Niche manufacturers rarely offer more than one model line. In Wiesmann's case, that line consists of the GT, with its various BMW-sourced propulsion options, and its Roadster counterpart. Like the German car maker Gumpert, Wiesmann will move into Geneva with the the Weismann Spyder, a new model for our consideration.
"It is a common process we [now] use on every vehicle," Derrick Kuzak, Ford's group vice president for global product development, said today at the Geneva auto show.
Ford's next-generation pony car will be the first Mustang with styling themes proposed by studios in Europe, Australia and other regions. Previously, Ford's U.S. studio was solely responsible for Mustang design.
"When we embark on a new product, particularly one that is all new, it involves all of the studios. Then J [Mays] and the design team pick the best of those themes," Kuzak told Automotive News. Mays is Ford's global design chief. Ford adopted the global design approach three years ago.
Kuzak did not say when the redesigned Mustang is due. However, industry sources say the new sports coupe will debut in the 2014 or 2015 model year.
While the final styling theme might come from outside the United States, he said, Ford's Dearborn, Mich., studio will have responsibility to turn the selected styling theme into a production vehicle.
Kuzak said the new Ranger pickup is the latest example of product cooperation undertaken by Ford's studios.
"The Ranger was done by the Australian studio with input from the European studio," Kuzak said during an interview at the show. The Ranger is the first global Ford vehicle designed by the Australian subsidiary.
The Ranger pickup was introduced last year and will be sold outside North America beginning later this year.
Kuzak said the Mustang "is not just an icon in North America, it is an icon globally."
Ford has conducted Mustang clinics in Asia and Europe. He said men and women within a wide range of ages were shown photographs of celebrities and asked, which person represents the Mustang?
The No. 1 person selected was Steve McQueen.
McQueen appeared in the 1968 movie "Bullitt," which included a high-speed chase sequence involving a Mustang driven by McQueen on the hilly streets of San Francisco.
The 40-plus companies will supply components for the new compact Range Rover coupe and five-door vehicles after winning a global tendering exercise, the company said.
"(It) shows that the UK automotive supply chain is capable of winning major contracts and creating vital jobs in the UK," the U.K.'s business secretary Vince Cable said after a tour of JLR's Halewood facility in Merseyside.
It represents half the value of global components contracts handed out by JLR on Wednesday.
The Evoque, due to arrive on dealership forecourts this year, is the smallest and most fuel-efficient Range Rover, the company's website said, and is the first of a number of new products planned during the next five years.
"This will mean a high level of investment by us in the future and represents a tremendous opportunity for UK suppliers to work in partnership with Jaguar Land Rover to really strengthen the supplier base in this country," Jaguar Land Rover CEO Ralf Speth said in a statement.
The companies include International Automotive Components, Johnson Controls and Magna International on Merseyside; McKecknie and Kostal in Yorkshire; and Sertec, Walsall Pressings and Kautex Unipart in the West Midlands.
The Jaguar and Land Rover unit was bought by India's Tata Motors from Ford Motor Co. in 2008 for $2.3 billion.
It was initially loss-making, but it made a turnaround in the last few quarters and posted a profit for the three months ended December
The rebirth of the Saab brand under Spyker Cars took a step forward with the unveiling of the PhoeniX concept at the Geneva auto show.
Saab says the PhoeniX uses the platform for the next generation of the 9-3, as well as providing hints of the brand's future styling themes under design chief Jason Castroita. Saab calls the design "aeromotional."
The PhoeniX uses winglets mounted on the sides to help manage airflow.
And it is just as radical under the skin. The PhoeniX uses a parallel hybrid setup, with an electrically driven rear axle and a 200-hp, turbocharged 1.6-liter engine.
Butterfly doors open to reveal 2+2 seating. There are no exterior mirrors or door handles; that helps cut wind noise and resistance.
The instrument panel is fitted with Saab's IQon car communication setup, which runs the Google Android operating system used by smartphones. Saab says IQon connects to the Internet whenever the car is started.
