The Bavarian auto giant is all set invent 2 new product lines – BMW X4 and the 4 series Coupe.

First up is the BMW X4 which has maximum chances of making it to India. The BMW X4 is a similar but smaller version of the BMW X6. It will be a crossover between a coupe and an SUV and will be the entry level SAV (Sports Activity Coupe). Codenamed F26, the BMW X4 will be built on the existing X3 platform and will feature a coupe like roofline.

A range of  four and six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines will find their home under the bonnet. The ZF eight-speed automatic will do the cog shifting duties. The X4 will target the Land Rover Evoque, as well as the forthcoming Audi Q6 and Porsche Macan models.

Moving on to 4 Series, BMW will split the 3 series line up into 3 and 4 series. The artist rendering reveals a exquisite coupe that will compete against the Audi A5 and the upcoming baby SLS.

The artist has done a brilliant job with the 4 Series rendering and if the production model looks anything like that, BMW has a winner in their hands. Of course IAB readers have already been told why BMW invented the 4 Series.

BMW’s biggest challenge would to demarcate the 4 Series and the 5 Series in terms of style, design and equipment. Just like the X4 would be a cheaper X6, the 4 Series will be a cheaper 6 Series. The 4 Series Coupe will be offered in three lines: Sports, Modern and Luxury. It will make use of existing 3 Series engine but with more power.

[Source: BMWBlog.com]

We must say that there is a strong possibility that the new S Class might actually look exactly like this rendering.

The renderings feature a single frame with central air intakes and  additional vents on the outer area of the front fascia. The headlamp design is very futuristic with incorporate LED daytime running lights. An additional LED strip below the headlamps makes it look more upmarket.

The side profile is very chiseled making it very dynamic and sporty. At the rear, we have an uber cool set of rectangular exhaust which we guess would be limited to the AMG model. The rear tail lamps have a leaf shaped design which make the rear look very bulbous.

How can we be sure this is close to the real deal? Autoblog has published a few spyshots with the new S Class wearing an almost see though camouflage thus giving away a few design details. As one can see in the rendering, the new S Class will don the new Mercedes design philosophy that started with the A- and B-Class vehicles.

Codenamed W222, the next generation Mercedes S-Class has been caught on a number of occasions. It is expected to debut some unheard-of technologies and all new COMMAND system. By the looks of thing the S Class seems to be ready to make its international debut late this year. The long wheelbase model (V222) is expected to come out next year. We can expect Mercedes Benz India to launch the new S-Class in long wheelbase form about six months from the time of its international arrival.

[Source: BenzBoost.com]

Even though Porsche has not officially announced the markets that the Macan will be sold in, our gumption says that the Baby Cayenne is Porsche’s trump card in the race to be India’s most popular luxury SUV. Hence, we have been tracking the Macan since the day it was announced.

Looking at the spyshots that entered the web recently, our friends at Ps-Garage have managed to provide us with near accurate renderings of the Macan. As one can see, there is a reason why it’s called a Baby Cayenne.

A lot of styling cues are borrowed from the elder brother to keep the design in-line with the family of Porsche cars. The key difference between the two models are elements such as the LED lights and DRLs in the air intake vents. The rear is more curvy and slopes more than the Cayenne. It can certainly be an alternative to the BMW X6.

We have comprehensively covered each and every aspect of the Macan over here.

It remains to be seen how well engineers have made the Macan handle and whether the Macan finds the sweet spot with the target market just like its elder brother did.

[Source: ps-garage.com]

C&D Brazil has presented some details of Chevrolet Enjoy (not to be confused with the Chinese MPV coming from GM India later in 2012) and includes specifications of the Duster and EcoSport for comparison purposes.

They claim that the Enjoy will be 4.28m long, slightly smaller than the Duster but a bit longer than the EcoSport. It has 480 liters of trunk capacity, which is much higher than the other two models. The top-end model is expected to be mounted on 18-inch wheels and Chevrolet may not vote for the idea of pasting the spare tire on to the car’s rear.

The car’s upright stance is well complemented by styling cues inspired by the Cruze and Captiva. Like on modern Chevys, the Enjoy mini SUV has a twin port grille, muscular wheel arches and adventurous looking lights.

The Chevrolet Enjoy is a rebadged Opel Mokka/Buick Encore and like the Duster, it is a global SUV project sold under different brands. It shares components with the Beat, Cruze and Sonic Twins. GM India needs something as global, updated and upmarket as the Enjoy to beat the competition in the mini SUV race. We expect GM India to shift its focus to the mini SUV in late 2013.

