Smart fortwo edition urbanstyle sets the trend for city chic

The smart fortwo edition urbanstyle adds a whole new dimension to the iconic model’s reputation for being ‘big in the city’.

Based on the 2010 passion model, the aggressively-styled edition urbanstyle will be limited to a UK production run of 230 coupé models – 160 units featuring the 71bhp (mhd)engine and 70 with the turbocharged 84bhp unit. A cabriolet version is available as a special order only.

continue reading by clicking on header

Bentley announces detailed specification of New Mulsanne

While paying homage to past Bentley greats, the brief for the new Mulsanne’s design and engineering teams was to create a Bentley that represents the pinnacle of British luxury motoring.

The new Mulsanne, designed and engineered at Crewe from the ground-up, reaffirms the marque’s intent to create a new flagship Bentley with refined performance, unparalleled levels of interior luxury and coach building skills to the fore.
The return of the Mulsanne name underlines Bentley’s sporting heritage and passion for power and speed. Nothing reflects that prowess better than the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours race. Bentley has enjoyed success on six occasions at Le Mans, where its powerful and reliable race cars have thundered down the long straight into the famous Mulsanne corner, from which the new model takes its name.

A pure expression of Bentley design

The design of the new Mulsanne is a unique fusion of sportiness, coachbuilt elegance and solidity. Echoing the Bentley S -Type of the 1950s, the Mulsanne features a bold frontal design dominated by the traditional Bentley matrix grille and highly prominent, classic round inner headlamps with chrome surrounds, flanked by two, smaller outboard lamp clusters, all featuring the latest in lighting technology. The iconic ‘Flying B’ retractable radiator mascot is available as an option.
The long bonnet, short front overhang and long rear overhang help to convey a sense of power and movement, reinforced by muscular haunches and sharply sculptured lines which flow gracefully from the front wings to the rear. Uniquely designed 20-inch (and optional 21-inch) wheels reinforce the Mulsanne’s powerful, sporting stance.
Design Director Dirk van Braeckel explains the inspiration behind the Mulsanne’s distinctive appearance:“The opportunity to design a new flagship Bentley is something afforded to very few designers. The team set out to create a sculpted form that blended classic Bentley heritage cues with modern lines.”
Bentley customers have a world of infinite choice when commissioning their cars. There are over 100 paint colours in the range that include everything from unusual heritage colours, special satin and pearlescent finishes and duo-tone combinations. But the choice does not end there. Through the bespoke world of Bentley Mulliner, unique colours can exactly match a customer’s vision and taste.


Sumptuous interior meets advanced technology

The Bentley interior design team has continued to develop and evolve the luxurious interiors for which their cars are renowned, based on a large-scale, research programme to identify the classic signature features that have defined Bentleys from the 1920s to the present day.

The latest in-car technologies are discreetly placed within the Mulsanne’s sumptuous interior. A multimedia system with 60GB hard disc drives satellite navigation, audio/video, personal data, telephone and Bluetooth® connectivity. The upper dashboard houses an 8-inch multimedia screen, positioned unobtrusively behind an electrically operated veneered door, while below sits a stylish, leather-lined media player stowage drawer with connectors for iPod, USB, Mini USB and 3.5mm aux.A state-of-the-art 14-speaker audio system with Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and 6-CD autochanger is provided as standard while the Naim for Bentley premium audio system may be specified as an option.

A personalised keyless entry system allows multiple pre-programmed configurations and automatically sets radio stations, phone book, seat (including ventilation and massage modes, both front and rear), steering column and seatbelt settings and even the electrically operated rear-seat blinds for side and rear windows. The keyless system operates with the chrome door handles which incorporate touch points to initiate communication with the key for verification and entry. The Mulsanne also features keyless start, having a stop/start button on the centre console.

Armed with this invaluable resource, the Mulsanne’s design team set itself highly challenging targets for key interior characteristics such as material design, smell, colour harmony and handcrafting. Similar targets were set for the operational refinement and robustness of all control mechanisms. The result is a hand-crafted interior that fully reflects traditional Bentley values, executed to the highest possible standards.The use of wood and leather hides has increased significantly to create an even more refined and luxurious cabin. While classic design features such as bulls-eye air vents (now also fitted in the rear compartment), high-quality mirror-matched wood veneers, leather hides and hand-finished stainless steel are retained, they are mixed with new touches such as beautiful ‘glass’ switches.

The carpet of the Mulsanne is unique to Bentley, its increased fibre depth, density and feel enhancing cabin quality. It is available in a range of colours to complement each individual hide. Pure wool, deep pile Wilton-weave over mats can add a further touch of comfort and luxury.


