Road and Driver

Because Fiat plans to bring some of its Euro-designed models to our shores with Chrysler badges, we’ve started paying special attention to the company’s latest products. The Punto Evo is one of those Italian products that piqued our interest.

The Evo will go on sale in Europe this October and replaces the Grande Punto. The three- or five-door hatchback is attractive and looks much more grown up than the cutesy 500. At 160 inches by 65 inches, it’s practically the same length and height as a Honda Fit. Powertrain choices will include a 1.3-liter diesel or 1.4-liter gasoline engine, the latter using the MultiAir technology that’s likely to see use in American vehicles.

Features on the Evo include seven airbags, stability control, hill-start assist, and adaptive headlights. An engine stop-start system and a TomTom navigation unit are optional. Pricing isn’t available yet, but the outgoing Grande Punte starts at the equivalent of $18,500 in the U.K. There are no official plans to bring the Punto Evo to the U.S., but it—or something based on it—could show up here sometime soon.

Related posts:

1. Lexus Compact Concept to Debut in Frankfurt – Auto Shows
2. 2010 Fiat 500C – Auto Shows
3. Driving Miss Fiat: We Sample Engines Likely to Come to the U.S.

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BMW’s latest concept combines a three-cylinder diesel and two electric motors to deliver impressive fuel economy—plus 60 mph in less than five seconds.

BMW is using its home-market Frankfurt auto show to display its latest contribution to the hybrid trend, the Vision EfficientDynamics Concept. The 2+2 concept also contributes to the obviously German trend of giving things names as long as a freight train, but it surely provides a vision—so to speak—of things to come from Bavaria.

BMW describes the Vision EfficientDynamics Concept as a four-door coupe (yes, there’s that stupid phrase again) with “outstanding aerodynamic qualities.” BMW says that the slippery shape combines with BMW’s second-gen ActiveHybrid components and “an extremely economical combustion engine” to exceed the fuel efficiency of today’s small cars while delivering impressive performance.

Keep Reading: BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept – Auto Shows

Related posts:

1. BMW Teases Vision EfficientDynamics Concept with Video
2. BMW 5-series Gran Turismo Concept – Auto Shows
3. BMW Concept 7-Series ActiveHybrid – Auto Shows

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Pricing for the 2010 Nissan Rogue is up only $120 over 2009 levels. Front-drive models cost $21,140 in S trim while SL models command $22,730. Adding all-wheel drive requires an extra $1200 for either version.

There’s also a new 360º Value package for Rogue S models. It bundles 16-inch alloy wheels, tinted windows, a rearview camera, a chrome front grille, and a rear spoiler for $1040. Buying all the components separately costs over $2000.

Read our test of the Nissan Rogue: 2008 Nissan Rogue SL AWD – Road Test

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Ford has announced an all-new diesel engine for the 2011 F-series Super Duty trucks. The V-8 displaces 6.7 liters and uses a single turbocharger. No output numbers have been specified yet, but they should be considerably higher than the 350-hp and 650-lb-ft ratings of the outgoing 6.4-liter Power Stroke engine.

The engine is reportedly 160 pounds lighter than its predecessor, thanks to aluminum heads, yet still strong enough to support the increased power output. Ford says the engine should be good for a 250,000-mile life, a claim backed up by extensive testing. There is also a claimed reduction in NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness) over previous generations.

Fancy tricks for the V-8 include an industry-first single-sequential turbocharger—which combines the benefits of a small and large turbo in one unit—and an exhaust manifold routed between the cylinder heads, both of which should help reduce turbo lag. The engine can run on 20-percent biodiesel and injects fuel at up to 30,000 psi. Finally, resonators to cut intake and exhaust noise, as well as “instant-on” glow plugs, should make the diesel more user-friendly.

In order to meet stricter emissions standards, Ford has fitted the new Power Stroke with an aftertreatment system similar to those used by many of the European manufacturers. It uses a urea solution (which Ford calls Diesel Exhaust Fluid) which helps in the process of cleaning and filtering the exhaust to remove nitrogen-oxide emissions.

Now that the engine has been announced, we expect more info on the truck that’s wrapped around it will come shortly.

