Ford has released images of its new 2009 Focus coupe along with an announcement that it plans to show off the car to the wider American public during tomorrow’s episode of the hugely popular American Idol. The Ford brass should cross its fingers that Paula doesn’t accidentally call it a Chevy.
The new coupe version of the surprisingly popular Focus offers most prominently a restyle, inspired in part by Ford customer feedback. Thankfully the ungainly chrome fender vents from the standard Focus have been eighty-sixed, with the coupe offering a less cluttered, if slightly slab-sided profile. There’s also a new front fascia, a pair of fog lamps, and a set of really nice 17-inch “Dark Chrome” wheels.
Under the hood the Focus coupe will offer drivers a bit more power thanks to a sport-tuned exhaust. That boost with a new final drive ratio (in the SES automatic) will make the coupe faster to 60 mph from a standstill, while still being rated for 35 miles per gallon. Have a look at the new car in our gallery below or click through the jump to read the Ford press release.
Having recently tested BMW’s new M3 Coupe and M3 Sedan, we were excited to get some more time in BMW’s M-series of cars. This time around, we were provided with a M6 Coupe, boasting a 500-horsepower V-10 engine and looks that stopped many people dead in their tracks. With an as-tested price of just over $111,000, however, we can think of some better alternatives on how to spend a budget that big.
Click through the jump to read our full impressions and click the images below to launch a gallery.
A technological masterpiece, the 2008 Audi A5 impressed us during its week-long stay in our test fleet. We have praise for the LED headlamps, well-appointed interior, and even Audi’s MMI interface. Our A5 was equipped with the 3.2-liter V-6 matched with Quattro all-wheel-drive. It’s a sweet setup, but would we have it over a 3-series? We’re still trying to decide.
Click through the jump for our full impressions and click the images below to open a gallery.
Everything you’ve ever wanted to know (well, close anyway) about the massive and impressive Bentley Brooklands can be found in our Ask It video above. Come back tomorrow when we open up another member of the WINDING ROAD press fleet to your probing minds.
If you’ve got an idea for Question of the Day, a funny photo for Caption It, or just want to share a news tip, let us know at windingroadtips@gmail.com
When this red devil arrived in our test fleet, we knew we’d be in for a good week. Having recently tested an M3 Sedan, we were eager to spend more time with BMW’s 414-horsepower V-8 bomber, and boy, did we enjoy it.
Click through the jump to read our impressions and click the images below to open a gallery.
It’s Friday afternoon which means that it’s time for everyone’s new favorite department at WINDING ROAD News, Ask It.
Up today is a really special and ridiculously expensive subject, the 2009 Bentley Brooklands. At roughly $367,000 and shinier than the Hope Diamond, the Brooklands certainly doesn’t lack for features to inquire about; just don’t ask us to wind it out on the local dirt track, we like our jobs too much.
What does your heart desire to know about Bentley’s massive coupe? Submit your questions, in comments.
If you’ve got an idea for Question of the Day, a funny photo for Caption It, or just want to share a news tip, let us know at windingroadtips@gmail.com
Rare, historic, and potentially quite valuable, this 1965 Zagato-bodied Lancia Flavia is nonetheless pretty pig-ugly.
Carozzeria Zagato penned the lines for this Flavia Sport re-body and it isn’t one of the legendary design house’s better efforts. The car’s bizarre roof may offer the rear passengers a view of a bit more sky, but also serves to accentuate the strange humpback profile. Similarly strange is the Flavia’s grille which is neatly folded three-quarters of the way up, giving the car a long and flat nose.
There’s no doubting the rarity of the car though and we were a bit shocked to learn that as many as 626 examples were built and sold from 1963 to 1967. That small sample may, as the seller suggest, lead to the Flavia being a good investment over time, but it hasn’t helped spark bidder’s interest as yet, as there are currently zero offers on the table at eBay Motors.
If you’ve got an idea for Question of the Day, a funny photo for Caption It, or just want to share a news tip, let us know at windingroadtips@gmail.com
To its eternal credit, Bentley has managed to keep its Volkswagen masters at bay for some time, taking advantage of the company’s economies of scale when practical but never losing sight of its own rich heritage. In this era of spirit-killing takeovers, that’s no small accomplishment.
A good example of such is this gray market 1994 R32 Skyline GTR for sale on eBay Motors. The JDM Skyline has found its way all the way to Diberville, Mississippi, while staying in more or less stock condition (seller claims that an aftermarket exhaust is the biggest modification). The owner says that the meaty 2.6-liter twin-turbo inline-six is in fine working condition, and has never been over-boosted, which makes us both happy and sad.
Certainly a head-turner for the Gran Turismo set, the winner of this auction will most likely have the coolest Japanese muscle car on the block, unless their block happens to be on the Ginza line. Nice license plate too.
If you’ve got an idea for Question of the Day, a funny photo for Caption It, or just want to share a news tip, let us know at windingroadtips@gmail.com
The coupe depicted in the sketch above is said to come from a source inside of Subaru’s design department, and is meant to depict the upcoming rear-wheel-drive offering from the company.
It’s no secret that Subaru has been working with Toyota, which owns a four percent stake in the smaller company, on a shared coupe project that will be underpinned by Impreza gear. The two versions will differ in appearance, but will both offer Subaru’s 2.0-liter and 2.5-liter boxer fours in standard and turbocharged trim.
The source of the image also suggests that despite the planned RWD layout of the shared coupe, an AWD version hasn’t been ruled out for the top of the range. Subaru’s iteration of the car should be fully realized by this summer, with production slated to begin in 2010.
If you’ve got an idea for Question of the Day, a funny photo for Caption It, or just want to share a news tip, let us know at windingroadtips@gmail.com
While most peopled who attended the New York Auto Show launch of the Pontiac Solstice GXP admired the curvaceous silhouette of the coupe, fewer mentioned the car’s performance potential. That could soon change as new rumors tell us that Pontiac is planning turbo-charged version of the Solstice’s Ecotec four-cylinder that could be good for 300 or more horsepower. That kind of power would seemingly put the Solstice Coupe into far closer competition with cars like Nissan’s Z.
If such a performance variant does come about, look for the engine to find its way into the Saturn Sky Redline as well as the convertible Solstice, and to be hooked up to a manual five-speed transmission. The high-po model is said to be slated for just after the coupe goes on sale next year.
If you’ve got an idea for Question of the Day, a funny photo for Caption It, or just want to share a news tip, let us know at windingroadtips@gmail.com
While it wouldn’t be likely to carry an evocative name like Firebird or GTO, new reports indicate that plans for a G8-based Pontiac coupe aren’t yet dead.
With a battle raging within Pontiac between groups concerned with fast-approaching CAFE mandates, and groups wanting to continue the company’s resurgence in the performance car sector, sources are saying that a G8 coupe has slightly less than a fifty-percent chance of making it to production. If the coupe is green-lighted for production it will be based on the Holden Coupe 60 concept (seen above) recently shown at the Melbourne auto show.
A G8 coupe would seem to be a natural extension of the G8 line, slotting in nicely as the performance leader amongst the V-8 powered G8 GXP sedan and new sport truck.
If you’ve got an idea for Question of the Day, a funny photo for Caption It, or just want to share a news tip, let us know at windingroadtips@gmail.com
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