Autos

The stealthy Batmobile has received a major facelift by Gordon Murray who is McLaren F1’s designer. The new design of the Batmobile is very Formula 1 inspired and premiered in London for the Batman Live show.

As can be seen, the newly designed vehicle is based on the aerodynamics of the Formula One race cars with the large rear spoiler, wheel arches, and extras like the LED wheels. But this car is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell and is 100 percent emission free unlike the actual F1 race cars. The car features a newly developed type of carbon fiber by Gordon Murray just for this vehicle. The car also has a system in place which allows the car to levitate 40mm above the road.

The Maserati Kubang Concept is nice but is it “Maserati nice”? I still haven’t decided. The Italian company is years and years behind the competition when it comes to the Sport Luxury SUV segment. As some fans may remember, Maserati did showcase the Kubang Concept back in 2003 at the Detroit Auto Show. What they’ve been doing for the last eight years…nobody knows.

So what we have here is Maserati’s take on what a premium sport utility vehicle should look and feel like. The company says that the Kubang will be 100% Maserati in terms of style, handling, engine, suspension, brakes, and performance.  According to Meserati, the new generation of proprietary engines is currently being designed by Paolo Martinelli, who has 30 years of experience with Ferrari and Scuderia, and the engines will be built in Maranello by Ferrari. The engine is expected to be mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

There was an automotive saying back in the muscle car glory days during the sixties and seventies: “What wins at the drag strip on Sunday, sells in the showroom on Monday”. And- at least with the younger car buyers- it seemed there was some truth to this adage, as demonstrated by ever increasing muscle car sales at the dealerships. What events could have caught the imagination of an entire car buying generation? In my opinion, Jungle Jim Liberman was an influential drag racer of his time, and one that brought the cool factor of muscle cars to the masses.

The Infiniti G37 is one of my favorite luxury sports sedans and the fact that it is relatively affordable makes it that much more likable. The very same vehicle is known as the Nissan Skyline in Japan and Wald International, a Takatsuki-based tuning company, has released a Sports Line Black Bison Edition package for the car.

The upgrade package for the luxury sedan is purely cosmetic and perfect for those who are satisfied with the generous 328 horsepower and 269 ft-lb of torque. The Sports Line Black Bison Edition package includes a redesigned bumper which features LED lights the corners, new side rocker panels, and a more aggressive rear bumper along with a diffuser. The package blacks out the front grille, Infiniti logos, as well as blacked out Wald logos. Wald has also incorporated a double edged boot lid spoiler on the trunk.

South Korean automakers, Kia and Hyundai, have been extremely busy these last few years with introducing fantastic cars to the market.  And they have done it once again by releasing official photographs of its brand new flagship sedan, the KH or K9, which will be launched in South Korea summer of 2012.

Initially, the sedan was referred to as the ‘KH’ but Kia has now confirmed that it will be named ‘K9’ in South Korean market. No word on the exact release date for other markets or the official export name. With that being said, Kia is asking their facebook fans for help in naming the sedan.

Mercedes-Benz had several vehicles to show off at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show and one of them is the Viano Vision Diamond offering luxurious appointments for business travelers or casual city driving with all the comforts one would ever want or need. This chauffeur vehicle is hard to miss with its two tone paint job, chrome, and gold all over the van.  Even the five-spoke wheels have the black and white theme.

The Viano Vision Diamond is handsome on the outside but we all know it’s what’s on the inside that counts. And Mercedes-Benz makes it count. For starters, passengers in the rear can play around with an innovative multimedia system which allows passengers to choose between a business setting or a more comforting ambiance for a more relaxing feel.

The highly collectible and extremely limited production Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato is one of the most beautiful classic sports cars in the world, if you really want one; it’s going to cost you a 7-figure sum because only 25 examples were built.  The car was a collaboration between Aston Martin and Zagato and initially 19 cars were built in 1963 with 4 more built in 1991 and a couple more in the year 2000.  The most recent auction for the DB4 Zagato ended up costing the owner $1.9 million.