Aston Martin One-77 Goes Public in London

Dr. Ulrich Bez is quite proud with what his boys have done with the Aston Martin One-77 supercar.

Now, despite the German influence to the car, Aston Martin as a marquee is still as British as Bovril. So there’s no fitting place to showcase the One-77 on the prowl in city streets other than London.

Here’s the One-77 making its first public outing in the UK as part of the supercar run from London to Silverstone. The event’s to promote the FIA GT1 World Championship.

If you’ve forgotten what monster Aston Martin the One-77 is, then let us go through some key details. The car’s powered by a massive 7.0L V12 that dishes out 700 bhp. Initial tests were able to push the car past 220 mph.

Only 77 cars will be made and are priced above the Veyron at £1.2 million.

Audi R8 GT Unveiled

Audi’s got some really good publicity mileage from the Iron Man 2 movie so it’s not really a bad time to showcase this souped up Audi R8.

The car’s dubbed the Audi R8 GT and that GT designation means that this car’s pretty bad ass. The car packs the larger V10 engine and is slapped on a stiffer chassis.

Audi engineers have integrated some of the learnings they got from the R8 LMS racer. The car’s aero package is also revised to make the car even sleaker. The car’s also put on a diet to improve performance.

The GT is set to slug it out with the more hardcore versions of other supercars such as the Lambo Gallardo Superleggera and the Porsche 911 GT3. Only 333 of these R8 GTs will be built.

Lotus Reveals Venza-based Concept

Here’s Lotus at it again. By “it” we mean experimenting on lightweightedness. There’s no doubt that Lotus has come up with wondrous cars thanks to their belief in lightweightedness.

Now check out how they plan to make even passenger cars lightweight. This here’s a lightweight concept based on the Toyota Venza. Keep in mind that the Venza’s a mid-sized crossover.

The Lotus engineers aims to reduce the total weight of the car by 38% while keeping impact on costs at +3% by 2020. Less weight on the car increases its power-to-weight ratio thus decreasing engine load making it more efficient. Lotus claims that it can reduce fuel consumption by as much as 23%.

Part of the lightweight strategy is to use just 211 parts and use a mix of lightweight materials such as aluminum, magnesium, composite, and steel compared to the Venza’s pure steel construction.

Bentley Mulsanne-based Azure Convertible

Bentley’s not done yet. While Mercedes is slowly easing out the Maybach brand, Bentley will stay on in the ultraluxury market segment.

Bentley’s updating its fleet as well. With the Arnage slowly being eased out, the future of the Azure convertible goes with it.

Good thing is, as the new Mulsanne sedan takes over the mantle of the Arnage, a new convertible based on the Mulsanne will keep the Continental GT as Bentley’s drop tops.

The convertible is most likely to keep the Azure monicker. It is also set to pack the same 6.8L twin-turbo V8 found in the Mulsanne.

With 505 hp, the car would be able to go from 0 to 60 mph in 5-ish seconds. That’s quite impressive given the mammoth weight of the Bentley plus the structural reinforcements commonly added to convertibles.

Fiat Uno Pictures Leaked

So Fiat announced in its five-year development plan that it will be reintroducing the Uno as part of its lineup to sit in between the Panda and the Grande Punto.

The new model resurrects the good old Uno name. The car would then serve as the replacement for the old Uno and the Mk2 Punto supermini.

Now we finally see what the car would look like thanks to leaked images.

The car is reported to be based on a shortened Grande Punto platform and is set to slug it out with the likes of the Ford Fiesta and the Mazda 2. The Uno, however, is expected to more spaceous than the Mazda 2.

Unlike the Panda and the Punto, however, the Uno sports more curves in its lines creating a less aggressive-looking car.

BMW Concept Gran Coupe Unveiled

BMW knows how to make a splash. The German company stole the Beijing motor show by unveiling the Concept Gran Coupe.

It’s a huge car – a five-meter saloon with a coupe look and it’s rumored to be the new car that will be slotted higher than the 7-series. Word has it that this car will be the basis for the new 8-series flagship.

The car’s sporty four-door look seems to position it to rival not with the Merc S-class but with other sport four-doors like the Maserati Quattroporte, Porsche Panamera, and the Aston Martin Rapide.

Powering the car is most likely the same powerplants seen in the current 7-Series which include the 6- and 8-cylinder gasoline and diesels. The eight-speed automatic might come as standard.

“It’s true that the Gran Coupe points to a specific model, a saloon with the presence and elegance of a 7-series but a more dynamic, sporty character: much more of a driver’s car,” said BMW chief designer Adrian van Hooydonk.