Men Free Blog

The original Model T was a game-changer. Its modular design allowed the Tin Lizzy to be mass produced on an assembly line and was the car that put America on wheels. So it might strike you as odd that the Blue Oval chose a design penned by a European university as the best modern interpretation of what a Model T would look like in 2015. For their efforts, the team of eight students and engineers earned the ika (Institute of Automotive Engineering Aachen) from Aachen University in Germany $25,000 in scholarship funds.

Any modern vehicle must take the environment and its emissions into account, and the new T concept is no exception. With three occupants — the driver is front and center with a passenger on either side — and a small pickup bed in back, the concept is definitely ready for work. Other body styles would be possible on the modular architecture. If produced, the University estimates it would cost $6,780 to build in base form and would let off 100 g/km of carbon emissions per kilometer, with hybrid and electric versions costing more and emitting less. It’s a good design, but we could do without the upright, retro-style front grille.

South America is a vital market for Fiat, and with the Sao Paulo International Auto Show coming up, the Italian automaker’s Brazilian subsidiary has cooked up an intriguing concept. Called the Bugster, it looks like the love child from a grappa-induced affair between a KTM X-Bow and a Jeep Wrangler.

Few details are known at this point, save to say that its green color isn’t accidental. Its undisclosed powertrain is good for zero-emission transportation, and the body panels (if you could call them that) are made out of renewable natural fibers. More details are bound to surface as the Sao Paulo show nears its opening at the end of this month.

At the ongoing Australian International Motor Show in Sydney, the same show where Australian sportscar-maker Elfin took the wraps off its new Type 5 Clubman, Lexus unveiled a new version of its IS 250 sports sedan called the Sports Concept.

So what, you ask is the Lexus IS 250 Sports Concept? Think of it as IS F-light, but not quite as light on substance as appearance packages from its German rivals (think Audi S-line or Mercedes AMG sport packages). The show car has been outfitted with 19″ wheels hiding cross-drilled two-piece rotors clamped by six-pot calipers up front and four-pots in the rear, painted trademark Lexus F blue. It also sports Billstein shocks and springs; sway bars and chassis braces; an enlarged air intake and cat-back exhaust; a new clutch and short-shift kit; a carbon fiber engine cover and an assortment of spoilers and skirts.

In short, what we’re looking at is an IS F, only without the 5-liter V8. The revised breathing systems squeeze out a modest 1.5 percent increase in output from the 2.5-liter V6 for a total of about 213hp. The add-ons are currently being considered for the Australian market, but we’re sure there are plenty of fans of the IS F on this side of the globe who don’t need to hit 60 in the fours and wouldn’t mind a more affordable alternative given the current economic climate.

British mag Autocar just got through driving a 2010 Mazda3 prototype and the author seems to have come away impressed. The mag got the chance to sample the new 3 in gas and diesel variants while driving them around Iceland’s coastline. They were very impressed with the new 2.2L diesel, but we’ll likely just get the equally new and impressive 2.0L direct-injection gas engine here in the former colonies. They described that DI engine as “impressively smooth, refined and torquey” while routing its power through a “very slick” six-speed manual. Mazda has apparently also kept the spirit of Zoom-Zoom alive in the handling department, producing a car that is more “pointable… than is common in this class.” Autocar went so far as to compare it to a Mk IV Golf V5. High praise indeed. We’ll have to wait until later next month at the LA Auto Show to see how the U.S. version turns out, but for now we’ll take Autocar’s word on this being “a big improvement over the current car,” which many of us already love.

Honda has just pulled the covers off a radical new concept motorcycle at the Intermot show in Cologne, Germany. Technically, there isn’t much here that’s real, but there’s still plenty to dissect. Honda is obviously feverishly working on a new V4 engine and that will soon show up in a production bike. Rumor has it that the Japanese company is taking another look at oval pistons, which would allow for more valves and larger combustion chambers. Could this powerplant show up in a new Interceptor? While this is currently nothing more than a sculpture, so was the new VMax when Yamaha first showed that concept. Studying the lines a bit, we can tell that this wouldn’t likely be a race bike, but more likely a new street-going model. We also see hubless wheels, which would be an extremely far-out bit of tech if they were to make it into production. Is that possible? According to Honda, yes. Big Red is saying this design is a “new beginning” for the company and the direction that it’s headed, and that sounds awfully exciting. We’ll be watching.

