Porsche has previewed its upcoming Le Mans-bound race car with a batch of official spy pictures.

Set to make its track debut next year, the yet-unnamed race car will compete in the LMP1 category of the 24 Hours of Le Mans that Audi has dominated with its diesel-electric racers over the past couple of years.  Eager to win, Porsche has invested a small fortune in the project and recruited famed Formula 1 pilot Mark Webber to drive its flagship car.

Porsche has not published technical details about the car but it might be powered by a gasoline-electric drivetrain similar to the one found under the skin of the upcoming 918 Spyder.

With 16 overall victories, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer in Le Mans history.  The Stuttgart-based automaker is hoping to update its resume with its new racing program.  

“Motorsport was always an essential part of the Porsche brand,” said Porsche Chairman Matthis Müller. “For us it was only a matter of time before we returned as a factory to the top league of racing. Porsche’s successes in Le Mans are unrivaled.  We want to follow up on this with the 17th outright victory.”

Porsche recorded its first overall Le Mans victory in 1970 with the legendary 917 short-tail. The 911 GT1 was the last Porsche to claim an overall Le Mans victory in 1998.<![CDATA[
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Peugeot has published the first official images of the facelifted 2014 5008 ahead of its scheduled debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.  The seven-seater MPV has been on the market since 2009. �

Up front, the 5008 adopts Peugeot’s floating grille, new headlights inspired by the ones found on the second-generation 308 hatchback and a chunkier bumper that incorporates three air dams.  Save for slightly refreshed tail lamps, the back end of the van stays roughly the same.

The 5008′s cockpit gains a redesigned center console, an available heads-up display and an optional rear-seat entertainment system consisting of two seven-inch screens integrated into the front headrests and a pair of Bluetooth headphones.�

Mechanically, the 5008 is offered with a wide array of gasoline- and diesel-burning four-cylinder engines ranging from a 1.6-liter e-HDi oil-burner that generates 115 horsepower to a 163-horsepower 1.6-liter THP gas-burning unit developed jointly with BMW.  Power is sent to the front wheels only.

Following its unveiling in Germany, the facelifted 5008 will land in Peugeot showrooms across Europe early next year.  Pricing information will be published closer to its on-sale date.

In addition to the Botoxed 5008, Peugeot will debut the Golf-fighting 308, the 270-horsepower 308 R concept, the sleek RCZ R, the gas-sipping 208 HYbrid FE and the facelifted 3008 in Frankfurt. <![CDATA[
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Toyota has lifted the veil off of the redesigned Sai, a four-door sedan based on the Lexus HS 250h that exited the U.S. market after the 2012 model year.

The facelifted Sai falls in line with Toyota’s latest design language thanks to an angular front bumper, narrow headlights linked by a large chrome slat and a new radiator grille.  Out back, the sedan gains full-length tail lamps and a discreet trunk-mounted spoiler, while new alloy wheel designs and additional paint colors round out the exterior upgrades.

Inside, the Sai offers a redesigned two-level center console available with real wood trim and a touch screen mounted on the center stack that enables the occupants to control the infotainment system.  Toyota says 80 percent of the interior’s surface area is made from recyclable materials.

Like its Lexus-badged sibling, the Sai is powered by a gasoline-electric hybrid drivetrain consisting of a 2.4-liter gasoline-burning four-cylinder engine that makes 150 horsepower and a 187 lb-ft. of torque and an electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery pack.  The drivetrain enables the Sai to return 52.6 mpg in a mixed Japanese cycle.

On sale now in Japan, the Toyota Sai carries a base price of ¥3,210,000 (roughly $32,500).   The HS 250h is still sold in Japan, where it wears Lexus’ spindle grille and retails for ​¥4,100,000 (about $42,000).<![CDATA[
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A new report finds Volkswagen’s Audi division is mulling an entry into the lucrative premium pickup truck segment.

In order to cut costs, Audi’s upcoming pickup will ride on the same chassis as the Volkswagen Amarok, a mid-size truck sold mostly in Europe.  It will feature bespoke sheet metal all around, a copious amount of chrome trim and LED lighting on both ends in order to stand out from its Volkswagen-badged sibling and justify its higher price.

Available exclusively as a crew cab, the yet-unnamed pickup will boast leather upholstery on the seats, the dashboard and the door panels, wood trim on the center console and a touch screen-based infotainment system.

