Ford S-Max concept

Ford has released details of its S-Max concept ahead of its official debut at the Frankfurt motor show next month. Building on the success of the current-generation S-Max, the concept (surely more a pre-production show car than a true concept) continues the low, long and sporty twist on the SUV recipe that has made it such a hit in Europe. So it retains the monovolume outline with a soft transition from hood to windscreen and the tapered roofline.

MINI Countryman / Crossman – the camouflage tease

MINI Crossman/Countryman Camouflage Tease Here we go again – more teases. This time it’s the MINI SUV – either MINI Countryman or MINI Crossman – which is the new MINI 4×4 we can expect to see at the Geneva Motor Show in a few weeks. We had the MINI Brachcomber Concept at Detroit last week which was the first real ‘In the Metal’ clue on the new MINI SUV, admittedly without doors or a roof.

Audi RS5 TDI Concept gets electric turbo and 380bhp

The Audi RS5 TDI Concept (pictured) gets an electric turbo It’s two years since Audi revealed it was working on an electric turbo to be used in a twin-turbo setup, with the electric turbo able to offer boost pressure from much lower down the rev range than a normal turbo. That has turned in to the Audi RS5 TDI Concept, where Audi has replaced the normal RS5‘s V8 with a 3.0 litre TDI engine with a small electric turbo for low rev work and a bigger turbo to do the higher rev stuff. The electric turbo works from the off to provide maximum torque of 553lb/ft from just 1250rpm, before the bigger normal turbo takes over at 3,000rpm to continue the boost.