Scoop: Lincoln Filmed Trying Out 2016 MKS Test Mule

The question that seems to be lingering on the lips of anybody working at Lincoln for the past, well, let's just say few decades, is "are we there yet?" The Blue Oval's sole premium or near premium brand has tried to rejuvenate itself over and over again, but without any success.

No thanks in part to the botched launch of the all-new MKZ, Lincoln's sales in 2013 are down 23.7 percent to just 15,899 units (January through March) over last year, when at the same time, Ford recorded a 12.4 percent increase to 582,584 deliveries.

Read more »

Scoop: GM Begins Testing Mule for New Opel Antara and Chevrolet Captiva SUVs

As modern as it may still look on the outside, after seven years in the market, the five-seater Opel / Vauxhall Antara compact SUV (sold as the Saturn Vue Mk2 before GM shut down the brand in 2010) is showing its age and is in need for a replacement.

The same applies to its more conservatively styled seven-seater Chevrolet sibling, the Captiva, and of course, Holden Australia's versions of the two models, the Captiva 5 (Antara) and 7.

Read more »

Topless Toyota FT-86 Shown With it Roof Up Via Patent Papers

The Toyota GT-86 is quite successful in its styling, and while some may criticize bits of it at a time, the consensus seems to be that it looks good. This poses a challenge for the engineers behind the car, when turning the coupe into the FT-86, which is the soft-top convertible version.

Keep in mind that aside from the roof having to be strong, durable, not leak and not take up much space in the trunk, it must also not upset the car's lines when it's deployed.

Read more »

Spy Shots: BMW Puts 5-Series Gran Turismo Under the Knife

There's so much you can do to improve the looks of a car like the 5-Series Gran Turismo (GT), and judging by these latest spy photos, BMW isn't really in the mood for any extensive modifications for the car's mid-life update.

Instead, the exterior refresh simply tweaks the front and rear bumpers along with the respective light clusters, and possibly the grille, bringing all these elements in line with BMW's more recent presentations like the F30 3-Series and the F20 1-Series. Understandably, the same will apply to the rest of the 5-Series range, the sedan and Touring models.

Read more »

Spied: New BMW i3 Drops More Camo, See it Side to Side With the Concept

The clock is ticking for the presentation of the first production model of BMW's newly formed "i" sub-brand, the i3 supermini that will be followed by the more expensive and upscale i8 sports coupe. Sales of the i3 hatchback are scheduled to start in the first quarter next year with BMW to offer the car with standard plug-in electric or optional range extender-assisted, electric-drive powertrains.

In these fresh spy shots that landed in our email box today, the i3 has shed sections of the swirly disguise from glasshouse and the front and rear aprons. To understand what has changed from the original concept displayed at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, we placed the images of the prototype next to the study.

Read more »

Spy Shots: Mercedes-Benz Takes GLA 45 AMG Hot Crossover to the 'Ring

What we believe to be the performance-orientated AMG version of Mercedes-Benz' upcoming GLA crossover, was spied undergoing speed and handling tests around the world's most notorious racetrack, Germany's Nürburgring Nordschleife.

Albeit heavily wrapped in masking tape and plastic cladding, like the previous GLA 45 AMG prototype we showed you, this one too sports some special features that confirm its performance pedigree like the larger alloy wheels with wide tires hiding chunky brake discs.

Read more »

Spy Shots: Audi Continues Testing Canned R8 e-tron

Up until last year, Audi was talking about the market launch of its battery-powered R8 e-tron, and even set a new record for production electric cars at the Nürburgring lapping the winding 13-mile German racetrack in 8 minutes and 9 seconds with a pre-production model (if that makes sense…). Then, all of a sudden, Audi said the launch of the all-electric R8 e-tron has been "delayed indefinitely". Read more »

Spied: BMW X1 Prototype with Electric Motor Trots Out for Testing

When the BMW Group took the decision to electrify and hybridize its automobile lineup a few years back, it wasn't playing around.

Today, the Bavarian carmaker offers two pure electric models (albeit only as a lease in limited numbers as trial cars), the 1-Series-based ActiveE and the MINI E, and several hybrids, such as the ActiveHybrid 3, 5 and 7. Later this year, it will enhance its range with the i3 all-electric hatchback and from 2014, with the i8 hybrid sports car.

Read more »

Spy Shots: 2014 Honda Civic Wagon Takes Production Form

Station wagon models are quite popular in the European market, especially in the compact segment. Up until now, Honda has been absent from this category leaving several other automakers, both local, such as VW with the Golf Estate, and Asian, including Toyota with the new Auris Touring Sports and Hyundai with the i30 Touring, to lure customers into their dealerships.

Honda has plans to change this with the new Civic Wagon, which it previewed with a very close to production concept at the Geneva Salon back in March. Now, our spies have caught up with a camouflaged test car of the final production model that will launch next year joining the European market Civic five-door hatchback.

Read more »

Scoop: New Porsche Macan Nabbed on the Road, Shows Interior

After making its mark on the luxury mid-size crossover segment with two generations of the Cayenne, Porsche is now pointing its guns towards the compact section of the premium segment with the upcoming Macan, a lightly camouflaged prototype of which, we spied on German roads.

If you're looking at the interior and exterior pictures of the Macan and thinking "mini-Cayenne", we will agree with you. We still can't make out all the details of the front and rear ends due to the trick-plastic makeover, but the main difference from the Cayenne (besides the more compact dimensions), will be the sleeker-looking glasshouse with the more angled rear window.

