Car Moon

If you have been following us for a while now here at Carscoop you must know that we don't care much about excessive tuning proposals that stand out from the crowd for the wrong reasons. But that is not the case with Japan's Shadow Sport Design and it's aerodynamic kit for the (R35) Nissan GT-R that is complemented by a set of 20-inch forged magnesium wheels finished in black created in conjuction with Enkei. Shadow Sport Design's dry carbon aero package includes a front underspoiler, a rear wing and a rear diffuser that incorporates the new tailpipes of the full titanium muffler.

With this package the GT-R looks different enough from the standard car to grab your attention but in a way that you could easily have mistaken it as a proposal that came straight out of Nissan's factory.

Source: Shadow Sport Design , Via: GT-R Blog

A pair of drivers from Toyota's UK based 'iQ blog' managed to break through 500 miles with a standard iQ 1.0-litre VVT-i (that's the petrol engine version) on a single tank of fuel. Mark and Simon from the 'iQ blog' traveled to 18 cities in two days on a route that took them as far west as Cardiff and as far north as Wolverhampton. In theory, since the official fuel economy of the iQ is rated at 65.7 UK mpg / 54.7 US mpg, the full 32-liter tank should have gone dry once they covered a distance of 462 miles.

Volkswagen's public UK site has uploaded a new set of photos depicting the production version of the 2010 VW Golf GTI VI. But wait; didn't the Germans introduce the production model at last year's Paris Show, we hear you ask? The answer is sort of as VW unveiled the near-to-production GTI VI. And the differences are? Well, if our eyes aren't playing games with us, the only visible changes we see by comparing these photos with the ones from last year's show car are the more-production like headlamps and the blacked out front lip spoiler that was painted white on the Paris Show Golf GTI.

It's official; Mitsubishi has confirmed that the all-new five-door Lancer Sportback will arrive in U.S. dealerships this summer as a 2010 model year. Though one would expect the opposite, the 5-door Sportback's overall length is actually slightly longer than the Lancer four-door sedan. The Sportback will be offered in the States in two trims, the GTS model fitted with a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine producing 168-hp, mated to either a five-speed manual or six-speed CVT automatic transmission, and the one that most of us are interested in, the Ralliart version powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine pumping out 237-hp and 253 lb.-ft. of torque.

More often than less, automakers try to demonstrate the qualities of a model by using anything other than the car itself. Such is the case with Audi's new 333HP S4 Sedan advert that features a skier tackling the steep, downhill streets of San Francisco to show the merits of the firm's quattro all-wheel drive system. Click through to watch the advert.

In celebration of 15 years since the introduction of the first turbocharged Impreza, the Turbo 2000, Subaru UK is rolling back prices of the new Impreza WRX to exactly the same level as the first car in 1994. More specifically, Subaru has reduced the price of the recently facelifted Impreza WRX, which comes with a 230-horsepower 2.5-liter turbocharged flat-four boxer engine, by a hefty £2,100 to £17,998.

Volkswagen's four-door, four-seat sport sedan, the Passat CC, is now available in the UK for order with the firm's seven-speed DSG gearbox. Offered exclusively with the 1.8-litre TSI 160 PS engine and in standard CC trim, the DSG improves the car's acceleration from a standstill to 62 mph to 8.5 seconds versus the manual's 8.6 seconds. Furthermore, it gives an improved fuel consumption figure on the combined cycle of 38.7 mpg UK (37.2 manual) while CO2 emissions are reduced to 172 g/km (178 manual).

New photos of the production version of Aston Martin's Rapide sport sedan have been leaked into the web. The crew over at Autocar that released the pictures claim that Aston Martin's Porsche Panamera rival will be revealed this autumn, most likely at the 2009 Frankfurt Show in Germany. The allegedly official, computer generated images show that not much has changed in terms of design from the 2006 Detroit show Rapide concept.

The most noticeable changes concern the stronger crease that runs from the front wing vent through both doors, the redesigned front apron that does away with the side vents and the restyled rear-bumper.

