Acura NSX

Acura shocked the exotic car world when it introduced its NSX in 1991. Honda designers started with the basic exotic car wedge (championed by the Ferrari Testarossa and 308), that would remain basically unchanged for its entire life and could only be described as "beautiful." To back up the gorgeous styling, the mechanical specifications were right out of a race car. The NSX featured a super-light all aluminum chassis, body, and suspension, a first for a production car.

New BMW M6 revealed

       

       BMW has achieved supercar levels of performance with its new 552bhp M6 coupé and convertible. The two are BMW’s fastest ever two-door road cars, with a top speed of nearly 305kph. They’re powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8. The new M6 coupe will debut at next-month’s Geneva motor show and the cabriolet will be revealed at the New York motor show in April this year.

Aston Martin's new V12 Zagato

     Aston Martin has finished refining the styling of its V12 Zagato, the ‘baby One-77’ that will become a new hand-built flagship for its compact Vantage range when it goes on sale later this year.

The car was shown in concept form at the Villa d’Este last May and the Frankfurt show last September, and it raced as a prototype in June at the Nürburgring 24-hour race. It will make its debut in showroom-ready trim at the Kuwait Concours d’Elegance next week. Production - strictly limited to 150 units - is due to begin in September.

     The V12 Zagato marks the 50-year relationship between Aston Martin and Zagato (the pioneering DB4 GT first appeared in 1961 and was sold during 1962). It is the first Zagato-badged car ever to have been designed entirely in the UK.

The V12 project was agreed between Aston Martin boss Ulrich Bez and the Italian company’s head, Andrea Zagato, in early 2010, and they set their designers a direct competition to come up with a production theme. The British design was rapidly selected by Bez and Zagato, and its main elements were finalised by late March 2010.

     Aston design boss Marek Reichman revealed last week that, although produced with the close co operation of the Italian coachbuilder, the design is “100 per cent British”. He claims this is the first time a UK design has taken top spot in the hard-fought ‘concepts and prototypes’ class at the Villa d’Este concours.

Mercedes R-class

         This face-lifted R-class is a more cohesive looking design that benefits from new headlamps, grille, bonnet and bumper – all reflecting the latest Mercedes-Benz lineage. But no matter how sophisticated the looks are, you still can’t get away from the fact that this does look like a shapely, low-slung van. This is true especially when you look at the rear three-quarters – the sheer length between the axles and the uninspired rear styling do nothing to hide the fact that this is essentially a people-mover.

It is based on the same platform as the Mercedes ML and GL 4x4s, which means the R-class is a monocoque and comes with 4MATIC, Merc-speak for a full-time, four-wheel-drive system. Suspension is by way of double wishbones up front and a multi-link setup at the rear and Merc’s AIRMATIC adaptive dampers. The car can be raised on its suspension to clear obstacles which is very useful when tackling speedbreakers. Enclosing all this is the massive body. At 5.1 metres, it is longer than the GL and quite a bit broader than an S-class. This substantial length and width adds a lot of weight and the

R-class weighs a pavement-crumbling 2230 kilos.

Surprisingly, the R-class doesn’t have the rigidity we expect from a Merc. Sure, the doors shut with a solid ‘thunk’ but over bad bits of road, the whole cabin shudders in a very un-German way.

New Mahindra Xylo E9

           What you’re looking at is a mid-life facelift of the Xylo and as you can see, there’s not much change to the basic shape. Still, the new look is easier on the eye and Mahindra has not messed with the Xylo’s strengths, which are its space, practicality and easy-to-use nature.

The changes are mostly limited to the front of the MUV – the new grille, the less pinched bonnet and altered headlamps make the Xylo more pleasant to look at. The chin also gets tiny extensions in the form of bolt-on plastic bits and a different bumper.

What makes this Xylo look a bit more upmarket are the black plastic wheel-arch extensions and there are chrome lined side mouldings. On top you see smart new roof rails and matte-black footboards. At the rear, the changes are few — the tail lamps are slightly altered, there’s a discreet spoiler and the D-pillar gets black stickering to give it a bit of fizz. So, a pretty standard facelift then.

New Volkswagen Touareg

There is an understated elegance to the Touareg that Volkswagen hopes Indian buyers will appreciate. The sober cousin of the Porsche Cayenne, the Touareg will be launched at the Auto Expo 2012 and prices are likely to start at Rs 55 lakh. You can identify the Touareg as a VW from a mile away and the styling on the whole is quite handsome. There is an abundance of space inside and quality should conform to VW’s global standards. India is likely to receive a 3-litre diesel engine. Additionally, VW could bring a 3-litre petrol-electric hybrid to promote its green credentials. Question is, will you pay so much for a VW?