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For Saab, 2011 will be a crucial year, one that could make or break the company’s success. In a statement made in January, Chairman Victor Mullen said he's confident that the automaker will be able to pick up momentum and achieve the projected sales volume of 80,000 units. But for that the Swedes need new models and it seems that they’ll deliver.
According to a press invitation sent out today, aside from the already confirmed and teased 2011 9-5 Sportcombi, Saab's Geneva Motor Show stand will host the premiere of a brand new concept model and either facelifted or special edition versions of the 9-3 range.
As previously reported, Saab wants to revive the 1950s 92 model, so it’s possible that the concept car will announce just that. Furthermore, a report on the Saabs United website claims that the design study will also showcase the brand’s new design language under Saab Design Chief Jason Castriota.
The enthusiast site also asserts that the updates to the 9-3 could be a special edition version of the cabriolet called “9-3 Independence Edition” to commemorate one year from the day Spyker bought Saab from General Motors (February 23, 2010), and a Griffin-badged variant of the sedan model.
Porsche purists have never been too fond of the Cayenne and Panamera, but customers less interested in heritage and pedigree have bought plenty of them. In fact, both models have significantly boosted the automaker’s 2010 sales, so not only are the Germans going keep them in their lineup, but will also continue to pump out new versions, at least according to the latest rumors. Citing inside sources, Autoweek reported today that Porsche is now considering a...long-wheelbase version of the Panamera, which could go on sale in the United States and China as early as 2012.
The same sources stated that the four-door coupe’s wheelbase could be extended by as much as 5 inches (12.7 cm) for a total of 120 inches (3.05 meters), enabling the Panamera to go after the likes of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Lang that boasts a 124-inch (3.15 m) wheelbase.
The additional length is said to result in longer rear doors, which will also improve access, one of the current Panamera’s flaws.
In other news, Porsche has allegedly postponed its plans for new Panamera body styles (convertible and shooting brake) until 2015.
“We've decided to wait until the second-generation model before adding alternative body styles,” a high-ranking Porsche official told the news site. “We're already flat-out meeting demand for a single body style as it is,” he added.
Cars have come a long way in the past forty years. We’ve seen the introduction of hybrids and hydrogen cars, Head Up Displays (HUDs), adaptive cruise control and in-car navigation. The modern automobile is widely considered to be better built, more fuel efficient and offering a better driving experience than the cars that preceded it just four decades before.
Compare this to the road. In 1861 the first speed limits were introduced in the UK. In 1917, the first highway centerline was painted on the M-15, a road that would one day become part of U.S. Highway 41. Cats eyes appeared in 1935 and the speed camera came in 1971. Since then, not much has changed. Speed limits may have varied and traffic laws may have evolved over the years, but the road itself essentially remains the same.
Scott Brusaw, a 53yo electrical engineer from Idaho, wants to change all that. His Solar Roadways concept is not just unique, it’s damn near Jetson-esque. Imagine driving on a highway made not of asphalt or concrete but of super strong, super durable glass. Beneath the glass would be solar cells that provide power to the embedded heating elements and LED road markings that keep the road clear of snow and visible to drivers in even the harshest of driving conditions.
The roads could even provide enough surplus energy to power homes and businesses on either side. How’s that for environmentally friendly commuting? An alternative to the Solar Roadways is Rajib Mallick’s clever pavement. The Worcester Polytechnic Institute civil engineer is working with his colleagues and a grant from the National Science Foundation and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to create pavement that contains thermal-insulating pipes that are constantly heated through summer. Like a giant underground thermos, these pipes retain the heat throughout winter, melting the surface ice (and presumably warming your feet).
To retrofit an existing pavement could cost as little as US$12,500 per fifty metres, with US$1,000 per fifty metres in maintenance costs and provide power to 55 homes. The whole thing could pay for itself in just five years in reductions in energy production and savings, Mallick estimates.
Compare this to Brusaw’s Solar Roadways that could cost as much as US$4.4 million a mile. A big ask, but then they would be more durable than asphalt roads and require less maintenance. And even during peak hour traffic, the solar cells would still being operating at fifty percent. Brusaw is looking for ways to make his Solar Roadways provide as much traction as its less sophisticated equivalents, and to find the optimum temperature for melting snow and ice without simultaneously melting your car tires.
Smarter roads are well within our technological grasp; it’s only a matter of time before our law makers decide to take them from fantasy to reality.
Porsche is continuing its foray into the eco-friendly segment with a new full parallel hybrid vehicle that’s headed for the Geneva show, according to a statement released today. However, the Germans are keeping specific details hush-hush, only stating that the new model is set to build on the success of the Cayenne S Hybrid and “signals a new chapter” in the brand’s “Porsche Intelligent Performance” philosophy.
While we can’t confirm anything, signs point to a hybrid version of the Panamera four-door coupe, which was last mentioned (but long ago teased) at the end of January. Porsche then said that it’s considering a diesel-powered Cayenne for the States, which could be followed by diesel and gasoline-electric hybrid Panamera variants as well.
Given the Cayenne S Hybrid reference, it’s possible that the Panamera hybrid will use a similar powertrain setup with the SUV model, which features a 333HP 3.0-liter supercharged V6 gasoline engine and a 47HP (34 kW) electric motor for a combined output of 380HP (279 kW) and 580 Nm (428 lb-ft) of peak torque.
A small series production of the Lancia-badged New Stratos seems increasingly likely as time passes by and more people learn about the supercar created by Pininfarina for German businessman Michael Stoschek.According to the latest announcement, so far 40 potential buyers from Europe and other regions have registered their interest in the New Stratos, but Pininfarina and Stoschek believe that this number will continue to increase after the massive exposure from test drives and presentations in a variety of car magazines in their February and March issues.
The original cost of development of the New Stratos is rumored to be around €3 million but the company believes it can sell the supercar for somewhere around €400,000 or $545,000, which includes €100,000 for a Ferrari F430 donor car and €300,000 for the conversion.
The New Stratos, which pays homage to the legendary 1970s Lancia rally car made with parts borrowed from the Ferrari Dino V6, was designed and built by Pininfarina. Underneath its carbon-fibre body clothes lays a cut-down Ferrari 430 Scuderia chassis complete with its 4.3-liter V8 engine churning out an improved 540 ponies and over 500 Nm (369 lb-ft) of peak torque.