Read more »

Spy Shots: 2014 Ford C-MAX Looks Like it will be Getting the Full Aston Martin Grille

Not that most of the front grilles found on numerous current Ford models don't already hold a strong resemblance to the classic six-point Aston Martin front piece, but the Blue Oval seems hell-bent to make sure we don't have any doubts about that assessment….

After the new North American Fusion, known in the rest of the world as the latest Mondeo, and the facelifted Fiesta, Ford is working on refresh of the front end of the C-MAX, while we will remind you that our spies also recently captured a prototype of the Focus hatchback with its front end masked up (though, as we pointed out at the time, it could be a mule for the RS).

Read more »

Future Cars: The All-New 2015 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe

We have great news! Yes, for those if you who like to be seen driving an automotive symbol of superiority to their local yacht club, golf course or boulevard, Mercedes-Benz is prepping its latest chapter of luxurious transport - the 2015 S-Class Coupe.

Now I have to admit past large Mercedes coupes have never really grabbed my attention (well apart from the glorious CL 65 AMG), yet they have always looked nice in a vanilla sense. However, in recent spy-shots, Mercedes-Benz has managed to capture my attention in what appears to be a compelling piece of rolling sculpture. So rather than showing an image full of black and white circles on a prototype vehicle, I've rendered something far more visually stimulating for our readers below.

Read more »

BMW Asks If You Can Identify the New Model in This Sketch

When they're not blasting us with covered up or smoked teasers of future models on their social media sites, automakers and their respective marketing agencies tend to get interactive with viewers.

Such is the case with BMW and this sketch of one of its new / upcoming models, which was shared on the Bavarian brand's German FaceBook page with the following question in its native language: "Welcher BMW ist hier in einer frühen Design-Skizze zu sehen?", which Google translates to, "Which BMW is seen here in an early design sketch?".

Read more »

Scoop: 2015 Porsche Cayenne Facelift Pictured for the First Time

As it turns out, the Panamera is not the only Porsche model that's been on the market longer than the new 911 that's being prepped for a facelift. Shortly after Stuttgart made the 2014 Panamera official today, our spies sent these shots of a very lightly camouflaged Cayenne prototype with some mild cosmetic tweaks. Read more »

Spy Shots: Is This a Test Mule for the New Focus RS or a Focus Facelift?

While we try our best to gather information and use our investigating skills to identify most prototypes, there are times that carmakers leave us in the dark. This very lightly camouflaged Ford Focus hatchback captured by our scoop photographers that you see pictured here is one such example.

What we can tell you about this test car is that, the only part of the vehicle covered up is the front grille, and that the central exhaust pipes and the size of the brake discs, point to the 252hp Focus ST.

Read more »

Scoop: New BMW 4-Series Gran Coupe Promises to be a Prettier Take on the 3-Series Sedan

Not content with covering all the mainstream and even niche ends of the compact executive segment with the new 3-Series Sedan, Touring and Gran Turismo, and in the coming months, the 4-Series Coupe and Convertible models as well, BMW is now carving a…niche within a niche, with a sixth body style, the 4-Series Gran Coupe.

Whereas the 3-Series Gran Turismo is designed as an alternative to the 3-Series Sedan and Touring models, the new 4-Series Gran Coupe promises to combine the practicality of the 3-Series Sedan's four doors with the longer wheelbase of the 3-Series Gran Turismo and the looks of the 4-Series Coupe.

Read more »

2014 Camaro V6 Brochure Leaked, Gains Power Boost and Different Tail Lamps

At the ongoing New York International Auto Show, General Motors pushed the white covers off two versions of the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro, the 426hp V8-powered SS, and a brand-new entry, the track-focused, but street-legal, 500hp+ Z/28 that slots right under the ZL1.

Over the next few months, the bow-tie brand will officially churn out the rest of the Camaro models, including the base V6, the range-topping ZL1, possibly a replacement for the 1LE and of course, the convertible lineup. However, as is often the case with upcoming vehicles, leaks are bound to happen…

Read more »

Here’s the First Clear Shot of the New Mini’s Interior, New Car Loses Center Speedometer

We’ve seen so far spy photos of the 2014 Mini hatchback, but what we have here is probably the first clear shot of the interior. The pic was taken by a Reddit user. The most striking detail about the new dashboard is that Mini’s trademark oversized speedometer placed on the center console is has been replaced by a radio (at least on the car caught by the photographer, which appears to be a base version). Read more »

Scoop: Virtually Undisguised 2014 Porsche Panamera Nabbed at the 'Ring

With winter retreating and the weather starting to warm up in the Northern Hemisphere, the 2013 test season at the Nürburgring has officially opened and one of the first automakers to hit the world-famous track is Porsche, which trotted out its upcoming Panamera facelift with minimal camouflage. Read more »

Scoop: New Renault TwinFun Concept Looks Like a Modern Day 5 Turbo [w/Videos]

A never-before seen Renault concept named TwinFun or TwinRun (we can't make out the fifth letter on the name placed on the tailgate), has been captured on camera while it was being filmed for what we assume to be a promo clip in the city of Madrid in Spain.

While you will be forgiven to mistake it for a Gallic Fiat 500, the presence of the mid-engine Renault 5 Turbo from the early 1980s in one of the pictures explains where the French carmaker drew its inspiration for the three-door hatch.

Read more »