Ford has pretty much confirmed that they’ve sold their Land Rover and Jaguar divisions as a package deal to Indian carmaker Tata. It is expected that US$ 2 billion will change hands, and the official announcement will be made at the beginning of March during the 2008 Geneva Auto Show.
The 2008 Geneva Auto Show is nearing, but Volvo jumped the gun and revealed their all-new XC60 compact 4WD softroader. Quite possibly based on some Ford platform, the 2009 XC60 is admittedly aiming for a small niche market among Volvo fanboys, if there is such a thing.
Ford will be pulling the wraps off its first crossover 4WD in Europe next month in Geneva. Based on a previous concept, the Kuga is what the GCC would’ve got here if that niche wasn’t filled in by the Escape.
Based on the Lotus Elise, the Rinspeed sQuba concept, to be shown at the Geneva Auto Show soon, is an all-electric vehicle with three motors, one to drive the car on land and two to power a pair of screw-drives for underwater movement. These are aided by two Seabob jet-drives that “breathe” through rotating louvers mounted on the car’s fenders and appear to give the car its manoeuvrability underwater.
The fiesty Ford Fiesta has been on sale in the GCC for a few years now. But it is so rare on the streets that few people around here even know that it exists. However, it is somewhat popular in Europe, and the 2009 all-new model is about to debut at the Geneva Auto Show soon.
At The Supercar Show in Abu Dhabi, we got to check out the Antas GT Berlinetta in person. The specific car on display cost about 1 million Euros, which comes to around a whopping Dhs 5.4 million. Built by an Italian company called F&M, named after founders Walter Faralli & Luca Mazzanti, the Antas was easily the main attraction of the show. And while all the “cheap” Lamborghinis and Porsches were locked up with “Do Not Touch” stickers all over them, we got a chance to sit inside the Antas, invited by none other than founder Luca Mazzanti.
Volkswagen is so desperate to make a buck in the United States that they simply facelifted the latest Chrysler Grand Voyager, upgraded the interior a bit, and renamed it the VW Routan. It is their attempt to cheaply add a conventional minivan to their range, cashing in on the blind faith that some people have on the VW badge.
I believe the borrowed car I am driving right now is the only new XKR I’ve ever seen on local roads. This was our ride to the Supercar Show in Abu Dhabi, although we went on the last day of the show simply because Jaguar postponed our date with the car. It’s interesting how this car made us feel invincible. Power to excite. Handling to break backs. And looks that make pedestrians stare at us like we are celebrities.
Mercedes-Benz has officially unveiled a new compact addition to their line-up. It is called the CLC-Class, and is basically a 3-door hatchback that is marketed as a “sports coupe.” And if the car seems too familiar to you, that’s because it already existed long before the CLC badge was conceived.
Yep, after an extensive search for a used rocket, our new benchmark sports car is a 2000 BMW M Roadster. In buying it, we broke all the sensible rules of buying a used car and took the plunge into high-maintenance exotic car ownership. With 321 hp calling, who can resist?