"The PhoeniX establishes a new reference point for the future of Saab product design," Castroita said.
GENEVA (Bloomberg) – Bentley, Bugatti and Maserati are flaunting some of the most extravagant and powerful vehicles they've ever made at the Geneva auto show this week as the super rich in the U.S. and China resume spending.
Bentley unveiled the 243,000 euro ($335,000) Continental Supersports ISR, which set a new world record last month in driving on ice at 330.7 kilometers per hour (206 miles per hour). Bugatti put three models on display, including the Super Sport priced at 1.9 million euros.
"The number of wealthy buyers worldwide is clearly on the rise," Wolfgang Duerheimer, CEO of Bentley and Bugatti, both part of Volkswagen AG's stable of ultra-luxury brands, said Tuesday in an interview. "It's a suitable time for new products. The barometer is pointing up.
2014 Ghost?
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd. the ultra-luxury unit of BMW AG, is considering the introduction of a derivative of its $245,000 Ghost model line in 2014, the unit's CEO Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes said in an interview.
"The Ghost brought us a lot of new people that we've never seen before," Mueller-Oetvoes said in Geneva Wednesday. "I'm quite positive that we'll see further signs of recovery."
Average customers of Rolls-Royce $245,000 Ghost are about 45 years old, 10 years younger than those of the Phantom, which retails for $380,000. While sales of the larger model remained stable compared with about 1,000 cars sold in 2009, Roll-Royce's sales growth to 2,711 units was driven by the Ghost.
 Sales of supercars like the Bentley ISR are growing amid renewed optimism in the finance industry after the U.S. economy expanded 2.9 percent last year, the most in five years. Renewed optimism drives sales Supercar sales are growing amid renewed optimism in the finance industry after the U.S. economy expanded 2.9 percent last year, the most in five years. Lamborghini, another VW division which is presenting the 700-horsepower Aventador, its most powerful serial model ever, may sell more vehicles in China than in the U.S. this year, according to CEO Stephan Winkelmann. Deliveries in the U.S., the top market for the most expensive cars, may surge 146 percent in 2011 for vehicles costing from $200,000 to $400,000, according to Lexington, Massachusetts-based IHS Automotive. China, the world's biggest auto market, will remain the fastest growing major economy in 2011, with a 9.6 percent expansion, the International Monetary Fund predicts. |
Aventador
"The Asia-Pacific area only suffered a little drop" during the economic recession, Winkelmann said in an interview in Geneva. "The super-luxury market is coming back."
While Winkelmann says the 255,000 euro Aventador will be "one of the main drivers" of public attention, Lamborghini will have to compete with models made by Maserati and Ferrari at the annual auto show.
Maserati is presenting its GranCabrio Sport, a sportier version of its GranCabrio with a top speed of 285 kilometers per hour. The manufacturer is starting to collect orders for the 450-horsepower vehicle, which will be on sale from September. Maserati plans to further boost sales in China, where its deliveries rose 54 percent last year, outpacing a 47 percent increase in the U.S. Both manufacturers belong to Fiat S.p.A.
GranTurismo MC Stradale
Maserati, will begin to deliver its top- of-the-line GranTurismo MC Stradale this month. The company already sold out the first 200 of the 156,000 euro flagship model. The car surges to 100 kilometers per hour in 4.6 seconds and has a top speed of 301 kilometers per hour.
"At the top of the market the overall trend globally looks to be good, helped by improvements in the mature economies such as the U.S. and western Europe alongside growth in China, the Middle East and Russia," said Ian Fletcher, an analyst at IHS Automotive in London.
Ferrari unveiled the four-seat 260,000 euro FF, its first four-wheel drive model. The company aims to build 800 FFs annually, with the first year of production already sold out, Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said Tuesday.
"Lower down the scale, the McLaren MP4-12C will find a customer in those who perhaps want something that isn't the Ferrari F430," said Fletcher. "The Bentley Continental GT has also got a bit of a following now and this is likely to carry on with the new next generation."
