Carscoops

More Than 300 Cars and 2 Real Tanks Used in Fast & Furious 6 Movie

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:44:16 PDT

You expect a lot of cars to be used up on a movie set, where many identical models are needed for various scenes, in which you end up perceiving them as one when watching everything after it’s been properly edited.

Furthermore, if said movie also happens to be part of a street racing series, like the Fast and Furious franchise, you expect the number of used cars to be high. In the case of the sixth installment of the Fast and Furious series that hit cinemas today, it’s 300 cars.

Aston Martin Teases New Model, Can You Guess What It Is?

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:08:02 PDT

The festivities and special models dedicated to Aston Martin's centenary continue with yet another teaser for a new car, bits and parts of which are shown in a video that was released today.

In the clip, we see the outline of a coupe model and a collection of images detailing certain elements of the car such as the hood vents, center stack, and headlamps. To spare you from entering game-mode with the pause button, we did the work for you by attaching the screen shots below.

VW Celebrates Production of 250,000th Passat at Chattanooga Plant

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:32:13 PDT

A year after it announced the making of the 100,000th Passat in Chattanooga, Volkswagen today said it has produced the 250,000th Passat in its only U.S. plant. The milestone car carries Night Blue paint and has black leather interior. It is powered by VW’s so-called "clean-diesel" TDI engine and features navigation, a sunroof, 18-inch alloy wheels and the Volkswagen Fender premium audio system. Read more »

Need for Speed: Rivals Racing Game Announced, Shows Impressive Graphical Fidelity in Teaser

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:01:24 PDT

There has been a lot of talk about the Need for Speed movie recently, and you’ll hear the name even more now that "Need for Speed: Rivals" racing game has been announced through a short teaser trailer designed to impress with the excellent graphics backed up by the “All Footage From Game Engine” message, which basically means that this is how the final game will look like. Read more »

U Spy: What's Jeep Doing with a Fully Camouflaged 2014 Cherokee in Hollywood?

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Fri, 24 May 2013 13:32:22 PDT

Given Carscoops' readers sentiments on the design of the new generation 2014 Jeep Cherokee, as strongly expressed in the comments sections our inaugural posts about the car here and here, it's not hard to imagine what some of the answers may be to the question posed in our title.

But seriously now, if you were to block the images of the Cherokee from your thoughts, what do you think Jeep is doing with this prototype in full camouflage, which was nabbed this week by Carscoops' reader Stephen D. as he was driving to his work in Hollywood, California?

Renault Confirms New Versions of the Laguna, Espace and Scenic

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Fri, 24 May 2013 13:04:08 PDT

While PSA is announcing the closing of one factory after the other, local rivals Renault are doing nothing of the sort. In fact, Renault announced that it will be investing €420 ($542) million for the preparation of the Douai factory, in France, for the production of no fewer than five different cars at the same time. Three of them have been announced for 2014: the all-new Laguna, Espace and Scenic. Read more »

BMW Concept Ninety Sports Bike Is the R 90 S of the 21st Century [w/Video]

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Fri, 24 May 2013 12:44:54 PDT

The BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso V12 Coup é is not the only new concept from BMW for the 2013 Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza. The Bavarian company also brought along a motorcycle named the BMW Concept Ninety, which is both a present for BMW Motorrad’s 90th anniversary and a tribute to its iconic R 90 S motorbike that turns 40 this year. Read more »

Pagani Readies First Zonda R Evolution for Customer Delivery

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Fri, 24 May 2013 12:07:00 PDT

Pagani might not produce many models – in fact, the Modena-based carmaker has only built two supercars since its inception in the early 1990s, the Zonda and more recently, the Huayra, but it sure has many different editions and versions of each car, especially of the former that has been around longer.

