Showing posts with label Scoops. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scoops. Show all posts

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Qu'est-ce que c'est: Can You Identify the Car Behind the White Sheets?


One of our readers politely asked for our help to find the marque and type of car that was being transferred on a Volvo truck that he spotted and caught on camera on a highway in France.

The vehicle in question is covered almost entirely in a white sheet providing very few details about what it could be.

"Yesterday, I spotted this car on a car-carrier on a French highway (A10)," 'Nozo' tells Carscoop.

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Spy Shots: New 2013 Ford Mondeo Sedan Undergoing Tests in Europe


Haven’t we already seen the next generation of Ford's Mondeo? Well, the answer to that question is a wishy-washy yes and no.

To explain, Ford has decided to go global with its new mid-size offerings, meaning that the new Fusion for North America and the Mondeo for Europe and other markets around the world are for the most part, one and the same.

So nothing really new to see in these spy pictures of a lightly camouflaged prototype that was snapped testing in the European Alps.

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U Spy: New Land Rover Range Rover Prototypes Filmed on the Hot Roads of Dubai


If you are not content with the spy photos of Land Rover's all-important, next generation Range Rover and would like to see the luxury SUV in action, then you'll be pleased to know that Carscoop reader Jay M. has tipped us off about a video showing two prototype models on a highway in Dubai.

The YouTube poster notes: "I saw two 2013 Range Rover prototypes driving down the Dubai Bypass Road this morning on their way from the Al Tayer Motors facility in Dubai Investment Park out to the desert for hot weather testing."

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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

U Spy: 2013 Renault Fluence Facelift and New Dacia Logan and Sandero


Quite a day for one of our readers from Romania, Cristi H., who spotted not one, not two but four prototype models traveling together on the highway.

As Cristi rightfully pointed out to us, two of the cars are the facelifted Renault Fluence sedan while the other two are the Dacia Sandero five-door hatchback and the Logan four-door sedan.

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Scoop: Is Lexus Preparing One Final Special Edition Version of its LFA? [w/Video]


A teal colored Lexus LFA prototype with some interesting details captured the attention of our spy photographers at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

For starters, this particular LFA model is equipped with the Nürburgring Edition package that includes a front spoiler made from CFRP (carbon fibre reinforced plastic), a fixed rear-wing, fin-type side spoilers, a canard fin plus exclusive mesh-type wheels.

If you look a little bit closer, however, you will notice several differences such as the carbon fiber dressed hood with the additional air-vents and roof, the larger and more rounded rear wing and the black stripes with the "AD-A" nameplate just above the side sills.

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The Uninspiring Silence of an Audi R8 e-Tron vs The Screaming Sounds of a Pagani Zonda R at the 'Ring


Call us old fashion, but we believe that a sports car has to arouse all your senses with its acceleration, speed, handling, looks and of course, sounds.

The Audi R8 is by all means a sharp looking and handling automobile that will likely be fast even in e-tron guise, which is Audi talk for its pure-electric powertrain that uses two electric motors on each axle.

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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

U Spy: 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Continues Testing in Spain


While vacationing in Spain, Carscoop reader Juan J. from Colombia, stumbled upon this camouflaged prototype model.

"Last week I was travelling from Barcelona to Valencia (Spain) and a white car covered up with black camo was cruising on the highway, which I'm pretty sure is the new S-Class," Juan tells us.

And he's right; this is the next generation of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class limousine with the standard wheelbase.

"I noticed two big "things" that might be relevant," Juan added. "All the dashboard was digital - I mean, speedometer, tachometer, and the main center screen, and also, the engine sounded like turbo."

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Classy Scoop: New Dacia Sandero Hatchback Flips the Bird


You should know by now that being a spy photographer has its ups and downs. After an Audi tester so graciously finger-waved one of our scoopsters in March, it's time for one of his colleagues from Dacia to perform the flipping gesture that traces its roots back to antiquity and classic Greek comedy.

Moving our attention from the passenger to the car itself, what we have here is the next generation of the Dacia Sandero, which is a Fiesta-sized supermini sold in several markets around the world.

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2013 Dodge Dart Hatchback Patent Drawings: Are They Real?


An Italian forum has posted these patent drawings, supposedly revealing the Dodge Dart five-door hatchback model.

However, we're not entirely convinced that they're official for a couple of reasons, the first being that while Fiat has hinted at the development of a five-door version of the China market Viaggio, which is the Dart sedan's Italian cousin, no one at Chrysler has ever mentioned such a body style.

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Monday, June 25, 2012

New 2013 Fiat Panda 4x4 Soft Crossover Revealed in Patent Drawings


That Fiat was planning to expand the range of its latest Panda city car with an all-wheel drive, crossover version is something we not only knew from the moment the Italian automaker presented the regular model at last year's Frankfurt Motor Show, but had also spied this past winter.

And while the scoop photos of the camouflaged prototype gave us a rough look at the next Panda 4x4, we now got our hands on some revealing patent drawings that provide a meticulous view of the styling changes.