Carscoop has learned that Nissan will take the wraps off a new compact-sized crossover concept at the Geneva Motorshow in March. Our sources told us that the concept car will be called Qazan and in effect, it will preview Nissan's new compact car that will arrive in European showrooms in 2010. The Japanese automaker disclosed its plans to expand its crossover portfolio beyond the Qashqai, Qashqai+2 and the Murano in June 2008, when it released the teaser sketch of the compact car that you see above.

BMW has released the first video of a series presenting the concept behind the 5-Series spin-off, the Progressive Activity Sedan (PAS) that will be revealed for the first time at the Geneva Show, according to our Bavarian sources. We guess you're wondering what the PAS is; well to put it short, it's a more practical, hatchback version of the 5-Series sedan with a higher roofline, a coupe-like fastback rear-end and slightly raised road clearance. Sounds 'bungled' up, but we'll give BMW the benefit of the doubt until we see the PAS the in person. Hit the jump for the video.

Volvo today announced pricing of its all-new 2010 XC60 T6 AWD ahead of the compact SUV's U.S. market launch in March. Available exclusively in the States with a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine that produces 281HP and 295 lb.-ft. of torque, the all-wheel-drive XC60 carries a starting price of $37,200. Standard features include leather seating surfaces with a power driver's seat, SIRIUS satellite radio, hands-free Bluetooth connectivity, HD Radio technology with USB and AUX ports. As a special introductory offer, Volvo will equip the first batch of cars with a Panorama moonroof at no charge.

It's a busy time at Renault as the French automaker is planning to introduce an collection of new or facelifted models including the 2009 Scenic & Grand Scenic, Megane Coupe RS and the revamped Clio at its Geneva Motor Show stand this March. While Renault has not revealed any details or photos of the facelifted Clio, a member of a Dutch automotive forum scooped an undisguised prototype model in a parking lot.

While the new teaser video of Bentley's forthcoming bio-fueled supercar that's scheduled to be officially revealed in Geneva does not provide us with any performance data, it does confirm that the mystery model will be based on the Continental GT and that it will be powered by a 12-cylinder engine. According to Bentley, the yet unnamed model will be the company's fastest and most powerful production car ever. Follow the jump to watch the video.

Mercedes-Benz's parent company Daimler AG has signed a letter of intent to form a new 50:50 joint venture with China's Beiqi Foton Motor Co., Ltd to produce medium and heavy-duty trucks and exchange technology in China. The deal between the companies has not been finalized yet as it has to gain the approval of the Chinese government. If the agreement is approved, Daimler will have two commercial vehicle joint ventures and one passenger car joint venture in China, in addition to its financial services operations there.

Along with the new 250HP Megane Coupe RS, Renault will also stage the world debut of three more Megane-based models at the Geneva Show, the Scenic and Grand Scenic MPVs and the Megane Grandtour station-wagon. The French firm's new people carrier will be available once again in two styles, the five-seater Scenic and the extended-wheelbase Grand Scenic that can accommodate seven passengers in three rows of seats.

As you can see in the images that come from a patent application made by Renault with the EU trademark office, the Scenic III's styling draws on the latest Megane as well as the Laguna - at least in what concerns the front-end design.

Renault's Opel Zafira and Volkswagen Touran rival will share the same engine line-up with the rest of the Megane range. This means that the petrol engine range will consist of 100 and 110HP 1.6-liter units, a 140HP 2.0-liter and the turbocharged 130HP 1.4TCe and 180HP 2.0TCe. Diesel options will include 1.5 dCi 85HP, 90 HP, 105 HP and 110 HP units along with more powerful 130 HP, 150HP and 160 HP variants.

As for the Megane Grandtour, Renault's C-Segment station-wagon is expected to feature a longer wheelbase than the hatchback model. The engine range variations will of course be on par with the Megane hatchback.

2009 Renault Scenic III

2009 Renault Grand Scenic III