Lotus 'Eagle' (2009): first pictures

This is the long-awaited new Lotus 2+2, with a 3.5-litre Toyota V6 and four apparently useable seats. It's the first new Lotus for 13 years and a pretty significant launch, due for its show debut at the 2008 London motor show later this month on 22 July 2008. That's when we’ll find out the name of this new Lotus – codenamed Eagle – but in the meantime the company is teasing us with some new details. These include the car’s sub-five second 0-60mph time, its estimated 160mph top speed and the promise of convertible and high-performance versions. Read on for the full first details and analysis of the new Lotus Eagle.
Is it still called the Lotus Eagle?
For now, as that’s the car’s project name – but the production car will bear a regular Lotus 'E' name, predicted to be a short, pithy tag. This is a true Lotus at heart, after all; early prototypes of the are considerably faster than the Elise, Hethel spokesmen claim, and more stable at speed than the Exige, too.
Of course the Lotus Eagle should be one of the quickest four-seaters around, with an aluminium chassis and a composite roof help to keep weight low in time-honoured Lotus fashion. Add in that 3.5-litre V6 Toyota engine equipped with dual VVT-i (‘intelligent’ variable valve timing) producing 276bhp and we wouldn’t expect anything less from Lotus. The torque figure should be at least 250lb ft.
The rest of the Eagle's spec is pretty impressive too, with 350mm four-pot AP racing brakes, Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs.
And the looks? We'll let you judge the design for yourself, suffice to say that this first official photograph had most at CAR recalling the M250 concept shown at the start of the decade; it was designed as a smarter Lotus to slot above the Elise but failed to meet global homologation standards and was subsequently parked. Much of its spirit seems alive and well in the new Eagle.

Smart MHD micro-hybrid CAR review

The Smart Fortwo MHD has been available in Europe since October 2007. MHD is Smart-talk for a stop/start system and stands for Micro Hybrid Drive. UK versions of the 61bhp and 71bhp Smart will have MHD from October 2008, while the punchier 84bhp and Brabus models will have it in 2009.
Time for CAR to take one out for a traffic-jam test drive.
How does the Smart Fortwo’s MHD stop/start work?
Bigger stop/start systems like that in the A-class BlueEfficiency add a belt-driven starter-generator, but keep the conventional starter motor for cold starts. In the Smart, both the starter and alternator are replaced by the starter-generator.
The system generates electricity to charge the battery when the driver is braking, and automatically cuts the engine when the speed drops below 8km/h (about 5mph). It then re-starts the engine when the driver releases the brakes.

Mercedes SLK's panoramic glass roof: the spy photos

Want to turn your Mercedes SLK into a goldfish bowl? Our spies have caught this prototype out on test with a panoramic glass roof, which is being readied for launch on the next-generation SLK. It's like the panoramic glass vario roof available on the SLK's bigger brother, the SL. So expect a similar cost of around £1400 – and we hear it's a popular option on top-spec SLs. Does a glass roof affect operation of the SLK's folding hard-top?Apparently not, but we guess that's what the engineers are testing right now. It essentially just changes the main roof section from metal to toughened glass like your average laminated windcreen. But CAR's spy photos prove the vario roof is heavily tinted to protect your bonce from solar radiation.The idea is that it bathes the cabin in light, for those occasions when you don't want to lower the roof because it's too hot or you're driving through a polluted city, for instance. Just the ticket for roadster buyers who want to see and be seen, then.This test mule is an interesting vehicle, since it's based on the pre-facelift SLK. Well placed sources told CAR that the glass roof won't be offered in the lifetime of this SLK, pointing to the next-generation car due

Mazda RX8 R3 CAR review

Mazda has been producing rotary engines since the year dot and they’ve become the company’s trademark long after others have given up on the idea. Yet rotary engines – like the new Mazda RX-8’s – are hard to justify.
Compared to a piston engine, they were always known for gobbling fuel, using oil and suffering from premature wear. The upside is they sound fantastic and go like the clappers, the RX-8’s revving to 9000rpm before the rev limiter calls time.
The Mazda RX-8 was originally launched in 2003 and has just undergone a facelift emerging as the RX8 R3. It’s got the latest RENESIS twin-rotor engine in which, after donkeys years of development, most of those problems have been licked. It’s also had a makeover in other areas too.
Right, so what’s new on the Mazda RX-8 R3?
Externally, there’s a standard Sports Styling Pack with new front bumper, side skirts, rear wing and the RX-8 also gets 19-inch wheels clad with 225/40 tyres. But as you discover from the driving seat in the first half mile, there have been a few changes under the skin.
The bodyshell has been stiffened and dampers, springs, bushes and anti-roll bars revised including the use of Bilstein sports suspension and a urethane-filled front cross member. At the rear, the multi-link suspension has been tuned to improve both the ride and handling.
The RENESIS rotary engine has undergone a few subtle changes too, such as an improved oil metering system (the engine mixes tiny amounts of oil with the fuel to lubricate the rotor tips) and there’s a new type of knock sensor.

U-turn! VW's Up will be front-engined

By Phil McNamara
19 July 2008 13:51
Shock news from Volkswagen: the Up city car and spiritual successor to the original Beetle will switch to a front engine/front-wheel drive layout, CAR can confirm. Despite the 2007 concept being rear-engined like the iconic 'people's car', VW suits have approved a switch to a front-mounted three-cylinder engine. 'For cost, design and aerodynamic reasons, we will probably have to put the engine at the front,' a VW source told CAR. Our further investigations reveal that a front-engined Up is a done deal – and it's mostly for cost reasons.
By ditching a standalone rear-drive platform, the Up will have much greater drivetrain and component commonality with other front-drive VWs. It will also be much easier to integrate on existing production lines. All told, the decision will save Volkswagen hundreds of millions in investment.
Our sources vow that the Up concept's wonderful looks and proportions won't be compromised. 'The show car's small front overhang stays. In fact, the front-engined car is more faithful to the concept than the rear-engined package we developed,' one insider revealed.
Packaging a front engine means the four-seat production car will measure 400mm longer, taking the Up to around 3850mm – fractionally longer than Ford's outgoing Ka. Power will come from a 1.2-litre three cylinder engine, both naturally aspirated and turbocharged to provide a range of outputs.
A source also said that the engine switch would also eliminate some tail-happy instability in cross winds, as well as eliminating the complexity of channeling coolant from the front-mounted radiator to a rear engine.
Expect the Up to go on sale in 2010, with deluxe versions for western customers and budget versions to tap growing demand in the developing world.