BMW Alpina B7 brought back for 2011

BMW has stated several times that it has no plans to do an official M version of the current F01 7 Series, but that doesn't mean it won't offer a hotter version of its flagship sedan courtesy of Alpina.

At next month's Chicago Auto Show, BMW will be reviving the Alpina B7, and while the sweet 4.4-liter twin turbocharged V8 remains under the hood, the dial has been turned up from the stock 400 horsepower to a full 500 hp, along with 516 pound-feet of twist. That should be enough to catapult the big sedan to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds.

By itself, big power is useless unless spend all your time at the drag strip and the 7 Series is capable of so much more. Handling has long been a BMW hallmark and the 21-inch, 20-spoke Alpina wheels wrapped in Michelin PS2 rubber should provide plenty of grip for directional changes and positive and negative acceleration. A deeper front air dam and a rear decklid spoiler help keep the car glued to the pavement at autobahn level velocities, while inside the B7 coddles its occupants in upgraded leather and wood trim.

SMS Supercars shows off first photos of its new 620 Camaro

Steve Saleen is continuing his foray into building specialty cars other than Mustangs, and after launching the production of its 570 and 570X Challenger last year, his new company, SMS Supercars, has started the new year off right by releasing the first images of the upcoming 620 Camaro.

Using the SS model with the 6.2-liter V8 as a starting platform, the SMS 620 Camaro features much of the same design elements as the Challenger including the side induction hood, five-spoke wheels, and Alcantara and leather seats. Power is increased via an SMS supercharger system that boosts the LS3 V8 to 575 horsepower and 600 pound-feet torque. Like the Challenger, an "X" model is also available that includes additional engine modifications good for 715 hp and 700 lb-ft torque as well as upgraded suspension, brakes, differential, and wheels.

Like the SMS 460 Mustang, the 620 Camaro is currently only in illustrated form, but the production version should be ready sometime in the second quarter of 2010.

Unofficial Lexus LFA SuperGT contender rendered

Take a look at the field of 2010 SuperGT competitors and something's amiss. Nissan's been campaigning its new GT-R in the series for two years and Honda recently revealed the HSV-010 before its inaugural run in the series this May. What's missing? A new competitor from Toyota.

Jyuichi Wakisaka and Andre Lotterer took the overall GT500 win in the team's Lexus SC430 last year, but that model is not long for this world, so it's just a matter of time before Toyota fields a new car in the series. So what's set to take the SC430's place? The answer's obvious: the Lexus LFA.

Although Toyota's yet to confirm the LFA's entrance (we're expecting an announcement later this year), Iain Chandler, a skilled 3D artist hailing from Australia, has rendered a GT500-class LFA, complete with six sets of livery. While it's far from official it's a pretty good indication of what to expect when Toyota finally pulls the trigger, and Lotterer seems to approve – he posted the images on his site.

Tesla, Ford, Nissan all receive electric car development loans from US government

High five, Tesla fans -- everyone's favorite incredibly controversial electric car company has just been granted $465m in loans from the Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program. The bulk of the money will go towards that postponed Model S factory, while the remaining $100m will be used to fund an electric powertrain manufacturing facility that will sell parts like motors and battery packs to other carmakers. Tesla wasn't the DOE's only big winner: Nissan received $1.6b (billion!) to build batteries and EVs in Tennessee and Ford received an undisclosed amount to build two upcoming electric cars, but since those companies have largely drama-free upper management that isn't constantly involved in lawsuits, it feels a little more routine. Still, it's an exciting time -- let's hope all these tax dollars turn into affordable, convenient electric transportation sooner rather than later.