The truck will be powered by a wide array of four- and six-cylinder gasoline- and diesel-burning engines sourced from the Audi parts bin.  Power will be sent to all four wheels via a dual-clutch transmission and Audi’s famed quattro all-wheel drive system.

If the wild rumor proves true, more details about Audi’s upcoming premium pickup truck will emerge over the coming months.  The truck will be largely aimed at the Middle East and Russia, two markets where premium pickups have historically sold well.<![CDATA[
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Toyota will travel to next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show to unveil an evolution of the FCV-R concept that debuted in Tokyo in 2011.  The concept is powered by a hydrogen drivetrain that emits only water vapor.

Stretching 186 inches long, 59 inches tall and 70 inches wide, the Frankfurt-bound FCV-R will likely look roughly the same as the model that was presented in Tokyo but it will be completely different under the skin.  The show car will be powered by a close-to-production hydrogen-electric hybrid drivetrain consisting of a fuel cell, high-pressure hydrogen tanks and the same Hybrid Synergy Drive technology that is found in gasoline-electric Toyota hybrids such as the Prius.

By using a fuel cell with a high power density and a 21-kilowatt lithium-ion electric battery pack, Toyota engineers have managed to give the FCV-R a total driving range of 420 miles. �

The technology found under the skin of the FCV-R will reach showrooms in the United States, in Europe and in Japan in 2015.  Unlike the Honda FCX Clarity, Toyota’s yet-unnamed hydrogen-powered car will be a regular-production model available in all 50 states.  

Toyota sees the model as a stepping stone towards the widespread acceptance of hydrogen-powered cars all around the world.  Its first model will cater largely to a niche audience but the automaker expects to sell tens of thousands fuel cell-equipped cars a year in the 2020s.   <![CDATA[
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Honda’s 2014 Odyssey has become the first minivan to earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s coveted Top Safety Pick+ award.

The Odyssey earned the institute’s highest vehicle rating by acing all five IIHS crash evaluations, including the the new small overlap front test that has given some automakers trouble. Although the 2014 Odyssey’s styling carries over from the previous year, the minivan has actually been enhanced with structural changes that include advanced high-strength steel in the front door frames, floor pan and front wheel wells. The van’s side curtain airbags were also redesigned to extend farther to better protect occupants’ heads.

“Safety is high on the list for parents when it comes to shopping for a family vehicle,” said Institute President Adrian Lund. “Consumers look for models with the highest safety ratings. Honda is ahead of many of its competitors in building state-of-the-art crashworthiness into its vehicles.”

Per IIHS rules, Honda reimbursed the institute for the cost of the vehicle because the Japanese automaker requested that the Odyssey be tested to validate its new construction. The IIHS has not tested any other minivan in the new small overlap front test.

Honda has five other Top Safety Pick+ award winners in its fleet in addition to the Odyssey – the Honda Accord sedan and coupe, Honda Civic sedan and coupe, and the Acura TL luxury sedan. The popular Honda CR-V, however, earned just a ‘marginal’ rating in the small overlap test, barring it from the institute’s highest rating.<![CDATA[
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Volvo has shown journalists a dark teaser image of the next XC90 at a media event held in its home country of Sweden.  Expected to land in Geneva next year, the second-gen XC90 will inaugurate Volvo’s new design language.

The dark image confirms the next XC90′s front end borrows design cues from the Concept Coupé that will greet the public for the first time at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.  It is defined by T-shaped LED daytime running lights, a floating grille with horizontal slats and a generally more angular appearance.  Out back, the current model’s upright tail lamps remain and adopt LED technology.

Pictures of the interior are not available yet but a third teaser shot confirms the crossover will be equipped with a large iPad-like touch screen that will bundle the car’s connectivity, entertainment and navigation functions. �

The next XC90 will be the first vehicle to use Volvo’s all-new Scalable Platform Architecture, or SPA in short.  The SPA platform is similar in concept to Volkswagen’s MQB platform and it was designed to underpin many of Volvo’s upcoming models regardless of size or vehicle type.  The S60, the S80 and the XC60 will all ride on the platform when they are renewed.

