However, it's not going to be for sale here. Pity.
Lots of aero, Some XSweden's Saab is also GM's Saab and though the big corporation has been pushing the Nordic cars as "Born From Jets" many observers have been saying that GM would be better off shuttering it and spending the money on divisions with more financial promise. But if Saab can build something like the two-seat Aero-X Concept it displayed at the Geneva Motor Show, maybe GM would be better off closing down, say, Buick, and concentrating on Saab. Hell, wouldn't Tiger Woods be a more plausible spokesman for something like this rather than the LaCrosse?
Running a twin-turbocharged, 2.8-liter, DOHC, direct injection V-6 drinking ethanol and making 400 horsepower, the Aero-X features an all-wheel-drive system to connect it with the planet and a shockingly sleek, bullet-shaped carbon-fiber body to spear through the atmosphere. The transmission is a seven-speed direct sequential gearbox similar to the Audi/VW DSG, in that it features dual clutches for rapid shifts using triggers. The front suspension is by double wishbones while the rear is held aloft by a multi-link system. The 22-inch front wheels are inside 265/30R22 tires while the 23s out back are wrapped in 325/25R23s.
The crowning glory of the Aero-X is the cockpit that is accessed through a canopy opening and styled around explicit aircraft themes. The canopy design eliminates the A-pillars, giving the car a look that's different without obviously attracting attention to itself. But the canopy design is unlikely to ever make production when one considers the problems opening it if the car winds up upside down and that it also eliminates roll down side windows. Still, A-pillars and conventional doors wouldn't hurt this car's attractiveness that much.
With its 110-inch wheelbase and 184.1-inch overall length, the Aero-X is a pretty big sports car. And it's a pretty big Saab. But considering what's going on with Saab, any idea they pursue can't be a small one.
Round The VW WorldOn January 17th, John and Helen Taylor left London in a VW Golf FSI 1.6 and began a trek around the world with the goal of making it across 25 countries and over 18,000 miles while using as little gasoline as possible. In March they made it to the U.S. (landing in San Francisco) they had covered 12,000 miles having averaged more than 51 miles per gallon-well on their way to circumnavigating the globe in under 35 tanks of fuel.
If you care about whether or not they made it, take a look at their Web site: www.fuelchallenge.com. But if you see them creeping across America in the slow lane, take a look at their faces and report back to us just how bored they look.
Bimmer WTCC-Return of the original M3?The World Touring Car Championship is another one of those race series that enchants much of the rest of the world, but is aggressively ignored here in NASCAR-obsessed America. But while we weren't watching, BMW won the championship last year and this is the tool with which they intend to defend their title: The new 320si touring car.
Built to the specific rules of WTCC, the 320si features a four-cylinder engine in contrast to the sixes that BMW equips 3s that make it to America with. And the most interesting part of the exercise is that new engine, which is built to rev like, well, a Honda with an 8500-rpm redline. The 320i with which BMW won the championship last year was a six.
BMW will build 2,600 road-going 320si models to homologate the car for WTCC competition. And that inline-four, the "N45," is conventional in that it's a DOHC, 16-valve design and makes about 173 horsepower when tuned for the street. Hit the way-back machine to 1988 when BMW introduced its first M3, which like the 320si, was powered by a high-revving four backed by a five-speed manual transmission. Of course the original M3's engine displaced 2.3 liters and was rated at 192 horsepower-but the tach's range in that old car only went up to 8000 rpm.
The 320si likely won't make it to the U.S. where bigger engines are bigger sellers. But in light of the upcoming new M3 with V-8 power, it's good to know that BMW hasn't given up on fours completely.