Autoblog

Click the image above for more hi-res pics of the Ferrari Concept 2008

We realize that not everyone will agree with us on this one -- passions seem to run highest over the cars that the fewest number of people will drive -- but if the Ferrari California looked like this concept, we'd put down a deposit right now. Once someone else gave us the money to do so.

Sure, from the A-pillar forward is pure Maserati, and there's no way a front intake like that could or should make it onto a Ferrari. Still, it's a good looking front end, and we don't mind design elements going up as well as down. Besides, a couple of keystrokes can get a proper Ferrari nose in place.

But from the A-pillar to the rear... those are the kind of aggressive, subtle lines we like in our Ferraris. Which is not to say we don't like the California -- we just like this a little better... A coupe, please. That color.


[Source: Sefsdesign]

Well look at that, the quarter panel vent from the new Focus can look good! No need to complain yet that this is but another Ford we'll never see, as it may not happen on any continent. Auto Bild has gone to press with shots of a new Mercury Capri concept that is rumored to be the work of an extremely skilled PhotoChopper. We're also unsure if the details they cite about the car being a sub-3,000 pound 2+2 with 140-250 horsepower and a production date of 2012 are fanciful or rooted in truth, but none of that matters. This thing is off the hook to our puppy-dog enthusiastic eyes. Mercury has nothing badass in its lineup, and while it'd be weird to be proffering this car with KISS makeup next to an entire lineup of handsomized Fords, we think it might be a way for Ford to reel in some new blood to the brand. Just don't call it Cougar. Cougars drive Mercurys - though probably while smoking Capris. Call it whatever, just put it on sale.

[Source: carspyshots.net]

See that drawing in the right corner of the pic? That's an official VW render of the company's new pickup, internally called the Robust. It's hanging at an event called ExpoAgro in Argentina, where the truck will be built. The banner on the left says "The VW pickup for the field." VW isn't playing around with the model, either, having invested a billion pesos into its Pacheco factory to get ready for the vehicle's 2009 or 2010 launch.

The render presents a neat profile that looks low to the ground -- more ute than pickup really, much like the VW Rabbit pickup from almost three decades ago. We do find the rear sloping roof a bit odd, seeing that it would eat into quite a bit of bed space if the line continued into the bed. But it's just a render, so we don't want to read too much into it. With carmakers putting fake interiors in test mules nowadays, for all we know, the Robust render could also be a hat, or a brooch, or a pterodactyl.

[Source: Argentina Auto Blog]

click above for more rejected renderings of the Mercedes-Benz CLC

The new 2008 Mercedes-Benz CLC is the Stuttgart-based automaker's second recent attempt at making a hatchback version of the C-Class sedan work. The first-gen model was sold in the U.S. in small numbers, but we're not expecting the newly renamed CLC to make it across the pond for Yankee consumption. We're not sure U.S. consumers would take the bait a second time anyway. Though Mercedes claims it has 1,100 improvements, the new CLC is still based on the old C-Class architecture, and thus does not share underpinnings with the new C-Class on sale in the U.S. It basically looks like the first-gen model with the nose of the new C-Class grafted on.

But there reportedly were other designs being considered. These renderings show what the new CLC could have been, nearly all of which feature more dynamic designs than the one that eventually got the nod. Perhaps if the 2009 CLC came out of the oven wearing one of these shapes, the U.S. market would be more interested in Mercedes' newest hatch. Of note, however, is that we have no idea where Carscoop sourced these renderings, so they may not be official ones from Mercedes at all, but they sure do look the part.

[Source: Carscoop]

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport has unearthed sketches and renderings of the upcoming Alfa Junior. Yet another car they get over there, that we wish we could have over here. Automakers usually counter hatch lust with the party line that they're not popular in America, so we'll see what Alfa puts on the US bound boats.

Based on the Fiat Grande Punto's platform, the Junior will launch in 2008. The tightly-wrapped hatch bodywork will cover power units ranging from 95 to 230 horsepower, with all wheel drive also making an appearance on the option list. There's a tinge of Gremlin in the C-Pillar, in a very stylish manner that only the Italians (and maybe the French) could get away with. Since they're targeting the 18-30 year old buyer, look for the style to remain high while Alfa attempts to hold the price down to about $16,000. Should the Junior closehaul its way westward across the Atlantic, we'll have another stylish and affordable car to mix it up with the MINI.

