City Emergency Braking on the up!

The Volkswagen up! is not even on UK roads yet, but it has just been awarded the title of What Car? Car of the Year 2012, as well as Best City Car, at the What Car? Awards.

Volkswagen had a successful night at the motor industry’s annual ‘Oscars’, which was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. The Golf was voted the top Small Family Car category for the sixth time overall and fourth consecutive year, and Volkswagen also won the coveted Safety Award.

Commenting on the awards, What Car? editor-in-chief Chas Hallett said: ‘The Volkswagen up! sets new standards for a car at £10,000.  It’s a city car that can seat four adults, while offering new levels of refinement, quality and maturity at this price; none of its rivals feels quite so grown-up.  Buyers will be looking for even more for their money than ever in 2012, so the up! is a worthy winner of the What Car? Car of the Year.’

Meanwhile the Safety Award was in large part the result of the availability of Volkswagen’s new City Emergency Braking system on the up!.  The What Car? judges were impressed by this particular example of ‘big car’ technology filtering down to a smaller model and the system uses sensors to scan the space ahead. It then applies the brakes automatically if it detects that the car is about to hit an object in front. 

Director of Volkswagen UK, Chris Craft, said: ‘We are absolutely delighted with the awards we have received from What Car? this year.  The magazine continues to be one of the most thorough and important sources of new car buying information for UK customers and winning the overall Car of the Year accolade gives our new city car, the up!, the best introduction to the UK market that we could have hoped for”.

First models should arrive in UK showrooms in March and Volkswagen contract hire on the up! range is on the site now.

The full list of category winners at the What Car? Awards 2012 is below.

New Porsche Boxster

The new 2012 Porsche Boxster arrives in the UK this spring and sets the benchmark for the ultimate roadster. This new model is lighter, more efficient, more agile (revised chassis) has new flat-six engines and promises improved performance, as well as reducing fuel consumption by 15%.

The styling has shorter front and rear overhangs, forward shifted windscreen and a flatter silhouette, while inside the design offers the driver and passenger more space, with a new centre console (originating from the Carrera GT) taking centre stage.

Porsche Boxster S

The new power unit in the new Boxster delivers 265hp from the 2.7-litre engine (10hp more than the larger predecessor engine) and the 3.4-litre engine in the Boxster S now delivers 315hp (5hp more), with both models featuring a manual six-speed gearbox as standard. The seven-speed dual clutch Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) is available as an option.

The Boxster sprints from 0-62 in 5.7 seconds and the Boxster S in just 5.0 seconds and if you want to enhance the driving dynamics even further then opt for the Sports Chrono Package option, which is offered on the Boxster. Both models achieve their best fuel consumption with PDK, with the Boxster returning 36.7mpg and the Boxster S, 35.3mpg.

The Boxster comes with Alcantara interior, 18-inch alloy wheels, Auto stop/start, and Sports mode, remote control hood operation, audio CD with 7-inch colour touch screen control and an audio interface with MP3 connectivity. The Boxster S adds 19-inch wheels, partial leather interior and Bi-Xenon headlights and the new models will go on sale in the UK from April the 28th. Porsche contract hire on the new models will be loaded in due course.

The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) 2012, together with MGM Grand Detroit, will once again feature über-luxury and performance vehicles at The Gallery.  Now in its fifth year, this exclusive motoring event will be held at MGM Grand Detroit on Sunday, the 8th January, 2012.

The Gallery will feature some magnificent luxury vehicles from Aston Martin, Bentley, Corvette, Falcon, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Lexus, Lincoln, Lingenfelter, Maserati, Morgan, Porsche, Range Rover, Rolls-Royce, and some of the finest motorcycles. 

Many of the vehicles on display at The Gallery will not be shown at the NAIAS, for example the Aston Martin One-77, Lamborghini Aventador, Rolls Royce Ghost and Jaguar XKR-S will be on display exclusively at The Gallery.

A YouTube promotional video can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ19OgGWZK0&lr=1&feature=mhee).

New Porsche 911

Porsche is inviting fans to build a new Porsche 911 using the Porsche car configurator on the Porsche website,with the lucky winner of the competition picking up the keys to this iconic sports coupe for a half day out at the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone.

The new Porsche 911 configurator uses 3D technology computer modelling to generate some remarkable, realistic images of the car, enabling visitors to really see what their dream car might look like. You can select various colour exterior combinations, wheel options, different interior trim colours and much more. The competition closes on the 31st January 2012 and the lucky winner can expect a great half-day out at the Porsche Experience Centre in the summer.

The new Porsche 911 Carrera costs from £71,449 and the Carrera S from £81,242 with an impressive standard equipment list on both models. The standard vehicle equipment list for the 911 Carrera includes leather interior, sports seats, automatic climate control, Bi-Xenon headlights, 4.6-inch colour touch-screen Porsche Communication Management with sat nav, audio interface offering MP3 connectivity, Porsche Stability Management (PSM) plus a three year warranty.

Opt for the 911 Carrera S and you get 20-inch alloy wheels, Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) with limited slip differential, plus of course the larger 3.8-litre engine. So if you fancy a drive in a 911 Carrera this summer give the Porsche car configurator a go.

Porsche Carrera Cabriolet models

Porsche has released a new convertible edition of the Carrera and Carrera S with an innovative new folding that features an intelligent and lightweight design to also reduce weight. The 911 Carrera Cabriolet will go on sale in March 2012 and offers you the sporting credentials of the 911 Coupe, combined with the thrill of open-top motoring.

