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Lotus has released its first teaser of Project Eagle, a 2+2 Lotus sports car to be fully unveiled at the British Motor Show in July.

Not quite a conventional reveal, our first glimpse of Lotus’ new sports car showcases the front module of the chassis.

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The aluminium front module on its own measures 938mm long, 864mm wide and 387mm tall and weighs in at a featherlight 25kg - establishing Lotus’ trademark design principles.

Project Eagle will be using Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs with unique dual path top mounts for optimised vehicle refinement.

The high performance bespoke Lotus AP Racing four-piston callipers work in tandem with ventilated cross drilled 350mm diameter brake discs to ensure phenomenal stopping power.

Entering production at the beginning of 2009, Project Eagle will enter the market as Lotus’ flagship performance car above the Elise, Exige and Europa.

In addition to Project Eagle, Lotus has also unveiled its first ever Exige to pass the 200kW mark.

Developing 201kW at 8,000rpm and 260Nm at 5500rpm, the Lotus Exige 270E Tri-fuel is the most powerful road-going Exige ever.

It will cover zero to 100km/h in just 3.88 seconds on a mixture of gasoline, bio-ethanol and methanol.

The Lotus Exige 270E Tri-fuel runs the same 1.8-litre 2ZZ-GT VVTL-I engine as in the regular Exige S.

Only small changes to engines are required such as sensors to detect alcohol content, modified ECU software, and a fuel system compatible with alcohol fuels, along with the higher flow rate fuel pump and injectors required to produce the 200kW.

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Proving the lust for Australian classics is far from over, a 1977 Holden Torana A9X has fetched a record $192,000 at Shannons Melbourne Motor Show Auction.

Spending the lesser half of its life behind a block of flats near inner Melbourne, the Jasmine Yellow four-door sedan emerged in show condition after an exhaustive nine-year restoration.

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The Torana A9X was not the only classic to sell well above expectations, with a white 1977 LX Torana SS 5.0 Hatchback reaching $53,500 against a guiding range of $25-$40,000.

Other notable results include a meticulously-restored black 1966 Mustang notchback coupe that got $51,000 and a beautifully presented, low kilometre red 1971 Ferrari Dino 246 GT coupe that brought $180,000.

However the standout result was a nicely restored right hand drive 1935 Ford V8 Coupe that was pursued by over 10 telephone and floor bidders before eventually selling for $47,000 – well above Shannons’ $25-$35,000 guiding range.

In all, more than 65 per cent of all lots sold on the fall of the hammer for total sales of more than $2 million.

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Škoda has reached an epic milestone, having produced its two-millionth Škoda Octavia in Vrchlabí.

Whilst only a new entry into the Australian market, Škoda Auto is a well established manufacturer in its home nation of the Czech Republic.

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The two-millionth vehicle is a silver Octavia Scout 2.0 TDI, the leisure-time version of Škoda’s best-selling Škoda model.

Altogether the company has produced 1,315,000 first-generation and 685,000 second-generation Octavias since the market launch several years ago.

Not one to rest on its laurels, Škoda has also begun testing the first of its Fabia Super 2000 prototypes.

Based on the second generation Fabia, the prototype is destined to compete in the Super 2000 category.

In compliance with the FIA regulations, is equipped with a two-litre atmospheric four-cylinder petrol engine, a six-speed sequential transmission and a four-wheel drive system with three mechanical differentials.

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Wild concept proves that Italian styling house is slightly batty!

More buyers are switching to low-carb cars!

March 11, 2008 Like a number of vehicle concepts we've encountered in recent years such as the NARO Tilting Car and the VentureOne plug-in hybrid, the Lumeneo Smera aims to create a "best of both worlds" blend of car and motorcycle by combining the protection of an enclosed driver capsule with the small-footprint and maneuverability of two-wheeled transport. On debut at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show, the four-wheel, fully-electric Smera concept boasts a top speed of 80mph (130kmh), a 93 mile (150km) range on a single charge and can achieve 0-60 mph in around 8 seconds with an on-board computer automatically controlling the vehicle's tilting function to an angle of up to 25 degrees by taking into account on the turning angle, speed and road conditions...

Tags: Automotive, Battery Electric Vehicles, Concept Cars, Emissions Control, Engine Technologies

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The new Jaguar XF will arrive in showrooms in June, it was announced today. Pricing will begin at just over $100K, with four versions to choose from.

