Before you go shouting blasphemy from the hills that an SUV will have a Lamborghini logo on it, there’s a few things to consider:

• Lamborghini had an SUV called the LM002 in the mid-80s. It wasn’t terribly popular or pretty but if you’re bothered to look it up, feel free to do so.
• Porsche has proved that a supercar company can not only build incredible performing SUV’s but can sell a hell of a lot of them. There is clearly demand for these things for some reason.

Anyway, the photo you see above is a photo leaked of Lambo’s newest product in an Italian magazine. It’s unclear if this is just a rendering or indeed the SUV concept to debut at the Beijing auto show this year, but regardless Lamborghini it’s clear Lamborghini is heading the polarizing route.

Power is rumoured to be the same as the V10 found in the Gallardo which makes 575 horsepower. A hybrid version is rumoured as well which could generate as much as 700 horses. Yikes.

Click past the jump to see a rear shot. What do you think of Lamborghini’s new SUV?

[AutoGuide.com]

Oh hey there, pretty young thang.

Ford has released official images of the new Fusion and stylewise, it’s a winner for sure. Part of the reason might be due to the fact that this is actually the new Mondeo for Europe too and the Europeans, well, they just plain have better taste than us with certain things not least of which is car designs. Ford’s new global car campaign is paying off for us North American’s as a result.

The new Fusion gets a low-slung sleek look that easily rivals that of the Hyundai Sonota. Europeans might see this design as more of an evolution of the Mondeo, but regardless, it’s safe to say that this new design is quite agreeable.

Now for the big news. Ford is ditching its V6 in favour of a 4 cylinder line up. Many criticized Hyundai for doing the same with the Sonata, but there seems to be no indication of backlash in their sales. It’s safe to say the all four lineup won’t hurt Fusion sales either. The base trim level will get a 2.5 litre four that generates 170 horsepower and 170 pound feet of torque. This unit gets paired to a six-speed automatic only. Next option available is actually a 1.6 litre Ecoboost engine that makes 179 horsepower and 172 pound foot torque. This is interesting because it will likely be more efficient and just as powerful as the 2.5. Makes you wonder what the point of the 2.5 litre is altogether, but I digress. The top of the line engine will come in the form of a 2.0 litre turbo which makes 237 horsepower and 250 pound foot of juice. Both the latter engines will get the automatic transmission but the 1.6 can be had with a six-speed manual which should help make the most of power from that unit.

What about the hybrid?

Well it’s sticking around but it will get a 2.0 litre four cylinder Atkinson unit which replaces the 2.5 in the outgoing Fusion Hybrid. The result is 180 horses and 130 pound foot torque estimated. The result? An estimated 5 L/100 kms in the city and 5 L/100 kms on the highway.

But wait, there’s actually another hybrid version of the new Fusion called the Energi. It uses the same engine set up from the regular hybrid, but it’s actually a plug in which helps the Fusion run on pure electric power alone.

No matter what your preference is, chances are there’s a variant of the new Fusion which is at least somewhat appealing to you. Click past the jump for a few more pics.

[Ford]

Behold, Cadillac’s answer to zee Germans.

The ATS is essentially a baby CTS that is meant to give the typical compact German performance sedans a run for their money. Specifically, Cadillac wants to eat away at BMW 3-series sales. Cadillac actually bought and stripped a 3-series to the gills in the hopes of finding out what makes the popular Bavarian sedan the benchmark. Even though BMW is just introduced the new 3-series which is supposed to be better than the one that Cadillac modeled the ATS after, but let’s just forget about that for the moment.

The ATS, like the previous generation 3-series, offers 50/50 weight balance, is the same height and offers a five link independent rear suspension. However the ATS is about 160 pounds heavier than the 3-series.

The baby Caddy will get three engine choices: a 2.5 litre four making 200 horsepower and 188 pound feet of torque, a 2.0 litre turbo four making 270 horsepower and 260 pound feet of torque and a 3.6 litre V6 which makes 318 horses and 267 pound feet of torque. Given the choice of the three, I’d say the mid level turbo is the most interesting. Regardless all engines are fitted with a proper six speed manual or an optional six speed automatic.

There’s nothing terribly shocking in terms of it’s design, it looks pretty much the way everyone expected it to look since the design of most Caddy sedans are pretty much identical. With that said, it’s a fairly agreeable design, with an eye catching interior. It’s clear from the pictures alone that GM has done it’s homework in this regard as well.

So far no performance or fuel efficiency numbers have been released. Check out a few more pics after the jump. Do you think the ATS will lure away 3-series owners?

[General Motors]

Well look what decided to show its face before the official reveal.