[Source - CarandDriverBrasil.uol.com.br]

The bigger development is that BMW India has started assembling the 7 Series at its Chennai plant and will be eager to begin selling this model as the new A8 and the upcoming S-Class can leave the 7 Series behind very quickly.

The 7 Series LCI has changes not only on its skin, but under it as well. Auto Zeitung has added a new twist to the 7 Series LCI’s tale by claiming that the new corporate identity will be used on the facelift, which is with reference to its front fascia.

Without squinting, you can see how the kidney grille connects with the headlights using a path of chrome, reminiscent of the 3 Series’ front fascia. This maybe a signature design touch of all future BMW models. The 7er LCI also gets redesigned headlights with eyebrows hosting the turn indicators. The front bumper is modified as well. A darker tail light is expected to appear on a modestly revised rear.

In the cabin, BMW has played around with the trims and colors and is said to offer redesigned gauge clusters. A new iDrive system with a touchpad surface is expected to premiere on the LCI that lets drivers and passengers enter numbers using gestures.

Under the hood, BMW is said to have made up its mind in offering a twin-turbo diesel engine that displaces 3 liters on the 750xd variant. It produces a healthy 381 horsepower. Across the engine range, the 6-speed auto transmission will be replaced by the 8-speed automatic manufactured by ZF.

[Source - AutoZeitung.de]

Sales of the A-Star has not been impressive and as we explained in a previous article, the numbers have fallen to sub-1,000 units/month levels for two consecutive months.

The Wagon R, which is in the same segment as the A-Star is one of the best selling Marutis clocking between 10-15k units a month.

The legendary Alto, a synonym for city car in Asia for the last thirty years, is made for the world in India. That’s right, the Manesar factory in North India is the only point of manufacture for the A-Star which is sold globally as the Alto, Celerio and as a Nissan Pixo in the UK. Since exports began in January 2009, over 300,000 units of the made-in-India Suzuki Alto have been sold in over 100 countries.

It is fitted with a three-cylinder 1-liter K-Series petrol engine producing 68PS/90Nm, driven either through a four-speed AT or five-speed MT. If Suzuki is planning to upgrade the engine, they may want to add variable valve timing which they have done so on the bigger 1.2-liter engine powering the Swift.

It was launched at the Paris Motor Show in 2008 and if you remember, the concept A-Star was presented at the Delhi Auto Expo in January of 2008. It is not wrong to say that the Suzuki Alto/A-Star took shape in India.

As times have changed in the last four years, Suzuki is now seen working on a facelift for the Alto.

The interiors are very similar to the outgoing model and may use a slightly different color combination. Several Chinese websites are carrying images of the taped-up prototypes testing around China for a week now. We saw this one coming as Suzuki Australia was reported in the media for expecting an upgraded Alto later this year.

Here’s a roundup of the changes the new Alto sports after we studied the spyshots with magnifying lenses. Our digital artist Shoeb R Kalania has also presented the changes in a rendering attached above.

• The Alto facelift now makes it look like part of the global Suzuki family
• The earlier one’s huge grill and the protruding headlamps made the car look sad. The changes are sure to make the customers give it a second thought.
• Many customers turned away from the Alto due to its different look.

Cosmetic changes on the Suzuki Alto facelift

• New sleek pulled-back headlamps.
• Face grill with a nice chunky Suzuki logo.
• New bumper design with revamped air vents and fog lamp housing.
• Tail-lamps are detailed differently but remain similar to the current one’s form.
• Rear bumpers get vents like the ones seen on the facelifted Ritz (Splash to overseas readers) Suzuki announced earlier this month for Japan.

Can we expect Suzuki to premiere the Alto facelift at this year’s Paris Auto Show?

[Spyshot credit - Autohome.com.cn]

Competing against the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Jaguar XF and the BMW 5 Series, the new sedan will be out on the market in 2017.

In recent years, Porsche is the only manufacturer which has taken many risks to diversify the brand in different segments of the luxury market. Although Porsche is still known for its epic 911, there are so many Porsches now that have a distinct identity in the market.

According to the German magazine, the company’s management has given the green light to a new four-door sedan tentatively called Pajun (Panamera Junior). If true, the Porsche Pajun would be the sixth model in Porsche’s automobile lineup after the Boxster and Cayman twins, the 911 sports car series, the Cayenne SUV, the Panamera sedan and the upcoming Macan crossover.