The entry level 3-litre V6 petrol, and 2.7-litre twin turbo diesel kick off the range, at the starting price of $105,500. The 4.2-litre petrol powered V8 is next up at $130,500, leaving the supercharged 4.2-litre V8 to round out the XF stable at $166,700.

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So far, the XF has been claiming awards overseas. It has bagged the What Car 2008 “Car of the Year” Award, in addition to the “Car of the Year” from the Sun newspaper and the “Interior of the Year” from Car magazine.

“The interest in XF - before anybody in this country has even driven the car - has been very satisfying. If things continue in this way, we may have sold out our entire 2008 allocation before a single vehicle is on the road here. What is also encouraging is that the XF is attracting a new group of customers to the Jaguar brand: more than three-quarters of those who are contacting us about XF have never owned a Jaguar before.” said Dorian Lapthorne, General Manager, Jaguar Australia.

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Ever since GM began testing its 2010 Camaro prototypes with no camouflage, prototypes have become a popular target for spy photographers. Today, spy photographers delivered twelve photos in total of two prototypes — one white, one black. The latest round of spy photos don't reveal too much, but a couple small details [...]

2008 Renault Megane dCi Expression Review

An economic European for a bargain price.

Model tested:

• 2008 Renault Megane dCi Expression Sedan 2.0 litre diesel automatic - $27,990
• Options: Metallic Paint - $700

European Pedigree, Great Fuel Economy, Comfortable Interior

Curious Styling, Heavy Clutch, Plastic Steering Wheel

CarAdvice rating:

- by Matt Brogan

Renault has been around for about as long as the car itself (1898), though in Australia at least, they’re not overly well represented on our roads. Whilst I’m sure this doesn’t exactly surprise any one, it is quite an interesting comparison when you consider that Renault is the number one selling car is Europe.

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Fair enough, that’s where they’re made, it makes sense, but other than geography why aren’t there more on our roads? After all, they’re one of the world’s foremost Formula One teams and are one of only three teams who actually build and race their own cars.

A pioneer in safety too, Renault also has some boasting to do here with eight cars on their range having a five-star European NCAP rating (this one included). That’s more than Mercedes and Volvo combined!

With all this promising background evidence to behold I was eager to drive one and see if the car was really worth the hype. After all, if they’re that popular surely they’ve got to have something going for them. So it was off to Renault to grab the, err… keys and take the Megane for a week of scrutiny.

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The ethanol industry faces a challenge: under the federal Energy Act, passed last December, the industry is required to produce 30 billion gallons of ethanol a year by 2020. Today it produces about 7 billion gallons. And once that much fuel is produced, there is the challenge in ensuring consumers can use it all.

But if ethanol were blended into every gallon of gasoline sold, in the standard 10 percent ratio, it would consume only about half of the 30-billion-gallon requirement.

So far, the Department of Energy (DOE) has proposed two potential solutions:

• Sell more E85 ethanol, though it is a niche market today.
• Raise the standard blend from 10 to 15 or 20 percent.

Unlike the standard blend, called E10, which all cars can use, only specially equipped cars can run on E85 ethanol. About five million of those cars are on the road today. According to DOE estimates, it would take 100 million E85 cars to provide a big enough market to absorb the additional 15 million gallons of ethanol in E85. Currently, automakers (mostly those based in Detroit) are building about 1 million new E85-capable cars every year. And they have promised to raise that to about 3.5 million a year by 2012. Still, getting to 100 million E85 cars by 2020 is a tall order. It would also take between 30,000 and 60,000 million gas pumps capable of dispensing E85. Today, there are only about 1,500.

So the DOE, along with some automakers, is testing the potential to raise the standard ethanol blend to 15 or 20 percent, and making that blend universal for all gasoline sold in the United States. In Brazil, all gasoline sold in the country contains at least 25 percent ethanol.

But there are some problems with increasing ethanol blends. Ethanol contains less energy than gasoline, so increasing the amount of ethanol in gasoline will likely result in lower fuel economy. Increasing standard fuel blends from zero to 10 percent ethanol, as is happening today, has little or no impact on fuel economy. In tests, the differences occur within the margin of error, about 0.5 percent. Further increasing ethanol levels to 20 percent reduces fuel economy between 1 and 3 percent, according to testing by the DOE and General Motors. Evaluations are underway to determine if E20 will burn effectively in today's engines without impacting reliability and longevity, and also assessing potential impact on fuel economy.

