Autoblog

Sporting a subtle IMSA-flared look, Audi's new V10-powered RS6 sedan has been caught while testing in Scandinavia. It looks pretty much like a finished car when it comes to styling and packaging - the lack of camouflage really allows you to see the more muscular elements like flared fenders, a more aggressive fascia, and a diffuser in the rear. With the brake calipers carrying RS6 badging outside, and the seats doing the same for the interior, it's going to be tough for anyone to miss the RS6 should they be dense enough to miss the obviously beefed up styling. Perhaps, though, the best place for the logo would have been in the taillight lenses, as that's pretty much all other drivers will ever see of this car. The V10 lays down ridiculous numbers in the RS6 Avant, and we'd expect nothing less from the sedan when it debuts later this year. We won't look for the roof mounted driving light set in the accessory catalog, though.

[Source: World Car Fans]

It's handy to work next door to Honda's US Headquarters if your goal is to snag pictures of future models. A user from the Temple of VTEC forums named Tyson grabbed a couple shots of what's believed to be the 2009 Acura TSX. He'd been seeing the silver sedan for a few days, and was finally able to think quickly and grab the camera phone. What we know as the Acura TSX is the rest of the world's Honda Accord. Being their bread and butter sedan, Honda's not gone out on a limb here, but what we can make out is a pleasing evolution from the current TSX/Euro Accord. Having experienced the cavernous new Accord, we find the TSX a bit more "right-sized" when you think in terms of sports sedans. Hopefully, sporty moves will be delivered by Honda's SH-AWD hardware, with the RDX's turbo-fed mill providing the twist -- at least that's what we're praying for. Production is expected to start later this year.

[Source: VTEC.net]

With its Le Mans racing program soon to be bolstered by GT2 and LMP1 entries, and with sales of its ever-so-desirable GTs ever increasing, Aston Martin is preparing to add the four-door Rapide to its production line-up. And if this spy shot is any indication, things seem to be moving along nicely.

Aston was anticipated to decide by year's end where the Rapide would be built. Although the company just moved to a new facility in Gaydon, the automaker was reportedly in discussions with a number of smaller contractors – including Pininfarina, Karmann, Magna-Steyr and Valmet – over potentially outsourcing the Rapide's manufacturing. As we already know, these private coachbuilders are all in dire need of the contract.

Confirmation that Aston would build the Rapide was one of the first things its new owners did after acquiring the company from Ford, and we're looking forward to seeing the production version in the flesh after seeing this spy shot.

[Source: The Hollywood Extra]

Back in September, BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer announced an ambitious plan to increase production to 1.8 million vehicles by 2012 and to 2 million units by 2020. To reach those goals, BMW is planning several new niche models, including what it referred to as a "Progressive Activity Sedan". But while little in the way of details for the PAS were revealed at the time, a video has surfaced revealing a test mule for the car, which will be based on the next 5-Series with a fastback body-style.

The PAS is anticipated to slot between the 5-Series sedan and 5-Series wagon, with five seats and a hatchback rear end. Currently undergoing testing, the PAS is expected to go into production in 2009 or 2010 after an unveiling as a concept either at the Paris show later this year or in Detroit a year from now. Check out the video after the jump.

[Source: Autocar via Carscoop]

Anyone who knows hot hatches knows that Renault is king. While other championship-winning automakers put their racing experience into six-figure supercars, Renaultsport puts its into grocery-haulers to turn out such splendidly chuckable pocket-rockets as the Clio 197 and Megane 225. Evidently firmly entrenched in the belief that good things come in small packages, Renault's performance racing division is turning its attention to the company's latest – and smallest – little Euro-runner, the redesigned Twingo.

