24 cars blue sky

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

2017 BMW 3-series Gran Turismo – Official Photos and Info

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There’s an Affordable International Engine of the Year Winner, if You Can Find It

If you want to own one of the world's best engines (as ranked by a panel of multi-national auto journos), you don't necessarily have to find a higher paying job or buy a plane ticket to Europe. Most categories at the recently announced 2016 International Engine of the Year Awards were won by high-end powerplants […]

The post There's an Affordable International Engine of the Year Winner, if You Can Find It appeared first on The Truth About Cars.

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Hands on the Wheel (At Least Sometimes): Volvo Aims for Partial, Not Full, Autonomy

Volvo Auto Pilot

Whenever senior auto executives sit down to talk with journalists it's only a matter of time—often mere nanoseconds—before somebody asks about autonomy. When the subject came up with Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson, he was happy to give some impressively straight answers on the subject. "We have no ambition to have a car that could drive in urban environments from A to B," Samuelsson said at the unveiling of the new 40-series concepts—in what's close to a flat contradiction of the promises of Jetson-level self-driving other automakers say they're working towards.

"If you're a normal consumer is that really what you are dreaming about?" he asks. "We believe more that in a situation where it's not really fun to drive you can switch on the autopilot and then sit back and do something else, use that time more productively. That is the product that we are developing."

Volvo's system also is closer to market than the more advanced systems being developed by Volkswagen and Nissan, maybe even Tesla. Volvo will begin a wide-scale trial of its Intellisafe Autopilot next year, with 100 XC90s equipped with the system being driven on Swedish roads, along with smaller pilot programs elsewhere. We're told to anticipate production versions well within the current model cycle.

Another difference comes on the thorny issue of liability. Other automakers have said that drivers will retain at least partial responsibility for anything that happens while the car is in charge of itself, but Samuelsson says Volvo will stand fully behind its system:

"If you want to be in that market, you have to take that liability. If you're not ready to do that then you must do something else. Volvo would not market something you can switch on and then relax if it's not a redundant system which is absolutely safe and secure."

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First Hyundai N Model to Be Euro-Focused Hot Hatch

HyundaiN

It's more than two years since we first told you about Hyundai's plans to introduce a range of N-badged performance models, and now we've learned that the first one is set to hit the market next year, with a tuned version of the next-generation i30 hatchback.

While the i30N is primarily aimed at Europe, N Division's boss, Albert Biermann, assures us that two other N-badged models will be introduced shortly afterward, with at least one of these having broader appeal to the U.S.

Although we've only seen a prototype version of the i30N and weren't allowed to take detailed photographs of it, Hyundai entered a prototype fitted with the production car's powertrain into last weekend's Nürburgring 24 Hours race (above).

It uses a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine and drives the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox and an electronically controlled limited-slip differential that Hyundai engineered itself. We have not been given any official power output, but we were shown a video of the new engine being dyno tested, which showed numbers peaking at 264 ps (260 horsepower), which we're betting will be the minimum output. Biermann, who was formerly the head of development for BMW's Motorsport Division, says he doesn't want the i30N to be targeting performance numbers or lap times; rather, the focus will be on the driving experience.

"It is not just about the output," he said, "if you look at the data our car will not look like the winner [compared with rivals], but when you drive it you will feel how serious we are."

The i30N also gets a new suspension, a higher-capacity cooling system, and structural reinforcement to increase the rigidity of the body shell. Biermann indicated that it's likely to be sold in both standard and "plus" form, with the more expensive version bringing a limited-slip differential, bigger brakes, and possibly an increase in power. All versions are likely to have switchable active dampers, with Biermann emphasizing that he wants to build a car with what he called "maximum bandwidth."

Although a manual gearbox will be standard, Biermann also confirmed that Hyundai is developing what he described as a "sporty automatic," which is almost certainly a dual-clutch gearbox to become available shortly after the car goes on sale.

While it's unlikely that the i30N will be sold in the United States, it is still relevant to us; the same mechanical package is expected to underpin the two other N models that Hyundai will unveil slightly later, which we believe will be a sedan and a coupe.

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24 cars blue sky

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

2017 BMW 3-series Gran Turismo – Official Photos and Info

There’s an Affordable International Engine of the Year Winner, if You Can Find It

Hands on the Wheel (At Least Sometimes): Volvo Aims for Partial, Not Full, Autonomy

First Hyundai N Model to Be Euro-Focused Hot Hatch

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