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Saab 9-X Biohybrid concept (2008): first official pictures

By Phil McNamara First Official Pictures 03 March 2008 21:52 Saab will enter the premium hatch market around 2010, with the production version of this 9-X Biohybrid concept. Unveiled at a sneak preview on the eve of the Geneva Motor Show, the 9-X Biohybrid is a sleek, three-door hatch. It’s a rival for Audi’s A3 Sportback, BMW 1-series – and the Toyota Prius!

Saab 9-X Biohybrid concept

By Phil McNamara First Official Pictures 03 March 2008 21:52 Saab will enter the premium hatch market around 2010, with the production version of this 9-X Biohybrid concept. Unveiled at a sneak preview on the eve of the Geneva Motor Show, the 9-X Biohybrid is a sleek, three-door hatch. It’s a rival for Audi’s A3 Sportback, BMW 1-series – and the Toyota Prius!

Seat Bocanegra (2008): first official pictures

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 03 March 2008 22:47 What’s new on Seat’s Geneva Motor Show stand?It’s all about the new Ibiza on the Mediterranean-themed Seat stand today. Forget the Bocanegra badge, this concept is a thinly veiled teaser for the new supermini due to hit showrooms at the end of the year.It looks pretty special, a tantalisingly taut three-door supermini with good proportions and a fresh take on the swooping wheelarch line that has come to epitomise modern Seats. We’re less keen on the blindspot-inducing quarterlights, though.

Seat Bocanegra

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 03 March 2008 22:47 What’s new on Seat’s Geneva Motor Show stand?It’s all about the new Ibiza on the Mediterranean-themed Seat stand today. Forget the Bocanegra badge, this concept is a thinly veiled teaser for the new supermini due to hit showrooms at the end of the year.It looks pretty special, a tantalisingly taut three-door supermini with good proportions and a fresh take on the swooping wheelarch line that has come to epitomise modern Seats. We’re less keen on the blindspot-inducing quarterlights, though.

Aston to build cars abroad

By Ben Oliver Motor Industry 03 March 2008 23:05 Aston Martin is to manufacture a major model outside the UK for the first time, CAR Online can exclusively reveal. The iconic British car maker will use the Geneva Motor Show to announce that its new Rapide four-door coupe will be built in Austria by Magna Steyr.The firm’s Graz factory is expected to build up to 3000 Rapides each year, with deliveries starting in early 2010. As with all Aston Martin engines, the £200,000 Rapide’s 6.0-litre V12 will be built in Cologne.

Boyd Coddington, dead at 63

Legendary Californian hot-rod builder and customizer Boyd Coddington, passed-away last Wednesday, at 63, from complications related to a recent surgery. His influence and legacy is immense, not just in the street-rod scene, but for the automotive design community as a whole. Raised in Rupert Idaho, Coddington moved to California in the late 60's to start his hot-rod shop while working for Disneyland as a machinist.

Driven: Peugeot 308 RCZ concept

Every now and again Peugeot produces a model that causes a real stir. The 205 GTi was one such car. The 406 coupé another.

Mercedes-Benz Bionic car at MoMA

Unveiled in June 2005, the Bionic car was developed by designers, engineers and biologists working hand in hand. Its template was a sea dweller from tropical latitudes: Ostracion Cubicus - more commonly known as the boxfish. Despite its unusual-looking shape, the fish is extremely aerodynamic and can therefore move using a minimal amount of energy.

Volkswagen Scirocco and eco-tech at Geneva

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 28 February 2008 11:29 Volkswagen will show off the new Scirocco and a Golf TDI Hybrid concept at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show next week. The Scirocco will come with four engines, in TDI and TSI forms, ranging from a 1.4 TSI (120bhp) to a 2.0T (197bhp). Adaptive chassis control will also be available, and prices are expected to be slightly more than the equivalent three-door Golf.

Vauxhall Meriva concept (2008): first official pictures

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 28 February 2008 11:45 This is Vauxhall’s new Meriva, and it will be the first mini-MPV with suicide doors. The car in our pictures is the concept, set to be unveiled at next week’s Geneva Motor Show. It gives us huge hints towards the final look of the production car, which will be shown at the Paris show in autumn 2008.

Morgan Lifecar and Geneva show stars

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 28 February 2008 13:49 Morgan will line up at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show with its most impressive range of cars ever. The Lifecar concept, the first production AeroMax, a revised Aero 8 and a new 4/4 will all feature. The Lifecar is easily the most technically impressive.

