The BMW-owned Mini brand is celebrating its 50th anniversary by launching a pair of Mini Cooper models to commemorate the milestone. Dubbed the 50 Mayfair and the 50 Camden, Mini launched the limited-edition models at the marque’s 50th birthday party at the United Festival at Silverstone in Britain.
Every year, Wörthersee in Austria hosts the GTI meet, where VW fanboys from all over Europe come together to share their horror stories about VW ownership. VW has setup its own stand at this event. This year, Volkswagen is officially appearing at the 28th Wörthersee Tour with a set of modified hatchbacks.
While the GCC is left to fawn over the ugly 2010 E-Class sedan, the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe just went on sale in Europe and Brabus already has an extensive tuning program in place for the new two-door CLK replacement. The pinnacle of the performance tuning options is the BRABUS 6.1 engine.
The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X was first introduced in 2008, but while the whole world, including the GCC, has received only a single version, Mitsubishi Motors in the UK regularly adds special models to their line-up. The UK now has a new Evo X FQ-330 SST model to look forward to.
BMW is once again forcefully defining a brand-new segment in the car market, with the all-new BMW 5-Series Gran Turismo. Finally launched in production form after teasing and horrifying the public with a similar concept a few months ago, the 5-Series GT aims to be combine the features of a “prestige saloon, a highly-versatile Sports Activity Vehicle, and a classic Gran Turismo in brand-new, unprecedented style.” Only, in this case, their idea of “unprecedented style” is a hatchback with a tall roof.
The 2010 Subaru Legacy sedan was unveiled a few months ago at the recent New York auto show, and while it is unknown when the new model will come to the GCC, the Japanese market already has a wagon version of the Legacy, showing the dimwitted designers at VW how to draw a proper station wagon.
Shown here is what the 2010 BMW X3 is expected to look like, as rendered by a German magazine. The 2010 X3 will have a lower roof height than the current model, and will follow the X5’s rounded styling theme. It will debut by the end of 2009.
Volkswagen is recalling about 25,000 Jetta models in the United States, built between 2006 and 2009, but only those equipped with the 2.0-litre turbo engine. The Mexican-built compact VW sedan, also sold in the GCC, apparently has a defect that could lead to a crash.
The first-generation Nissan Murano was launched in the UAE only in 2005, but the Japanese-built crossover had been on sale since 2003 in the United States. The NHTSA, America’s transport safety agency, has ordered Nissan to recall about 360,000 first-generation Murano models in the U.S. because of a defect that can cause an engine stall. Apparently, the material used for the Murano’s air-intake ducts is prematurely aging and shrinking, leading to a risk of separation in the system. That separation can cause an engine stall if the debris gets sucked into the engine.
The latest iteration of the Volkswagen Golf doesn’t have the most attractive of faces, but just as people were warming up to it, VW went ahead and added an ugly Estate station-wagon version to the line-up that looks like it belongs in a Chinese auto show.