The images show that the Panda 4x4 will stand taller than the regular model thanks to an increased suspension travel.

There are also plastic mouldings running around the wheel arches and the lower parts of the body, plus newly designed front and rear bumpers that house silver-colored skid plates, and new front fog lamp housings.

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Spied: Light Update to Bring 2013 Opel Meriva in Line with the Latest Astra


True, the second generation of the Opel / Vauxhall Meriva has only been in the market for two years, but given the recent design changes to the updated Astra family, we shouldn't be surprised that the German automaker has schedule a light facelift for the small MPV as well. Read more »

Scoop: Mini Preparing New Traveller Minivan Based on the Countryman


The newly revealed Clubvan that we told you about this past Friday, is only one of many new models planned for the coming years by Mini and its parent company, the BMW Group.

This week, our spy photographers snapped a prototype model of what is believed to be a test mule for Mini's first venture in the competitive compact MPV segment, which some sources say may be named 'Traveller' when it enters production within the next two to three years.

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Saturday, June 23, 2012

Scoop: Next Generation Dacia Logan Low Cost Sedan in the Making


The Renault Group is preparing a replacement to one of its most successful models, the Dacia Logan, which was first introduced onto the market in 2004.

Designed from the beginning as an affordable car to buy and maintain, the Logan has been sold around the world under different brands and names including Renault Logan, Nissan Aprio (Mexico), Mahindra Verito (India) and Renault Tondar 90 (Iran).

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Thursday, June 21, 2012

Spy Shots: Volkswagen Testing Golf R Cabriolet Prototype?


If the new Golf GTI Cabriolet has already gone sale in Europe, what could Volkswagen be possibly testing with this undisguised prototype model?

Well, we believe that what we are looking at here is a test car for the upcoming production Golf R Cabriolet that was previewed as a concept last year.

This prototype model features the same styling cues and parts as the GTI Cabriolet in all areas except for the larger and distinctly styled five-spoke alloy wheels and the much larger disc brakes up front (see the GTI's brakes in photo No18 here).

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After the BMW X1, China's Zhonghua Looks for Inspiration in the Alfa Romeo Giulietta


We cannot keep up with all the production and concept models that are coming out from China and the design of which either bluntly copies or is directly inspired from a Western automaker's model(s).

Just recently, a Chinese website caught hold of some pictures of a new prototype model from Brilliance Auto's Zhonghua brand.

You don't have to live in Milan to see that the design of the unnamed compact crossover takes its inspiration from the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, be that in the shape of the lights, the hidden rear door handles or the sharp lines on the front and rear fenders.

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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Spied: Next Citroen C4 Picasso Minivan


Not long ago, we reported on the forthcoming, next generation of the Citroen C4 Picasso, which was scooped while undergoing winter testing in Europe. Now, our spies have caught up with two more prototypes of the French firm's popular compact minivan series.

Unfortunately, while the weather in Southern Europe may be in full summer mode, Citroen has yet to loosen up on the camouflage.

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Spied: New Mercedes-Benz CLA Compact Saloon Nabbed Again Testing at the Nürburgring


The next model to join Mercedes-Benz's expanded family of compact cars after the new five-door A-Class and the minivan-like B-Class will be the production version of the impressive looking Concept Style Coupé (CSC) sports sedan seen earlier this year that we will come to know as the CLA.

Our spy photographers spotted Mercedes-Benz engineers testing a camouflaged prototype of the CLA at the Nürburgring track.

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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Scoop: Jaguar Testing More Hardcore XKR-S Coupe at the Nürburgring


When Jaguar premiered the open-top version of the XKR-S at the LA Auto Show back in November of last year, we thought the British marque was done with the series.

However, this past February, Frank Klaas, Jaguar’s global head of communications told Car&Driver magazine that the company was considering the development of an even more limited production edition of the coupe that would appeal to those who want to spend a lot of time on the track with a street-legal model.

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Spy Shots: New Mini Countryman Coupe Goes to the 'Ring


There's only so many hatchbacks and convertibles Mini can sell, so in order for the brand to survive and keep its parent company's stockholders happy, the BMW Group is continually expanding its reach into new segments.

After the five-door Countryman crossover, Mini is now preparing a slightly sportier looking variant with three-doors and a more coupe-like roofline, which we first saw in concept guise under the Paceman moniker at last year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

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Scoop: Is Audi Preparing New S1 Quattro Sport Hatch?


When Audi presented an 182hp (185PS) version of its A1 premium supermini equipped with a slightly more powerful version of the VW Polo GTI's 1.4-liter TFSI engine back in 2010, we were wondering why the German automaker didn't use the S1 moniker.

One reason could have been that the automaker had not yet readied a quattro system for the A1, which came the following year with the announcement on a new Quattro model powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four with 253hp (256PS).

Aside from the significant power and price gap between the A1 1.4 TFSI and the A1 Quattro, the latter will be produced in a limited number of 333 examples, which means the brand with the four rings will eventually be left without a high performance supermini in its range.

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