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Citröen Metropolis concept car (2010) first picturesBy Chris ChiltonFirst Official Pictures19 April 2010 16:34
Citröen is using this week’s 2010 Shanghai motor show to give a sneak view of how a new Citröen limo could look. The press statement says the Metropolis concept ‘pays homage to China’s extraordinary development’ but just how this Citröen forces millions of people to live in poverty with no access to an uncensored media isn’t yet clear.A massive 5.3m long (longer than a stretched 7-series) but only 1.4m high, the four-door coupe’s styling has echoes of Citröen’s incredible GT supercar concept of 2008 and was developed by Citröen’s Shanghai-based design team. China’s car market is phenomenally lucrative and rich Chinese are hungry for luxury saloons so the Metropolis is likely to resurface as a Chinese-market limo rather than point to the next C6.
Jaguar XJ Supersport (2010) CAR reviewBy Phil McNamara20 April 2010 10:36
The Supersport is the cream on top of Jaguar’s new XJ range for 2010. The supercharged V8-powered limousine is the flagship, a full-fat experience in which only 5% of XJ customers will indulge. How does the £87,455, ultimate version of Britain’s S-class drive? That’s not a Jag XJ, that’s a Citroen concept car! Whatever happened to drawing rooms on wheels?Unless you’ve been taking a shower of Bobby Ewing proportions, you’ll have spotted the design transformation of Jaguar’s saloons. The 2010 XJ takes the boldness of the 2008 XF and twists, gambling on a radical-looking limo in a conservative market segment. It’s an imposing mash-up of limousine stature and sporty details, such as the diving roofline, colossal grille, 911-style flared hips and 19-inch wheels as standard (the Supersport rolls on 20s). The brutish XJ looks like nothing else in its class, whereas its predecessor looked identical to its forebear. That’s progress, with bells on.The cabin trumps its avantgarde exterior. Every dashboard is wrapped in luxurious leather, and glinting round vents and a big, concave steering wheel evoke ‘50s Americana. Genuine wood inserts flow from the doors around the dash-top to form a prow like a boat’s, meeting in an understated Jaguar plaque below the centre of the windscreen.Jaguar chauffeured journalists in long wheelbase XJs (around £3000 for the extra legroom) through dark Parisienne streets. The Eiffel Tower glowed yellow overhead, visible through the standard double-section glass roof, complementing the gentle blue haze of the interior lighting. A wonderfully atmospheric experience, enhanced by a cabin that positively reeks of luxury and character: eliminate the badges and customers could mistake it for a Bentley’s. It makes the German interiors look cheap and dowdy.
Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.4 TB 170 (2010) CAR reviewBy Chris Chilton12 April 2010 23:30
Alfa Romeo is launching the new 2010 Giulietta to replace its 147 in the heartland mid-sized hatch. So the new Alfa Giulietta faces up to some pretty competent machinery, such as the VW Golf, Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra.What’s going on? I thought Alfas were meant to look great and be terrible to drive. Let’s hope this one drives better than it looks... We assume you’re talking about the Giulietta's less than beautiful face on this new C-segment fighter. Granted, it’s bland and formless after the chiselled muscularity of the old 147, but we’ve got modern pedestrian crash legislation to thank for that. The Giulietta's snout is a grower anyway and the rest of the shape makes up for it. The chunky hind quarters mean you need to move up from the basic 16in rims but the rear three-quarter view is swoopingly fantastic to these eyes.The new 2010 Giulietta looks much bigger than the old 147 It is, but that’s because Alfa has replaced the 147 with two cars: the smaller three-door Mito and the five-door-only Giulietta. The big hatch is fractionally bigger than a Golf with a generous 350-litre boot and a back seat that doesn’t quite offer best in class accommodation (the squab is too low and kneeroom only average) but is at least competitive.
How to take the perfect oversteer photographBy Tim Pollard16 April 2010 15:28
Poring over the photos from our May 2010 cover shoot, we were struck by a sequence of frames showing ace photographer Paul Barshon at work. We'd gathered together eight of the greatest Quattros ever conceived by Audi to celebrate 30 years of fast four-wheel drives and writer Jethro Bovingdon was out to prove a point. Namely that Quattros will drift. If you're violent enough with the throttle/wheel/angle of attack.But as well as a stunning sequence of sideways shots, we were impressed by just how close Barshon was to a very crossed-up, 1.7-tonne Audi supercar. Designer Alex Tapley, who rattled off the behind-the-scenes shots above, reckons he was less than six feet away from a £112,000 accident.'Get close, close your eyes and hope for the best,' laughs Barshon. 'You just go by feel. When I shoot bikes, I get them coming one foot away from me. In fact I've been hit twice by motorcycle mirrors – one hit my camera and left me with a black eye for a week.'It's all about creating drama. You want to put yourself in a position that creates drama and that's why I get as close as possible to the subject. You have to have a driver who knows what he's doing and whom you trust. Jethro was inch perfect.'I like to shoot at slow shutter speeds to create drama and actually wanted to get closer still.'Oh, and one last thing for us mere amateurs. Don't forget to take the lens cap off.
Maybach 62Click to enlarge pictureMaybach 62 (© Mercedes-Benz USA) Maybach 62
Oh my! Did we just say "cheap seats?" Not so in the Maybach 62, a $392,750 luxury land yacht for wealthy folks whose time is too valuable for them to drive themselves. Certainly it's hard to find a bad seat in a car where everybody gets Grand Nappa leather, auto-adjusting belts, heated and cooled seats and a 600-watt, 21-speaker Bose surround-sound audio system.Click to enlarge pictureMaybach 62 (© Mercedes-Benz USA)Maybach 62But the Maybach 62's luxury amenities definitely have a rear-seat bias. Built into the rear-center console is a compressor-driven refrigerator. Each rear seat has its own folding table surfaced with your favorite lacquered wood. The seats not only recline, but have extendable footrests. The rear passengers have their own sunroof made from electro-dimming glass that turns from transparent to opaque at the touch of a button, and champagne flutes come standard.
In the wake of concerns over the Lexus GX 460, Toyota is testing all its SUV models for potential problems with lift-throttle oversteer.
By the editors of AutoWeek2010 Lexus GX 460 (© Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.)Click to enlarge pictureIn the wake of concerns over the Lexus GX 460, shown, Toyota is testing all its SUV models for potential problems with lift-throttle oversteer.Toyota Motor Corp. said on Thursday that it will conduct safety tests on all of its SUVs after suspending sales of the Lexus GX 460 following a report of a risk of rollover accidents.Toyota stopped GX 460 sales earlier this week. Consumer Reports, which admitted it has automatically given certain Toyotas "recommended" ratings without ever driving them, warned against buying the GX 460, calling it a potential safety risk in certain corners. Toyota also suspended sales in the Middle East and Russia, the other markets where the GX 460 is sold. Toyota has sold 5,400 2010 GXs in the United States and Canada in the four months it has been on the market, 580 in the Middle East and Russia.