Geneva Motor Show 2008 A-Z

By Ben Pulman Motor Shows 28 February 2008 13:50 Click here for all the latest new cars and news from Europe's best car show with our handy A-Z. The CAR Online team has spent the past week in Switzerland for the 2008 Geneva Motor Show to serve up the sharpest verdicts on the new cars that count, blogs with our critics' opinions and video of the whole team for the full multi-media experience. Click on the links below to make sure you don't miss a single unveiling.

Michael Ninic, Head of BMW Interior Design, dies at 53

Michael Ninic, who held the position of Head of BMW Car Interior Design for many years, unexpectedly died recently at the age of 53. Ninic, who joined the BMW Interior Design Team in 1987, was appointed head of the department in 1999. In 2001, the department also became responsible for material and color design.

Audi TT TDI (2008): first official pictures

By Mark Nichol First Official Pictures 27 February 2008 17:57 The diesel TT is here. Audi will unveil the TT TDI Coupe and Roadster at the Geneva Motor Show next week. It was always an obvious thing to do, yet it’s taken the Ingolstadt slowcoach ten years to send its ubiquitous sports car to the black pump.

Maserati Granturismo S (2008): first official pictures

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 26 February 2008 09:36 It’s only a year since Maserati whisked the covers off the delectable Granturismo and the Italians are unveiling a new, more powerful version.  The Granturismo S receives a heart transplant from the sister company Alfa Romeo – in the shape of the 4.7-litre V8 from the 8C supercar. The extra half litre provides more muscle, power rising to 434bhp, compared with the regular Granturismo’s sundry 400bhp. Maserati hasn’t issued performance figures ahead of the car’s Geneva show debut next week, but it’ll clearly be supercar-quick, with a 0-60mph time in less than five seconds.

Pick-ups do poorly in latest Euro NCAP tests

By Mark Nichol Motor Industry 26 February 2008 11:54 Euro NCAP released its latest crash test results today, and it’s bad news for pick-up drivers. Only three picks-ups were tested, but they achieved some appalling results, with the Nissan Navara registering just one star for adult crash protection. Pick-up registrations increased by 7.2 percent in Europe last year and are increasingly being used as family transport.

Mitsubishi Prototype-S (2008): first official pictures

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 26 February 2008 12:41 Welcome to the new Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback. Although this concept is badged Prototype-S, this is the five-door version of the latest Lancer, and it will be launched in autumn 2008. The concept, which will be shown at next week's Geneva Motor Show, is powered by the 237bhp turbocharged 2.0-litre from the Lancer Ralliart.

Caterham RST-V8 Levante (2008): first official pictures

By Mark Nichol First Official Pictures 26 February 2008 12:51 This is the Caterham RST-V8 Levante, an example of what happens when a chirpy British sports car turns over to the dark side. The Levante is the work of RS Performance, which has taken an SV chassis, stuffed a 2.4-litre supercharged V8 into the front and coated the lot in swathes of carbon fibre. The result is 550bhp in a chassis weighing little over 500kg.

Trouble at Bertone

It was hoped that Bertone would be exhibiting its latest concept, the B.A.T.11, in Geneva this year, a design inspired by the B.A.T.5., B.A.T.7 and B.A.T.9 concepts developed between 1953 and 1955. The car is based on the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. But after receiving a release from Stile Bertone announcing the prototype on February 13, the company's communications department sent through another email stating that it would not, in fact, be attending the show this year.

KTM's four-wheeled future

By Ben Purvis Motor Industry 25 February 2008 11:26 KTM's X-Bow track day car is just the start of a five-model line-up that will include Dakar and Le Mans endurance racers. Stefan Pierer, the youthful-looking 51 year-old CEO of KTM, has revealed to CAR how he intends to turn his company into the Austrian equivalent of Lotus. The unveiling of the production version of the Audi-engined, carbon-monocoque X-Bow at the Geneva Motor Show on March 4 2008 is exactly one year on from the first showing of the prototype.

Maybach's £678k Landaulet (2008): first official pictures

By Mark Nichol First Official Pictures 25 February 2008 12:02 Maybach has announced it will put the Landaulet, a semi-convertible based on the Maybach 62 S limousine, into production thanks to an ‘overwhelming response from the public’. The Landaulet was first seen last November as a concept, and the production version will cost a staggering £678,000, which means taking the roof off a 62 S doubles its value. Or rather its price...

