Ferrari 458 Italia spotted again on the road

Here is the new Ferrari 458 Italia spotted somewhere on the road, probably in Italy. Yes, these cellphone pics are a little low-res, but certainly we can, detective-like, spot some news here somewhere?

That landscape around the highway does indeed match the flatlands of the Padania, the area around the Po river of Italy. Definitely in the same neighborhood as Ferrari's Maranello headquarters in the Italian province of Emilia-Romagna. Okay, so we can guess that Ferrari is still keeping the 458 close to home.



What else?

Despite its initial media release, the 458 is masking itself with a convenient disguise. Hiding its design lines behind the black color of one model and the blushing yellow paint job of the other, each with white stripes and spots to obscure its features. Still, we can get a pretty good idea of what it will look like.

It will look like a Ferrari.

Jaguar XJ Prototype Spied Disguised as BMW

With the redesigned 2010 XJ debut scheduled for July 9, Jaguar has started to peel away the layers of camouflage from their prototypes.



This particular mule trades the thick plastic body armor of the recent XJ seen testing of Germany's Nürburgring for a sneaky BMW appearance complete with a twin kidney grille and the brand's trademark psychedelic camouflage. Despite the attempted trickery, this is the first time we can get a decent glimpse of the upcoming luxury saloon.

As expected, the new XJ borrows much of its exterior styling from the company's highly regarded XF sedan. While many details are still hidden by the camouflage, it's clear the redesigned XJ features a massive grille, a sleek four-door coupe appearance, and a huge C-pillar.

Engine options will include Jaguar's new supercharged 5.0-liter V8 with 510 bhp (380kW) and 625 Nm of torque, the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 diesel which is rated at 271 bhp (202kW) and 600 Nm of torque, as well as the naturally aspirated version of the 5.0-liter V8.



Jaguar will start accepting orders for the new XJ in July with the first deliveries scheduled to begin early next year.

Maserati GranTurismo Spyder Spied

Our spy photographers have managed to catch Maserati's upcoming 2010 GranTurismo Spyder undergoing testing before a possible unveiling at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.



Although this particular mule is heavily camouflaged, it's clear that the Spyder will adopt the same styling as Maserati's highly regarded coupe. What the camouflage is hiding is another matter. Until recently it was widely expected that the GranTurismo Spyder would sport a folding metal roof like the Ferrari California, but reports have surfaced indicating that the Spyder will instead stick with a traditional canvass roof in order to reduce weight.



Like the coupe, the 2010 GranTurismo Spyder will offer potential owners a choice of a 4.2-liter V8 with 405 hp or a 4.7-liter V8 with 433 hp.



Look for the new Maserati drop top to go on sale in March with a base price somewhere in the neighborhood of $130,000 USD.

Pagani Zonda R Official Commercial Trailer Released

"The Zonda has set more than one record at the race track. It raised the bar for road supercars. Passion, ingenuity, knowledge and craftsmanship created the parts to form an effective and focused package. What more could you want?"

These are the enticing words appearing at the beginning of this beautifully-shot video clip. In the clip is the new Pagani Zonda R. It does not move or even start up. This is something of a commercial trailer for the super track car which was commissioned to Supercarmovies.com by Pagani.

Pagani it may be argued, does not need advertising to sell the Zonda R or any other car for that matter. However we cannot pass up a chance to view another video where the car is featured, even if it is just standing still.

At some point during the clip they show some of the components that make up the R and then progress to other shots demonstrating these parts being screwed together by hand to form a complete package. When it's done you can't help but admire the polished finished product.

To recap some of the technical bits; the engine is a 6.0-litre V12 with 552kW (750hp) and peak torque of 710Nm. It comes with a 6-speed sequential gearbox and slick tyres.

First Pictures: Bentley set to Unveil Facelifted GTC & GTC Speed

The Bentley Continental GTC has gotten a facelift and a new sibling with a little more pepper under the hood.

The Continental GTC now also comes as a GTC Speed with the W12 upgraded to 600 hp from the standard GTC's 552. The new engine numbers now make this cabriolet able to max out at 200 mph (324 km/h), with the roof on, of course. With the roof down you lose about 5 mph - a real tragedy.

The Speed does the 0 to 60 mph sprint in 4.5 seconds, about 0.3 seconds faster than that slow poke, lumbering colossus, the regular, run-of-the-mill, discount, dollar store GTC.

The Speed also gets a lowered suspension of about 10 mm, which is fancy, automotive engineer parlance for 1 centimeter. The ESP system adds a Dynamic mode for better cornering too.

The standard GTC also gets a new ESP mode called Sport Traction, in case you want to enter it in a WRC rally. Hey, wouldn't it be something to take one of these half-million dollar Bentleys through a few stages of the Wales Rallye? Just a thought.

Optics get a do-over too, just barely. The GTC has a new front bumper, grill and larger air intakes. The Speed variant has larger exhaust pipes and gets 20-inch wheels. On the inside, a new steering wheel and Mulliner-spec quilted leather upholstery.

Jaguar has all but confirmed speculation that a new XJ

Jaguar has all but confirmed speculation that a new XJ is due to go into market as early as June 2009 according to statements by Jaguar executives. Jaguar MD Mike O'Driscoll said of the carthat it 'takes, we believe, the luxury saloon to new heights in terms of its technical enhancements'. That was during an event previewing the brand's upcoming new engines.

The vehicle will be a radical design departure for the XJ label, promising to look more like a four-door coupe than a big sedan. Currently Jaguar's superstar car is the XF and Chief Designer Ian Callum had intended for it to take on coupe-like looks even as a four-door sedan. This was achieved partly by getting the rear roofline to slope towards the back more like an XK than a saloon. Similar-looking cars include the Porsche Panamera, Aston Martin Rapide and the Mercedes-Benz CLS. With the XJ that philosophy will be taken to the next level.

Power sources for the new car will include Jaguar's new 3.0 V6 turbo diesels and petrol V8s. While a supercharged petrol V8 will power the high performance XJ-R, no plans have been made for a diesel V8.

With the XJ the company hopes to enhance its rising position in the world of luxury cars in a segment currently dominated by the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. However, Jaguar is not very interested in going high-volume on its cars, adopting a ‘quality over quantity' attitude instead.

Rumors: New Lotus Esprit postponed until 2011

It's been about 4 years since Lotus discontinued the Esprit V8 and a new Esprit has been a long time coming. It will now be a littler longer time in coming.

It appears Lotus has delayed the debut of the new Esprit, which was due for launch this year, until 2011.

Speculation is that Lotus is working on a hybrid version of the Esprit, which has been said will be powered by BMW's 4.4 liter V8. The 4.4 liter, bi-turbo V8 with 400 hp is already employed in the BMW X6. The Esprit may be taking that engine to about 500 hp. Possibly, also as part of a hybrid marriage with an electric motor.

Details are few on the enviro-friendly intentions of Lotus for the new Esprit. But Lotus has been laying the ground work lately for its push into new propulsion technologies. It recently announced development of an electric Lotus with extended range capabilities through a petrol-powered generator. It is also developing a hybrid drivetrain for motorsport in a partnership with Honda based on the Civic hybrid technology.

The Lotus Esprit is meant to compete with models such as the Ferrari 430 and the Lamborghini Gallardo. Having a hybrid supercar on the market would give it a competitive edge, but it must get the new Esprit to market first.