These candid spy shots show that the Twingo has clearly been hitting the gym, with flared wheel arches and new bumpers. Power is tipped to come from a reworked version of the Twingo GT's 1.2-liter turbocharged four, massaged to produce 120 hp, 20 more than stock and hitting the magic 100-horsepower-per-liter mark. That'd be good for a 0-60 run in about 8.5 seconds, and with an anticipated UK price tag of around £12,500 it'd make a solid competitor to the likes of the Suzuki Swift Sport, Fiat Panda 100HP and Ford SportKa.

Speculation says it will be unveiled at the upcoming Geneva show in March, and based on the apparent readiness seen in the spy shots, we'd call that a good bet and will bring you more from the show floor in three months' time.

[Source: Auto Express]

With the Clio and Laguna having recently undergone complete replacement, Renault is now turning its attention to its middle range, and the automotive paparazzi have caught camouflaged mules undergoing testing on the open road.

Scheduled to bow at next September's Paris show, the third-generation Megane is expected to do away with the current model's sharp creases in favor of a smoother silhouette. The spy shots show that the current Megane's distinctive upright curved rear glass will give way to a more streamlined greenhouse, drawing on the lines of the new Laguna sedan. The range is anticipated to include three-door and five-door hatches, an estate wagon, a two-door coupe and a hardtop convertible. The new Megane's normally-aspirated 1.4-liter base engine is expected to be replaced by the Clio's 1.2-liter turbo, but otherwise the engines should carry over from the current model's, ranging all the way to the 225-horsepower turbo Renaultsport version.

[Source: Auto Express]

Earlier we brought you a screen shot of Citroen's website that features a countdown meter until the French automaker unveils its latest vehicle. Although we'll have to wait another couple of days to know for certain, the replacement for the Berlingo utility minivan is shaping up as a strong contender for the slot, with an undisguised photo of the new vehicle surfacing on the internet.

The Berlingo, also badged as the Partner by PSA sister-company Peugeot, has been on the market since 1996 and received a facelift in 2002. Competing with the new Renault Kangoo that was unveiled at last September's Frankfurt show, the little vans are a common site overseas where their utility and compact size prove a popular combination.

[Source: World Car Fans]

Overseas customers anxiously awaiting the upcoming entry-level model from Alfa Romeo have a little teaser to hold them over. The replacement for the three-door version of the long-in-the-tooth Alfa 147 is expected to debut at the Geneva show this coming March, but this is the first time we've actually seen it.

Unfortunately, all we can see is a bit of the front and rear bumpers, but like an unguarded celebrity pop idol getting out of a car, a little glimpse can be worth a lot. All that can be seen from the front shot is a fog-light flanking the front air dam, but the red cover betrays the iconic Alfa shield grille underneath. Around back is a better view of an intriguing overlapping double-oval exhaust peering out from what little rear overhang there is.

No word yet on whether the Junior (or whatever it will be called after Alfa bailed on its own online naming campaign) will eventually make it over the pond as part of the company's return to the American market, but we'll be on hand in Switzerland for the unveiling in three months.

[Source: Autoblog.it]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that, but it'd take something really spectacular to make a car like the Maserati Quattroporte look anything but elegant. The company's new GranTurismo, itself based on the sedan, managed to do a good job of making its four-door stable-mate pale by comparison, so it should come as no big surprise that the Trident marque is preparing a mid-cycle facelift.

According to these spy shots, the bulk of the visual updates will be on the front, where the grille, (all but non-existent) bumper and headlights are tipped to be reshaped. Also expect a few minor changes to the rear bumper, but that should about do it.

Don't mess too much with a beautiful thing, Maser.

[Source: EVO]

Nah. Highly unlikely. In your dreams. That's what the folks at Toyota said as I handed the keys to the MR-S V-Edition back to them earlier this year and asked if Toyota had another mid-engined sports car on the drawing board.

So what, pray tell, is this litle number spotted on the back of a Toyota transporter near Nagoya earlier this summer? Toyota is keeping mum, but could this be another prototype from the Committee to create Interesting Cars? Let's hope so.

[Source: BestCar magazine]