of the urban jungle: extreme driving fun meets the extrovert looks of the world’s first Sports Activity Coupé in the compact segment.From 19 – 27 January 2013, at the first major international car show of the year, MINI will present visitors with the most diverse model range in the history of the British premium brand. A line-up of seven MINI models and seven top-class sporting variants bearing the John Cooper Works logo represents the latest state of play in a rigorously pursued growth strategy. And visitors to the Detroit show will also see a focused sporting machine from the very top drawer take to the stage. Developed on the race track, the MINI John Cooper Works GP will be produced in a limited run of 2,000 units, giving it enviable exclusivity to go with its exceptional turn of pace.
Following the successful launch of the coupe version of the Aventador in Summer last year, Lamborghini is offering the Aventador LP 700-4 Roadster. The convertible version can immediately be recognized by the unique profile of its upper area, which extends along newly designed geometric lines from the removable roof to the engine hood.
This open-top luxury super sports car is powered by a 700-horsepower, 6.5 liter V-12 engine and mated to a ISR seven-speed transmission. The car goes from 0 to 62 mph in only 3 seconds. It is said to have a top speed of 217mph.