The all-new Dodge Dart was scheduled to be revealed at the Detroit Auto Show, however images and a preview video of Dodge’s new small sedan has been released.

Since this is not an official reveal, details are sketchy but rumours have it that either a 1.4 litre, 2.0 litre, or a 2.4 litre engine will find itself under the hood. It’s clear that there will be more than one engine option as an R/T version is expected to bow in the not too distant future.

It’s clear from the interior shots that a 6-speed manual will be available, but what’s unclear is whether the automatic option will be a 6-speed or a rumoured  9-speed automatic. Yes, you read that right, Chrysler is apparently working on a 9-speed auto. If it were my money, I’d wager that any intro of a 9-speed would find it’s way onto more premium models.

With that said, one of the main goals of the Dart’s development was to make it as fuel efficient as possible, so perhaps a 9-speed auto might be plausible. The Dart is supposed to be fairly light weigh as well. The result is an expected fuel efficiency rating of 6 L/100 kms combined.

One thing that is clear is this is not a successor for the Caliber, which has recently gotten the axe. Dodge says the Caliber is a hatchback and the Dart is a sedan, so therefore it can’t be a replacement. Um, okay.

More details are expected to come, but for now enjoy the video above.

What do you think of Dodge’s new offering in the compact segment?

[Inside Line]

BMW is finally throwing its hat into the so-called four door coupe ring. Started by Mercedes-Benz with the CLS and answered by Audi with the A7, the 6-Series Gran Coupe is BMW’s first shot in the segment.

Obviously, the 6-series Gran Coupe is based on the recently introduced 6-Series coupe, but this new sedan is actually 4.4 inches longer, likely to make way for the extra doors and, hopefully, more rear leg room. The overall design retains the sleekness of the coupe and for the most part stays true to the concept. It’s a wonder why the production version took so long to show its face.

The Gran Coupe will come with two engine choices. The first offering will be in the form of a 640i which will get a twin turo 3.0 litre inline six which will make 315 horses and 330 pound foot torque.  The estimated 0-100 run is about 5.4 seconds.

A 650i variant will follow later on with optional all-wheel drive and a 4.4. litre V8 under the hood, also twin turbocharged. The 650i will get from 0-100 in an estimated 4.6 seconds thanks to the unit’s 445 horsepower and 480 pound foot torque.

Both the 640i and 650i will be mated to an 8 speed automatic transmission.

An M-sport packing will be available at launch which includes front and rear facia skirts along with side skirts. It also gets LED fog lights, black exhaust tips, 19 or 20 inch wheels, M paint, an M steering wheels, sport seats and a sport trimmed interior.

So the obvious question now remains: which would you choose if it was your money? The Mercedes-Benz CLS, the Audi A7 or the BMW 6-Series Gran Coupe?

Hit the jump for more pics

[BMW]

Nissan and premium division Infiniti are well known for making boldly designed crossovers, but unfortunately that sometimes meant that functionality took a backseat to style. Well, not anymore.

Infiniti has released the new JX crossover which blends both style and function together nicely. Case in point, the swoopy elegant design actually has enough room for third row seats for 7 passengers. The JX successfully blends in the Infiniti corporate look, all while retaining its own individuality.

Under the hood you’ll find a 3.5 litre V6 making 265 horsepower and 248 pound feet of torque connected to a CVT automatic transmission. The JX will be all-wheel drive while an independent front suspension takes car of the load up front and a multi-link suspension takes care of the rear. It also comes with ventilated disk brakes, covered by 18 in or optional 20 inch wheels.

Inside is typical Infiniti quality fit and finish with all the goodies you’d expect such as a Bose stereo system, active cruise control, lane departure warnings, cameras pretty much everywhere and an industry first system that actually stops the JX if something is directly behind you and the driver fails to notice in time while reversing.

The JX will go on sale in the spring of 2012 as 2013 model.

[Infiniti]

Fiat released an official image of the 500 Abarth a  while back and now we have even more images and official specs to digest.

The 500 Abarth will, as speculated, use a 1.4 litre Multi-Air engine that is both intercooled and turbocharged to 160 horsepower. 16 inch wheels are standard with 17′s optional (it’s also optional to have them painted either white or black) along with an upgraded rolling stock, suspension and brakes.

Inside you’ll fine highly bolstered bucket seats, a flat bottomed thick rimmed steering wheel, turbo boost gauge, shift light and sat-nav.

No price has been mentioned yet which I suspect will be the main factor of whether 500 Abarth sales keep an upward trend. And you know Fiat 500 Abarth vs. Mini Cooper S comparos are just itching to get underway so this should make for a very interesting segment.

