Autoblog

According to AutoTelegraaf, the image above is the first official picture of the Porsche Panamera, showing the new four-door "coupe" in all its oddly proportioned glory. The Dutch pub released the image and details on the sedan after Auto Motor und Sport supposedly broke the Monday embargo. More details will be released late Sunday night, but in the meantime, let's look at the reported specs.

The Porsche Panamera Gran Turismo is 16.3 feet long, 6.3 feet wide and 4.66 feet tall, with a wheelbase of 9.6 feet. Weight hasn't been disclosed, but its roughly two tons. The most striking detail on the profile shot is the indentations leading from the front fenders, aft of the wheels, into the doors, but the jury is still out on the Panamera's bulbous back end. The slippery shape and low profile gives the sedan a drag coefficient of 0.29, while an electronically actuated rear spoiler will keep things planted at speed.

An electronic air suspension is part of the package, along with an LSD, and power can be sent to either the rear wheels, or all four, depending on the trim level. Motivation will be provided by a range of engines, beginning with 3.6-liter V6 putting out 300 hp, and continuing upwards with the 400 hp, 4.8-liter V8 Panamera S and the Panamera Turbo, packing a twin-turbocharged version of the same bent eight putting out an estimated 500 hp. Power will be sent to Porsche's new PDK dual-clutch gearbox and although a diesel model has been ruled out, a V6-hybrid variant with 350 hp will come along at a later date.

Porsche aims to sell approximately 20,000 units of the Panamera each year, with the automaker estimating that 20% will be the range-topping Turbo model. The Panamera will only be available in S and Turbo guises at launch, with the V6 model following shortly thereafter. Once established, Porsche hopes demand will increase to 50,000 units annually, with sales beginning in the U.S., Europe and Asia next year. Thanks for the tip, Jelle!

UPDATE: More photos have surfaced.


[Source: AutoTelegraaf]

Although we've already seen the Audi Q5 in a variety of forms after its initial unveiling in Beijing this past July, the four-ringers decided to finally show off their cute 'ute in North America for the first time at the LA Auto Show. The compact(ish) CUV is packing the award-winning 2.0-liter TFSI gasoline engine putting out 211 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque through the seven-speed, dual-clutch S tronic transmission, and Audi is quick to point out that with a drag coefficient of just 0.33 and a turbocharged four, the Q5 will be one of the most fuel-efficient offerings in its class. Check the galleries below for more and see our previous post for all the details.

We just got off the phone with one of our sources inside the Source Interlink monolith who informed us that some of Sport Compact Car's staff was laid off yesterday and that the February issue may be the last SCC you'll find on newsstands. The death of SCC follows Source Interlink's execution of Turbo earlier this year, and reports suggest that 115 employees inside the company have been given the boot and more titles could be axed in the future.

Sport Compact Car was the go-to title for gearheads obsessed with small displacement engines, forced induction, number crunching and the black arts of ECU and suspension tuning, with a dedicated focus on down-and-dirty tech, unique reviews, stellar writing and going fast on a budget. Both the page count and circulation numbers have dropped over the last five years, although according to our sources, ad revenue was up and distribution was holding steady.

On a personal note, SCC was the magazine that got this scribe hooked on driving and the finer points of air-to-fuel ratios, provided me with my first freelance gig and inspired me – primarily through the writings of Dave Coleman, Josh Jacquot, Mike Kojima, Andy Hope, James Tate, John Pearley Huffman and Jared Holstein, among many others – to pursue my dream of writing about cars. SCC will be sorely missed and the world is truly a worse place without it.

Hit the jump to see a list of everyone who has made Sport Compact Car possible over the last two decades.

UPDATE: We've gotten word that Truck Trend has also been canned. According to our commentators on the inside of Truck Trend, the mag hasn't been cancelled -- it's being "restructured."

We don't know how we missed this, but earlier this year DC Designs – the car-creator founded by Dilip Chhabria – unveiled the DC Ambierod at the 2008 New Delhi Auto Expo. The coupe was supposedly inspired by the Hindustan Ambassador, on which the Ambierod is based, and Chhabria wanted to create the Indian equivalent of the Holden Efijy concept from 2005. In short, he failed – hardly a surprise considering the wannabe Roller/350Z and the $375,000 Cayenne coupe that DC concocted in previous years.

If you can avoid dwelling on the Ambierod's awkward ends and bulbous greenhouse, you can enter the plush interior through a set of hydraulically actuated gull-wing doors. The exterior's pseudo-retro theme is dropped in favor of a tech-laden interior, with a handful of LCD screens, a wireless internet connection, multi-colored mood lighting and room for rear-seat occupants, including a foot-rest occupying the space where the front-seat passenger would normally sit.

Production rumors have been circulating since the Ambierod's introduction, but we think that's about as plausible as the coupe's claimed 3.7-second sprint to 60. If the Ambierod does hit the market, expect the V12-powered coupe to crest the $1,000,000 mark. Thanks for the tip, Raul!


[Source: Domain-B, MotorBeam]

This week our guest writer/driving guide is none other than Jonny Lieberman of AutoFiends fame. Not only has the Loverman put together a route to test your testicular wherewithal, but he's set the bar for rhetorical prose -- all from behind the wheel of a Mazda5. Take it away Jonny!

