Automotive Reporter Biz News for Wk of 10-12-15

It’s show time.

Lexus says it will present 11 vehicles at the 44th Tokyo Motor Show, which opens October 29. My invitation seems to have been lost in the mail. 

The exhibition will mark the Japanese debut of two Lexii: the partially redesigned GS, and the GS F high-performance sports sedan, which is newest member of Lexus’ “F-Troupe.”

Lexus’ new RX premium crossover will also make its first appearance in public at the Tokyo Show.  Also making its world premiere is a new concept car which expresses Lexus’ future vision of progressive luxury. 

Lexus says we’ll have to wait for more details on that until the day before the Tokyo Show opens.

In the 1960’s and ‘70’s, McClaren became king on the Can-Am circuit with five consecutive championship wins, 1967-1971.
To commemorate the 50^th Anniversary of Can-Am’s launch, McClaren Special Operations is creating a very limited-edition 650S Can-Am, themed on the race cars from the period.

The 2016 650S features a 3.8-litre twin turbo V8 producing 641bhp and 500 lb ft of torque. Zero-to 60 is under three-seconds, and the car’s top speed is 204 mph. At least.

MSO Executive Director Paul MacKenzie says, “The 650S Can-Am is a modern day interpretation with a mixture of functional design features taken from the all-conquering models, combined with the lightest and most pioneering materials available, as was the case with the race cars.”

How limited is the limited-edition car? McClaren is building only 50-models of the commemorative 650S, priced at a paltry £255,850 ($393,177.49).

If you’re into tuner cars, you know the Blood Type Racing name. The Chicago based shop is legendary for wringing out every calorie of hp with its extreme take on Korean vehicles. Its latest creation is a knee-weakening rendition of Hyundai’s popular Veloster—a Turbo R-spec built specifically for next month’s SEMA show in Las Vegas.
Eau my…

What are you looking at? That’s a carbon fiber wide-body kit that gives the car a muscular, more aggressive stance. Front-mounted aero canards, front splitter and a rear deck spoiler provide down force at speed. Red accents on the custom SSR three-piece wheels, along with red projector “demon eye” headlamps add a final demonic touch to the vehicle’s exterior.

Under the hood, Veloster’s 1.6-liter “Gamma” four-cylinder engine gets new cylinder sleeves, a high-boost turbocharger from Garrett, and custom connecting rods and pistons.
With a retuned OEM ECU working in tandem with the strengthened engine internals, power output is now more than 500 horsepower, maintaining OEM drivability through use of Hyundai’s latest GDI technology. The interior is stripped, instead getting the full, race-spec treatment with the addition of a four-point roll cage, Sabelt bucket seats, harnesses and steering wheel, along with audio upgrades from Rockford Fosgate and Tanabe OLED Revel gauges. Me likey.

While Volkswagen continued its tortured laps around the media race track last week, it turns out they’re not the only car company making mea culpas over emission test results. Add to the pack Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Mazda and Mitsubishi, producing diesel cars known to emit significantly more pollution on the road than on the dyno-pad.

The Guardian quotes more realistic road test results showing some Honda models spewing six times the regulatory limit of NOx pollution. The Guardian says Renault, Nissanm Hyundai, Citroen, Fiat, Volvo, and Jeep all blew past NOx limits in real-life road tests of their vehicles by the Emissions Analystics company. 

CEO/Founder Nick Molden told The Guardian, “The issue is a systemic one” across the industry. “The VW issue in the US was purely the trigger which threw light on a slightly different problem in the EU - widespread legal over-emissions,” he said.

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