Top Ten Cars of the Show
From the diminutive Toyota iQ to the Ferrari California, it is a story of extremes. Yet again, efficiency plays its part, with Mercedes-Benz and Honda opting for hybrid technology but performance has not been ignored despite the ‘green’ pressures with the Audi S4, Lexus IS 250C, Maserati Quattroporte and Volkswagen GTi all designed to thrill. Below is our editors’ selection of show favorites. Designed especially for the U.S. market and California’s rolling coastal roads in particular, Ferrari says the new California is the most relaxing and easy-to-drive car it has produced. It’s still a real Ferrari, though, with 0-62 mph acceleration in 3.9 seconds, and dynamics and performance developed in consultation with Michael Schumacher. As a four-seater it’s more practical than most Ferraris; it’s also the first to have a folding hard top, the first to have a ‘front mid-mounted’ V8 engine, and the first to incorporate Ferrari’s emissions-reduction program (they’re down to ‘only’ 305 g/km). Though it’s been heavily trailed, this is its first public outing. Production is already sold out for the next two years.
Kia’s new crossover vehicle delivers bold new style in an efficient and functional package, aimed at young buyers who wish to make a statement with their vehicle. The 5-door hatchback will be offered with a variety of packages to allow buyers to personalize their Soul with interior materials and colors, lighting and exterior body kits and accessories. The world premiere of the production version revealed that the design has remained true to the SOUL Concept that debuted at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Interior access is easy thanks to tall doors and a high seating position, and the Soul features what Kia calls a ‘laid back’ dashboard with a three-dial instrument cluster and a ‘floating’ center stack that slopes up and away for ideal access to the audio system.
In a show where there are more small but conventional cars than small cars with big thinking under the skin, Toyota’s iQ shines out like a tiny beacon. Into a vehicle less than three meters long (shorter than an original Mini) Toyota, through the kind of original thinking the industry needs more of, has managed to create the world’s smallest four-seater – now making the leap from concept to production. Its mechanical packaging detail, making maximum use of the space between the wheels, is radical, and focused thinking like an asymmetrical dashboard layout and slim, sliding seats mean every inch of the interior is usable. And while the two at-launch engine options offer CO2 emissions as low as 99g/km, Toyota also promise that it will be good to drive, with decent performance. It even looks good. In short (drum-roll, cymbal crash), this is more like what a small car really should be.
Every manufacturer needs one: the coupe-convertible, or coupe-cabriolet, is one of those variants you have to have because the technology exists, and because enough people like the style, versatility and security to buy in. Lexus’s latest is the retractable tin-top version of the IS, with a very quick-folding three-section aluminum roof and decent room for four people and their luggage. The pay-off for that, though, is that while the IS 250C looks quite sleek and well balanced with the roof up, with the roof down it looks as though the back end from a slightly bigger car has somehow been grafted onto the rather elegant IS front – not to the extent of being offensive, but just losing the genuinely elegant balance of the fixed-top. There’s not much more to criticize, though – and if it’s what the people want…
Chevrolet’s new compact sedan with four-door coupe styling, the Cruze is designed as a true world car to be sold in all markets. The shape is characterized by an arching roofline that creates a coupe-like silhouette and the bold front styling incorporates the now established Chevrolet two-tier grille and large headlights that sweep up into the fenders. Inside, the Cruze utilizes high-quality materials, grain details and soft touch surfaces . Ed Welburn, vice president of Global Design for General Motors, describes the Cruze as embodying the attributes of what buyers can expect from Chevrolet going forward: value, quality, fuel-efficiency and great design. For the European debut, the Cruze will be offered with three different engines; 1.6-liter and 1.8-liter gasoline engines and a 2.0-liter turbodiesel. Powertrains for other markets will be announced at a later date. Designed and developed by a world team, the Cruze goes on sale in March in Europe and U.S. plans will be announced later.
The eagerly awaited S4 sedan and wagon has arrived with a twist. In a move away from the traditional V8 or turbocharged V6 engines, the mid-sized performance model has a supercharged V6 under its hood. While slightly down on overall horsepower at 333 compared with the outgoing V8’s 340 horsepower, the new engine offers a broader powerband and great efficiency. As you would expect from such a performance model, the S4 comes with exceptionally high specification performance enhancements such as sport-tuned suspension, upgraded brakes and availability of an all-new 7-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission. While both the S4 sedan and S4 Avant will be available in Europe, sadly, American wagon fans will be disappointed to learn that like the current RS 4, only the sedan is coming stateside. When the S4 arrives next fall as a 2010 model, expect pricing to be roughly in line with the outgoing model.