Hydrogen-powered Riversimple Urban Car unveiled, makes your hybrid green with envy

Smug about your 65 mpg Prius potential? Don't be. A little car from up-start Riversimple looks set to deliver the equivalent of 300 mpg, running on hydrogen and utilizing a network of small fuel cells to power four motors, one per wheel. The recently unveiled prototype manages 240 miles on just 2.2 lbs of hydrogen, has a top speed of 50 mph, seats two (reasonably) comfortably, and looks a little like a smiling, new-age Citroen 2CV -- but will hopefully be a more enjoyable to drive. That considerable range means that the relative lack of hydrogen distribution stations is less of a problem (until you can get one for your garage), and an estimated monthly lease price of just £200 (about $330) makes it potentially affordable. The only question now is availability of the cars themselves, and since nobody's talking about that you needn't worry about delaying that appointment with your local Toyota dealer.

Mercedes debuts airbag-laden S-Class ESF hybrid concept

Apparently not content to simply build a hybrid vehicle that's both energy-efficient and luxurious, Mercedes has now gone the extra mile with its new 2009 S-Class ESF concept, which packs more than a dozen different safety features including airbags inside and out. That latter outside-the-car airbag is actually a giant braking bag that deploys under the car when it "senses an imminent crash," which not only creates some added friction to slow the car down, but lifts the front of the car up about 80mm to compensate for brake dive. Other uncommon safety features include curtain airbags between the seats, airbags in the seatbelts, reflective tires, and "inflatable metal structures" throughout the vehicle, which apparently both saves space and increases crash protection. Unfortunately, there's no word on any further improvements to the hybrid side of things, but Mercedes' existing S400 Hybrid isn't exactly too shabby of a place to begin with.

Chevy Camaro evidently nabs Microsoft Zune support

You've heard of Chevrolet, right? You know -- that struggling automaker underneath the General Motors umbrella? For those who've long given up their ties to muscle cars in favor of the kid-friendly minivan or Earth-friendly hybrid, you may not even know that a revitalized Camaro is just around the bend. Based on some hands-on time with a production vehicle at an undisclosed dealer, Microsoft's Zune integrates perfectly into the sound system, and said integration is supposedly a standard feature on the car. What's more is that we're told some 27 other GM models will also include Zune support from the factory as they launch in the US, Europe, Asia and Australia through 2011, though details beyond that are scant. Hope they cooked in support for the Zune HD, ya dig?

Dodge Circuit EV test drive gets chronicled on video

We've already gotten a good look at the Dodge Circuit EV courtesy of the good folks at AutoblogGreen, but they've now come through yet again with a video that shows the Tesla competitor in action (or moving, at least). While it's expectedly still very much in prototype form, our fearless test driver nonetheless seems to have been fairly impressed by the car, with it delivering some speedy acceleration and an apparently generally pleasing ride. As noted earlier, however, the car is a tad cramped, and the real visibility leaves quite a bit to be desired, although Chrysler says that should be remedied somewhat by some smaller batteries in the eventual production version.

New Mercedes-Benz E-Class likely to spawn hybrid variant

As the U.S. media is driving the new 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-class in Las Vegas this week, word comes out that this platform may be the next recipient of hybrid technology. The first two Mercedes-Benz hybrids will be the S400 and ML450 coming this summer and fall, respectively. When the E hybrid lands, it will likely be an E400 using the same mild hybrid system as its big brother. That means a 3.5-liter V6 along with a 15 kW pancake motor/generator. Like the S400, packaging should be straightforward thanks to a lithium ion battery the size of the standard 12V battery. It's not known when or if the E400 hybrid will join the U.S. lineup because of the model proliferation that Mercedes is trying to avoid. The E is smaller and lighter than the S, so an E400 should top 30 mpg combined.

Mercedes shows off Splitview display, other dashboard perks in the 2010 S-Class

Sure, the cold metal exterior looks like a regular old car, but the 2010 S-Class from Mercedes-Benz has a fuzzy technological heart, including an abundance of readout displays and a Splitview screen. Quite like it sounds, the Splitview display offers up one view to the driver (like a map), while the passenger sees a completely different image (like a movie, or a picture of somebody looking at a map), and after hearing all about it for the past while, Mercedes is actually giving us a glimpse of it in an overly-dramatic promo video for the latest S-Class to clutter up the roads.

