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Administrator
Join Date: Jul 1992
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New Car news. Ferrari, Lamborghini, and GM
Lambo Plans
Espada, Miura out, SUV in
By GREG KABLE
AutoWeek | Published 10/17/06, 9:21 am et
Lamborghini boss Stephan Winkelmann flatly denies that the Italian sports car maker will bring back a front-engined model in the mold of the Espada, saying, “any future Lamborghini sports car needs to be both mid-engined and four-wheel drive.”
Rumors of a front-engined Lamborghini model have been circulating since design sketches portraying such a model appeared on the Internet in 2005. While AutoWeek can confirm the sketches were commissioned by Lamborghini, Winkelmann says they weren’t created in-house, but were the work of Art Center College automotive design student Emily Sawamura.
The Miura concept car, revealed at this year’s Los Angeles and Detroit auto shows, also isn’t likely for production. “The Miura was a celebration of our history, but Lamborghini is about the future. Retro design is not what we are here for. So we won’t do the Miura,” he says.
Word is the next model to join the Lamborghini lineup, in 2008 at the earliest, will be a sport/utility vehicle based on parent company Audi’s upcoming Q5. Winkelmann said a performance SUV could fit well with the Lamborghini brand.
In the meantime, Lamborghini is preparing special versions of its existing Gallardo and Murciélago. First up is a roadster version of the LP640 due out later this year. It will be followed next year by a lightweight version of the Gallardo, possibly running rear-wheel drive in a move to make it eligible for sports car racing. Also under development is a successor to the Murciélago based on a V12 engine that shares the same architecture as the Gallardo’s V10 powerplant
Dino Lives
Is a Maserati-based Ferrari two-seater in the wings?
By GREG KABLE
AutoWeek | Published 10/17/06, 9:23 am et
Despite denials from general manager Amedeo Felisa that such a project even exists, Ferrari appears to be well down the road to introducing an entry-level model Porsche 911 competitor carrying the illustrious Dino name.
According to high-ranking insiders at parent company Fiat in Turin, the new Ferrari is very much alive and in the early stage of development in partnership with Maserati. Sources say crude prototypes exist, but the car likely won’t be introduced before 2009.
Supplier sources say Ferrari is gearing up to build some 4000 Dinos annually. Rumor has it the car was designed by Pininfarina with input from former Ferrari design boss Frank Stephenson, who now heads Fiat’s Centro Stile operation.
The starting point for the entry-level Ferrari is a front-engine platform under development by Maserati for its upcoming Coupe replacement due in early 2007. Known internally under the codename M139, its rear-wheel-drive underpinnings are related to those in the Maserati Quattroporte, but they receive their own tighter wheelbase and track widths to give the new Ferrari more compact dimensions.
To keep weight down, the body is built with carbon fiber and aluminum. Sources suggest the Alfa Romeo 8C is serving as a pattern for the new Ferrari, most notably in the area of body construction and materials.
Secrecy surrounds the body style; early claims had Maranello considering a folding-hardtop arrangement, but it now appears the Dino may be offered in coupe guise only to keep the car’s weight in check.
Unlike the original 206 Dino and its more illustrious predecessor, the 246, the coming Dino is likely to go without V6 power. Instead, the car will run a 4.0-liter variant of Maserati’s highly versatile V8 producing about 400 hp.
Ferrari’s decision to base the Dino on a Maserati mechanical package seems to contradict the company’s no-compromise engineering mantra. However, the two carmakers are already closely linked in other business areas. The 4.3-liter, 490-hp V8 engine used in the 430 Modena, for example, is closely related to the 4.2-liter, 400-hp unit found in the Quattroporte. Ferrari Enzo provided the basis for the Maserati MC12. There are also plans, unfulfilled at this stage, to drop the 612 Scaglietti’s 5.5-liter, 540-hp V12 engine into the engine bay of a new range-topping Quattroporte model to create a Mercedes-Benz S-Class rival.
One more linkage? Ferrari may choose Maserati’s heavily refurbished factory in Modena to build its modern-day Dino. Given the high percentage of Maserati parts in the Dino, it would appear a highly cost-effective alternative. AutoWeek sources also contend that Ferrari is in talks with Pininfarina as a possible production partner.
Bold move for GM
Cadillac eyes BMW 1 Series fighter for Europe
By GREG KABLE
AutoWeek | Published 10/19/06, 9:26 am et
General Motors might have its hands full getting its North American operations into order and profitability, but signs are it won’t ignore other potentially lucrative areas of its world-wide business.
Witness secret plans AutoWeek uncovered for a new rear-wheel drive entry-level Cadillac slotted beneath the European price leading BLX model. The BLX is a front-drive sedan built by Saab in Sweden and sold throughout Europe.
According to GM product czar Bob Lutz this new small Caddy is among a throng of proposals before the corporation as an internal study aimed at widening Cadillac’s brand appeal and sales potential. This comes following steps taken earlier in the year to raise the profile of GM’s flagship division across Europe.
Lutz points to the popularity of that market segment as a reason why GM is considering a move down market. Such a car would compete against the Audi A3, BMW 1-Series and Mercedes-Benz A class.
“The BMW 1-Series has been extremely well accepted in the market place and shows what can be done when you do things right,” Lutz told AutoWeek at the Paris motor show. “We are investigating the possibility of a new four-cylinder model. Nothing is signed off but we’re working [on it.]”
Lutz won’t cite specifics on the proposed entry-level Cadillac. However, he hints heavily that it will boast a longitudinally mounted engine and rear-drive layout similar to the BMW—itself reliant on the 3-Series in terms of mechanical make-up.
“We’re looking at the possibility of rear-wheel drive, but nothing is decided. [This configuration] provides the best possible basis for agility” he said of such a car’s road manners.
Without an existing rear-drive platform, speculation is that GM will green-light an all-new structure for a range of new models, including a rear-drive successor to BLX.
Lutz rules out the possibility of Cadillac using a shortened Zeta platform. Those underpinnings are on the new Holden Commodore in Australia, and are planned for the coming Pontiac Grand Prix successor as well as the re-born Chevrolet Camaro due in ‘09. “It doesn’t make good engineering sense to make a large platform and go down. You never really get rid of the weight properly,” he said. Such comments have focused attention on the Holden Torana TT36 concept, a car based on an unnamed rear-drive platform and similar in size the BMW 3-Series, displayed in 2004.
Though Lutz won’t confirm as much, it appears GM might rely on its Aussie outpost to again engineer a new platform on which a generation of models will ride. Holden held point for the Zeta structure which received praise from Lutz, who called the Commodore “the best car GM has ever done” in Paris.
Adding further to speculation, Lutz contends a new platform would not only be required to support a rear-drive configuration, but four-wheel drive as well.
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New Car news. Ferrari, Lamborghini, and GM