Re-engineered V8 engine and new chassis: power, refinement and efficiency

The Bentley powertrain engineers were set three objectives for the Mulsanne:
1) To produce the effortless torque from extremely low revs that customers expect of a grand Bentley
2) To maintain the highest levels of refinement

3) To satisfy strict current and future environmental standards through improved engine efficiency
Overall, CO2 emissions and fuel consumption are reduced by more than 15 percent, in line with Bentley’s environmental commitment.

A new air suspension system with Continuous Damping Control (CDC) creates an even more refined and comfortable ride at lower speeds, yet can reduce the Mulsanne’s ride height automatically at high speeds to reduce lift and improve aerodynamic stability. With 20-inch alloy wheels and 265/45 ZR 20 tyres as standard, dynamic handling is assured. Customers may also opt for 21-inch wheels, available in two styles, fitted with 265/40 ZR 21 tyres.


While the all-new Bentley Mulsanne pays respect to the past, it is a thoroughly modern luxury car that offers the world’s most exclusive driving experience – a unique fusion of power, refinement and elegance.


Bentley Motors Chairman and Chief Executive Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen says:
“No other car maker can offer such a blend of performance and refinement in a single vehicle. The new Mulsanne is a car that evokes the Bentley philosophy of building the best luxury grand tourers in the world.”

Citroen SURVOLT : Glamorous, Free-spirited and Highly-charged!

Survolt is the continuation of CITROËN’S exploration of distinctive and original electric vehicles, initiated with the Revolte concept car revealed at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show. Survolt turns received notions on their heads through its radically new vision in a consummate blend of high-fashion glamour and extravagance with motor-racing punch.

The desire to overcome one’s limits, take things further, dare and create is written in CITROËN’S DNA. Breaking with convention, shaking up the rules, shifting borders and surprising continuously is the passionate quest and leitmotiv of a brand that over its 90-year history has never ceased to develop innovative objects ahead of their time. Survolt is one of these. It takes the genetic material of Revolte and adds an extroverted sports dimension to the mix.Like a luxury accessory that transcends an outfit, Survolt is CITROËN’S answer to an automotive universe that all too often seems morose. Survolt casts aside protocol and transgresses existing codes to initiate a new kind of stylish, sporty and elegant supermini. Bucking current trends and pointing to the future of sleek coupés, it unites elegance, glamour and sporting passion, sublimating this last quality with its electric drivetrain.

Innovative and sensual
With its compact dimensions – 3.85 m long, 1.87 m wide and 1.20 m high – Survolt reappropriates sports car styling cues to form an all-new and revolutionary concept.

At the front, the distinctive vehicle badge reigns elegantly above the large oval-shaped grille, its centre home to the striking double chevron. The car’s “look” – charming and profound at the same time – attracts and holds the viewer’s gaze with a promise of transgressions suddenly made possible. Its slim, horizontal head lamps, inspired by high-performance sports coupés, exert a magnetic appeal, while an LED light signature adds a contemporary, high-tech touch. Survolt was made to gobble up the miles and glide over roads.

Elegantly sporty

Survolt’s cockpit is designed like a floating cell, a glass setting held between chrome-finished roll bars like some magnificent piece of jewellery. The leitmotiv with Survolt is to transgress the conventions of the luxury world and combine them elegantly with those of the sporting world.

The cabin was imagined as a cross between two worlds that by their essence are opposed. This union begets an organic universe, both flowing and technical, from which the driver’s station springs forth. The interior as a whole was designed to bring the two occupants comfort and refinement, triggering singular pleasure and an outstanding experience.The car’s generous glazed area brings light and a sensation of space, light years from that offered by today’s sports cars.

Ahead of its time, Survolt captivates with its innovative, environment-friendly technology. Like Revolte, Survolt is powered by electricity, thus combining sports performance with environmental respect and sustainable development. Still particularly rare in the racing world, this technological solution also embodies a previously unthinkable alliance.With irreproachable ecological credentials, the drivetrain blends driving pleasure, thrills, performance and vitality, and all in extreme comfort, since the car is silent in operation.

The inclusion of materials such as chrome and aluminium inevitably recall the spheres of luxury goods and motor sport. Survolt is a perfect combination between high fashion and car racing, a unique alliance with the same philosophy and the same cues as Revolte, namely performance, cutting-edge technology and excellence.