[Source: Auto Motor und Sport]

Car Magazine has some interesting info on the upcoming high-performance STi version of the Subaru Impreza that it believes will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany this September. For one, the Impreza will only be offered as a five-door hatchback in Europe, unlike in the States where we'll also get a sedan. In addition, Car claims that Subaru will be killing the very popular WRX model in Europe, replacing it instead with a stripper version of this STi. The hope is that Subaru can convince more Euro folk to go for the non-turbocharged flat-four base models, which account for only 30% of Impreza sales in the UK at the moment.

The picture above shows the magazine's best guess at what the STi will look like, and their version is a bit more aggressive than the rendering we saw appear in Road & Track a couple of months ago, though the must-haves like a big rear wing, blistering fenders, gold wheels, a rally blue paint job and a hood scoop large enough to lose an arm in are present. We prefer the front clip on Cars' version to the R&T one, but both are just renderings and could still be different from the final version we see in Frankfurt.

Click the Read link to view more angles of the Car Magazine renderings.

[Source: Car Magazine via egmcartech]

Click to view in high-resolution

Automotive stylists draw up countless designs for every one that actually gets turned into a prototype, let alone goes into production. Those forsaken designs often fall into obscurity, never again to see the light of day. But some forty years later, one designer's ideas are being unearthed and sold to the highest bidder.

On June 19, British auction house H&H will be selling off no less than 34 original designs by Trevor Fiore, including concepts produced in the mid 1960's for Jaguar, Austin-Healy, Lancia, Alvis, Elva and Trident. The designs were evidently rejected, but the auctioneers hope to find loving homes for them at last.

Trevor Fiore was born Trevor Frost, but adopted his mother's Italian maiden name to help give him the clout to compete with the biggest of Italian design houses. He operated independently under the Fiore Design name during the 60's and 70's, before taking up position at the head of Citroen's design department in the 80's, after which he disappeared from the spotlight.

Follow the jump for the full press release, and click on the thumbnails below to view some of the design renderings up for auction.

[Source: H&H]

Click for gallery

Along comes Infomotori to throw accelerant on the raging fire of Dino speculation. The return of the Dino has been rumored far and wide, and we'd all love to see a Ferrari that may be a little more obtainable for us plebians. Andrea Rosati has dreamed up a car that looks an awful lot like what we've already seen in the form of the 420 Dino. One welcome change from 99% of Ferrari pictures out there is Rosati's use of giallo instead of the ubiquitous rosso. Speculative minds churning feverishly, Infomotori goes on to imagine a 300hp V6 displacing 3.0 liters offering up performance on par with the Porsche Boxster.

True or not, the idea of an entry-level Ferrari never fails to excite. It's not the flat-out performance, but the entire package. Sumptuous old-world interiors, unabashed style (sometimes good, sometimes bad, always engaging), glorious sounds from the machinery -- these cars are not about shuttling you around from chore to chore. Ferraris are about the the goods under the skin. We have no doubt that the new Dino will be the bottom of the range should it ever emerge, but there will be nothing cheap or second-rate about it. Every marque needs to have an entry point, and a Dino would likely be in $100,000 territory. Still, it'd be cheaper than its stablemates - and there is no such thing as a cheap Ferrari. A "project car" Mondial will still run you 10 grand.

[Source: Infomotori]

German car mag Autobild has just placed its bet on what BMW's future lineup will look like by the end of the decade. Leading off will be a new large hardtop convertible, a successor to the Z8 if you will. While Autobild's rendering is mostly speculation, it clearly identifies the car as a meaty two-seater with a traditional long hood, short rear deck design. BMW should buy the rights to this gorgeous pic and just build it as is. The following list is what Autobild claims to have learned about the Z8 successor.

• Targeted at Mercedes-Benz SL
• Priced from 80,000 to 100,000 Euro ($102,000 to $128,000 USD)
• Target weight of 3,300 lbs.
• 15,000 annual units for seven years beginning with 2010 launch
• Possible engines include a 3.0L turbo I6 with 306 hp, a 4.4L V8 turbo wtih 408 hp, the lauded 5.0L V10 with 507 HP and possibly a 6.3L V12 turbo making 605 hp
• M model planned

Follow the jump for lots more renderings of the next generation Z4 convertible, 3-Series convertible, X6 large sport utility vehicle and 7-Series sedan.

[Source: Autobild]