When most Americans think of Malibu, they probably think of fires and landslides. And they're correct -- there's lots of those. They might also know about the fantastic roads that crisscross the seaside city and the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area that separates the beach bum town of about 12,000 from the Valley. Like Mulholland Highway. But what most people fail to realize is how epically weird the area and its inhabitants are. Example: King Camp Gillette bought 588 acres right in the heart of today's drive just before the Great Depression. Not only did Gillette invent the razor you shaved with this morning, but he believed that all Americans should live in a single city called Metropolis with power provided by Niagra Falls. No, really. Moreover, every corporation would be headed up and run by a single government official. After Teddy Roosevelt declined Gillette's suggestion, King G moved to Malibu Canyon. When he died, Clarence Brown got the ranch, then Bob Hope took over the property and gave it over to the Catholic Church, which ran a seminary on the property for 25 years. This is before Elizabeth Claire Prophet got her hands on the land in 1978. Who? Her and her late husband founded one of the original crack-pot new age California religions, TSL. And this is just one plot of land. It gets better...

Want to contribute your own Sunday Drive? Send a Google Maps-formatted route and, if you wish, a story to autoblogsundaydrive – at – gmail – dawt – com.

InsideLine hosted a little soirée for Nissan/Datsun devotees to show off the 2009 Nissan 370Z ahead of its unveiling this Tuesday at the LA Auto Show, and the crew from StreetFire was on hand to provide some pics and a video of the reveal.

Beyond the trio of teasers and "leaked" images that found their way onto the Web this past week, these new shots finally give us a clear view of all the exterior styling details and a few shots of the thoroughly revised interior. The upkick in the door's edge that leads into the side windows is a particularly nice touch, as is the new steering wheel, revised instrument panel with integrated LCD and dual stitching on the leather dash.

More details and pics to come, so be sure to check back tonight for all the techy tidbits. In the meantime, check out the gallery below and the video after the jump.


[Source: StreetFire]

Within 20 minutes of taking delivery of a Pontiac Solstice GXP last year, we were on our way to our local shop to see what mods could be done to the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-pot. With 260 hp and a claimed 260 lb-ft of torque (our dyno run showed around 250 lb-ft of twist at the wheels), the Solstice is hardly lacking for grunt, and when we finally got around to driving the Chevrolet Cobalt SS, we were sure that the new engine would be embraced by power-hungry tuners in short order.

Scotia, NY-based Synapse Turbo has taken up the task and created a bolt-on kit for the Cobalt SS that puts out 371 hp and 383 lb-ft of torque. From what we can gather based on forum postings and the video after the jump, the Stage 3 kit consists of a Garrett GT2871R turbo, stainless steel 4-1 exhaust manifold, three-inch downpipe, three-inch intake, TurboXS BOV, a new intercooler and aluminum plumbing. ECU tweaks were provided by the HP Tuner system and redline has been raised to 6,700 rpm. We're itching to get some time behind the wheel, if for no other reason than to see if our wrists can cope with the torque steer, but until then, the video below the fold will have to do.


[Source: MotiveMag]

Nissan is planning not one, but two, separate events to reveal the new Nissan 370Z to a select group of gearheads ahead of its unveiling next week at the LA Auto Show. But Nissan's worst-kept secret keeps leaking out. So in addition to a handful of teasers, a few game-play screen caps and a trio of spy shots, GTRWorld has seven pics of Nissan's newest Z car out in the open.

While the new head- and tail-lamp treatments have garnered the most attention, a few elements haven't been in clear view until now. The slight indentation in the roof matches the revised hood, while the shortened hatch and new bumper eschews the outgoing model's harsh creases for a more bulbous back end. Inside, the rear strut tower brace that seriously compromised the 350Z's trunk space has been moved just aft of the doors and everything in the engine bay looks ready for production. Check the images in the gallery below for more.


[Source: GTR-World]

The German uber-tuners at 9ff have come to the conclusion that 253 mph just isn't fast enough, so work is currently underway on a hotter version of its GT9 supercar.

The "standard" GT3-based 9ff GT9 puts out 973 hp and 711 lb-ft of torque, but with a few tweaks to the ECU and a slight increase in boost pressure, the 4.2-liter flat-six will be putting out 1,120 hp and 774 lb-ft of twist. The chopped roof, lengthened body and widened haunches will carry over to the GT9R, but a new front fascia, splitter, wheel well extractors, brake cooling ducts, roof-mounted air scoop and wing will be added to the package. There's no word on what 9ff plans to do with the GT9R, but don't be surprised if it hits the circuit next year.


[Source: 9ff via Supercars.net]

From our friends at the Axis of Oversteer comes a story of determination, fortitude, and a healthy dose of Darwinian law.

With less than a mile left in a stage of the Ralley de Serrians in France, the throttle cable in our hero's Renault finally gives up the ghost. Does he give up? No! Does the team try to push their way to the finish? Hell no! The driver tells his co-pilot to man the wheel while he hops into the engine bay, pulls the hood over himself and then manually controls the throttle cable bracket to a heroic finish. The picture above speaks for itself, but the video after the jump tells the whole tale.

[Source: Axis of Oversteer]