In our own tests at Consumer Reports, we found that E85 reduced fuel economy by about 27 percent overall in a Chevrolet Tahoe. Interestingly, this is a lower reduction than the fuel's lower energy density would theoretically suggest. General Motors research fellow Kevin Cullen suggests that E85's higher octane rating is allowing the engine's computer control system to advance ignition timing to compensate for the lower energy density in the fuel and making up a little bit of the energy loss.

Andy Karsner, undersecretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy at the federal Department of Energy, says the department is testing to learn whether there is an ideal ethanol blend for fuel economy. Some cars actually returned higher fuel economy on certain midrange ethanol blends ranging from E20 to E40, according to a fuel economy study conducted in November by the ethanol industry and the DOE.

The second problem with raising ethanol blends is evaporative emissions—not the kind comes from the tailpipe, but the kind you smell when filling up your car at a gas station. In engines, ethanol burns cleaner than gasoline does. But low-blend ethanol mixes such as E20 have higher evaporative emissions than either gasoline or E85. So far researchers don't know at what ethanol blend evaporative emissions begin to diminish. And systems to control these emissions have not been developed.

If ethanol is going to play a significant role in reducing U.S. oil dependence, it looks likely that E15 or E20 will become more common. This would mean consumers won't have to buy special cars and look for special pumps for ethanol, meaning every gasoline-engine passenger vehicle would be able to join the effort to reduce dependency on imported oil.

—Eric Evarts

Learn more about alternative fuels in our fuel economy special section.

Gas prices soar higher again this week.

National retail fuel price averages
Price Change from last week Regular gasoline/gallon $3.23 ↑ .06 Diesel fuel/gallon $3.82 ↑ .16

Regional regular gasoline prices

Price Change from last week East Coast $3.19 ↑ .03   -New England $3.17 ↑ .02   -Central Atlantic $3.19 ↑ .02   -Lower Atlantic $3.21 ↑ .03 Midwest $3.19 ↑ .11 Gulf Coast $3.13 ↑ .04 Rocky Mountain $3.11 ↑ .02 West Coast $3.46 ↑ .07   -California $3.54 ↑ .08

Source: Energy Information Administration, 3/10/08

The upcoming Porsche Cayenne diesel has been caught on pictures during testing. Enjoy! Related news: GermanCarBlog, P4MR, Porsche Cayenne Diesel Source: EurocarblogChristian

Nothing really new here for regular readers of The German Car Blog, but still nice to see what to expect from the Porsche 911 Cabrio facelift which is updated with the 2009 model year coming up. Visually, the car is being enhanced with larger front air intakes and new fog-lights in the front bumper, which give a more aggressive look. Sportier variants get a larger front lip but it remains Christian

The new Audi TT 2.0 TDI quattro is the world's first diesel sports car and here's a nice review. At 2.0 liters in displacement, this engine ties in size with the 2.0T. The power difference between gas and diesel is usually quite large, but in the case of the TT diesel it's actually fairly small. With 170 horsepower it is only 30 hp shy of the gas-powered 2.0T, but the diesel's ace is torque. It Christian

The Audi Q5 will hit India in early 2009. With an eye on strengthening presence in the Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) segment in India, global auto giant Audi plans to introduce its newly launched model Q5 early next year, along with an advanced version of its existing Q7 in the country. The officials said, keeping in view the infrastructure of the country, the Indian model would be slight Christian

Have a look at this great video of an awesome looking, blacked out Audi RS4. Nice job! Amazing sound as well, so turn up the volume. Related news: GermanCarBlog, P4MR, Audi RS4 Source: The German Car TVChristian

VW UK has announced the prices for the VW Touareg R50. Better start saving... The new range-topper features a tweaked version of the company's 5.0-litre V10 diesel that now pushes out 345bhp - and increase of 37bhp over the standard car. Even more impressive is the peak torque figure, which rises from 750 to 850Nm. As a result performance is blistering with the Touareg sprinting from standstillChristian

The first drawing of the VW Robust, a new pickup produced in Argentina, has appeared. Have a look! See that drawing in the right corner of the pic? That's an official VW render of the company's new pickup, internally called the Robust. It's hanging at an event called ExpoAgro in Argentina, where the truck will be built. The banner on the left says "The VW pickup for the field." VW isn't playing Christian

Hold your breath, we have found a great collection of factory videos of the new Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4. A must see! Enjoy. Related news: GermanCarBlog, P4MR, Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Source: The German Car TVChristian