Mitsubishi's i-MiEV electric vehicle officially headed to the US

It isn't exactly providing a whole lot of details just yet, but Mitsubishi has confirmed at the New York Auto Show today that its i-MiEV electric vehicle will indeed be making its way to the U.S., and sometime "before 2012." Interestingly, according to AutoblogGreen, that delay apparently isn't due to any hang-ups with the vehicle itself (it's hitting roads in Japan this summer), but rather whether battery-maker GS Yuasa can scrounge up enough lithium-ion batteries to keep up with demand. It also looks like the car that eventually hits the U.S. won't be exactly the same as the model bound for Japan and Europe, with the i-MiEV name likely the first thing to go. Of course, there's no official word on a U.S. price just yet, but the car, which boasts a range of around 100 miles on a single charge, should be selling for the rough local equivalent of $30,000 when it hits Europe and Japan.

Fisker already working on lower-cost vehicle to rival Volt, Model S

While Fisker Automotive isn't making too much of a stir at the New York Auto Show this week, it is scheming to deliver a vehicle that will purportedly compete with Chevrolet's Volt and Tesla's Model S. 'Course, it should probably look to get its Karma onto US streets before it starts looking too far ahead, but you won't find us kvetching about the promise of a lower cost plug-in hybrid. Company spokesman Russell Datz insinuated that the outfit was jonesing to release a model that would be priced somewhere below its Karma ($87,900) and above the Volt (around $40,000) and Model S (somewhere in the $50,000s), though it wasn't close enough to production to hit the show floor of any expos in 2009. Oh, what a tease.

Steam-powered vehicle looks to scald world record

Sheesh -- what is it with UKers and their stupidly fast alternatively powered vehicles? Just days after Britain's own Richard Jenkins set a new world record by going 126MPH in a wind-powered vehicle, Charles Burnett III is gearing up to smash a record of his own in the contraption pictured above. Hailed as the planet's fastest kettle, this steam-powered automobile is currently being shipped to Southern California in order to blister the Mojave Desert and hopefully obliterate the current record of 127.659MPH. For the historians in the crowd, we needn't tell you that said record was set way back in 1906 by American Fred Marriott, but we won't be surprised in the least to see this honor head across the pond in late June.

Garmin provides in-dash navigation system for 2011 Grand Cherokee

It's not quite as elaborate as that 12-inch dual-view touchscreen found in the new 2010 Range Rover, but it looks like Chrysler's 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee will come with own its share of in-dash amenities, including a GPS navigation system courtesy of Garmin. That'll be integrated into the same 6.5-inch touchscreen used for Chrysler's Uconnect radio and, of course, will offer everything you'd expect from a standalone GPS unit and then some, including lane assist, speed limit and current speed information, spoken street names, details on nearby points of interest, and even some spiffy customized Chrysler-specific icons. Of course, the vehicle itself also packs a number of other improvements that Chrysler hopes will woo some new customers.

2010 Ford Shelby GT500 squeezes out an extra 2 MPG

Ford has managed to eke out an extra two miles per gallon on the highway from the heavily revised 2010 Shelby GT500, bringing its EPA estimated figures to 14 mpg city and 22 mpg highway. Sure, it seems rather unlikely that buyers looking at a muscle car will be all that concerned with fuel economy, but as much as we'd prefer the figures to be significantly higher, we're not ones to turn down a few free miles per gallon. Of course, the reason this car exists isn't to save on fuel bills. This being the case, the fuel economy improvement is accompanied by a bump up to 540 horsepower and a stump-pulling 510 lb-ft of torque, which is enough blast the GT500 to 60 miles per hour in just 4.3-seconds.

In fact, as is often the case, the revisions that make the latest Shelby more fuel efficient also also end up contributing to its improved ability to accelerate. The biggest change that helps on the highway is numerically lower gearing in the transmission for the fifth and sixth cogs, which, combined with a 3.55:1 axle ratio, allows the big 'Stang to boast improved acceleration in the first four gears to go along with the lowered RPM highway drone made possible by the last two gears.

