Hot News: Ferrari to Debut 612 Estate at Geneva Show?

Ferrari turns practical? That’s the 
shock news from Maranello, where a shooting brake concept based on the 612 Scaglietti is being prepared for 
the Geneva Motor Show in March.

The first result from a new, in-house styling team, the estate has been overseen by Fiat Group design boss and ex-Pininfarina head Lorenzo Ramaciotti. Although its name has not yet been confirmed, the two-door, V12 concept has been produced for two reasons: to see how far Ferrari can stretch its brand away from its traditional supercars, and to give the 612 Scaglietti a fitting send-off as the four-seat super coupé, launched in 2004, nears the end of its run.

“We know there can never be a Ferrari SUV,” one source insisted. “But we would like to find out what we can put the marque’s DNA into and still have it accepted as a Ferrari.” The replacement for the 612 Scaglietti is also imminent. Codenamed F151, the new two-door coupé will join Ferrari’s GranTurismo line-up to sit alongside the California, but it will be priced at around £230,000 – considerably more than the £143,870 currently charged for the drop-top.

Ferrari sources have described the forthcoming car as “more versatile”, hence why the designers are testing the water with this radical and roomier concept version of its predecessor. With the firm also ruling out a four-door saloon earlier this year, a fastback design for the next-generation GT makes the most sense.

Despite its revolutionary looks, the 612 Scaglietti concept car isn’t the first Ferrari wagon. The company has built plenty of one-offs for wealthy Middle Eastern and Asian buyers, including a 456 GT-based Pininfarina-bodied shooting brake in the early Nineties for the Sultan of Brunei. For more details click here.
Thanks to: Auto Express

New Wiesmann MF5 GT technical characteristics Geneva Motor Show 2011

It was in March, under the Geneva Motor Show 2011 will be made public that the new versions of Wiesmann MF4 and MF5.

Now, on his official website, the German manufacturer shall complete the technical characteristics of the new GT MF5. This car passed, as expected, the V8 4.4-liter twin-turbo BMW. It develops, like under the hood of the BMW X5 M and X6 M, 555 hp. But this horse was here that 1405 kg to move.

Wiesmann also announced a top speed of 311 km / h and a 0 to 100 km / h in 3.9 seconds shot.

Hot News: A New Concept Car from Mini at Geneva Show 2011

Mini is likely to show a super-small city car at the Geneva show next March, according to hints from the brand’s boss, Wolfgang Armbrecht.

The long-rumoured concept is expected to be the same size as the original Mini, competing directly with the Toyota IQ. It’s likely to be based on a version of today’s Mini platform, making it a candidate to be built in the UK.

Armbrecht was also quoted in a Financial Times Deutschland interview as saying that another, larger, Mini concept would be shown at the Detroit show in January.

However, industry reports say that BMW’s development chief Klaus Draeger has warned that the Mini brand should not build too many large cars, because of the potential risks to the brand.

Autocar sources have said that some in BMW’s senior management are cautious about the likely success of the Countryman project.

The five-door model would need to be judged a successful addition to the brand if it is to survive and become part of the next-generation Mini family based on the upcoming BMW group front-drive drive platform.

Thanks to: Autocar