European Cars. Europe Auto Market News

Tesla Roadster

Dana M — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:46:12 +0000

When the Tesla Roadster was first introduced the buzz was palpable and the Promise was very much on target with what many in the Green market had been waiting on.
To bring to market a two-seat roadster with the performance (and price) of an exotic sports car that would not require a drop of gasoline. While many of the rich and famous have made their deposit to acquire their own Tesla EV Roadster not one of them has seen a delivery. Transmission problems have slowed the building progress of the Tesla, but we still remain high on its Promise. Let’s just hope the Tesla Motors can come through on their Promise.

Tesla Roadster

Tags: cars, Tesla, Roadster, concept cars, Tesla Motors, gasoline, news

2008 Smart Fortwo

Dana M — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 18:55:16 +0000

Smart has recently redesigned the Fortwo and is now bringing it to America as both a coupe and a convertible.
Conceived by Swiss watchmaker Swatch and designed in conjunction with Daimler, parent company of Mercedes-Benz, the Smart Fortwo microcar has been all the rage in traffic-choked European cities since its introduction in 1998.
The Fortwo’s 1-liter 3-cylinder engine puts out 70 horsepower and 68 lb-ft of torque. Smart claims the Fortwo — which weighs 1808 lbs, 600 lbs less than a Honda Fit — gets to 60 MPH in a lazy 12.8 seconds and tops out at 90. In reality, pickup is snappy, if not quite quick, and the Smart putters along happily at 75 MPH, though it struggles on steep hills.
Fuel economy is good, though not as good as you might expect: I averaged 35.8 MPG. For comparison, I got 31.3 in the last Honda Fit I tested. To make matters worse, the Smart requires premium fuel.

2008 Smart Fortwo

2008 Smart Fortwo

Tags: cars, cars news, Smart, Fortwo, European cars engines, fuel economy

2008 Volvo S80

Dana M — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 09:16:43 +0000

For Volvo, the biggest change has perhaps been on the outside. Long known as “Swedish bricks” due to the success of the long running 240-series, a change to more rounded and organic shapes took place with the debut of the C70 coupe in 1997, followed by the first generation of S80 in the summer of 1998.
The base engine in the S80 is a three-liter, double-overhead camshaft 6-cylinder (in-line) engine that puts out 235 hp at 6,200 rpm. Thanks to other enhancements such as variable-valve timing and a variable intake system, the torque picture is even better; with the twist factor being 236 lb/ft of a relatively low 3,200 rpm.
The interior is the type of warm, well-lighted place that Hemingway might have approved of. A modern wood inlay has replaced a classic wood inlay for the 2008 model year. In the center is the same floating center console you’d find in corporate cousin, the S40.

2008 Volvo S80

Tags: cars, European cars, Volvo, Volvo S80, engines, model, review

BMW M5 Hurricane

Dana M — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 09:05:11 +0000

The German tuner, G-Power prepared a BMW M5 that can easily beat an Audi RS6. BMW M5 Hurricane has a powerful tuning and the power difference is very big.
The Germans didn’t make important changes to the look, because they concentrated only on the engine. The engine that offered, until now has obtained 730 hp and this is great!
The German tuner didn’t told what it takes for the car to reach 100 km/h, bat the top speed for Hurricane is of 340 km/h. G-Power also wants to increase the compressor’s pressure to 1 bar, and it could get the car to 800 hp.

BMW M5 Hurricane

Tags: cars, BMW, BMW M5, Hurricane, hp, power, car tuning, cars engines, car news

BMW Tuning Clip

Dana M — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 09:05:12 +0000

Interesting BMW tuning clip.

BMW Tuning Clip

Tags: BMW, car tuning, European car videos

Fiat 500 M Sports Kit

Dana M — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 16:40:39 +0000

Fiat 500 M, realized by Monaco Elite suffered many exterior changes, like: mat black paint, aluminum grill, wings changes, 16 inch rims, etc.
They have put also a sport evacuation and the electronic from engine was modified, but they didn’t announce the hp improvement.
The interior is characterized by Dark Tobacco leather elements.
In the near future they will make the car in 12 different colors.
The price that you have to pay for the exterior changes is of €6,600 and for the interior of €2,000.

Fiat 500 M Sports Kit

Tags: Fiat, 500 M, sports kit, Monaco Elite, car tuning, engines

Porsche 911 Turbo Mission 400 Plus

Dana M — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 07:34:55 +0000

Porsche 911 Turbo Mission 400 Plus by Jurgen Alzen Motorsport, H&R and RS Tuning was specially modified to win the title for the fastest sporty street car, with a speed higher than 400 km/h.
Juergen Alzen Motorsport handled the design and the prototype aerodynamic, RS Tuning modified the engine, and H&R handled the suspensions.

Porsche 911 Turbo Mission 400 Plus features:

- engine of 3,800 cc, twin turbo (1.5 bar);
- respects Euro 4 standards;
- power of 1,054 hp at 7,700 rpm;
- maximum torque of 1,030 at 5,800 rpm.

Mission 400 Plus runs after the title of the fastest sporty street car on high speed tracks, from Nardo.

Porsche 911 Turbo Mission 400 Plus

Tags: Porsche, Porsche 911, turbo mission, 400 Plus, engines, car tuning

Alfa prices up 8C

Dana M — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 11:09:33 +0000

159,300 Euros: this is the final Euro list price for the Alfa Romeo 8C uber coupe. That’s a whisker over £100,000 at current exchange rates…

Intriguingly, Alfa has also announced that 99 of the 500 units it plans to produce of the 8c will be heading Stateside. Hence, the 8C will be the first Alfa sold in the US for around 12 years.
Powered by a Maserati-derived 4.7-litre V8 cranking out around 450bhp, the first 8Cs are expected to arrive with customers before the end of the year.

Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione

Tags: Alfa Romeo, European car news, 8C, price

Volvo V70 T6- Heico HS7

Dana M — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 21:35:41 +0000

HS7 is the name for the tuning package offered by Heico for Volvo V70 T6.
This includes: front grille, front spoiler with higher air sniffs, rear spoiler, alloy evacuation, better intercooler and many interior tuning elements.
What is not that great about this model is the fact that the engine’s power is the same, of 3 liter, Turbo, 330 hp, but we can wait for an upgrade.

Volvo V70 T6- Heico HS7

Tags: Volvo, Volvo V70, tuning element, car tuning, engines

Königseder Opel GT’aime

Dana M — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:39:01 +0000

The German tuner, Konigseder has its own Auto Show, not at Essen, but with the Opel GT’aime project. This is a beautiful car: a 300 hp car, with 35 more than the standard model.
The aerodynamic look is accentuated by the front bar and back aileron. The wings fire drawings, which are continuing on doors, give a little more originality.

The KW suspension, version 3, guarantees a sporty ride and many lap records. This could be possible with the Yokohama tyres and Giovanna Dalar’s 20” rims.
The Brembo custom made brakes offer efficiency and safety.

The interior is made of wood floor and a beautiful black and red combination of colors, made by GT’aime.

Königseder Opel GT’aime

Königseder Opel GT’aime

Königseder Opel GT’aime

Königseder Opel GT’aime

Tags: Konigseder, Opel, GT’aime, car tuning, engines, news