Sports car fans are in for a real treat! Audi is planning a striking new mid-engined machine – the R4. The newcomer will be based on an entirely new platform and sit above the TT in Audi’s range, offering buyers a driver-focused two-seater with a starting price of around £35,000.
From the picture we can see the A5 Sportback will feature a high waistline and low, sloping roof, while the front should remain identical to the current A5 Coupe it is based on.
It is also clear it will have five doors but the sporty, raked, hatchback rear-end will ensure it looks much sleeker than an Avant. The coupe-hatchback will have a more spacious cabin than the standard A5 too which will help the new Audi stand in a niche all of its own.
BMW’s next-generation 6 Series coupe and convertible, expected to be introduced in 2011, have been spied in early testing. Though heavily camouflaged, the convertible in our photos looks to be longer and lower than the current car, with considerably tighter overhangs front and rear. It’s hard to see the exact lines of course, but the new 6 Series has a smoother, more streamlined look.
The vehicle spotted testing in Germany has a cloth soft top, but closer examination suggests that this may also be part of the camouflage. The wrapped decklid gives the impression that this is a convertible, so the next 6’er just might sport a retractable hardtop, to compete with Mercedes’ SL.
Here's another series of spy shots on the coming E-Class. These are of the coupe version, which will be a very important model for Mercedes since they have discontinued the CLK badging and essentially turned the CLK into this E-Class Coupe.
German automakers are very reserved in their styling and prefer the concept of (very gradual) evolution rather than revolution in updating models. This shot reveals that philosophy in action. But the car does appear to have a greater curve along the horizontal length of the body and a more muscular hunch above the rear wheels.
The E-Class Coupe will likely come with, amongst Mercedes standard lineup of engines, Mercedes' latest 204 hp turbodiesel Bluetec, an AMG version with the 550 hp V8, and may also include the BlueHybrid that Mercedes is developing.
The new E-Class sedan will be introduced at the Geneva Motor Show next March. Other variants, including this coupe, will likely only be first unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show next September.
Inside, the new dash shows a sport three-gauge pod and a revised center stack that's less complex than Mercedes' current setup. There's still a lot going on, but the navigation system's information screen has been moved up to the top of the dash, providing better visibility and a less cluttered appearance.
No longer named CLK, the new generation E-Class coupe, although still based on the C-Class platform, is expected to arrive in 2009 with the C207 designation. The E-Coupe convertible (A207) will follow a year later with a retractable hardtop unlike the current C209's soft top.
We've got some excellent spy photos of the Porsche Panamera's interior, courtesy of Teamspeed.com.
The pictures appear to have been shot from the passenger seat, and show that the four-door Porsche's got a very familiar-looking five-pod instrument panel. It also appears to have a 911-style left-hand ignition key. The center console is festooned with buttons, hinting at the high equipment levels that will no doubt be available when the Panamera enters the market against some very worthy competitors from Aston Martin, Mercedes and Maserati. During 2009, expect most Panameras to be high-content, high-profile V8 models, with the less expensive V6 coming along once Porsche's luxury-sport sedan has established itself as a worthy competitor to the Mercedes CLS and Maserati Quattroporte.
More photos can be found at the Teamspeed website.
