NY Show 2011 Highlights: 2012 Porsche Panamera S Hybrid

Volkswagen's corporate parts bin is a great resource, and it's something from which all of its brands get to pluck. This includes Porsche, which took the easy route of adding a gas-electric version to the Panamera lineup by performing a little hybrid-system transplant surgery. The result, the 2012 Panamera S hybrid, makes its debut at the 2011 Geneva show.

The combination of a supercharged, direct-injected 3.0-liter V-6 and an electric motor is not only used in the Cayenne, but also in the Volkswagen Touareg hybrid; the 333-hp gasoline engine is an Audi unit that, in different states of tune, can also be found sans hybrid tech in the S4, S5 convertible, A6, and Q7. With the assistance of a 47-hp electric motor, total power reaches 380 hp, channeled here only to the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. All other Panameras sold in the U.S. come with a ZF-supplied seven-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission, while Europeans also can choose a six-speed manual.

Porsche believes the Panamera hybrid's performance is good enough to justify adding the "S" badge. In reality, however, its performance may be closer to that of the standard, V-6–powered Panamera. With the hybrid, Porsche claims a 0-to-60-mph time of 5.7 seconds; top speed is 168 mph. The last 300-hp base Panamera we tested, equipped with the PDK and aided by all-wheel drive, hit 60 mph in 5.0 seconds and went on to a top speed of 160 mph. The corresponding data for the 400-hp, V-8–powered Panamera S: 4.7 seconds and 174 mph. That said, Porsche tends to conservatively estimate performance, but the lack of the fast-acting PDK transmission and all-wheel drive likely will hamper the hybrid’s launch.

Despite all of the power, the hybrid should shine in terms of fuel consumption, at least in the city. The regular Panamera S is rated for 16 mpg city/24 highway, and we (conservatively) estimate that the hybrid will return 21 mpg in the city and 25 highway. We'll have to wait for the EPA to rate the car for official figures.

What's a hybrid without the option to drive in full-electric mode? Maybe not as satisfying, as buyers of the Mercedes-Benz S400 hybrid are experiencing (or, rather, not experiencing). But the Panamera won't disappoint: Drivers can accelerate up to 50 mph on electricity alone, although the range in this mode is just 1.3 miles. Additionally, when the driver lifts off the accelerator at higher speeds, the gas engine will shut off and then be declutched from the drivetrain. Porsche calls this "sailing"; we'd call it coasting, and with the function active up to 103 mph, the cops will sometimes call it speeding.

Thanks to: Car and Driver

NY Show 2011 Highlights: 2012 Porsche Panamera Turbo S

This new Turbo S model is the fastest, most powerful variant of the Porsche Panamera yet.

The twin-turbo 4.8-litre V8 super-saloon has had a power hike over the Turbo model on which it is based, from 493bhp to 542bhp, taking it beyond its Mercedes S63 AMG (518bhp) and BMW 760Li (537bhp) rivals. The Turbo S’s top speed is 191mph, 3mph higher than the standard Turbo, while its 3.8sec 0-62mph time makes it quicker than a 911 GT3 RS (4.0sec).

Porsche engineers have fitted titanium-aluminium turbine wheels to the turbochargers and revised the engine control management of the Turbo S to boost power and performance. Torque is also up in the S over the standard Turbo, from 510lb ft to 553lb ft when driven in Sport and Sport Plus modes, and up to 590lb ft is available with an overboost function.

These increases have been made without sacrificing economy, which stays at 24.6mpg combined, due to the lighter weight and lower inertia of the turbine and compressor wheel in the turbochargers.

Several dynamic systems are offered as standard on the Turbo S. Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control boosts cornering stability, while Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus works with an electronically controlled limited-slip differential to apply a variable torque split to the rear wheels for greater traction and agility. A Sport Chrono Package Turbo revises suspension and engine controls for a more “sporting” drive in Sport Plus mode.

Styling changes include new 20-inch Turbo II wheels, a sports exhaust and a two-tone leather interior. The Turbo S goes in sale in June, priced from £122,623, a near £20k hike over the standard Turbo.

Thanks to: Autocar

NY Show 2011 Highlights: 2012 Nissan Versa

Nissan’s biggest news at the New York auto show is small in scale, but important in terms of a market segment that’s likely to expand in direct proportion to escalating fuel prices. Meet the 2012 Versa sedan, the second generation of Nissan’s four-door subcompact. While it will again have a five-door hatchback sibling, Nissan is spreading the auto-show love and brought only the sedan to New York. Riding on a new architecture with new sheetmetal and a revised engine, the 2012 Versa is about as new as new gets in the car biz.

Describing the new Versa’s shape as forgettable might sound like a backhanded compliment, but let us explain. The front-end styling of the original Versa drew catcalls and Bronx cheers from just about everyone everywhere it went. So the good news with the redesign is that the first gen’s jack-o-lantern visage is gone, replaced by a much more conventional design similar to other contemporary Nissans. It suffers from a certain degree of inconspicuousness, but, on the other hand, it can’t be called ugly—and it manages to look like a bigger car.