At this point, we’ve seen nearly every possible angle of Lamborghini’s latest raging bull, the Estoque, with one rather large exception: the interior. As a four-door sedan, the compromises one naturally expects from the Italian motor company’s supercars are wholly unacceptable in this application, so there is naturally a sense of luxury inside the Estoque that’s missing from the Gallardo and Murcielago. We can also see large paddle shifters for the e-gear transmission that are yanked straight from the Gallardo and plenty of two-tone grey and creamy white leather covering most every surface. Plus, there’s a whole lot more space now for such pleasure-inducers as a Blu-ray player, in-cabin television and, um, legroom. Still, it’s clear that this is a concept cockpit that was likely rushed to deadline for the Paris Motor Show. The buttons in the cockpit are all hard black plastic, which is not exactly fitting for a sister brand of Audi, an automaker that arguably sets the gold standard for interiors by which others are judged.

It’s time for your next dose of the GT by Citroen concept. To the commenter who wrote that the front of the car looks like a catfish — well, in a victory for symmetry, the back of the car looks like a catfish, too, and a couple of other gilled sea creatures. No matter its fishy similarities, it also look like it will be a lot of fun to throw this baby around Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. The tease can’t go on much longer — the Paris Motor Show begins in a week. We’ll be there with cameras and bait, just in case.

Volkswagen is set to debut a mid-engine concept at this year’s LA Auto Show, and an Audi R3 derivative that could replace the TT is reportedly also being considered. With Porsche’s increased stake in VAG, it was just a matter of time before rumors of sharing this mid-engine platform between VW, Audi and Porsche began to surface, and a new model destined to slot in below the Boxster is the obvious conclusion.

Once again, CAR is leading the speculative charge, with sources suggesting that Porsche will use the mid-engine architecture to revive the 356 marque – not the 914 moniker – to create a baby Boxster priced around £20,000-35,000 and produced in very small numbers.

Unlike the stillborn Audi R4, the R3 and its Porsche sibling wouldn’t encroach on Boxster sales due to their limited availability. Fixed roof and convertible versions of both models are planned, but engine choices would be limited to turbocharged four-cylinders displacing between 1.2- and 2.0-liters and ranging in output from 105 hp to 280 hp. Diesel variants could also be offered in the Audi, but Quattro all-wheel-drive wouldn’t be part of package due to weight and friction penalties.

It’s a very compelling proposition, particularly since the new architecture is reportedly being developed to accept everything from electric drivetrains to hybrids, and with a curb weight around 2,200 pounds. But don’t expect anything to come to market until 2012 or 2013 at the earliest, assuming that Porsche doesn’t get cold feet and kills off the project before it leaves the drawing board.

The LA Auto Show is once again hosting its annual Design Challenge in which automakers are asked to let their minds wander and think freely about what future vehicles might actually be like. Last year’s theme was green, but this year designers are being asked to imagine what motorsports will be like in 2025.
Mitsubishi’s answer will be the MMR25 Rally Racer, a way out there concept that draws upon the automaker’s long lineage of successful rally racing to create a sand crawler like we’ve never seen before. We’ve only got a sneak peek for now, so there’s no telling what exotic or outright fictional engine powers the MMR25, but expect it to be just as crazy as those multidirectional wheels.

While we’ve pretty much had it up to our Hans device with the speculation surrounding Lamborghini’s Paris surprise, another salient detail has emerged about the rumored front-engined, four-door sedan due to be unveiled on Thursday at the Paris Motor Show.
Previous reports about the Lamborghini concept wearing a Urus badge are thankfully bunk (who wants to drive a supercar named after a large bovine?) and World Car Fans has dropped the name Estoque (without citing any sources), which according to Encyclopedia Brittanica is a small blade that delivers the death blow to a bull at the end of a stadium fight. We’re still more than a few days away from the official reveal, but in the meantime, enjoy the gallery of teasers below, along with the image above created by LamboPower member a007api.