Bertone’s Baby Jaguar Sports Sedan: Not My Cup of Tea

In all honestly, I really struggle to see how the Bertone B99 fits into Jaguar’s past and current design lineage and line-up. The new generation of Jags – the XF and the XJ – are sleek, risqué and look like nothing else on the market. On the other hand, the B99 could just as easily be badged as a Lincoln, a Rolls-Royce or a Maserati. If you squint at the pictures you’ll see my point. It’s anonymously styled, as if Bertone used a book called, “Luxury Concept Cars 101” as a template. And that grille! It just screams, “Dodge Caliber!”
And apart from the taillights and the A-pillar, can you really see any of Jaguar’s past in the B99? I know I can’t. And isn’t the mere thought a compact Jaguar as bad as Aston Martin rebadging the Toyota iQ as the Cygnet or Porsche selling a SUV?
It devalues the brand, and in the luxury market that’s the worse crime a carmaker can make. Sure, it means more sales, but I’ve never been a fan of the, “profit uber alles!” the eighties left us with.
For me personally, Jaguars have always been either V8/V12-engined coupes and big sedans. The E-Type, the Mk II...even the much derided XJS and XJ6. As if it wasn’t bad enough that BMW’s sells a naturally aspirated (or naturally asthmatic) 4cyl 3-Series, now there’s this on the horizon all in the pursuit of the almighty dollar. To think we’ve gone from, “A Modern Day Successor to the E-Type” to yet another attempt for a “BMW 3-Series competitor” just breaks my heart.

By Tristan Hankins

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Hseih’s Aerius: The Hypercar Goes Green in a Fictional 2025

Imagine it’s the year 2025. The Bugatti Veyron is an overpriced collector’s item outlawed on U.S. streets as it doesn’t meet the nation’s recently introduced (and some say draconian) emission laws. Dozens of tired Corvette Z06’s prowl America’s heartland, their engines in need of servicing and their paint peeling, their hick driver’s desperately avoiding the iron fist of the DoT. E85 costs US$9.00 a gallon and hydrogen is relegated to interstate trucks and some high priced luxury cars.

Into this Mad Maxian world comes the Aerius: a high performance EV with electric motors in the wheel hubs, carbon nanotube super-capacitors for energy storage and solar panels to recharge them on the go. With organic, jet fighter-like styling and the green cred disenchanted motoring enthusiasts have longed for, the Aerius is sure to be 2025’s Car of the Year...

Okay, so let’s get back to reality. The Aerius is a design study by Pei-Cheng “Patrick” Hseih and frankly, it looks fantastic. We’ve seen a lot of these studies here at Carscoop, and this is my current favourite. It’s like a weird crossbreed between a shark, BMW’s M1 Homage concept and an F-35 fighter jet. And as a design it somehow works! You can check out our full gallery below and leave your piece in the comments section.

By Tristan Hankins

Source: Yankodesign

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VIDEO: Opel Touts Zafira Tourer Concept's "Lounge Ambience"

These are the first videos of Opel's new Zafira Tourer Concept, which will receive its grand premiere at next week's 2011 Geneva Salon. The first clip focuses on the relaxing "lounge atmosphere" found within the interior of the minivan, something that Opel highlighted more than anything else in the car's press release, while the second video showcases the new Flex7 seating concept. Hit the break to watch both clips for yourself.

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De Tomaso Shows More of its New SLS Crossover, Confirms Production for 2011

One of the surprises at this year's edition of the Geneva Motor Show is the resurrection of the De Tomaso brand, which will re-launch with a production ready concept model, set to go on sale in late 2011. The Italian company filed for bankruptcy in 2004, but was brought back to life after Rossignolo former Fiat executive, Gianmario Rossignolo, acquired the brand from a Modena bankruptcy court in November 2009.

The Italian brand's first vehicle was initially codenamed SLC for Sport Luxury Crossover, but in the latest press release, De Tomaso is calling it the SLS, which stands for Sport Luxury Sedan. We know what you're thinking in regards to Mercedes-Benz's Gullwing-door supercar, but De Tomaso was quick to state the vehicle will not be sold as the SLS, with the final production name to be revealed during the Geneve press conference on March 1.

The four-wheel-drive SLS is a BMW 5-Series GT-like high-riding saloon / crossover that will be offered at launch with a choice of two gasoline engines, a 300HP V6 and a 550HP V8, with a diesel said to be in the works.

De Tomaso said the Pininfarina-designed SLS is built on an aluminum chassis using "an innovative construction technology called Univis", details of which are to be released in Geneva.

The crossover model's architecture will form the base for two more models, including a sports sedan and a coupe, with De Tomaso planning to invest €116 million (US$160 million) in the project.

The Italian firm's new owner said the company plans to build 3,000 units of the SLS annually, along with another 3,000 limousines and 2,000 coupes.

The SLS will be produced at the De Tomaso Automobili S.p.A. plant, a former Pininfarina S.p.A. factory near Turin and in the Livorno factory by ex-Delphi workers.

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Geneva Preshow: AC Schnitzer Turns the BMW 550i into the 540HP ACS5 Sport S Saloon

AC Schnitzer has prepared two production ready concept cars for this year's edition of the Geneva motor show. We've already told you about the first car, the diesel-powered 99d that is based on the BMW Z4 roadster, so here's the tuning firm's second proposal. The ACS5 Sport S Saloon is based on the latest BMW 550i sedan and is said to feature numerous performance and styling upgrades, though AC Schnitzer is keeping mum about most of the details.

According to the tuning house, the 550i's twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 engine with 407HP and 600Nm has been modified to deliver 540HP and 750Nm, which helps the sedan model to complete the 0 to 100km/h (62 mph) sprint in 4.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 320 km/h (199 mph). AC Schnitzer said that despite the power bump, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of the ACS5 Sport S are equivalent to the standard BMW 550i.

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Opel Reveals Sleek Zafira Tourer Concept Prior to Geneva Motor Show Debut

After we got a first glimpse of the Zafira study by means of an iPad hologram, Opel released the full details of the concept which previews the next-generation Zafira MPV. Described by Opel as a “lounge on wheels”, the design study uses the same style language as seen on the Insignia and Astra models.

The front is the most eye-catching part of the Zafira's sleek bodywork, with the headlights, LED running lights and the fog lights being united in a boomerang-shaped structure, inspired by the Ampera EV's fascia. Unlike the Meriva, the Zafira sports conventional doors and has a dynamic look due to the ascendent midline and the 20-inch rims.

The rear end is also sporty, dominated by the high-sitting taillights and the two large exhaust pipes integrated into the rear apron.

“We have transferred the idea of a relaxing lounge to a vehicle and created an automobile wellness oasis, a place to relax and enjoy. Passengers can retreat in the lounge. It is a comfortable, roomy space where you really want to be – regardless if it’s for a business trip or to relax for a long journey,” says Mark Adams, Vice President of Design at Opel.

One of the Zafira's main features is the panorama windshield, which is continued by a glass roof covering the entire length of the roof offering an airy interior. Inside, there's room for seven passengers with the concept building on Opel's Flex7 seating concept pioneered by the first Zafira. There are many available configurations, including a lounge mode that offers four spacious business-class seats.

The Zafira Tourer Concept is powered by a new version of the Opel's 1.4-liter gasoline turbo engine featuring Start/Stop technology.

We'll have more on Opel's new concept model from the Geneva motor show floors next week.

By Dan Mihalascu

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