One of the last special editions of the Zonda is the R Evolution model based on the non-road homologated Zonda R, which was first shown to the public during the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed where it took part in the famed Goodwood hillclimb race

Watch Lady Luck Save This Man's Life

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Fri, 24 May 2013 11:28:34 PDT

We don’t know if the video we posted below is from Russia, but since the Cyrillic alphabet is used, and a Lada Niva can be seen in the background, it’s plausible. In any case, it features a very lucky man who narrowly escapes being crushed alive by a truck that collided with the bus he was putting diesel in at a filling station. Read more »

2014 Fiat 500L Arrives in the U.S. with a $19,100 Sticker Price

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Fri, 24 May 2013 11:05:31 PDT

Fiat has launched the 500L small MPV in the United States, with the first cars to arrive in dealerships this June. Priced from $19,100 (equal to €14,790), excluding an $800 destination charge, the 500L will be available with four equipment lines – the base 500L Pop, 500L Easy, 500L Trekking and 500L Lounge. Read more »

New BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso V12 Coupé Looks More 7-Series Coupe than 8-Series [Video]

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Fri, 24 May 2013 10:45:53 PDT

BMW and Pininfarina have blown the covers off their new jointly designed and developed Gran Lusso Coupé in advanced of the one-off model's world premiere at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2013 this weekend.

The large coupe model is the outcome of the first collaboration between BMW and Pininfarina, and it follows the BMW Z4-based Zagato Coupé presented at last year's Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.

When the Bavarian carmaker shared a sketch and a couple of cropped details of the car along with the information that it uses a V12 powerplant earlier this month, the first thing that came to mind was the possibility of a 21st century version of the 8-Series Coupe that was built from 1989 to 1999.

In our eyes, the BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso V12 Coupé looks more like a two-door, coachbuilt version of a future 7-Series made to compete against the Bentley Continental GT, than a true successor to the 8-Series, but BMW officials think otherwise.

Maserati Boss Denies Development of LaFerrari Sibling

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Fri, 24 May 2013 09:02:06 PDT

Maserati CEO Harald Wester denied reports that the Modena-based carmaker will develop its own version of the Ferrari LaFerrari supercar.

According to an Edmunds report, at the launch of the Maserati Quattroporte V6, Wester dismissed stories about the project as unfounded, although Maserati had in the past built its own derivative of Ferrari’s Enzo, the MC12. However, the CEO confirmed that Maserati plans to offer new limited-edition models, although he did not offer further details.

Chris Harris Drives the Ford Fiesta ST, Makes Theoretical Comparison to Renault Clio RS

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Fri, 24 May 2013 08:14:34 PDT

Chris Harris may have driven the new Ford Fiesta ST, but he says that he will wait until he gets behind the wheel of one of its main rivals, the paddle-shifting Renault Clio RS, both on the road and the track, before passing final judgment on the Blue Oval's hot hatch.

However, he begins the comparison in his latest video review of the former, and asks several questions, important to those in the market for such a vehicle.

Italdesign Says Concorso d'Eleganza Didn't Accept its Application for the BMW Group Organized Show

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Fri, 24 May 2013 07:47:55 PDT

For more than 80 years now, some of the most beautiful and rare production and concept cars have come together from all parts of the world on the shores of Lake Como, Italy, for the annual Concorso d'Eleganza (Competition of Elegance) a Villa d'Este. This year's edition of the show kicked off on Friday, May 24 and will run through the weekend.

Iconic design studio Italdesign Giugiaro has participated in the event every year since 2002, when it won two awards for the Alfa Romeo Brera Concept, but it won't be attending the 2013 edition of the show, something we learned about today via a press statement.

Elon Musk Replies to Chrysler: You’re not American, You Still Owe $1.3 Billion

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Fri, 24 May 2013 06:50:37 PDT

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk is not one to back down from a public dispute. The latest one started with Tesla’s announcement that it had repaid in full its government loan, with the release adding that it is the first American carmaker to do so. This made Chrysler respond with a statement in which it said it was the first U.S. carmaker to have repaid the U.S. government loan in 2011, not Tesla.

Did you think Musk was convinced by Chrysler’s statement and stopped right there? No, he replied to Chrysler’s release on Twitter by saying the Detroit-based carmaker is no longer American, as it is owned by Fiat, and it still owes money to the government.

Well Played Sir: Driver Bails Out Just Before Truck Smashes his Tricycle

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Fri, 24 May 2013 06:07:17 PDT

It is in the human nature for people to freeze in the presence of danger, but it's not always like that, or at least, it doesn't apply to all individuals. The driver of the tricycle truck in this video from Wenshan, China, is one of those exceptions to the rule.

The man was apparently in a hurry and had pulled up in the middle of the crossway (illegally) positioning his tricycle in front of the oncoming lane when a mid-size truck was approaching at speed without slowing down.

New Mitsubishi Attrage Sedan Revealed in Depth in Brochure Shots, But Beware; It Ain't Pretty…

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Fri, 24 May 2013 05:38:41 PDT

Turning a supermini into a four-door sedan may be fairly easy from a technical and engineering standpoint, but if not always, most of the times, the aesthetic results leave much to be desired.