Survolt is innovative and powerful but also knows how to turn on the charm, revealing its finest assets to catwalk in motor sports arenas. It features two-tone paint, hues of fuchsia and charcoal grey, and plays with materials and volumes. The curves shift from satin-smooth to shiny, breaking definitively with the classic masculine codes of the sports world. Survolt continues the work begun with Revolte by once again blending two universes with contrasting appearances. Survolt eschews decorum to create its own styling language.

Nissan celebrates 40th Anniversary with 370Z Black Edition

As the sixties moved into the 1970s, the Datsun 240Z was launched on the US market. American drivers instantly fell in love with the car and sales in that one market alone regularly topped 50,000 units annually. The Z legend had begun.


Now four decades, six generations and well over a million cars later, Nissan is introducing a special celebratory version of the newest two-seater to wear the famous Z badge – the 370Z. The 370Z Black Edition marks the 40th anniversary in style. Available from April as a coupé only, and in a limited edition run of just 370 units in Europe, it comes in two distinctive metallic shades: black and quartz. Both paints use Nissan’s pioneering Scratch Shield technology, ’healing’ the finish in the case of stone chip damage.

Inside the 370Z Black edition there are:

■Unique red leather & suede appointed interior (seats & door trim) with embossed 40th Anniversary logo seats

■Smooth leather wrapped steering wheel with red stitching

■Red stitching on the centre cluster, centre console and knee pads

■Nissan’s Connect Premium state-of-the-art combined touch-screen satellite navigation and audio system with USB connectivity

The exterior of the 370Z Black can be identified thanks to:

■Dark grey 19” aluminium forged RAYS wheels

■Eye-catching red brake callipers

■40th Anniversary emblem on the back door

Stop/Start button with Nissan’s Intelligent Key and a sporting six speed manual transmission with unique Synchro Rev Control technology. The electronically controlled rev matching system ensures perfect ‘heel and toe’ gear changes every time. A seven-speed automatic version with column-mounted paddle shifts is available as an option. Among the many benefits are vastly extended mapping which now includes Turkey, Eastern Europe and Russia, as well as a new easy to follow 3D navigation guidance with improved graphics and a more realistic depiction of the road and landmarks ahead for many of Europe’s principle cities. The resolution of the new 7 inch screen is up to four times better than the previous generation system.

Real time traffic information is supplied via RDS-TMC, but quicker operation allows the system to offer re-routing in a fraction of the time.The new generation system uses a touch-screen interface, maximising both ease of use and safety not only for the navigation, but also for other functions such as Bluetooth phone connectivity and entertainment. It is also possible to operate the system using voice recognition.

In terms of its mechanical specification, the Black Edition matches the standard 370Z. That means a 3.7-litre 24-valve twin cam V6 developing 328PS and a limited top speed of 155mph and a 0-62 mph time of 5.3 seconds (5.6 seconds for the automatic version). The 2010 model year update means the 370Z is now fully compliant with forthcoming Euro 5 emission legislation.Exemplary levels of handling and grip are assured by the focused rear-wheel drive chassis which features fully independent suspension, powerful upgraded brakes and precise speed sensitive power steering.

Since its launch in June 2009, more than 1,050 examples of the 370Z have been sold across Europe, an exceptional achievement for a niche product in extremely challenging market conditions. The car’s largest market to date has been the UK, followed by France and Germany.Prices start from - £33,645 for the manual and £35,045 for the automatic transmission (prices include £750 showroom tax which comes into effect on 1 April 2010).



“The ‘story of Z’ is full of positives, with success not just in the sales charts all over the world but on racetracks and at award ceremonies, too. The 370Z Black Edition is a fitting tribute to a great car,” said Vincent Wijnen, Nissan’s European Vice President for Marketing.

Porsche presents Super-Sports Concept Car 918 Spyder Concept with Record-Breaking Emissions and Fuel Economy

Genf. Michael Macht, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, presented the Porsche 918 Spyder concept car at its world debut this evening in Geneva. This mid-engined two-seater combines the performance of a super-sports car with the CO2 emissions of a small compact, an innovative plug-in hybrid concept reducing emissions to just 70 grams CO2 per kilometre and fuel consumption to 3.0 litres/100 kilometres (94 mpg imp). Within this concept Porsche combines a V8 power unit delivering more than 500 hp and three electric motors with overall output of 160 kW

In its design and interior architecture, the Porsche 918 Spyder combines classic elements with appropriate solutions for the future. Starting on Tuesday, March 2nd, at 8:15 am (CET), the Porsche 918 Spyder will also be presented at the Porsche Stand in Hall 6 of the Palexpo Building during the Geneva Motor Show.