Ben’s Car Blog

The Car Connection has a story on the Toyko Motorshow where they say that Mazda’s given a tiny glimpse of something special:

A mini RX-8 along the lines of the MX-3 - that’s the tantalizing description of a car Mazda will unveil at the North American International Auto Show in January.

Journalists at this week’s Tokyo event were given a sneak preview of the vehicle, in the form of a grainy sketch that appeared on a presentation screen for a few seconds. Little official information is available. However, company insiders have hinted the two-seater concept points the way to a production model that will hit showrooms around 2008.

The newcomer is being designed and developed by Mazda North America, based in Irvine, Calif. “It’s an exciting continuation of the Mazda DNA with an understanding of the market place and what it wants,” said director Franz von Holzhausen.

When I posted this I was thinking it was just an MX-5 coupe but now I’m thinking that Mazda might be doing a rotary variation as well. Obviously if Mazda are focus-grouping a new rotary car then they can’t say it’s a rotary — because that would give the game away. Couple that with the 4-cylinder specs that are near-enough to exactly the same as the current MX-5 and I’m thinking this is the car we’re talking about.

A piston and rotary variation of the coupe could explain the decision to introduce the MX-5 name into the US so that they can brand the new car the RX-5 in the rotary version and the MX-5 coupe in the piston version.

Is this the new RX-3 that people are speculating about? Jalopnik reports that AutoSpies have info on a focus group for a new Mazda coupe (one assumes it’s a Mazda) that’s “a cross between the RX-8 and the Aston Martin DB9 but in a much smaller package”.

Interesting. Also, the specs of this concept:

Concept Specs
4 cyl. 2.0 liter engine
161 HP
129 lb/ft torque
2436 lbs
18” tires

closely match the current MX-5 specs:

MX-5 Specs
4 cyl. 2.0 liter engine
158 HP/118kw
188 nM / 138 lb/ft Torque
2403 lbs / 1090 kgs
18” tires

Very interesting indeed.

This is cool. An Australian dude has inveted a tilting vehicle that seems to be farily simple and narrow enough to be sensible. Videos if you click through to the link.

Awesome.

Autoblog and Cheers and Gears (a GM enthusiast site) have spy shots of what they say are RHD Zeta platform cars. They’re saying that the shots show the 2007 VE Commodore. The cars are heavily disguised but there might be some resembalance to the Torana concept car.

I’m not 100% convinced that the shots are the 2007 Commodore as the car in the spy shots looks a little small, especially considering the size of the current VZ. Also, despite what Autoblog says, I can’t see the diff in the undercarriage shot.

(Autoblog Commodore Spy Shots part 1 and part 2; Cheers and Gears spy shots part 1 and part 2)

GoAuto reports that HSV will import the 176kw Astra OPC. Holden will also import the “standard” Astra SRi Turbo with 147kw.

This won’t be (despite what the article says) HSV’s first hot hatch (though hot is a relative term). Who can forget the SV1800? I’m sure some want to.

(Hot shoe shuffle!)

Elfin, makers of Lotus 7 type cars are branching out and building the MS8, conceived by Mike Simcoe and designed and built with help from Holden.

These originally started as concept cars and are now full-blown production cars with the LS1 V8 in a 1100kg “clubman” body. They’re expensive and I’m not sure if there is any point other than to have a really big unstressed engine in a really little car. I’d have to have at least three other cars before considering getting an MS8 (make mine the Clubman, the Streamliner is a bit too Thunderbirds).

Michael Stahl from Wheels drove one for the current issue and generally liked it which is a pretty good rap for what’s basically a low-volume hand-built road-registered race car.

Bose, makers of audio equipment for people with lots of money, have for some reason designed and built a suspension system for cars that meets the two goals of “passenger comfort and vehicle control”.

They installed it into a Lexus LS400 and took videos of it not rolling in corners and not dipping into ruts and bumps.

It’s cool but Citroens could do that years ago.