Europe unveils crossover, go-fast cars
Maserati’s 404 hp V6 Quattroporte with AWD option is based on Chrysler 300
There were 59 vehicle introductions at the 2013 North American International Auto Show this month. Here, we round up the noteworthy unveilings from European car manufacturers. Volkswagen
Germany’s Volkswagen revealed a soon-to-be-produced concept Crossover, the Cross Blue.
The recent focus on designing cars for the U.S. market has paid handsome dividends for the automaker. The new all-wheel-drive crossover was shown as a six-seater, however, it was made clear that any production model would also arrive with a seven-seater option.
The Cross Blue comes as a turbocharged diesel/electric plug-in hybrid, which, at the push of a button can also run in all-electric mode for up to 33 kilometres.
Volkswagen estimates there are 1.2 million midsized SUV’s being sold worldwide and expects a 22 per cent increase by 2021.
Another production-ready concept, the Passat Performance, will add some zip to the car’s family image. Besides 19-inch wheels and fancy lights, the concept rides atop a sports-tuned suspension and is powered by a 250 horsepower 1.8-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged four — 80 more ponies than the current 2.5L in-line five-cylinder engine.
— Rod Cleaver
BMW
Based on the 650 Coupe, BMW’s four-door M6 Gran Coupé’s twin-turbo 4.4L V8 is boosted to 560 hp — with 502 pound-feet of torque — in the transformation. Acceleration to 100 km/h takes but 4.2 seconds, a smidgen faster than Mercedes CLS 63 but a tick behind Audi’s new RS7.
Other changes include the dual-clutch manumatic transmission with paddle shifters, a change from the base version’s eight-speed, which uses a traditional torque converter in its traditional automatic. Like the M5 and M6, t The M6 Gran Coupe offers a multi-adjustable suspension system that can be accessed via steering-wheel-mounted M Drive buttons and carbo-ceramic brakes will be available
In other news, the company says the 3 Series coupe’s name change to the 4 Series is not so much about the rejection of 3 but rather “the 4 stands for greater sportiness, greater exclusivity and even clearer differentiation from the BMW 3 Series sedan range.”
And, indeed, the brandnew 4 Series concept BMW previewed at the Detroit auto show is a sleeker, edgier de- sign than its four-door 3 Series sibling. Its dramatically sloping rear roofline and fullbody-length sharp creases constitute BMW’s best stylistic rendering in quite some time. Expect the 4 Series to be powered by the complete range of four- and six-cylinder turbocharged engines motivating the current 3 Series.
— David Booth Mercedes-Benz
The easy way to think of Mercedes-Benz’s 2014 CLA is as a B-Class hatchback that has morphed into a sedan. The two cars use the same 208-hp, 2.0L turbocharged four and dual-clutch sevenspeed transmission. Like the B-Class, it’s primarily a frontdriver, although Mercedes will, for the first time, offer a 4Matic all-wheel-drive option based on a front-wheel-drive platform.
Mercedes is claiming what it says is the lowest coefficient of drag for any modern production car, 0.22, thanks to extra slippery A-pillars and a rear diffuser that reduces drag. Mercedes-Benz is promising class-leading efficiency; in CLA220 CDI form, the small four-cylinder turbodiesel is rated at 56 miles per gallon in the European cycle.
Much of the interior is carried over from the B250, including a fixed LCD touch screen that controls functions such as air conditioning and infotainment. The CLA250 should land in Mercedes dealerships by fall, with the all-wheel-drive version to follow in the spring of 2014.
Besides the CLA and new E-Class Coupe and Convertible launched at the Detroit auto show, Mercedes also took the wrappers off a new E63 AMG sedan. Available with as much as 577 turbocharged horsepower (in the extra-boosted S trim), the big news is that the high-performance E will be available with 4Matic all-wheel-drive newly recalibrated for use in an ultra high-performance sedan. Besides benefiting all around handling, all that traction helps the E63 S-Model scoot to 100 km/h in less than four seconds. The S-Model also gets the full gamut of the Mercedes performance hardware with a limited-slip rear differential, sports suspension with rear air springs and optional, 400-millimetre AMG carbon-ceramic brakes.
— David Booth Audi
In one fell swoop, Audi’s swoopy A7 goes from somnolent also-ran to speedy frontrunner in the ultra-sporty four-door-coupe segment. Thanks to the massive influx of turbo boost, the Audi S7’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 has been boosted to an M6-challenging 560 hp. That’s enough, by the way to tie the resultant RS7 with the GT version of the company’s R8 V10 for the most powerful Audi offered in North America. Maximum torque is also bumped up to 516 pound-feet and 25 kilograms of unwanted weight have been shed. That means the RS7 can scoot to 100 kilometres an hour in less than four seconds and scream to an almost 310 km/h top speed if fitted with the speed de-restricted Dynamic Plus package.
The RS7 gets handling advantages such as adaptive air suspension, a sport differential and firmer suspension. And it comes standard with ginormous 20-inch wheels with even larger 21-inchers available.
A word of explanation regarding Audi’s appellations might help in emphasizing how special the RS7 is. Only three RS’s have previously been imported into Canada — the RS4, TT RS and the RS5, which is just now making its way to these shores. The confusing aspect is that Audi also has numerous S models, which one might think are equivalent to BMW’s M models and Mercedes-Benz’s AMG variants. Instead, Audi’s S trims denote the highest level of its standard models.
Thus, the S7 is Audi’s competitor to the V8-powered 650i Gran Sport. Only the RS models do battle with the M brand, in this case the RS7 going head to head with the newly introduced M6 Gran Coupe.
Also on the Audi stand at the North American International Auto Show was the new — and somewhat awkwardly named — Audi SQ5. As one might expect, it’s an upgraded version of the Q5 compact ute, albeit not quite to RS (or M or AMG) standards. Instead, it gets Audi’s ubiquitous supercharged 3.0L V6. Its 354 hp is enough to propel the eight-speed SQ6 to 100 kilometres an hour in 5.3 seconds.
— David Booth Maserati
Fiat-owned Maserati is counting on three new models: the Jeep Grand Cherokee-based Levante SUV, the entry-level Ghibli sedan and the new 2014 Quattroporte, the only Italian-brand vehicle revealed at this year’s Detroit auto show.
Loosely based on the Chrysler 300 platform, the sixth-generation Quattroporte sedan will offer a 404-hp twin-turbo 3.0L V6 with optional all-wheel-drive for the first time, in addition to a top-line, rear-drive V8 model.
With 523 hp, Maserati says the new twin-turbo V8 Quattroporte scoots from zero to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds. The V6/AWD version is only 0.2 seconds behind, while the RWD six model takes 5.1 seconds. The new Quattroporte offers new-found adultfriendly rear legroom, but is apparently 100 kg lighter.
To take on rivals like the Audi A7, BMW 6 Gran Coupe, Jaguar XJ, Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class and Porsche Panamera, the Italian-built Quattroporte will offer standard kit such as a touch screen infotainment system, adaptive suspension, 20-inch wheels and Brembo brakes.
When it goes on sale later this year, 2014 Quattroporte pricing is expected to range from $130-190,000.
— John LeBlanc