The Mitsubishi Mirage-based Attrage small sedan is no exception to this rule, and this becomes quite evident in the brochure photos of the car that surfaced online a few days after the Japanese brand announced the production version, which will first go on sale in Thailand later this year, with more countries to follow.

Renault's Twin'Run Concept is a 320HP Pocket Rocket Previewing Next Twingo [56 Pics & Video]

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Fri, 24 May 2013 05:09:56 PDT

Following the reveal of the Twin’Z study last month, Renault strikes back with a more hardcore, three-door version called the Twin’Run. It’s not entirely new for our eyes, as the car was scooped in March during the filming of a promo clip in Madrid.

However, now we have all the official details and photos to share, as Renault displayed the concept in Monaco, where the Formula 1 Grand Prix will take place this Sunday.

Daimler Consults with Ford for Creation of New Three-Cylinder Turbocharged Engine

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Fri, 24 May 2013 04:53:19 PDT

Ford is one-step ahead of some of its competitors in terms of very small turbocharged engines, and its 1.0-liter EcoBoost unit is so far proving to be a solid unit. However, they are not holding the information to themselves, and have shared details with representatives from the Daimler group, in exchange for intel on how to achieve the Euro 6 emissions standard. Read more »

Wow for the Car, Boo for the Price: 1992 Mercedes 500E Built by Porsche with Only 10k Miles!

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:53:25 PDT

Of all the high-performance sedans to come out of Europe over the past few decades, the 1990-1995 Mercedes-Benz 500E (renamed to E500 in 1994) must be one of the most understated and to some extent, under-appreciated models.

Due to the limited production numbers, finding one these days, isn't easy, let alone a stock version with just 10,000 miles (16,000km) on the odometer, like the one I discovered for sale on eBay today.

2013 Nissan GT-R Goes Up Against the BMW Alpina B6, the Outcome is Predictable…

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:40:00 PDT

British magazine Autocar has a habit pitting unlikely competitors against one another, then trying to find similarities, but ultimately admitting to the fact that the cars they choose are not the best matched.

Take their latest endeavor for example, which has them trying out the latest version of the Nissan GT-R, and having it compete against the BMW 6-Series-based Alpina B6 – the outcome is predictable.

GTA Spano V10 With over 900 Hp Shows Up in Monaco

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:12:39 PDT

We don’t normally feature video like the one we've attached below, but the GTA Spano (formerly Spania) is such a mad creation that we can’t ignore it. Powered by a twin-turbo version of the new SRT Viper’s 8.4-liter V10 engine, it makes in excess of 900 hp and has an electronically limited torque figure of 1,000 Nm or 737 lb-ft. Read more »

Jeremy Clarkson Criticized for Tweeting Anout Babies Belonging in Airplane Baggage Hold

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:50:54 PDT

Since Top Gear has taken a long break from our television sets to shoot new episodes (no more than six per season), Jeremy Clarkson is perhaps feeling a bit neglected and has therefor chosen to make a statement to get everybody talking about him. This time he used his Twitter account to ask, “When will British Airways realize that babies belong in the hold?”

His anger was caused by a recent flight he took to Scotland, which probably didn’t go so well because of child troubles. It was not explained what caused Clarkson to make the remark, but predictably, it sparked outrage in various circles.

Daimler Planning to Sell Some of Its German Mercedes Dealerships to Cut Costs

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:17:12 PDT

Daimler AG, the maker of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, is in talks to sell four of its German outlets and possibly more later on, as part of a new cost-cutting plan according to a Reuters report. Roughly half of Mercedes’ retail sales in Germany go through its own retail network made up of 98 dealerships, while rivals Audi and BMW rely more on franchises. Read more »

Elastic Scooter Boy Smashes Into One Car, Hits Another One as He Makes a Run for It

noreply@blogger.com (John @ Carscoop) — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:44:36 PDT

On one hand, you have to admire this scooter rider's fitness levels as he jumped back onto his feet and onto his bike faster than a full-throttle GT-R chasing a quarter mile record, after crashing into the rear end of a Suzuki Jimny.

On the other hand, though, the way he crashed and more importantly, how he abandoned the scene of the accident makes you wonder about a lot of things, some of which aren't at all appropriate…