Autoblog

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People love older classic cars because of their excellent craftsmanship and timeless styling. Others prefer modern cars for their greatly enhanced safety, engineering and reliability. What about having their cake and eating it too with the benefits of both the old and new? Sounds great, but there are a few people out there who can afford to manage it. For those who can, Classic Reflection Coachworks (CRC) is there to build what its customers desire. In this particular case, we're looking at Corvettes, America's only classic sportscar. By classic, we mean that it's been built since the early '50s and has gone through six easily identifiable generations. One of those classic generations can be replicated on a much newer C5 chassis by CRC, and we've got lots of photos of the resulting transformation. Along the way, the original fiberglass body is replaced with a new carbon fiber shell, which was designed to look similar to a 1962 Vette. The cars you see in these photos belong to Keith Loyd from Scottsdale, Arizona. The black car will be auctioned off in a primetime spot at the upcoming Barret-Jackson auction, so if you belong to that rarefied group who will be bidding there, keep your eyes peeled for that.

[Source: Classic Reflection Coachworks via MotionParts]

Click the image above for a high-res gallery of pics.

The wraps are off of the new Citroen C5, and as with many designs hailing France; you either love it or loathe it. Naturally, the new model is stretched both in length and width, and comes equipped with Citroen's third-generation hydraulic suspension that adjusts on the fly, soaking up bumps in the pavement and firming up when the going gets twisty.

The C5 finds motivation from one of three different gasoline powerplants: either a 127 hp 1.8-liter four-cylinder, a 143 hp 2.0-liter four, or a 215 hp 3.0-liter V6. Diesel offerings include four different oil burners ranging from 110 hp to 208 hp in the new HDI V6.

The new Citroen C5 won't be officially unveiled until the Brussels Motor Show in January, with sales to begin later next year. All the details are available in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Citroen]

Citroen has already given us a taste of what to expect for its new C5 sedan with the unveiling of the C5 Airscape concept car at last week's Frankfurt Motor Show. The automaker is now planning to take the wraps off the real thing at a press event scheduled for the 18th of next month.

The car won't officially go on sale, however, until its world debut, most likely at the Brussels auto show in January. Citroen will release both a C5 sedan and wagon, but there's no word on whether a convertible version like the concept car will enter production. According to an inside source, product planners are conducting market research for an upmarket convertible that, if given the go ahead, could be on sale in 12 months time.

Some new technologies rumored to make it into the new C5 include a new traction control system, start-stop features and brake-energy regeneration. There could even be the brand's traditional hydro-pneumatic suspension or possibly a new air suspension set-up.

[Source: Automotive News - subs. req'd]

Click the image above for more high-res pics of the Citroën C5 Airscape Concept.

Among the many unveilings that have gotten shuffled to the back of our posting pack, the Citroën C5 Airscape Concept sits in a malaise of mundanity. But it is pretty, and although we'll never see it Stateside, it still may warrant a few clicks of your mouse to view the gallery below. We're particularly fond of the handles that integrate into the chrome accents of the doors and the 70s-chic seats. And while the canvas material covering the A-pillars is a nice touch to integrate with the soft top, we'd be worried about how they'll hold up after a few too many car washes.

We've got the entire press release on the Citroën C5 Airscape in our previous post, and our gallery has the goods below.

Citroën has officially released everything its got on the C5 Airscape Concept that leaked out a few days ago, and it turns out our guess that it incorporated a soft top beneath its tonneau cover was wrong. The C5 Airscape will actually shade its occupants with a folding hard top made out of lightweight, strong and certainly expensive carbon fiber.

Billed as an "executive cabriolet", the C5 Airscape is a four-seat hard-top convertible with expressive styling that looks less like a concept and more like a production ready prototype. Its length is accentuated by a sharp crease running the vehicle's length that also incorporates a strip of chrome acting as a door handle for both sets of doors. The cabin is covered in rich looking Chocolate Brown leather and reportedly features just as many chrome accents as the exterior, though Citroën didn't provide any interior shots.

The concept rides on unique 19-inch alloy wheels that are turned by a 2.7LHDi V6 engine producing 208bhp and augmented by what Citroen calls an 'UrbanHybrid' system. Much like the mild hybrid system used by GM, Citroën's set up incorporates a reversible alternator-starter and super capacitors that can both power accessory systems like the A/C and stereo, as well as give the diesel engine a shot of extra torque when needed.

The C5 Airscape will officially debut in Frankfurt next month and gives us a preview of the new C5 sedan, which we expect to meet next March in Geneva.

[Source: Citroën]

Rumblings that Citroen would be unveiling a new cabrio concept at next month's Frankfurt Motor Show have been confirmed after a series of images leaked out from a Citroen-specific forum. The pictures of the C-Airscape look authentic enough, with a highly stylized front clip, expansive windshield and what we're assuming is a soft-top tucked beneath a toneau cover. We're particularly partial to the swage-line that incorporates the door handles into one elongated piece of chrome.

The cabrio version will likely foretell the future of the C5 sedan, which is expected to make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

[Source: Planete-Citroen via Carscoop]

click above image for a photo your of the National Corvette Museum

April 26-28, 2007, hundreds of Corvette owners flocked to the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green Kentucky. The occasion was the C5-C6 Bash, a festival celebrating the latest two versions of the American sports car that started it all. Corvette-ifosi were also there to witness the unveiling of the 2008 Corvette and register their approval or approbation. When not ogling the new car or any of the hundreds of other souped up Corvettes that made the journey, Bash-goers could wander the halls and pay homage to Zora Arkus-Duntov's remains, which are kept behind glass in a wall in the museum. And that's only the beginning.

Click through the jump to read the story and do yourself a favor by viewing the high-res gallery, which as good a guided tour as your're going to get without visiting the National Corvette Museum yourself.

After releasing a slew of new models, French auto group PSA is turning its attention to the C5, Citroen's mainstream family sedan. A test mule was just caught testing on the highway in France, giving a face to the long list of details already known about the upcoming Citroen.

The C5 will be underpinned by an all-new platform with a longer wheelbase than the model it replaces. That means more room for Jacques and Jeanne plus extra luggage space so you can fit in those super-long baguettes. Power comes from a range of engines including Citroen's new 173-hp 2.2-liter HDI and 2.7-liter V6 diesel co-developed with Ford, as well as a whole menu of conventional gasoline engines with a 3-liter V6 leading the charge up the Bastille. The front wheels are driven through a choice of manual, automatic or semi-automatic transmissions while the new car will ride on a cushy new air suspension.

[Source: Auto Express]