Our digital artist Shoeb has submitted an impression above that previews the possible look of the Pajun that may appear like a scaled down Panamera.

The Pajun is expected to ride on the MSB-F – front-engined, rear- and all-wheel drive platform (check yesterday’s article for a complete lowdown on future VW Group platforms). Power will come from a six-cylinder gas engine, with three different power outputs on offer – 320 horsepower, 420 horsepower and 520 horsepower. A 313 horsepower six-cylinder diesel is also said to be in the works.

The Pajun is said to be scheduled for production in 2017 and would have a price of between €65,000 (approx 45 lakhs) and €100,000 (69 lakhs). With Porsche now ramping up its activities to boost sales in India, expect the Pajun on the Indian shores soon after its global premiere.

[Source: AutoBild.de]

BMWblog reports that the Bavarian giant has already started discussing the possibility of a BMW X7 and BMW X8 to counter the incoming Bentley SUV and Lamborghini Urus.

The X7 will be a high end luxury SUV that would sit above the X5 and directly compete with the new Range Rover, Bentley SUV and Lamborghini Urus.

The X7 will be based on the same X5 modular platform with luxury DNA injected from the 7 series. It will use all the materials and technology from the 7 Series and will be the ultimate SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle) that BMW can offer for the immediate future.

The proposed X7 is not just a super-sized X5 , some designs equal a car with a more progressively sloping roofline which enhances its luxury credentials as well as a more luxury inspired interior. A BMW X7 being based off the X5 and using 7er technology in both material and drivetrain would be a profitable choice for BMW , protecting the RR brand and offering customers the ultimate BMW SAV in a position to take a significant advantage out of the high end luxury SUV segment.

Just like the X6 SAC (Sports Activity Coupe) sits above the X5, the proposed X8 will sit above the X7 platform as the ultimate SAC that BMW has to offer to complete its range. While the probability of the X8 going into production is termed as ‘medium’ by BMWBlog, there is a good chance that this car could actually be re-invented within the BMW i brand as the BMW i6.

We are already aware that BMW will add another member to the X family in 2014 in the form of the X4. In essence, the X4 will be smaller X6 based on the X3 platform. This entry level SAC will be positioned below the X5 SAV and will have a a swooping, X6-like roofline. The BMW X4 will also inherit the engine lineup from the X3, including both four and six-cylinder petrol and gasoline engines.

What remains to be seen is whether BMW will develop a product to compete with the Audi Q2 and under which range would the product be sold. BMW has already used up the X1 moniker for its entry level crossover. The X2 moniker is still vacant in the lineup with no product in sight till 2017.

[Source: BMWblog.com via AutoBild.de]

Piano proposes three variants – Sportback, Combi and Coupe besides a tightly designed hatch variant.

The Rapid is as much important to Europe as it is to India. The wide-open gap between the Fabia and Laura is its home and in Europe variants like estate or sportback can find a lot of takers. Skoda offers an estate variants on Fabia, Laura and Superb and the plenty of sporty variants including the vRS models. The Rapid is expected to get the vRS version and perhaps enhance its appeal to a wider customer base using a wagon variant. The company has not announced future plans for the Rapid, but we don’t expect them to stop with the liftback.

A Skoda India management member told IndianAutosBlog.com recently that the company could introduce the European model as an extension to the Rapid brand. Mr Thomas Kuehl said this is a possibility and alternative fuels like CNG or LPG are also interesting options for Volkswagen India.

The European Rapid breaks cover at the Paris Motor Show in October.

[Source - Piano.Carbonmade.com]

AutoBild Germany has reported that the A4 is falling behind in terms of sales volume compared to the C-Class (class leader) and BMW 3 Series in the home market of Germany and it is going to be an uphill challenge to overtake its rivals in the coming years.

Audi’s looking to expand the A4 lineup by designing a stylish station wagon-MPV cross and a Q4 crossover (that sits between Q3 and Q5) using the next generation model.

The next generation A4 will start with the introduction of the sedan in late 2014 (Frankfurt debut?) that is 40kg lighter than the current model despite providing better space for passengers and luggage. Equipment level would be scaled up and controls will be replaced by a a sleek touch screen mounted on the central console.

The prices of the 2014 Audi A4 variants is expected to start from about 28,000 Euros (19.44 lakhs).

[Source - AutoBild.de]