BMW Turbocharges X1 SUV with New 2.0 liter Gasoline and Diesel Engines

BMW is extending its smallest SUV’s range by adding two new engines to the X1's line-up. The first unit, which will be available this autumn, is a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine producing 184HP and 270 Nm (27,5 kgm) from 1,250-4,500 rpm.

The compact crossover will be available in both rear and four-wheel drive versions bearing the sDrive20i and xDrive20i designations respectively, and which accelerate from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 7.4 (sDrive) and 7.8 (xDrive) seconds.

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Greenpeace wants to Turn VW Away from the Dark Side, Launches Spoof Star Wars Ads

The rebel alliance from…Greenpeace launched a coordinated attack against the Volkswagen Group this morning by airing spoofs of the German firm’s now famous mini Darth Vader commercial, taking over advertising hoardings to install their own banners on billboards located in London and unleashing “eco-storm troopers” to protest on London's Old Street.

Greenpeace went ahead with the attack to draw attention to its concerns over the German company’s ecological record.

The environmental activist group claims that the car giant is “spending millions of Euros every year funding lobby groups who are trying to stop Europe increasing its commitment to greenhouse gas reductions from 20% to 30% by 2020” and calls Volkswagen to turn away from the Dark Side.

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Renault Fluence Z.E. Priced £17,850 OTR after £5,000 Plug-In Car Grant in the UK

Following the announcements on UK pricing for the Kangoo Van Z.E. and Twizy, Renault today confirmed prices for its third pure-electric model, the Fluence Z.E. ahead of its launch in the market in 2012.

The four-door, five seat Fluence Z.E. saloon will carry an on-the-road price of £22,850, which drops to £17,850 (US$28,500) after the £5,000 UK Plug-In Car Grant has been deducted.

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Saab Secures Further Funding by Leasing its Property

Another day, another chapter in the ongoing saga that is the survival of Saab. After yesterday’s order from a (yet unnamed) Chinese company, which temporarily solved its cash-flow problem, today the automaker announced that it has reached an agreement with a consortium of Swedish real investors led by Hemfosa Fastigheter AB, for the sale of 50.1% of Saab Property for a period of 15 years.

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Nissan Celebrates Production of 1 Million Qashqai Crossovers, will Give Away the Landmark Vehicle

Four years, six months and 23 days after the first Qashqai small crossover rolled off the Sunderland Plant’s production line in the UK on December 5, 2006, Nissan has passed the 1 million milestone.

The Japanese automaker said the Qashqai is “easily the highest-volume car produced in the UK” adding that no other car in Britain has reached the one million mark in such a short period.

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Ferrari North Europe Brightens the Lives of 50 Special Children

On Tuesday, July 26, 50 special children will enjoy being driven around the Silverstone circuit in a Ferrari California by professional racing drivers from the British Racing Driver’s Club along with “BRDC SuperStars”, young drivers learning to be the professionals of tomorrow. Read more »

2013 VW Golf GTI and Golf R Mk7 Test Mules Scooped in Germany

Never mind the body of the current, 6th generation Golf featured on these test two Volkswagen prototypes snagged by our scoop photographers in Germany; these are test mules for the upcoming Mk7 Golf GTI and its more powerful sibling, the Golf R.

Despite the fact that both vehicles look alike at first, a closer glance shows that the GTI is the one with the twin tailpipes while the R features a quad exhaust outlets. Another important detail worth mentioning are the rear wheel arch extensions that suggest a wider rear track for both models.

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Report: New Alfa Romeo-Derived / U.S. Made Dodge Compact Sedan to Debut at 2012 Detroit Show

A new U.S. market compact sedan to be developed by Fiat and built by Chrysler is set to make its debut appearance at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit in the beginning of next year, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

The as-of-yet unnamed model will be badged as Dodge and powered by a Fiat-derived 1.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine. It’ll also do 40 mpg combined, or at least it will if Fiat wants to net itself a further 5% of Chrysler from Mr. Monopoly Uncle Sam.

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New Jaguar XF 2.2 Diesel Goes from Birmingham to Munich on One Tank of Fuel

Jaguar is touting it’s new diesel-powered XF 2.2D saloon as the most fuel-efficient model in its history and to back its claims, the company set out to complete a journey from its factory at Castle Bromwich in Birmingham, UK, to Munich, Germany, on a single tank of fuel.

The British company manages to achieve its goal, with the four-cylinder XF covering a distance of 816 miles or 1,312 kilometers on 64 liters of diesel fuel, which gives an average fuel economy of 57mpg UK, equal to 4.9 lt/100km and 47.5 mpg US.

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Mazda’s Legendary 787B Le-Mans Winner to Race at Goodwood

It’s been 20 years already, yet it feels like yesterday when Mazda in 1991 became the first, and to date, the only Japanese manufacturer to win the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. The weapon of choice was the rotary-engine-powered 787B, which sported a carbonfibre body, an output of 700 PS and a 210 mph (338 km/h) top speed. Read more »

Yes Please: Porsche 911 with GM LS1 V8 Power [Videos]

By taking a kitbashed GM-sourced LS1 V8 engine and slotting it into an AWD Porsche 996, LS1tech forum member “1dirtyZ” has set out to create something truly unique. Sure, it’s unconventional and perhaps a little sacrilegious...but just look at the Porsche donor car.

