Mercedes Previews SLS AMG Roadster Five Months ahead of Frankfurt Debut

Even though we expected the roadster version of Mercedes' SLS AMG supercar to be revealed at the recent New York auto show, the German automaker took the decision to perform the world premiere of its flagship drop top model at the upcoming Frankfurt motor show this September.

Along with the announcement Mercedes also released the most revealing photos of the new SLS AMG Roadster so far, though the vehicle is not 100 percent exposed due to some discreet black adhesive foil covering parts of the headlights, taillights and the central parts of the grille and boot lid. As expected, the SLS AMG Roadster looks very similar to the coupe, with two notable exceptions: the soft-top roof and, as a consequence, the use of conventional- instead of gull wing- doors.

Like the coupe, the Roadster was developed independently by AMG and was in the works for around 3 years, with engineers paying particular attention to body rigidity, driving dynamics, the soft top and NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) levels.

The Roadster is fitted with the same AMG 6.2-liter V8 engine delivering 571 horsepower and 650 Nm (480 lb-ft) of torque as the coupe and should post similar performance figures, as Mercedes says the car's bodyshell weighs only 2 kilograms more than the coupe's (241 kg), with extra weight due to structural reinforcements.

The roof mechanism opens with a touch of a button in 11 seconds and at speeds of up to 50 km/h (32 km/h). The company claims the three-layered fabric soft top is designed for speeds of up 317 km/h (197 mph). Mercedes says the car has been undergoing extensive testing in various environments, including 10,000 kilometers on the Nurburgring Nordschleife track and 10,000 kilometers in city traffic. Stay tuned to CoolPictures as we will bring you more photos of the SLS AMG Roadster later today.

PHOTO GALLERY

2012 Opel Astra GTC Sport Hatch is…Virtually Here: First Official Images and Video of Production Model

General Motors’ Opel division is getting ready to take the wraps off the all-new Astra GTC as the company released the first official renderings and a video of the production model shown in a virtual landscape. The new sharp looking, three-door version of the Astra, will be revealed in the flesh and in detail in just six week’s time, on June 7, well ahead of its world premiere at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show, on September 15. Both Opel and its sister company in the UK, Vauxhall, will begin accepting orders in the summer with first deliveries expected this fall.
The Astra GTC was previewed as a thinly disguised concept model at last year’s Paris Motor Show. From what we can tell by looking at these images, the production model has remained remarkably close to the concept study with the only visible changes concerning the design of the lower part of the front bumper that houses round fog lamps instead of thin LED strips, and the rear apron that incorporates conventional tail pipes.
The three-door Astra GTC will be available with a similar engine lineup to the five-door model, offering buyers a variety of turbocharged gasoline and diesel units. A hotted up OPC model with more than 250 ponies and a specially tuned chassis is expected in the near future.

PHOTO GALLERY

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VIDEO

Report: Fiat to Begin Assembly of New 2012 Panda Mini in November

The first examples of the successor to Fiat’s current generation Panda city car will roll off the production line in Italy this November, according to a top Fiat executive. The third generation of the Panda is scheduled to make its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show in mid-September.

"We are on track in refurbishing Pomigliano, which will become a truly state-of-the-art plant when it begins production in November," Fiat Group chief manufacturing officer Stefan Ketter told Autonews Europe.

Last year, Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne announced that the updated Pomigliano d'Arco plant in central Italy would manufacturer the new Panda as part of the firm’s “Fabbrica Italia” (Italian factory) plan to increase vehicle productivity in Italy from around 650,000 units in 2010 to approximately 1.4 million cars in 2014.

The decision to move production of the Panda from the Tychy factory in Poland to Pomigliano came after Fiat SpA workers supported a reorganization plan to increase their productivity by around 70 percent, switching to a three-shift, 280-workday year from the current two shifts and 235 workdays. Sergio Marchionne had threatened the unions that he would either keep production of the new Panda in Poland or move it to Serbia if they did not agree to the new labor deal.

Fiat has invested some €800 million to build the new Panda in Pomigliano. In 2010, the Italian factory produced around 30,000 units of the Alfa Romeo 159 sedan and sports wagon, plus the final examples of the 147 hatchback and GT sports coupe.

The Tychy factory in Poland builds the current Fiat Panda and 500, as well as the Ford Ka city cars, and is currently Fiat’s largest and most efficient plant in Europe producing more than 533,000 cars in 2010. It ranks second within Fiat Group's global plants after the firm’s Belo Horizonte, Brazil, facility that produced close to 700,000 vehicles last year.

Source: Autonews Europe [Sub. Req.]

CURRENT GENERATION FIAT PANDA

New Opel Astra GTC Sport Hatch Appears on Facebook Completely Undisguised

The production version of Opel’s stunning Astra GTC Concept from last year’s Paris Motor Show is scheduled to appear this summer with its public debut to take place at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show in September. However, thanks to CoolPictures reader Javier who has a knack for finding future Opel models, we can give you a sneak peak of the production GTC. Javier discovered the picture of the completely undisguised Astra GTC on Opel’s official Facebook page earlier today.

As far as we can tell, the only visible changes over the Paris Concept are the lack of aero parts and the slightly different tail lamp design. However, the aggressive body kit and the larger alloy wheels of the concept study should make their way on the OPC version of the Astra GTC that will follow after the presentation of the standard models.

The sporty looking three-door version will be available with a similar engine lineup to the rest of the Astra models, offering buyers a variety of turbocharged gasoline and diesel units.

Hat tip to Javier for the find!

Source: Facebook / Opel

OPEL ASTRA GTC

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OPEL ASTRA GTC PARIS MOTOR SHOW CONCEPT

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