VIDEO: Aston Martin Shows off Rapide on the Roads of Valencia


If our recent gallery with 120 high-res photos of the all-new Aston Martin Rapide sports sedan left you wanting more, then you'll probably get a kick out of this fresh new video of the British firm's Porsche Panamera rival that was filmed during the media presentation in the city of Valencia in Spain earlier this month.

Aston Martin's four-door, high-performance sport saloon is powered solely by a mighty 6.0-liter V12 engine, the same one found in the DB9.

It produces a peak power of 477-horsepower and 443 lb-ft of torque, enough to propel the four-seater Rapide from zero to 60mph in 5.1 seconds and on to a maximum speed of 188mph or 303 km/h. Watch the Rapide in action in the video after the jump.






2011 Audi RS5 Coupe Brochure with Plenty of Photos Leaked


A German agency appears to have mistakenly released the official brochure of the new Audi RS5 Coupe ahead of time as the car's world premiere isn't due for another week or so at the Geneva Motor Show on March 2.

The high-resolution photos from the leaflet show that the RS5 Coupe gets its own unique body treatment to differentiate it from the less powerful S5 Coupe.

Look closely and you'll be able to spot the slightly blistered wheel arches that hark back to the original Quattro coupe, the new front bumper with larger air vents at each corner, the honeycomb grille without the horizontal bar, the redesigned rear bumper with an integrated diffuser and the two large oval tail pipes.

The revised LED tail lamps, the specific alloy wheels and what looks like a retractable boot lid spoiler round off the exterior styling tweaks.

The interior shots suggest that there won't be any cosmetic upgrades over the S5 Coupe.

We're still in the dark about what's lurking under the hood, but it is believed that Audi's BMW M3 rival will most likely be powered by a V8 engine, quite possibly, turbocharged.

Source: Recom , Via: Autogespot




Mystery Car Revealed: Mazda RX-8 Turned Into Lamborghini-Themed Coupe from Singapore


Those of you that answered "Mazda RX-8" in our mystery car quiz are indeed correct and you may pat yourselves on the back. This uniquely modified Mazda RX-8 is owned by a Carscoop reader from Singapore who goes by the nickname "Shawnz".

His goal is to create a one-of-a-kind Mazda RX-8 Coupe (yes, the stock model's rear-hinged suicide doors are gone) with inspiration coming predominantly from two Lamborghini models, the limited production Reventon and the conceptual Estoque sports saloon.

Shawnz will send more photos and details over our way as the development progresses, but for now, you can follow the jump to read his story and check out the full gallery.

PS: Our friend from Singapore is working his way through school, so as you can imagine, it's not easy to keep up with the expenses involved in such a project.

That said, Shawnz would appreciate any kind of support or sponsoring from companies engaged in the tuning industry. If you're willing to help out, send us an email and we'll bring you in direct contact with Shawnz.


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The Story as told to us by 'Shawnz':

My goal is to create a completely unique RX-8 Coupe with a sleek design that will stand out from the crowd.

The company associated with the project is called J's Artworks. They initially turned me down when I could not settle with their asking price but the company's boss liked my idea and so we finally agreed on a fair amount.

Starting with the side skirts, I did not like the usual aftermarkets parts that were readily available. In most cases, side skirts simply make the car look lower without adding to the design of the car.

I really liked the Lamborghini Reventon's side skirts so I decided that was the way to go.

Next up the front bumpers that were a real challenge. For the RX-8, I found the Nakamura Racing Factory front bumpers truly eye-catching. So from there on, took some styling cues from other Lamborghini models and voila!!!

The rear-end of the car was a big question mark. There was no design to my liking. However, after going through all sorts of supercar exotics and hot rods for ideas, I came up with something I liked. The back won't be finished until September 2010. It is to surprise the public at the upcoming Super Import Nights here in Singapore.

So with the Lamborghini Reventon-style skirts, J's Artworks suggested that I widen the body. That did not sit very well with me because I still wanted the use the car on the race track.