Staying in line with Volvo’s goal to have a more efficient and cleaner lineup, the next XC90 will be powered by a series of downsized gasoline- and diesel-burning four-cylinder engines dubbed Volvo Environmental Architecture (VEA).  A plug-in hybrid model that uses a drivetrain co-developed by Volvo and Siemens is also said to be in the works.

More details about the second-generation XC90 will emerge over the coming months.  <![CDATA[
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Kia has published the first official images of the Niro concept that will greet the public for the first time at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.

Penned by Kia’s European design studio in Frankfurt, Germany, the Niro is a two-door crossover with a high ground clearance, butterfly doors and a sculpted body.  The front end is equipped with LED headlights, square fog lamps similar to the ones found on the GTI-fighting cee’d GT and a carbon fiber version of Kia’s trademark grille.  Out back, twin exhaust pipes mounted in the middle of a lower fascia crafted out of carbon fiber add a finishing touch to the crossover’s sporty appearance.

The Niro packs a futuristic interior with a clean and simple dashboard that boasts a retro-styled three-spoke steering wheel with shift paddles, aircraft-inspired switches and a large touch screen.  Interestingly, the gear selector takes the form of a ring mounted on a long tube that runs from the transmission tunnel to the dashboard.

Technical details are not available but the four-wheel drive concept will preview a new drivetrain that will find its way to Kia’s lineup over the coming years.

Kia explains the Niro will spawn a production-bound Juke-fighting crossover if it generates a positive reaction among the show-going public.  The South Korean firm’s European division offers two SUVs but it is a late-comer to the small crossover segment that has been steadily growing over the past couple of years.

 <![CDATA[
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Renault has announced that Carlos Tavares, its Chief Operating Officer (COO), has left the company in order to pursue personal projects.

Born in Portugal, 55-year old Tavares joined Renault in 1981 as a test driver and gradually moved up through the ranks over the following decades.  He briefly led Nissan’s North American operations and returned to Renault when he was promoted COO in July of 2011.  

A lifelong motorsport enthusiast, Tavares was often called the heart of Renault and he is credited for spearheading the return of the storied Alpine brand, forging an alliance with England’s Caterham and creating exhilarating concepts like the mid-engined Twin’Run that debuted earlier this year.  Rumors indicated Tavares was also in the process of developing a range-topping, Gordini-badged variant of the Clio RS and a series of premium models called Initiale Paris. �

Precisely why Tavares left Renault is not known but many speculate his decision is at least partially linked to a heavily-criticized interview with Bloomberg in which he admitted he saw no future at Renault because CEO Carlos Ghosn will not step down any time soon.  He continued by admitting that he would like to end his career at the head of a large American automaker such as Ford or General Motors.  

“Anyone who is passionate about the auto industry comes to a conclusion that there is a point where you have the energy and appetite for a No. 1 position,” explained Tavares.  “My experience would be good for any car company,” he added, “why not GM? I would be honored to lead a company like GM.”

Ghosn will fill Tavares’ position until an adequate replacement is found.  <![CDATA[
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Volvo has unveiled the Concept Coupé ahead of its scheduled debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.  The coupe is the first of three show cars designed to demonstrate the versatility of Volvo’s new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA).

Billed as a heir to the shapely P1800 of the 1960s, the Concept Coupé wears a more dynamic design than any Volvo in recent history thanks to an aggressive front bumper with three air dams, angular headlights that incorporate T-shaped LED daytime running lights and an elegant radiator grille characterized by floating horizontal slats.  Out back, the coupe features muscular haunches and C-shaped tail lamps.

With room for up to four passengers, the coupe’s interior blends retro-inspired cues such as a three-spoke steering wheel loosely inspired by select P1800 models and round gauges with state-of-the-art technology like an infotainment system controlled by a large touch screen and a heads-up display.

The Concept Coupé is powered by a plug-in hybrid drivetrain consisting of a 2.0-liter gas-burning four-cylinder engine that is both turbocharged and supercharged and an electric motor mounted on the rear axles.  Combined, the two power sources provide 400 horsepower and over 443 lb-ft. of torque to all four wheels.

Despite rumors of an upcoming four-seater coupe scheduled to bow in 2016, Volvo has not indicated what the future holds for the sleek coupe, saying only that it gives an idea of what direction its design department will take over the next few years.  The firm’s next design language – and the aforementioned SPA platform – will debut in Geneva next year with the all-new second-generation XC90.<![CDATA[
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