It’s a wreck, the victim of a catastrophic engine fire. It has a ruined interior and a body that’s been damaged both by fire and rust. It would have spent the rest its days rotting away in a car wreckers yard if 1dirtyZ had not rescued it.

And even though this confabulation of All-American grunt and German precision engineering is not yet finished (it doesn’t have a rear bumper, for one), it certainly runs and can even be driven around a dirt race track. You can check out our gallery of in-progress images below and a handful of videos showing the V8-powered Porsche 911 running.

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New Jeep Grand Cherokee Lands in the UK, Available Exclusively with 3.0 V6 Diesel

Jeep claims that it has created the premium SUV market almost 20 years ago with the first generation of the Grand Cherokee (though Mercedes’ M-Class may actually have a better claim on the word “premium”, but whatever…). We’ve already seen the latest iteration of Jeep’s iconic 4x4, and we must admit that, on paper at least, it looks like a significant leap forward from its predecessors. Read more »

Rolls-Royce Crafts One-Off Phantom Drophead Coupé Special with Bespoke Details

If your run of the mill Phantom Drophead Coupé is just too darn common, then you may want to take a look at this one-off special that will go on display at the Masterpiece London 2011, which is held in the South Grounds of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, UK, from Saturday 30 June to Friday 5 July 2011. Read more »

Sacha Baron Cohen gets Glitzy Gold Dartz for the Needs of his New Movie The Dictator

After becoming worldwide known for his portrayal of the fictional character Borat from the Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, and the lesser successful flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion show presenter, Brüno, English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen is returning to the big screen with a new movie called The Dictator.

And what may that have to do with a car site, we hear you ask? Well, for one, we’re going to see him facing off three Lamborghinis with his camel on the streets of New York, but most importantly, we learned that the dictator he portrays will ride in an “all-gold Dartz” armored truck.

For those of you with a weak memory, the Russian maker of the Dartz Prombron had made headlines about a year ago when it introduced a special version of the armored truck with its interior slathered in…whale-penis leather.

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Chrysler Seeks Fiat Synergies to Produce Cars in China

China is the world’s largest car market: last year alone, more than 18 million vehicles were sold there, of which 13.76 million were passenger cars. Furthermore, analysts McKinsey & Company predict that it will grow tenfold between 2005 and 2030.

Do you want to know Chrysler’s share in this massive car market? A measly 31,000 in 2010 and a projection for just 40,000 in 2011. Therefore, it is only natural that the American carmaker is looking for ways to increase its share in this rapidly expanding market.

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Ferrari’s World Design Supercar Contest: Detroit College Video

A few days ago we reported on the seven finalists of Ferrari’s World Design Contest in which the best design schools from all over the globe submit their proposals, both in Autodesk 3D software and in actual 1:4 scale models.

Their goal? To envision the Ferraris of the future or in the words of the Italian supercar company, “design a pure supercar with technology and materials from the latest generation, a car with an extreme architecture, while functional in every aspect”.

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VIDEO: Lexus LF-A Nurburgring Edition Laps the Nordschleife in 7:22.85

Carscoop reader Shinya Yamamoto from Japan tipped us off about this video showing the new Lexus LF-A Nurburgring Edition (or at least that’s what the Youtube poster claims we’re seeing here) lapping the famous Nordschleife circuit in 7 minutes and 22.85 seconds. The poster videotaped the run from a video screen set beside the LF-A Nurburgring Edition.

According to the person who shot the clip, Lexus raced the car just before this past weekend’s 24-hour Nurburgring endurance race kicked off.

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Subaru in the Midst of Saudi Women Driving Uproar

Last month, a 32-year old woman named Manal al-Sharif was arrested in Saudi Arabia for committing the crimes of… driving and posting a video on Youtube urging other women to drive too.

This is strictly forbidden by the Wahhabi sect of Suni Islam which is Saudi Arabia’s religion, as women are not allowed to apply for a driver’s license or mix with men (e.g. in service or gas stations) or even leave the home without male company.

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Lexus Calls UK Buyers to Enjoy the Summer with Limited Edition IS 250C

While Britain may not be the ideal place to enjoy an open top model, Lexus is calling UK buyers to take a look at its new limited edition version of the IS 250C coupe-convertible. Exclusivity for the IS 250C Limited Edition comes in the form of a distinctive black and red semi-aniline leather interior along with a numbered badge fixed inside the glove-box. Read more »

Top Gear Season 17 Episode 1 Starts with a Blast: Forget about the Hummer, Meet the Marauder [Video]

Yesterday we brought you news about the first episode of the seventh season of BBC’s Top Gear TV series which aired last night featuring the Paramount Group’s Marauder. The South African-built armored vehicle was driven by TG presenter Richard Hammond in its native country.

However, “driven” is an understatement, since Hammond made the Marauder flatten cars, smash through walls and defy lion attacks. He also took a bright red one for a drive around Johannesburg, creating quite a fuss.

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