Ford also points to a refined air intake and a revised twin-disc clutch as reasons the 2010 Shelby GT500 is a step above its predecessor, and we also took note of the vastly superior interior that's standard in all new Mustangs when we last took a look at the GT500.

Peugeot introduces 48 mpg (US) 407 1.6-litre HDi FAP

Peugeot has launched a new version of its mid-sized 407 sedan and wagon that get a CO2 emissions rating of just 129 g/km. The new 407 is powered by a 1.6-liter four cylinder diesel rated at 110 hp. A variety of efficiency enhancing features like low rolling resistance Michelin tires and electro-hydraulic power steering help bump up the mileage to 48 mpg (U.S.) on the EU combined cycle. The power steering is a blend of traditional hydraulic assist, which provides better feedback, with electric drive of the pump that can be optimized to only provide as much boost as needed.

Pics aplenty from Tata Nano's commercial launch

Last week's commercial launch of the Nano was a huge event with significant ramifications, not only for the proud parent Tata, but for all of India and possibly the world. Although we weren't on hand to witness the historical event, our good buddy Shrawan Raja from Indian Autos Blog made it to the Crystal room of the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel for the glitzy roll out and managed to shoot some decent close ups of the pint-sized car despite the fawning crowds. Not only did Mr. Raja relay back information about specs and booking details on the day of the press conference he continues to post about his Nano experience. If you want to re-live the excitement for yourself, hit the jump for a lengthy video that includes everything from the parting of the curtains to speeches from company chairman Ratan Tata and price announcements from the president of the passenger cars division, Ravi Kant.

Cadillac blends top 2 Escalades for one really expensive hybrid

Apparently, some people think that $83,000 just isn't enough money to spend on a new Escalade. That's the sticker on the Platinum edition of the big Caddy SUV. The marketing department has decided the truck needed to move closer to 6 figures to be taken seriously. Therefore, General Motors is adding the Escalade Platinum Edition hybrid to its lineup. The Escalade hybrid has been on sale since last fall with the same Two-Mode hybrid system used in the Tahoe and Yukon. Around the same time, the Platinum edition debuted with the 6.2-liter V8 and lots of luxury upgrades. The Platinum gets the same type of grille design used on the CTS and STS, as well as LED headlamps. Inside Aniline leather with French seams and contrasting stitching gives a fancier look. Cadillac hasn't said when the Platinum hybrid will go on sale or what it will cost. The conventional all-wheel-drive Platinum starts at almost $84,000 so adding the two-mode will likely bring the price tag close to $90,000 or more.

First genuine Chevy Volt hits production on June 1st

You'd probably never know it from all the pictures, but the Chevy Volt hasn't actually been fully built before -- so far all we've seen are "development mules" constructed from the shell of the company's Cruze compact cars. That's all gonna change on June 1st, when General Motors says it's gonna start production on the first 100 percent genuine Volt. According to the unofficial blog GM-Volt, an average of ten cars will be made each week until a fleet of 80 have been complete. Of course, you're still not gonna get to drive one until at least 2010, so don't go looking for your favorite Gatsby cap just yet.

"Eco-facilities" are coming; Fisker Automotive signs up 32 dealers in 17 states

Running TV ads. Taking orders. And now setting up a network of dealerships. Fisker Automotive is acting like a real car company.The company announced today that it's signed up its first group of 32 retailers. These retailers can be found in 17 states – Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, Virginia, and Wisconsin – and one Canadian Province, British Columbia (see the full list after the jump). Fisker hopes to have at least 40 dealers in the U.S. signed up by June. Deliveries of the $87,900 plug-in hybrid Karma model should begin at the end of this year, and Fisker hopes to sell 15,000 units a year once they get up to full production.
Like the luxury PHEVs themselves, the Fisker showrooms are going to be eco-aware, with natural and sustainable materials used throughout and a solar-powered car port available.