That’s a tribute to the design, because at 175.4 inches overall, the 2012 car is actually 0.6 inch shorter than its predecessor. The illusion is probably rooted in the proportions. Nissan has reduced the front overhang, added 2.7 inches to the rear overhang (which pays off in trunk space), and reduced the Versa’s height by 1.2 inches, bringing it down to 59.6. Inside, Nissan claims the new sedan’s rear seat provides more legroom than a BMW 5-series’, a Lexus LS460’s, or a Mercedes E-class’s. Nissan lists total interior volume at 90 cubic feet. And speaking of volumes, the new car’s trunk expands to 14.8 cubic feet, versus 13.8 for the current sedan.

That’s all thanks to the Versa’s new foundations. Although its wheelbase, width, and track are unchanged, Nissan insists that the architecture is new—specifically, that it is a new global platform, V (replacing B). The V platform is simpler than the structure it replaces, using 20 percent fewer components, with a corresponding reduction in curb weight of 150 pounds, a laudable achievement in an age of steadily escalating mass (in response to steadily escalating safety mandates from NHTSA).

Thanks to: Car and Driver

NY Show 2011 Highlights: 2012 Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe

Mercedes is aiming to outgun BMW’s M3 coupé and the Audi RS5 with this hardcore AMG version of its recently launched two-door C-class.

The C63 AMG coupé produces up to 480bhp from its normally aspirated V8 motor, putting it well clear of its two German rivals and giving the model raw acceleration that wouldn’t disgrace a mid-engined supercar.

Unlike the recent CLS AMG, the C-class coupé from Mercedes’ in-house tuning division sticks with the familiar 6.2-litre, normally aspirated V8 engine. In the latest spec, the unit produces 451bhp and 443lb ft, more power and considerably more torque than the BMW (295lb ft) or the Audi (317lb ft). That’s enough to take the C-class from 0-62mph in 4.5sec, with a limited top speed of 155mph.

However, Mercedes will also offer an AMG Performance Package for the car, swapping the front brakes for composite items, adding interior flourishes and adopting the pistons, connecting rods and crankshaft from the version of the engine used in the gullwing SLS AMG supercar. The tweaks increase power to 480bhp (torque stays the same), cutting a further 0.1sec from the 0-62mph time.

Just one transmission is available: AMG’s seven-speed Speedshift automatic. It offers a number of modes, accessed via a rotary controller (another SLS AMG carryover), that cut shift times to as little as 100ms. There’s also launch control.

The C63 AMG coupé gets a different chassis set-up from the regular two-doors, with three-link front suspension, multi-link rear suspension and wider track at both ends. There’s also more negative camber, thicker anti-roll bars and revised spring and damper rates.

The visual cues include an AMG front splitter, LED daytime running lights, side air vents, five-spoke AMG alloy wheels, bespoke side sill panels, a rear diffuser and twin chrome exhaust tips.

Interior features include an AMG performance steering wheel (coated in Alcantara if you specify the Performance Package), metallic trim, AMG sports seats, covered with a new breathable man-made fibre called Dinamica, and piano black finish on the instrument panel.

The C63 AMG coupé will be officially launched in July, around a month after the regular two-doors. Final prices have yet to be specified, but expect them to be around the same figure as the M3 coupé’s £57,190 sticker.

Thanks to: Autocar

NY Show 2011 Highlights: Mercedes A-Class Concept

With automakers from St. Petersburg to Seoul presenting show cars heralded as the future of wheeled urban logistics, the Mercedes-Benz A-class concept taking the stand at this year’s New York auto show is a breath of fresh air. (It also will be simultaneously unveiled at the Shanghai auto show.) There are no electric motors spinning the rubber here—a conventional engine and transmission motivate the curvaceous car. It previews Benz’s upcoming competitor for the Audi A3, Volkswagen Golf, and BMW 1-series.

Benz’s first preview of its next-gen small cars came via the F800 Style concept, and this A-class concept moves the design language one step closer to reality. Still, despite this car’s connection to an actual future product, don’t expect everything from the concept on the stand in New York to be duplicated in production.

Among the A-class’s pure auto-show fantasies: the LED-lit turn signals delicately integrated into the sliver of a mount for the side-view mirrors and the “star-filled sky” pattern on the grill and lower air dam. The same can be said for the wheels—very cool, but very much not happening.

Other aspects of the concept’s design are no less bold—but more realistic. The prominent strake starting behind the front wheel and sweeping up to the top of the rear fender is abrupt; it could be toned down for the real deal, and the same goes for the AMG-esque hood strakes. The elegant side-window profile recalls those on several Mercedes coupes, and the ginormous headlights, which here are illuminated by LEDs and integrate fiber-optic daytime running lights, are straight outta the CLS.

