Alex Nunez
Sedans/Saloons, Sports/GTs, Australia, HSV
Since last summer, rumors have swirled in Australia regarding a potential “flagship” HSV GTSR. The original scuttlebutt had GM’s Aussie performance division dropping the Corvette Z06’s LS7 V8 into one of its fully-tricked, Commodore-based sedans. That never panned out. In the interim, we’ve seen the introduction of the blown, 620-horsepower, 6.2-liter LS9 V8 in the Corvette ZR1, as well as its less-caffeinated brother, the 550-horsepower LSA, in the Cadillac CTS-V. As such, the time is nigh to commence Round 2 of the HSV GTSR rumormongering. Australia’s Motor magazine (no website? come on, guys) steps up to the plate with its March 2008 issue cover shot, a Photoshop of an HSV sedan sporting the ZR1’s hood window, with a claim that the LS9 is headed Down Under. Whether the rumor’s even remotely valid is anyone’s guess, and it’s likely to go on for months. You see, something like the mythical GTSR would be a pretty major reveal, worthy of a big stage like the Sydney Motor Show. That doesn’t take place until October, so there’s plenty of time for this one to get whipped into a frenzy. Thanks to Autoblog (and Motor mag) reader Zayed B. for the photo!
UPDATE: I’m reminded in the comments that the Melbourne Motor Show is less than three weeks away, so perhaps we’ll get more word on whether there’s a Super HSV in the works sooner rather than later.
[Source: Motor]
Source: Rumormill: Flagship HSV GTSR to get LS9 V8?
For over three years, US car buyers have soldiered on with variations on the aged first-generation Ford Focus architecture while Europeans have moved on to enjoy the much better-looking and more refined gen-two model. Ford CEO Allan Mulally has officially confirmed that the upcoming 2010 Focus will be global, meaning that our interest in the Ford compact should grow considerably. The web scribes at FoMoCo News have popped up a possible sketch of the next Focus (source unknown, so take with a grain of salt), and the three-door rendering shares a lot of design elements with its smaller sibling, the Verve (shown at right). The taut, flowing headlamps and aggressive fender bulges are similar, as is the trapezoidal theme for the lower intake. The contour of the two vehicles is also a near perfect match, with the hatch and rear windows receiving very similar angles. The Focus sketch has more pronounced side panels with a flare that stretches from behind the front wheel well all the way to the hatch, giving the larger three-door a more athletic appearance. 
Brake energy regeneration is all the rage these days on everything from full out electric vehicles to hybrids and even straight up gasoline engines on new BMWs. On all of those vehicles, the kinetic energy that would normally be transformed into heat energy through friction brakes is used to turn an electrical generator that charges a battery, harnessing that energy for later use. Of course in many respects the greenest mode of transportation is your feet. Going out and walking using the energy from the food you eat may be the most efficient way of harnessing solar energy. 
Out back, pointier taillamps mimic the reshaped lighting up front, and the integrated spoiler on the rear hatch is now body-colored, as opposed to the blacked-out piece on the current car. Brenda also reports that the new FX is slightly longer than the one it’s set to replace. An FX37 with at least 300 horsepower is expected, as is as a step-up model sporting a 5.0 or 5.5-liter V8 making something in the vicinity 375 - 400 horses. We’ll be in Geneva to bring you the news as it happens. 
Mitsubishi has been developing an electric version of their i mini-car in collaboration with Tokyo Electric Power Co. since 2005. Early drives of the car by some European journalists have been largely positive so far. The Japanese carmaker has just delivered the latest development iteration of the car that they hope start selling in the next couple of years to their utility partner. The upgraded model has a new lithium battery pack which now sports a 16kWh capacity. Apparently that’s enough for 100-mile range. That’s quite impressive considering that GM is looking for a 40 mile range from the same battery capacity in the Volt. Of course the Volt is a significantly larger car than the iMiev and is being designed to meet U.S. regulations and customer expectations. The 23-mile improvement is achieved through a smaller, lighter and more efficient motor, a smaller inverter and reduced rolling resistance from the wheels. Tepco has received 10 of the upgraded iMiev models for a test program that should run through March of next year. 
It has come to our attention -ok, we actually read about it in the invitation we received to see the XC60 live at the Geneva Motor Show from Volvo…, that the Swedish carmaker will release the first official pictures of its all-new XC60 SUV on Wednesday, February 20.