I wanted the car not only to look good, but also to be reliable. Lots of planning, trials and errors, and setbacks were encountered along the way. First of all, I wanted to make sure that the FRP, putty, etc used was the right amount so that no unnecessary weight would be added.

Second, I didn't want to make the body too wide so I could still be able to use my own 245/35 R19 tires. However, we did have to use spacers at the back. And that took quite a bit of time to find a suitable pcm so that I could use the thinnest spacer required. We ended up using a pcm from a BMW.

Due to the known heat issues with the RX-8, we had to be careful with the bonnet. I really wanted to go with a vented hood, but having the sleek design in mind, I decided to create an inverted vented bonnet. The heat will escape through an opening we created at the back of the hood.

The large vents on the front bumper also help by directing plenty of air to the oil coolers and engine bay.

Color wise, the obvious choice was to go black. But the boss at J's Artwork told me that with this finish, the sharp lines and contours of the car would not stand out therefore defeating the purpose.

Going glossy was a no no. Matte was the answer. Since I could not get glossy black, and yet wanted it to look cool and stealthy, I chose the F-22 color.

Something grayish and dark but not too much. The Reventon looked similar and I found out that it had a pinch of special green in it. So we ended up using this combo.

I think that's about it. Interior wise, I have no plans yet except to have lightweight materials installed.



Volkswagen Teases All-New Sharan MPV Ahead of Geneva Motor Show


The countdown for the presentation of the all-new Sharan people-carrier has began as the first teaser photo of the MPV along with a timer that shows the days left for its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show has made its appearance on Volkswagen's public site.

The up-skirt image reveals the new Sharan's front fascia (headlight and grille design) that keeps in line with other Volkswagen products such as the latest generation Polo and Golf.

We don't have anything else on the Touran's big brother, but we gather that it will most likely feature sliding rear doors and seat up to seven passengers in three rows, and that, unlike the current model that shared a common platform with Ford's previous generation Galaxy MPV, Volkswagen is all alone on this one.

Link: Volkswagen.de





Mercedes-Benz F800 Style: First Photos of 'Baby' CLS Sport Saloon Concept


The first official photos of the Mercedes-Benz F800 Style 'four-door coupe' study surfaced online today ahead of the concept model's official world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show on March 2.

The new concept model serves two purposes: first, it samples Mercedes-Benz's new and more dynamic design language that will be first applied on the next-generation CLS sports saloon, which is expected later this year, and second, it is believed to preview a smaller brother to the CLS.

If Mercedes-Benz goes ahead and produces the CLC, the four-door saloon with the coupe-like roofline and aggressive stance will most probably slot between the C-Class and E-Class models in terms of size and pricing.

Of course, don't expect to see the concept model's rear-hinged sliding doors or the uber-futuristic interior making it to production.

As for the powertrain, the photos reveal that Mercedes-Benz engineers considered two options for the F800 Style study: a fuel-cell system with lithium-ion battery pack and a rear-mounted electric motor or a gasoline-electric hybrid drivetrain.

Stay tuned on Carscoop as we'll update this story as soon as we have more information and/or new photos.





Tesla EYE Compact EV Concept by IED Turin Set for Geneva Debut [With Video]


The EYE is a conceptual study by Italy's IED Turin in collaboration with Tesla Motors for a sporty C-segment hatchback model with an all-electric drivetrain. Designed with European and Asian consumers in mind, the EYE will have its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show on March 2.

The futuristic looking concept is the product of the work of eleven Master Course students at the Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin (IED), coordinated by Luca Borgogno, senior designer with Pininfarina and by Andrea Militello, Senior FIAT designer.

Measuring 4,250 mm in length, 1,800 mm in width, 1,360 mm in height and with a wheel base of 2,650 mm, the 2+2 seater hatchback model is similar in size to a VW Golf. More details about the car will be released at the official presentation in Geneva, but for now, hit the jump to watch a video of the EYE.