This sexy sport sedan gets a fresh new look and more power in its first redesign since it was launched five years ago. The new Quattroporte is easily distinguished from the past version with new headlights highlighted by LED turn signals, a revised front bumper, a larger grille (similar to that on the Gran Turismo), and updated taillights that also feature LEDs to give them a diamond-like look, especially in the sun. The biggest news about the Quattroporte is the availability of a more powerful ‘S’ version which boasts a Ferrari-built 4.7-liter V8 that puts out 425 horsepower. Inside has also been updated, with surfaces are covered in soft Italian Poltrona Frau leather, offset by a variety of exotic wood choices such as Polished Wengè, Vavona or Black Piano. A new chocolate-brown shade of leather — Marrone Corniola — is introduced for new Quattroporte. The new Quattroporte is expected to arrive in Maserati showrooms later this fall.
Volkswagen has introduced the newest version of its classic hot hatchback, the GTI. While still being called a concept by VW, the new GTI looks ready for production. Styling cues echo that of the Scirocco that debuted earlier this year in Geneva, yet keeps with the performance formula defined in the mid 1970s when GTI was introduced as a high-performance version of the Golf. GTI is upgraded with specially tuned springs, dampers and anti-roll bars. For the first time the GTI will be available with Adaptive Chassis Control (ACC) which comprises adjustable pneumatic dampers. GTI will also feature an electronic limited slip differential for the first time along with electronic stability control. U.S. specs were not yet available, but the GTI concept shown boasts a 2.0-liter TSI engine producing 210 horsepower. Volkswagen claims the GTI will reach 62 mph in just over 7 seconds with a top speed of 148 mph, making it the fastest production GTI ever.
Officially a concept car in Paris, the production Insight is expected to debut at NAIAS in Detroit next January and go on sale in Japan, Europe and North America in the spring of 2009. With design connections to the FCX Clarity fuel-cell vehicle, the Insight Concept maintains the sleek aerodynamic look of the original Insight and is a dedicated hybrid model. Designed to accommodate both passengers and cargo comfortably, both the size and the weight of the hybrid system have been reduced for this five-seat family vehicle. A new platform was created for the Insight with the hybrid control unit and the battery located under the cargo area. Powered by Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system, which has been modified to reduce cost and weight, the Insight combines a lightweight and compact 1.3-liter gasoline engine is with an electric motor to achieve fuel economy on par with the Civic Hybrid, along with low CO2 emissions.
Mercedes-Benz S 400 BlueHYBRID
For a manufacturer driven by engineering excellence, and with Lexus having amply proved the technology’s acceptability in the large, luxury segment, Mercedes-Benz has taken longer than might have been expected to climb on the hybrid train. But they’ve finally done it, with the S 400 BlueHYBRID – the three-pointed star’s first passenger car production hybrid, and the first car in series production to introduce high-voltage lithium-ion battery technology. It appears first in the S Class because most of Mercedes’ high-cost, high-profile innovations usually do, for customers who are willing and able to pay the price. And it’s a welcome direction, not introducing anything particularly radical beyond the new battery technology but undoubtedly doing what it does with M-B’s usual thoroughness. File under ‘had to happen’.
BONUS
Aston Martin One-77Amongst all the debuts, one of Paris’s most sensational concept cars wasn’t actually unveiled at all. All through two media days, the Aston Martin One-77 stayed sheathed in a beautifully-fitting suit (naturally) of soft grey pinstripe from Saville Row tailor Henry Poole. Every so often, Aston CEO, and ‘father’ of the One-77, Dr Bez, pulls the cloth back one corner at a time, while his staff wince, suppressing the nagging feeling that sooner or later he won’t be able to resist going the whole way. They even have an unofficial sweepstake on when he might do it, but, at the time of writing he had resisted the urge. That moment will come at an unveiling of its own, sometime early next year. Meanwhile the hundred or so very wealthy people who have already expressed an interest in the £1.2 million car will wait impatiently. And so, for the moment, must we
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