Related posts:

1. 2008 Ford F-series Super Duty
2. New Ford/CAW Deal Commits to Building New Vehicles Plus Mustang, F-150, and Super Duty Engines at Canadian Plants
3. 2011 Ford Mustang GT: An Even More Potent Track Pack to Complement the 400-hp 5.0-liter

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The M version of the BMW Z4 is famously known by nature for being anything but underpowered, since the chassis of the sports convertible already has a heck of a lot of work with the 343 HP and the forward thrust in the lower gears could last forever.

As is generally known however, the sport oriented motorist can never have enough power at his command. Sufficient cause for Gnther Manhart, who by now has over 25 years experience in rebuilding BMW engines - a first for Europe to transplant a brand new, much stronger heart into the Z4. The transplantation of the ten cylinder engine from the current M5 generation into the narrow engine bay of the roadster was anything but a walk in the park and it earned the Manhart Racing engineers quite a few grey hairs. Nevertheless: everything fitted in the end and now the fire of a 5.0 litre V10 engine with an impressive output of 550 HP blazes above the front axle of the Z4. A catalytic converter, a modified DME electronic control unit and the removal of the factory-set V-Max restriction up to 250 km/h are part of the rebuild. Consistent to the M5 V10 engine Manhart Racing has treated the Z4 to an original M5 E60 6 gear manual transmission which includes a Fichtel & Sachs clutch and a M5 E60 differential. An AC Schnitzer stainless steel exhaust system with four muffler tips which was fitted with HJS racing catalytic converters caters for a perfect V10 sound at the rear.

The Manhart Z4 M V10 goes like hell and thanks to the perfectly tuned Bilstein B16 PSS10 coilovers, the virtually unrestrained power of 550 HP can be brought under control to the tarmac. Black BBS Challenge wheels rotate in the wheel arches of the Manhart Z4 M V10 with 8.5Jx19 ET35 235/35ZR19 front tyres and 10Jx19 ET20 285/30ZR19 back tyres.

Conclusion: 550 HP ten cylinders, an acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds, kerb weight 1450kg, 2.6kg per HP… who could guess that these impressive figures belong to a Z4? Hardly anyone, however Manhart Racing turns dreams into reality and does this with 25 years experience.

There’s only so much racing you can watch, so I spent Saturday glued to the IRL at Chicagoland and Sunday morning viewing the Belgian Grand Prix from Spa-Francorchamps, one of the few proper circuits left on the schedule.

The IRL race was another corker, with Ryan Briscoe—who looks like the real deal—just staving off Scott Dixon at the line. The first 13 cars were covered by 0.8 second, which is amazing. Perhaps even more incredible, that teams like KV Racing, Coyne, and Dreyer & Reinbold are now competitive on ovals, although they still can’t quite beat the Ganassi and Penske powerhouses.

Even the F1 race managed to keep me viewing until the end, in the vain hope that Kimi Räikkönen might make a mistake and let the Force India of Giancarlo Fisichella claim a first victory for the tiny, Silverstone-based team. But the Kimster drove superbly, and even drank the champagne on the podium prior to spraying it.

Spa had the weird spectacle of teams like Ferrari, Force India, and BMW looking heroic, while McLaren, Brawn, and Red Bull didn’t look so clever. But when you look at the times from the second session of qualifying, it becomes apparent that the teams are now so evenly matched—0.6 second between first and fifteenth on a 4.4-mile track—that small errors make a big difference in grid position. A locked wheel here or a missed apex there, and people like Lewis Hamilton went from being at the sharp end of the grid to being mired in mid-pack.

Fisichella remains an enigma to me, much like Jarno Trulli. Both are artists, their hand movements minimal, their driving so fluid on the in-car shots. But they have their off days and I’m not sure teams can afford to employ drivers who are sublime one weekend and invisible another. You rarely see that with Alonso or Hamilton and never saw it with Michael Schumacher or Ayrton Senna.

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The future of the BMW Sauber team remains uncertain as founder Peter Sauber continues his efforts to find a solution.
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Photographs of racing legends from yesteryear will help the young drivers of tomorrow through an auction over Labor Day weekend at Lime Rock.
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Valentino Rossi fell in Sunday’s MotoGP race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, opening the championship door for Jorge Lorenzo, who won the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix.
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Kimi Räikkönen gave Ferrari its first Formula One win of the year on Sunday, after a thrilling Belgian Grand Prix saw the Finn just beat the Force India of Giancarlo Fisichella after the two ran virtually nose to tail the entire race.
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