Autos

Those of you waiting for the all-new BMW 3-Series Coupe will be disappointed; there will be no more 3-Series coupes.  Don’t go jumping off buildings, the 3-Series coupe is still alive but now it’ll be called the 4-Series and BMW has just released pictures of it ahead of its official debut at the 2013 Detroit Motor Show and they’re calling it the 4-Series Concept.

BMW is calling the car a concept (for now) but the car is pretty much a production-ready model; we do expect some changes on the road-going version when released.  The rear bumper on the production model will be more conventional and the interior will not come with the over-the-top leather treatment seen on the concept car.

It didn’t take long for Mercedes to release images of the face-lifted 2014 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe and Convertible, after they showed us the E-Class Sedan/Wagon last month.  All of these refreshed 2014 E-Class cars will be officially unveiled at the 2013 Detroit Motor Show.

Like the 4-door E-Class, the coupe and convertible also feature two headlights instead of the 4-lights that have been around for almost two decades, the headlights feature bars of LED daytime running lights that give the headlights a 4-light look.  Unlike the sedan, however, the coupe and convertible keep the pontoon rear fenders (the bulge over the rear wheels).

South Korean automaker, Kia, has given its European customers a sneak peak of the new GT trim which will be available on the Kia pro_cee’d GT and cee’d GT. The new Kia vehicles are scheduled to make their world premiere at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show in March. The differences between the GT and regular models are not yet known but we do know that the cars will be equipped with a turbocharged 1.6-liter GDI petrol engine which will product 201bhp and 195 lb-ft of peak torque. Those are some pretty decent numbers for a 1.6-liter motor.

The Kia pro_cee’d GT and cee’d GT will only be available in a six-speed manual gearbox and will be capable of performing the 0-100km/h in 7.9 seconds. Not the fastest time out there for a vehicle of this size but considering it’s a relatively small motor, I can forgive it.

The hottest little car in the tuning world is about to turn up the heat a little more with the unveiling of the convertible Toyota FT-86 Open. The FT-86 name was given to the concept version of the now Scion FR-S, Toyota GT86, Toyota 86, and Subaru BRZ. The FT-86 Open is still a “concept” and it will be making its first public appearance at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. Apparently the Toyota FT-86 Open is only one stage from the production trim.

No word yet on whether or when the North American Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ will be receiving the convertible versions of this vehicle. The Toyota FT-86 Open will continue to have a 2+2 seating configuration and besides the missing roof, the overall appearance of the vehicle looks the same as the standard coupe. Changes that we do know about include new alloy wheels, and a couple of body modifications such as the windshield to accommodate the retractable roof. The roof will be a soft-top but I’m sure after market companies will be quick to provide hard-top options offering several variants in terms of design.

Today we get our first official look at the all-new, face-lifted 2014 Porsche Panamera, following yesterday’s leaked images.  Personally, I can’t really find anything different about this new car compared to last year’s model, aesthetically, but I’ll take Porsche’s word for it.

Die-hard Panamera fans will probably notice the subtle cosmetic updates which include re-shaped headlights, LED taillights, new turn signals, front bumper with larger air intakes, and new placement for the license plate.