The 911 Cabriolet offers the same engine line-up as the 911 Coupe with rear-mounted flat-six engines. The 3.4-litre engine in the 911 Carrera Cabriolet produces 350hp, driving the rear wheels through a seven-speed manual transmission, while the Carrera S Cabriolet gets a 400hp 3.8-litre engine, also coupled to the seven-speed manual transmission as standard.

Both models return over 28 mpg which for a high-performance sports cabriolet is pretty good. You can always opt for the PDK double-clutch transmission which is an option that delivers even better fuel consumption and shorter acceleration times. The Carrera Cabriolet is priced from £79,947 and the Carrera S Cabriolet from £89,740.

Porsche Panamera GTS

Porsche has unveiled their new, powerful, Porsche Panamera GTS four-door saloon sports car, which is powered by a 430hp 4.8-litre V8 engine with Sound Symposer and sports exhaust. This agile four door saloon has a dynamic chassis and 10mm lowered air suspension with larger brakes as standard, for an even more rewarding drive.

The extra 30hp in the Panamera GTS powers all four wheels via a seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) transmission that powers the car from 0-62 in 4.5 seconds and onto a top speed of 179mph where permitted. The combined fuel consumption is 25.9mpg and CO2 emissions are 256g/km.

Porsche Panamera GTS

The car has a distinctive exterior with Turbo design cues, black styling details, 19-inch Panamera Turbo wheels (with red calipers) and is equipped with the Sport Chrono Package as standard. Inside there is a choice of five Alcantara leather colours, 18-way adjustable sport seats and the car will go on sale in February 2012, priced from £90,409.

The German Show

This year, The German Show is being held at the world-famous Beaulieu attraction, in the grounds of the National Motor Museum, on Sunday the 24th July. All German marque owners are welcome to attend the event and all Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen models are welcomed, whether old or new.

There will be Best in Show award with the winner receiving a prize of £100 and a Beaulieu trophy, plus there will also be numerous trade stands, cars for sale, children’s activities, plus Go-Karting (at an extra charge). You can also camp overnight and there will be evening entertainment and a barbecue too.

Tickets for the owners of German vehicles taking part in the show are £10 for an adult, £17  for adult with camping and £8 for children. You can either book on the day or you can buy tickets online at www.beaulieushop.co.uk or just call 01590 612888. All other entries will be at Beaulieu’s main reception at normal admission prices and all are welcomed too.

Salon Prive 2011

If you like your exotic, exclusive, luxury supercars you will be pleased to know that the Lamborghini Aventador and the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport will be headlining the 2011 Salon Prive event, which is being held next month at Syon House, West London. You will now be able get up close and personal to many of the world’s exotic cars at one location, with the following supercars on show;

• New BMW 6 Series coupe and convertible
• Maserati Gran Turismo MC Stradale
• Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Spyder Performante
• New Range Rover Evoque
• Aston Martin Virage and V8 Vantage S
• Hennessey Venom GT
• Arash AF-10
• GTA Spano
• Eagle E-Type Speedster Lightweight
• Rolls Royce 102EX
• Jensen Interceptor R

Other manufacturers showcasing their cars include Bentley, Ferrari, Jaguar Cars, Lexus, Maybach, Noble, Porsche, Spyker and tickets for this exclusive event start from £175+VAT, which are available off the official 2011 Salon Prive website @ www.salonprivelondon.com

Cobra is continuing its partnership with Volkswagen by providing Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles with a range of standard fit and optional accessories for the new Amarok pick-up. Every Amarok will come with the Thatcham approved Cobra 4405 alarm as standard.

In addition, Cobra has designed rear parking sensors that are standard on the Amarok Highline and as a cost option on other trim levels, to help drivers park in those tight spaces and avoid bumping or scratching their new pick-up.

Managing Director of Cobra UK, said,”We have worked with Volkswagen in the UK for 17 years and are very pleased to have been asked to help add some finishing touches to an already impressive vehicle”. 

Cobra is one of the leaders in security and safety solutions for the automotive industry and supplies services to Audi, Bentley, Ferrari, Infiniti, Lamborghini, Maserati, Mitsubishi, Nissan,Porsche, Renault and Tesia. Vehicle leasing prices on these manufacturers can be found on the site now.

New BMW X3 20d xDrive M Sport

The all-new BMW X3 range is set to be enhanced with an M Sport specification to enhance its sporting looks and goes on sale in March 2011, with BMW prices announced at a later date. The M Sport specification includes 18-inch star-spoke M alloy wheels, chrome plated door sill finishers with M designation, High-gloss Shadowline exterior trim for the window surrounds, M Sport multi-function steering wheel, Sports seats and Anthractite headlining.

In addition, BMW has beaten off competition from the likes of Porsche and Aston Martin with the BMW 1 Series Coupe scooping the honour of Best Coupe in the annual What Car ? Reader Awards.  The 1 Series Coupe also came out on top as Best Car Overall and was praised for its solid build quality, economy and dynamics.

James Morrison, BMW 1 Series Product Manager, said of the win,”To have beaten such tough competition is a testament, not just to the quality of the BMW 1 Series Coupe, but also to our customers who are so passionate about their cars. With the customer being the most important critic, BMW couldn’t be more proud to have won such an important award”. The BMW 1 Series range is also available now on BMW car leasing.