New Sporty-Flavored Ford Focus Zetec S Introduced in Britain

With the 250-horsepower Focus ST not due to land in British showrooms until the summer of 2012, Ford decided to warm up enthusiasts with a somewhat sportier flavored series of its five-door hatchback model bearing the "Zetec S" nameplate.

While there are no engine upgrades, the Focus Zetec S offers a sportier exterior appearance through a body kit that includes front and rear spoilers with lower sill extensions along with rear LED tail lamps and new 17in alloy wheels.

The interior is upgraded with a different trim, sport seats, aluminium-style pedals and a Ford Power starter button.

Perhaps the most important change is the lowered sports suspension with stiffened springs and dampers that promise to improve the car's handling.

UK buyers can choose from four engines including the 1.6-litre 115PS TDCi and 2.0-litre 163PS TDCi diesels, and the 1.6-litre 125PS Ti-VCT and 1.6-litre 180PS EcoBoost petrols.

The 180-horsepower version of the Focus Zetec S offers a top speed of 138mph (222 km/h), reaches 0-62mph (100km/h) in 7.9sec and emits 139g/km of CO2.

The Zetec S models carry a £1,250 premium over the equivalent Zetec derivatives, with prices starting from £18,745 on the road.

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Honda UK Confirms Production of Supercharged

As we rightfully suspected when Honda revealed the Mugen CR-Z RR Study at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2011 earlier in the summer, the Japanese carmaker confirmed a production version of its hotted-up hybrid sport hatch that will go on sale in Britain next spring.

And for those of you wondering, unfortunately, Honda has no plans to offer the car in other markets – at least for the time being.

The production model is named CR-Z iCF and it has been developed in partnership with Mugen's European arm. At the heart of the car lies a modified version of the CR-Z's 1.5-liter hybrid powertrain that gains a supercharger, a new induction system and a reprogrammed ECU.

As a result of these upgrades, the CR-Z iCF has almost 50 per cent more power than the standard car at 175PS (equal to 173HP and 177bhp) and can sprint from zero to 62mph (100km/h) in just 6.1 seconds or 3 seconds quicker than the regular 124PS CR-Z.

In addition to the power boost, Mugen will also retune the chassis and modify the appearance of the CR-Z inside and out.

Martin Moll, Head of Honda UK's marketing division commented: "MUGEN Euro magic has created a super responsive yet eco-conscious model building on our sporting credentials and giving us the ability to compete in the "hot hatch" marketplace as we move into 2012."

Honda said that it is still working on the pricing but it expects the CR-Z iCF to start from around £24,000 (approx. US$37,300 or €27,990). More details are to be released closer to the launch date.

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2012 Hyundai Santa Fe Modestly Refreshed in Australia

While Hyundai's engineers are working on the development of the next generation of the Santa Fe, which may carry the iX45 moniker in select regions, the Korea firm is presenting a 2012 model year version of the crossover with some very subtle cosmetic and equipment upgrades in Australia.

On the outside, the 2012MY Santa Fe gains a front skid plate with matching rear skid plate, both painted in silver, and a chrome tailgate garnish. In addition, on the Elite and Highlander trim models, the roof racks and the fog lamp surrounds are now finished in a black piano color, while the Highlander also gets perforated leather seats and redesigned 18-inch alloy wheels.

The discrete styling changes are accompanied by the addition of the Down-Hill Brake Control (DBC), which helps the driver to maintain vehicle control on steep downhill descent, on all versions sans the entry SLX manual.

And that about sums up all the miniscule changes to the Australian market 2012MY Santa Fe which continues with two powertrain options, the 2.2-litre CRDi diesel engine with all-wheel drive, and the 3.5-litre V6 Lambda petrol engine with front-wheel drive only.

There are no changes in pricing with the 3.5L FWD starting from AU$36,990 and the 2.2L AWD diesel from AU$37,990.

Subaru BRZ Makes its Debut,

The production versions of the jointly developed Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 twins are making their world premiere today at the Tokyo Motor Show.

We’ve already brought you the news on the BRZ, but for those of you interested, Subaru has unleashed a promotional video as well as a second round of pictures including the very first images of the coupe's interior that is identical to the 86 right up to the digital clock that brings back memories of the go-go 1980s. Oddly, Toyota and Subaru ditched the cassette player…

As a reminder, the BRZ runs on very low mounted 2.0-liter flat-four with direct-injection technology and an output of 200 ponies that are directed to the rear wheels through a choice of 6-speed transmissions (manual and automatic).

Sales of Subaru's 2+2 seater coupe will start next spring.

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Audi Pays Tribute to Japanese National Soccer Team

Tagging along with the new A1 Sportback five-door hatchback at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show booth, is a one-off A1 SAMURAI BLUE special dedicated to the Japanese national soccer team.

The A1 special is based on the three-door model with the 122HP 1.4 TFSI petrol engine and features the team's traditional blue and white colors accentuated by the red of the Japanese flag. It rides on unique 18-inch wheels painted in red.

As for the interior, the A1 SAMURAI BLUE gets a pair of body-hugging sports seats with special graphics on the back and contrasting stitching in blue, plus corresponding accents for the air vent nozzles, inlays, center console and floor mats.

Audi says that it plans to sell the Tokyo Motor Show A1 SAMURAI BLUE as a one-off model and donate part of the proceeds to a charity. However, the German automaker noted that a limited edition version based on the SAMURAI BLUE project car will go on sale in 2012.

An Audi A1 Limited Edition is also planned to sell in 2012, with its design based on

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Japan gets Special Edition Versions of Mazda Demio hatch

Mazda's Japanese division has rolled out two new special edition models, one based on its Demio sub-compact, which is known as the Mazda2 in overseas markets, and the other on the Verisa, a tall hatchback based on the previous generation Demio / Mazda2 that was launched in 2004 and is available exclusively in Japan.

Built to commemorate Mazda selling 2 million units of the Mazda2/Demio worldwide, the Demio '13-SKYACTIV Smart Stylish' is exclusively available with a Clear Water Blue Metallic exterior body and special seat trim with red piping. Other features include dark tinted glass, a keyless entry & start system with two advanced keys.

The Japanese firm's second special edition is the Verisa CLASSY STYLE that is offered in two flavors, front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, both equipped with a 1.5-liter gasoline engine linked to a four-speed automatic transmission

Buyers can choose from three exterior colors Clear Water Blue Metallic (exclusive to this edition), Crystal White Pearl Mica and Radiant Ebony Mica, while the interior is trimmed in bespoke sand beige seats with leather side supports.

Additionally, the exterior is fitted with a special "Dress-up package" that includes chrome trim for the front grille, front bumper, rear bumper, side sills and tail gate, plus a standard Auto-light system, water repellant coating on the front door windows and mirrors, an exhaust pipe finisher and front fog lights with chrome bezels. Finally, the special edition Verisa rides on 15-inch alloy wheels wrapped in 185/55R15 81V tires.

Pricing in Japan is set at 1,470,000 Yen (U$18,995) for the Demio special, 1,640,000 Yen (US$21,150) for Verisa FWD and 1,829,000 Yen (US$23,600) for the Verisa AWD.

MAZDA DEMIO '13-SKYACTIV SMART STYLISH'

MAZDA VERISA VERISA CLASSY STYLE