One of the things I’ve always found remarkable about Top Gear (apart from being one of the most awesome motoring shows on the planet) is their secret-keeping abilities. Specifically, their ability to keep the identity of the Stig a secret. Companies across the world go to all sorts of lengths to maintain corporate/trade secrecy and automakers are no strangers to the game. Except that more than a few of them are slipping.
In the past few months, it would seem that automotive spies across the world have gotten a lot better at finding out the latest sheetmetal. Even the Lamborghini Veneno was revealed in a Czech auto publication just before its Geneva debut. And now, one of the latest offerings from Mercedes has been uncloaked before its New York International Auto Show official release. Not that it would have been too hard to imagine what AMG would have cooked up for the new Mercedes-Benz CLA45…
The 2010 New York Auto Show has seen plenty of new vehicles make their public debuts, but which ones are worthy of more than just cursory glances? In the interest of saving you time, whether you happen to plan on attending the show (which runs through this Sunday) in person, or you just want to know what’s hot, here is Sub5Zero’s unordered list of the 10 hottest rides to premiere in the Big Apple. Check out the rundown after the jump.
In the 90’s I always had a love for Subarus. When my older brother brought home a bright blue WRX in late 2001 I fell head over heals for the thing. But not everyone is fan of the Scooby. Ever since the first Subaru WRX made it’s way to U.S. shores it seems to of had a bit of an identity crisis. There have not been many arguments about its performance. The legendary EJ205T boxer engine was rated at a healthy 227 hp mated to a VTD (Variable Torque Distribution) AWD system.
At the time, that WRX was a beast. Its looks however, have always been up for debate. With the Subaru design language, it’s a love it or hate it ordeal. How will the latest and greatest Subaru, the 2011 Impreza WRX fare with critics and the public? With its debut at the 2010 New York Auto Show we get to find out.
The new 2010 Range Rover Sport Supercharged is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The Jaguar powered 5.0-liter supercharged V8 puts out 510 bhp, besting last year’s 4.2-liter engine by 120 hp. You even get steering wheel mounted paddle shifters. This new engine is good for a run from 0 to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds. I know, I know, it’s not a true sub-5-zero car, but I include it since it certainly conforms to our criteria in spirit. And any time a truck gets jacked to over 500 hp you have to take note. Check out the video of the 2010 Range Rover Sport tackling some rough terrain:
A couple weeks ago we posted an article about Brabus beating AMG to the punch in tuning the new Mercedes-Benz E550. Now, AMG has come back over the top with the unexpected. The 2010 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG packs a 6.3-liter V8 engine putting out 518 hp with 465 lb-ft of torque. This makes it capable of a 4.4 second 0 to 60 mph time. The new AMG bests the Brabus version by 56 hp and .3 seconds in the sprint to 60 mph. Top speed is electronically limited to 155 mph (but an extra AMG option allows it to run up to 186 mph.)
The new Audi A5 and Audi S5 Cabriolet have just made their debut at the 2009 New York Auto Show. Both models sport a new lightweight fabric top that opens in 15 seconds. Just long enough to slap on your sunglasses and take a sip of latte. There are now folding rear seat backs and a large pass through available between the trunk and interior as a result of using a cloth top.
No question, the 2009 Nissan 370Z is an amazing car. But, personally, I feel that the aesthetics make the car look a bit soft since it has to appeal to both sport cars junkies and people who like to think it’s “cute.” The 2009 NISMO 370Z takes that fluff, beats out the stuffing, gives it some jail house tats and puts a chip on its shoulder (figuratively speaking of course). The car that I had hoped the new Z would closer approach is now going to be available thanks to the gear-heads over at NISMO, Nissan’s in-house tuning operation.
The new, second generation NISMO 370Z gets an upgraded 350 horsepower 3.7-liter V6 engine with 276 lb-ft of torque at 5,200 rpm. That’s a 18 hp increase over the base model. A new exhaust system and revised ECU help the car achieve the additional horsepower. This engine is matched with a close-ratio 6-speed manual transmission featuring Nissan’s SynchroRev Match that handles the synchronization of engine revs during shifting. This very nice feature that essentially blips the throttle can be deactivated if you want less intervention.
The NISMO 370Z gets some rigidity in the form of a strut tower brace and performance dampers. The springs and stabilizer bars both front and rear have been made stiffer to provide better control and handling. Some serious RAYS aluminum-alloy rims are provided (19×9.5-inch front and 19×10.5-inch rear) wrapped in Yokohama ADVAN Sport tires measuring 245/40ZR19 up front and 285/35/ZR19 in rear. NISMO sport brakes provide serious stopping power via 14.0 inch vented rotors with 4-piston calipers in front and 13.8 inch vented rotors with 2-piston calipers in the rear.
Aerodynamic tweaks are aplenty with an extended front nose design featuring a canard at each corner for greater downforce in addition to a fully integrated chin spoiler. It also benefits from side sills, a revised rear bumper and massive rear spoiler along with flared fenders. Inside, NISMO branding is spread throughout with the most apparent logos found on the seats and center console. Pricing is not yet available for the 2009 Nissan NISMO 370Z but should be before it is sold (otherwise, how could we buy it?)
Much has been said about the previous Nissan 350Z convertible and none of it was good. A few expletives were even thrown in… But now, the 2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster looks like it’s comfortable in its own skin. The new fabric top is single-action and power-operated, even taking care of such mundane duties as securing the latch to the windshield header. It can be activated either by a switch inside or a small button on the door handle. Because of exposure to the elements, heated and cooling ventilated net seats are now available.
The new 2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster uses the same 3.7-liter V6 engine as the Coupe which puts out 332 hp with 270 lb-ft of torque. It also offers identical choices of transmissions. The 7-speed automatic with Downshift Rev Matching and Adaptive Shift Control provides the driver with the ability to change gears using paddle shifters when in manual mode. If you want the real deal, a 6-speed manual gearbox is available as well. The estimated gas mileage is 18 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway for both transmissions.
Sales for BMW’s M Division were up 50% in 2008. Go figure. And, when they announced these figures back in February of this year, BMW M Gmbh promised to actually expand its range in 2009, bucking the current economic climate and prevailing trends. Until now their product line included the M3 Coupe/Sedan/Convertible, M5, M6 Coupe/Convertible and Z4 M Roadster/Coupe.
The 2009 NY Auto Show will showcase the new BMW X6 M and BMW X5 M sporting twin-turbocharged 555 hp engine capable of 500 lb-ft of torque in a wide power band from 1,500 up to 5,650 rpm. This is a substantial boost from the standard 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 found in both previous top-of-the-line vehicles that produced a maximum of 400 hp and 450 lb-ft of torque. And how, pray-tell, did they accomplish this feat? With a little engineering wizardry known as Cylinder-bank Comprehensive Manifold (CCM). The new M engine is the first in the world with a pulse-tuned exhaust manifold covering the cylinder rows in combination with high-performance twin-scroll twin turbo technology. The end result is that both models perform 0 to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds.
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