Both the current, second-gen A-class and its predecessor were front-wheel drive, and the next A will be no different. The concept packs a transversely mounted 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine under the hood—it’s turbocharged and direct-injected, and Mercedes says it’s good for 210 hp. The engine is from the automaker’s newest family of four-bangers. It’s hooked to a new dual-clutch transmission, and though the company is mum on its number of gears or provenance, we’d guess that it has at least seven cogs.

Unlike previous A-classes, however, this model and its spin-offs—more on those below—will sit much closer to the ground. The first two A-class generations had a “sandwich” floor meant to accommodate the batteries for an electric-drive system. It never happened in much volume—some 500 A-class E-cells were leased—but the layout meant that even the conventionally powered cars looked like mini MPVs. As the new A-class concept demonstrates, the dorky upright look will be reserved for the B-class, while the A is more reminiscent of Volkswagen’s racy Euro-market Scirocco.

Thanks to: Car and Driver

NY Show 2011 Highlights: Lexus LF-Gh Concept

The Lexus GS sedan can be considered the Jan Brady of luxury sedans. Capable, but generally unremarkable and hardly a segment-smasher. Evidently, Lexus’s middle child is ready to shake things up, and will strut its stuff as the LF-Gh hybrid concept on the show stand at the 2011 New York auto show.

Lexus claims to have started with a clean sheet of paper, but from the side it looks a lot like a scaled-up version of the IS sedan, while the body-side contouring appears virtually identical to that of the big LS. The LF-Gh measures 192.5 inches long by 73.6 inches wide, making it about 2.5 inches longer and almost two inches wider than today’s GS450h. However derivative of its production siblings the car may be, it should be noted that the LF-Gh’s more-conventional sedan shape represents a shift from the fast profile of GS generation three. But don’t rule out the introduction of a sexy five-door fastback to the GS lineup, to counter the likes of the Audi A7; it’s possible that the Japanese company could jump on that German-led bandwagon.

Among the immediately noticeable stylistic elements are LED headlamps rendered in funky bubbled glass; an attractive rear end with razor-sharp taillamps that wrap around the side; and of course, the massive, pinched “spindle-shaped” grille, which shows there’s a pulse at the Lexus design studio—it’s bound to stir up some controversy. Also worth noting are the separate L-shaped banks of LED running lamps up front and the sharp sheetmetal-to-bumper cutline at the rear. Lexus says that the LF-Gh concept “explores a minimization of traditional features such as side mirrors and door handles,” the result of which looks pretty cool here but definitely won’t make production.

The company was short on details regarding the interior other than to mention it will be driver-oriented—a sharp departure from the current GS—and will feature a clock with a three-dimensional face. (So, uh, a regular clock?) Lexus also declined to say much about what’s under the skin of the concept, other than to mention the 20-inch wheels are turned by one of its hybrid powertrains; presumably, this means a V-6/electric combo that will beat the current GS450h’s 292 hp, 267 lb-ft of torque, and EPA city/highway ratings of 22/25 mpg. Production models will certainly also have six- and possibly eight-cylinder gas-only options.

Oh, and get used to that grille—it previews the faces of Lexuses to come.

Thanks to: Car and Driver

NY Show 2011 Highlights: 2012 Kia Soul

Kia’s well-designed, well-equipped, and rather fun Soul has made a lot of friends around here. Now, two years after the boxy hatch’s launch, Kia is showing off a mid-cycle refresh for the 2012 model. Previewed at the 2011 New York auto show, the update includes more content, more power, and a few surprising touches.

First, the fun part: Thanks to direct injection, the base 1.6-liter four-cylinder now puts out 135 hp and 121 lb-ft of torque (up from 122 hp and 115 lb-ft for 2011’s 1.6). Fuel economy also increases, jumping from 26 mpg city/31 highway to 28/34. A six-speed manual replaces last year’s five-cogger as the standard transmission. The available 2.0-liter four also gets a boost, landing at 160 hp and 143 lb-ft of torque (versus 142 hp and 137 lb-ft), with fuel economy rising three ticks on either side of the equation, to 27/33. That consumption applies to both the six-speed manual and the newly available six-speed automatic. It will take more power than that, of course, to make the Soul truly fast, but a bump in output accompanied by an increase in fuel economy is a good start.

Exterior styling updates include new LED taillight clusters for higher-spec trims, along with ritzy LED projector headlights. All Souls get a redesigned hood and new front and rear bumpers, as well as body-color door handles and mirror housings.

The cabin is promised to be quieter, thanks to a thicker insulation panel in the dash, although the driver can offset that by exploring the upper volume ranges of the Infinity audio system now available on fancier trims. Top-spec Souls also offer the option of either navigation or Kia’s UVO voice-controlled infotainment system, although, oddly enough, the two options cannot be ordered in tandem. Other surprisingly upscale options include heated leather seats, automatic climate control, and a push-button starter. If that doesn’t seem particularly unexpected to you, consider that pricing isn’t likely to climb much from the $14K–$20K range of the current model. See now why we like the Soul?

Thanks to: Car and Driver