Auto News | World Car Fans' Corner

[MyINFO]

Electric variant of the Up! will come as a three- or five-door hatch. A Space Up! minivan variant may follow later.

Volkswagen may be hesitant to bring such a small car as the Up! to the U.S. market, but in these electric-crazed times, it feels confident it will find buyers for the E-Up! there.

According to Automobilemag, the German automaker's current plans still include the electric variant of the Up! compact car coming to North American shores in 2013. Previous reports had the year at 2014.

2013 Volkswagen E-Up! Headed For U.S. Market

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Porsche is facing decline sales of the Boxster and Cayman models. Sales in those lower segments will have to expand if Porsche is to meet its goal of selling 150,000 units per year by 2013.

Porsche's new CEO Matthias Mueller has work to do if he's going to achieve the sales goal the storied sports car maker has set for itself.

When Mueller, 57, takes over as CEO of Porsche AG on October 1, his first assignment will be to revive Porsche's entry-level segment which is facing declining sales. Sales are down 12 percent in the nine months through April for the Boxster and Cayman models combined. In February, Porsche introduced the Boxster Spyder with a starting price of €53,100 ($66,900).

New CEO to tackle smaller entry-level Porsche as first challenge

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Ohio-based engineers at Switzer Performance have released a new version of their P800 kit capable of working with the 997 Turbo's Tiptronic transmission.  The transmission, normally only capable of handling up to 700 horsepower (522 kW), was totally rebuilt and modified to handle more power.

Find out how Switzer Performance managed to get the 997 Turbo with a Tiptronic box up to 800 hp, inside.

Switzer P800 now available for Tiptronic Turbos, 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds

[MyINFO]

BMW Aplina has released details on its B5 F10 Bi-Turbo, based on the BMW 5-Series.

First off is the 4.4-liter V8 under the hood which produces 507 PS (373 kW) and 700 Nm of torque. The engine is optimized by way of tinkering with the indirect intercooling system, among others. It's coupled to the SWITCH-TRONIC 8-speed sport automatic transmission from ZF for a fuel economy rating of 10.8 liters/100 km.

Full details are available in the extensive press release, but we can cover the main points here.

BMW Alpina B5 F10 Bi-Turbo official photos and details released

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The luxury sales race is tightening as Audi, BMW, and Mercedes are duking it out for top honors.

So far, it's been a bloody campaign. Audi and BMW have been in a constant war of words (with billboards, commercials and dealership shenanigans) but in terms of sales, the Bavarian is king. For the first half of the year, BMW managed to sell 585,755 vehicles while Audi moved 554,950 units.

Mercedes squeezes past Audi for No. 2 global premium brand position in first half

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Reigning world champion and Briton Jenson Button declared his McLaren "undriveable" after failing to qualify higher than fourteenth at Silverstone.

McLaren has had a difficult weekend, with high-profile updates taken off the MP4-25 after Friday practice.

2010 British Grand Prix QUALIFYING - RESULTS

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Next-generation Audi A6 is expected to debut next year - a new RS6 iteration will undoubtedly follow.

Audi will end production of the current RS6 model at the end of the third quarter.

But the model will undoubtedly make its market return in a couple of years since the next-generation Audi A6 is scheduled to debut sometime early next year - probably at the Geneva auto show in March 2011.

Audi RS6 production coming to an end

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The first set of Fiat 500 models to be released in North America will be available only to fans of the brand who are members of the Fiat Lancia Unlimited club.  The announcement was made by Laura Soave, Fiat's North American chief, at the club's annual convention in Asheville, North Carolina.

Fiat 500 Prima Edizione announced for U.S. fans [video]

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New Hyundai compact hatch will be made in Brazil and be aimed primarily at the South American market.

The compact hatchback, referred to as the HB, is said to be smaller than the Accent model and is being developed primarily for the South American market to compete against the likes of the VW Gol and the Honda Fit. It will be built at Hyundai's Piracicaba plant in Brazil. Plans are to produce around 100,000 units a year.

Here are some leaked photos from AutoEsporte.com of an upcoming Hyundai hatchback model set to debut sometime in 2012.

Hyundai hatchback prototype leaked photos - ix Metro Concept

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Toyota is developing three new green models, according to a report by Automotive News.

The models are scheduled to be introduced in 2012. But not all three are entirely new or all-electric vehicles.

Toyota to launch three all-new green vehicles in 2012