Head over to Autoblog for more pics.

[Fiat]

Hyundai is significantly boosting the power on the impressive Genesis coupe for 2013.

The 2.0 litre turbo will now make 275 horsepower and 275 pound feet of torque, up 65 horses from the current unit’s 210 horses. The V6 will now produce 350 horsepower and 295 pound feet of torque. The V6 uses the same direct injection technology found in the 2012 Genesis sedan, but Hyundai actually made it more powerful than the sedan’s 333 horses and 291 pound feet of torque. Each engine can be mated to an optional 8-speed automatic or a 6-speed manual. This update makes the Genesis coupe the most powerful in the segment in which it competes. If Hyundai manages to keep the price down, that is tremendous value. As the Gensis coupe is already a capable vehicle, this will surely make it better.

Along with the power upgrade, the Genesis coupe will get a facelift for 2013. Wearing a more corporate look, the Genesis coupe’s front facia ads a newly redesigned grille and headlights.

The 2013 Genesis coupe will debut at the Detroit Autoshow in January 2012.

[Carscoop]

Oops!

Looks like someone at Cadillac might be in some deep doggy-doo as an official photo revealing the new XTS sedan was mistakenly placed on the company’s website. The image has since been removed, but obviously the damage has been done.

The XTS was slated to officially debut at this year’s LA Auto Show. It’s looks are fairly in line with the concept that debuted at least year’s Detroit Auto Show. It takes Cadillac’s sharp edge ‘art & science’ desisng and softens it down all while remaining quite eye-catching and well proportioned. Originally expected to compete with the likes of the BMW 7-series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the XTS will be smaller in size and thus makes it more of a 5-series and E-Class competitor.

More details on powertrains will likely become available at the official launch. Stay tuned.

[Jalopnik]

It’s not even 2012 and yet 2013 models are starting to show their faces. Case in point, Ford has released images and new details on the refreshed Ford Flex.

The Flex has always been a bit of a polarizing design with some saying the flat white roof is a rip-off of the Mini Cooper while others say it looks like some sort of stretched hearse. Well, Ford didn’t care to tone down the design, in fact they’ve probably made it even more polarizing. This could be a smart move on Ford’s part as unique designs that push the envelope usually end up being embraced in the end.

The front facia is really where the big changes are. A large brushed aluminum bar across the grille is probably the first thing you notice along with re-worked headlights. You’ll notice there’s no longer a blue oval to be seen anywhere up front as Ford decided to just put the Flex’s name front and centre.

Inside a refreshed dash and console can be found which now includes MyFord Touch (an updated version) along with push-start standard and rain sensing wipers.

There are powertrain updates as well. The base 3.5 litre V6 will get a power boost by 20 horses now making 285 horsepower, all while being 1.6 litres/100 kms more efficient. The V6 Ecoboost engine will cary over unchanged.

What do you think of the Flex’s new schauz? Hit or miss?

[Ford]

There’s little doubt that Volkswagen is capable of making some extremely gorgeous cars, but in my point of view, the one that really tops them all in terms of design is the Passat CC. While Mercedes-Benz may have created the idea of the curvilinear coupe-like sedan, Volkswagen was the first to make one that didn’t cost as much as a small island.

Now Volkswagen has updated the Passat CC to incorporate more of a family resemblance mimicking Volkswagens new design language. The lower front facia now incorporates Volkswagen’s new signature grille and the headlights are now bi-xenon with LED turn indicators. Out back the tail lights have been re-worked to resemble the regular Passat. While the re-worked tail lights look clean, I actually prefer the four oval tail lights that the current version has. It looked oh-so-good at night. The interior seems to remain largely unchanged.

Also expected to remain unchanged is powertrain options with the 2.0T and 3.6 litre V6 carrying over as well as Volkswagen’s 4Motion all-wheel drive.

The 2013 Passat CC is expected to go on sale in the spring. Click past the jump for a rear snap.

[Volkswagen]

If you don’t know by now, Porsche has seen so much success with the once black sheep of the family, the Cayenne SUV, that they have decided to make a smaller version called the Cajun. This new compact Porsche ‘ute will be largely based on the Audi Q5. Since the Cayenne was met with strong opposal from Porsche purists who feel the 911 is really the only true Porsche and yet has been selling tremendously well, Porsche is betting that the Cajun will see similar success.

But Porsche is not stopping there. They are betting that a smaller version of the Panamera will help to fill profit margins, so a sedan, coupe, convertible and even shooting brake version of the Pamamera will be produced in junior form. The baby Panamera is going to be called the Pajun….for now. Let’s hope this is just a temporary moniker.  Anyway the Pajun is expected to share underpinnings from Bentley and Lamborghini so don’t worry, the Pajun will still be a performance bred Porsche.