Bentley's 640-horsepower ISR model will be limited to 100 units, Duerheimer said, forecasting the series may be sold out by the summer. Bugatti has now sold 294 Veyron supercars and orders for the remaining six vehicles may be given away in Geneva, the CEO said.
"The ISR is like a raging bull," Duerheimer said. "I'm pretty confident it will sell fairly quickly."
GENEVA (Bloomberg) – Ferrari S.p.A., Fiat S.p.A.'s most profitable unit, will target wealthy families and golf bag-toting sports-car enthusiasts when it introduces the four-seat FF, the first Ferrari with four-wheel drive.
The car, launched today at the Geneva auto show, will be priced at 260,000 euros ($359,000), Ferrari said. The 660-horsepower FF, which stands for Ferrari Four, accelerates to 100 kilometers (62 miles) an hour in 3.7 seconds.
"Four-wheel drive is a revolution for Ferrari owners," said Fabio Barone, 38, chairman of the Passione Rossa owners' club, who owns two Ferraris. "You can finally drive a real Ferrari, with its extreme performance, to take your family skiing."
Supercar sales are growing amid renewed optimism in the finance industry after the U.S. economy expanded 2.9 percent last year, the most in five years. U.S. sales of the world's most expensive cars, a category that includes Ferraris and spans sticker prices from $200,000 to $400,000, may surge 146 percent this year after dropping 40 percent in 2010, according to Lexington, Massachusetts-based IHS Automotive.
The FF is "a different Ferrari for different Ferrari owners," Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said at the car's introduction to clients and dealers, webcast on Feb. 23. "This is a Ferrari that can be used for families and for long trips."
The FF "can comfortably accommodate four people and their luggage," with a 450-liter (15.9 cubic feet) trunk, extendable to 800 liters with the back seats down, more than many sedans, Ferrari said on its website. The trunk and cabin space are the biggest in the category, according to the company.
"Ferrari is widening its offer to niches it didn't cover before," said AT Kearney analyst Marco Santino. "It may be a winning strategy if they are bringing something really new to the market." Lamborghini S.p.A., Italy-based Ferrari's main competitor, has used four-wheel drive technology already.
Lamborghini reveal
Lamborghini unveiled its Aventador supercar at the Geneva show. The car will be the carmaker's most powerful series production vehicle ever.
The Aventador, which has an engine that surges to 100 kilometers per hour in 2.9 seconds, will replace the Volkswagen AG brand's top-of-the-line Murcielago. The supercar, priced at $370,000, is already sold out for its first year of production, a person with direct knowledge of the plan said last month.
Ferrari in 2010 posted a 13 percent increase in sales in the U.S., the biggest market for supercars. Employees at big Wall Street banks continued to outpace other professions in earnings even as they took modest pay cuts in 2010.
Ferrari is also trying to boost profit by adding products and expanding in fast-growing countries such as China, where its sales increased 44 percent in 2010, and India, where it will open a first dealership in Mumbai in coming months. Ferrari opened a theme park in Abu Dhabi last year.
Fiat has said it may consider selling a stake in Ferrari to raise cash. "Ferrari is a significant repository of value," CEO Sergio Marchionne said Jan. 27 on a conference call with analysts. "We've made no commitment about executing a partial divestiture strategy or retaining our current shareholding" in the company, he said.
Ferrari "is the prize asset of the new Fiat auto, with high margins, high growth and a unique brand value," Max Warburton, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein in London, wrote in a note to clients on Feb. 2. He estimates that Ferrari and Fiat's Maserati brand may be worth a combined 3.5 billion euros.
Ferrari's earnings before interest, taxes and one-time items, which Fiat calls trading profit, rose 27 percent to 303 million euros in 2010 as revenue reached 1.9 billion euros. Fiat's auto unit began trading separately from the company's industrial operations on Jan. 3.
Marchionne in April announced a five-year plan for Ferrari and Maserati, calling for the two luxury brands to almost double revenue to about 4 billion euros by 2014 by adding products and widening their model ranges.
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