Mini and Mini Clubman John Cooper Works (2008): first official pictures

By Mark Nichol First Official Pictures 24 February 2008 00:01 Just take it in for a moment. That’s the Mini John Cooper Works you’re staring at, all 208bhp of it. Mini will unveil this steroidal version of the already beefy Cooper S at Geneva 2008 before opening the books in July, so get saving.  The Mini JCW extracts an extra 33bhp over the standard Cooper S by dumping the regular turbocharger and strapping on a bigger, twin-scroll unit.

BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics (2008)

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 22 February 2008 00:01 BMW has already scooped CAR’s green award for its Efficient Dynamics eco package being rolled out onto its current range. But at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show, the Bavarians will unveil their vision for the next generation. Dubbed Vision Efficient Dynamics, it’s an X5 equipped with the latest gizmos to reduce the amount of fuel you put into the tank and the gases pumped out of the exhaust.

Renault Laguna GT (2008): first official pictures

By Chris Chilton First Official Pictures 22 February 2008 13:02 There are no Renaultsport badges anywhere on the new Renault Laguna GT but the crack chassis team have been hard at work under the skin. The same people who brought us the brilliant Clio Cup are behind the four-wheel steer system on this Laguna’s Active Drive chassis. Twenty years ago Japanese car makers seemed fascinated by the potential benefits of steering cars using both axles (and not just by nailing the throttle in your Starion) but the idea seemed to have disappeared until now.

Chrysler 300C facelift

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 21 February 2008 09:41 The Chrysler 300C is one of those rare ‘unfaceliftable’ cars, you might think. But that hasn’t stopped them having a fiddle with this striking saloon - and this is the first glimpse of the 2008-edition model.The gangster-special 300C gets a modestly refreshed exterior and cabin improvements across the range, and you can now buy the diesel model in sporty SRT-Design spec (pictured here). All models get a new rear fascia and rear light clusters, while saloons boast a new bootlid with integrated spoiler and high-mounted brake light.

Vauxhall Meriva concept teaser (2008)

By Glen Waddington First Official Pictures 21 February 2008 16:22 It's suicide time for Vauxhall's mini-MPV. This sneak preview of the Meriva concept to be unveiled at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show reveals suicide-style rear doors that will be a production certainty for the next-gen Meriva. The mini-MPV will retain its B-pillar so that structural integrity is maintained and so the rear doors can be opened independently of the front ones.'The rear-hinged doors are both lighter and less expensive to engineer than sliding doors,' said Sara Nicholson, GM's European product manager for compact cars.

PPG Design Challenge

Global supplier PPG Industries presented its Design Challenge awards at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show in January. The annual automotive glass design competition called for students to design a vehicle for a 20-something male named Matt - a recent college graduate beginning his career - whose vehicle needed to be image-enhancing and reliable. Taking inspiration from golf, bamboo charcoal and catamaran boats, 26 transportation design sophomores presented concepts that demonstrated the versatility of glass in providing unique styling as well as utility, comfort and convenience.

Audi A4 Avant (2008): first official pictures

By Mark Nichol First Official Pictures 20 February 2008 09:16 Audi knows where its bread and butter is and continues to stretch its A4 range every which way. So step forward the new A4 Avant, unveiled today.The estate version of the A4 will major on sporty style rather than outright practicality, but the numbers are smaller (less thirsty than the old one) and larger (boot capacity up by 48 litres to 490, 1430 with the seats down) as appropriate. That amount of space doesn’t seem class leading thoughNothing gets past you, does it?

Fiat 500 Abarth (2008): first official pictures

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 20 February 2008 10:00 Watch out Mini, the Fiat 500 – CAR’s car of the year 2007 – is getting the high-performance treatment. The Abarth version unveiled today is pitched as a new interpretation of the Sixties road racer, but can they make a bigger, heavier hatch as exciting as that?The 500 Abarth 2008-style uses the Fiat group’s 16-valve 1.4-litre Fire engine breathing with the assistance of an IHI variable-geometry turbocharger to deliver a warm 135bhp at 5500rpm. So this car won’t challenge the upper echelons of hot-hatchdom that now have to pump out closer to 200bhp to be in contention.

Kia Soul concepts

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 19 February 2008 15:46 Kia will show a glimpse of its new Soul soft-roader at the Geneva Motor Show on 4 March 2008, previewed in this teaser shot. The Soul is a departure for Kia in the same mould as the Fiat Sedici/Suzuki SX4 soft-roaders. Naturally, Kia says it ‘doesn’t fit into the usual motor industry brackets’, but we’d say they’re deluding themselves.