Powertrains will range from V6′s, V8′s, diesels and plug-ins – pretty muhc everything. The top range Pajun is expected to make 600 horses!

What do you think of the idea of the Pajun? Do you think Porsche should stop expanding or will this be another success story for them?

[Car Magazine]

Volkswagen has the GTI, Mazda has the Mazdaspeed3, Volvo has the C30 T5 and now another hot hatch will be available for us to choose from.

Finally, after what seems like decades of waiting, Ford has decided to let us Canadians in on one of its best kept secrets: the Focus ST. Considering how good the ‘ordinary’ Focus has gotten, it’s safe to say that this new Focus ST will not disappoint in the performance department.

This hot hatch will get a 247 horsepower eco-boost 2.0 litre four cylinder which can divvy up a healthy 265 pound feet of torque. Right now a six-speed manual has been confirmed and also tuned to help reinforce a symphonic engine and exhaust note. No word on if an automatic will be available, but it likely will down the line if not from launch.

The Focus ST will be front-drive only. That means that torque steer was Ford’s worst enemy and to combat it, Ford has developed a torque steer compensation system mated with electronic power steering. When both are working in harmony, Ford says torque steer is virtually non-existent.

The lucky dogs in Europe actually get a wagon version of the Focus ST, but no such luck for us Canucks. I suppose beggers can’t be choosers. Expect the Focus ST to bow next year.

So, if it were your hard earned cash, which hot hatch would you plunk money down for? The GTI, the Mazdaspeed3, the C30 T5, or the Focus ST?

[Ford]

Cadillac has just announced some good news for us Canadians today. Mark Reuss, the American President of GM, announced that Cadillac’s two newest members of the family, the ATS and the XTS will be built at their Oshawa Ontario plant. It’s expected that the new models will increase production and create around 400 new jobs. GM plans on investing $117 million into the Oshawa plant. Currently the plant makes the Chevy Equinox, Imapala and Camaro.

The XTS is going to be a replacement for both the aging DTS full size sedan and the much forgotten STS sedan. It is expected to look fairly similar to the concept XTS pictured above. The XTS will likely take on the likes of the Audi A8, BMW 7-series, Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Hyundai Equus.

The ATS, on the other hand, is promised to be of a more nimble sporting nature as Cadillac has stated that its direct competition will be the BMW 3-series. Even if, by the time it becomes for sale, it will have been built to compete with a previous generation 3-series. Still, considering how good the current 3-series is, it’s likely that the ATS won’t disappoint.

[General Motors]

If the picture above makes it seem like both vehicles are still in ‘concept’ mode, well you’re right. Sort of. Just like how BMW introduced the M5 ‘concept’ and Gran Coupe ‘concept’ there will be only minor tweaks to the production verisons of both models. Still, BMW has spilled the beans on the specs.

Hit the jump to find out more.

The i3, formally known as the MegaCity, is going to be the first to be produced under the ‘i’ brand. Available next year, the i3 is largely composed of aluminum and carbon-fiber plastics making it very light weight. Classified as an EV (electric vehicle) the i3 will be the only rear wheel drive electric hatchback available on the market. It gets charged by a lithium-ion battery pack which spans the undercarriage of the vehicle. Being an EV, there is but one speed in the gearbox. Power output is rated at 170 horsepower and 184 pound feet of torque. It is limited to 150 km/h and can make the 0-100 run in under eight seconds.

There will also be a pro eco mode which tweaks the throttle for efficiency in mind. But, how much does charging take? Well, according to BMW, if you were to plug your i3 into a regular socket it would take about six hours to get fully charged. If you use a high speed charger, you get get the battery to an 80% charge in an hour. The expected range is between 130 and 160 kms. So, the i3 is going to be largely a city dweller. BMW is expected to add an internal combustion engine a la Chevy Volt further down the road for those who really can’t deal with range anxiety.

The i8, on the other hand, is promised to be more of a sporting nature as its exterior suggests. It will be a plug-in hybrid using a turbocharged 1.5 litre three cylinder unit. It produces 220 horsepower and 221 pound feet of torque. No numbers yet on the electric motor, but when it’s combined with it, the i8 can make the 0-100 sprint in under 5 seconds all while returning a super impressive 3 L/100 kms. If, however, you drive it like you stole it (aka like a BMW) you’ll be returning 7 L/100 kms. Still, not bad at all. And if that wasn’t enough, BMW is claiming that the i8 gets a perfect 50/50 weight distribution.

Expect more details to come on both the i3 and the i8 in the coming days.

[BMW]