Peugeot SXC concept car (2011)

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Peugeot SXC concept car (2011) first official pictures

By Tim Pollard

First Official Pictures

14 April 2011 09:00

Peugeot will show this SXC crossover concept at next week’s 2011 Shanghai auto show. It’s a large hybrid 4x4 designed in Peugeot’s Chinese styling studio and shows a few pointers for how a future crossover could look. We’ll take that to mean the next 4007 then.

China is a growing market for Peugeot, which expects to sell 200,000 cars there in 2011. It’s launching the new 508 family model there this month, to sell alongside the 207, 308, 408, 3008 and RCZ.

Peugeot SXC crossover: the lowdown

The SXC is 4870mm long, 1610mm tall and 2035mm wide, making it as big as a BMW X5, although it sits a handspan lower to the tarmac. It sounds suspiciously like a future crossover to replace the Mitsu-Franco Peugeot 4007 and Citroen C-Crosser, which was essentially a shortcut to a 4x4 for the French brands. Peugeot only sold 309 in the UK last year.

This new concept car looks infinitely tastier than a rebadged Mitsubishi Outlander. The Peugeot SXC adopts the latest Pug family look with sweptback headlamps, scalloped flanks and a generally sleeker, more aerodynamic look than the pudgier Peugeots of the past decade.

Note a couple of details: the LED front headlamps are especially narrow, and the boomerang motif in the rear lamps recalls those famous Maser lights. Being a concept car, the door mirrors are swapped for higher-tech rear-view cameras, naturellement, and the SXC rolls on 22in alloys.

Chevrolet Malibu (2012)

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Chevrolet Malibu (2012) first official pictures

By Mark Hamilton

First Official Pictures

15 April 2011 10:24

This is the new 2012 Chevrolet Malibu - an executive-sized four-door saloon aimed at the US. But this one could come to Europe and the UK, as a halo car for the Chevrolet brand, CAR understands.

The Chevy Malibu is a US market car. Why release it in Shanghai, not New York?

Previous generations of the Malibu have indeed been primarily for US market consumption. However, as GM seeks to create a global Chevrolet product line out of its mixture of Korean- and America-developed models, the Malibu will now be sold globally.

The new Malibu will replace the Chevrolet Epica model in most markets. And it'll be engineered for right-hand drive, making UK sales possible.

Audi A3 hatch, Sportback and saloon (2012)

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Audi A3 hatch, Sportback and saloon (2012) sketches

By Tim Pollard

First Official Pictures

15 April 2011 11:19

Audi has released a batch of official design sketches revealing the new 2012 Audi A3. This is our first glimpse of the new A3 hatch, A3 Sportback and A3 saloon. There will be another A3 cabriolet, but no renderings have been issued yet.

This is the planned roll-out of the new third-generation Audi A3 range, starting at the 2012 Geneva motor show:

• A3 three-door hatch, 2012
• A3 Sportback five-door hatch, 2012
• A3 saloon, 2013
• A3 cabrio, 2012
• A3 Allroad Quattro, date tbc

What else do we know about the new Audi A3?

The A3 hatch will be lower and sleeker than today's car. We'd heard that before we saw this OTT sketch, which is presumably designed to communicate its sportier brief. Internally Ingolstadt types have dubbed it the Shortback. An S3 performance version will be available while an RS3 has been worked upon although not yet approved.

The A3 Sportback will stick with its taller, roomier brief, whereas the saloon - called Slantback by insiders - is positioned more as a saloon/four-door coupe mash-up. The cabrio will be based on the notchback, not the hatch.

Citroen DS5 (2011)

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Citroen DS5 (2011) first official pictures

By Ben Pulman

First Official Pictures

18 April 2011 10:30

This is the Citroen DS5, the third addition to Citroen’s 21st century DS-badged range. Set to be unveiled at the 2011 Shanghai motor show tomorrow, this crossover is the Citroen DS5 White Pearl, a tag that designates that a few of the exterior and interior detailings are just for show. However, what you see before you is essentially the same DS5 that will go on sale in the UK at the end of 2011.

So what exactly is the new Citroen DS5?

A crossover, in the simplest terms. Just as the DS4 rides a little higher than the C4, so the DS5 sits higher than the C5 saloon – the DS5 is 4.52m long and 1.85m wide, making it longer and narrower than the C5. To our eyes, it’s pretty smart and sleek, with DS design cues like the scalloped air intakes in the front bumper.

There’s a hatchback boot, seating for five inside, plus a driver-orientated cockpit with an array of overhead switches, a head-up display and button-laden centre console. It looks good.

The DS5 is the first Citroen model to feature PSA’s Hybrid4 technology – we’ve already seen the diesel hybrid powertrain in the Peugeot 3008 and 508. The clever set-up combines a 163bhp 2.0-litre HDi engine to drive the front wheels, and a 37bhp electric motor to turn the rear axle. The result is a front-, rear- or four-wheel drive Citroen, with CO2 emissions of 99g/km, plus the ability to run electric power alone.

Nissan Leaf Nismo RC (2011)

Nissan Leaf Nismo RC (2011) first official pictures

By Mark Hamilton

First Official Pictures

18 April 2011 11:09

This is the new Leaf Nismo RC, a competition concept using the Leaf's EV drivetrain which will debut at the 2011 New York motor show.

Nissan Leaf Nismo RC: is it radio-controlled? It looks like an R/C racer...

It's not a mini model racer, despite having a composite body, battery pack and electric motor – the RC stands for Racing Competition. Nismo (Nissan's motorsports arm) and Nissan's Global Design Centre in Japan have treated the Leaf to a full carbonfibre monocoque chassis and body panels. The front and rear sections lift off to reveal the bespoke suspension components and give access to the EV drive system. That huge rear wing is driver-adjustable from the cockpit.

Volkswagen Beetle (2011)

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Volkswagen Beetle (2011) first official pictures

By Mark Hamilton

First Official Pictures

18 April 2011 13:00

After 11 long years on sale the New Beetle is dead – its successor is this, The Beetle. We'll just call it the new 2011 VW Beetle.

2011 VW Beetle: trading flower-power for outlaw rodder

Wider, lower and longer, the 2011 Beetle abandons its predecessors three semi-circle styling for the flat-roof look of 2005’s hot rod-inspired Ragster concept.

At the front, the Beetle adopts the corporate horizontal intake styling and a more angular front bumper melded with a less curvaceous evolution of the 1998 New Beetle styling template.

The flattening of the New Beetle's curves continues in profile and at the rear we see a standard integrated spoiler below the rear window. More complex tail-light clusters fit with the current corporate style book, while overall the Beetle is a more aggressive, masculine design. 

Kia K2 (2011)

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Kia K2 (2011) - it's the Rio saloon for China

By Tim Pollard

First Official Pictures

19 April 2011 04:00

Kia is developing a four-door saloon version of the new Rio supermini, dubbed K2 and revealed today at the 2011 Shanghai motor show.

The Kia K2 has been developed specifically for the Chinese market and there are no plans - even in the long run - to bring it to the UK, according to a UK spokesman.

Kia K2: looks like an Optima!

The K2 uses the architecture of the Rio family, but the stylists make no apologies for its riffing on the Optima theme.

It's 4370mm long and Kia claims the longest wheelbase in class for better packaging. There's certainly no arguing with 500 litres of boot space on a B-segment supermini saloon.