La Dolce Veloce

Lexus is introducing a replacement for its IS300 sedan, and will include a diesel engine option for the first time (no word on whether that engine will be available in the US). The US will certainly get the 204hp V6 mated to a six speed manual or automatic transmission. Naturally, the car will be full of electronic gizmos and gadgets to break later on in life and keep their dealers happy (active cruise control, active cornering lights, ten airbags, stability system, etc).

Can’t wait to see how this compares to the G35 sedan!

Honda is introducing an extremely limited production (5 units!) of the NSX for sale in Japan known as the NSX R GT, due to start production in August. Price is 50 million Yen (~$475k US). The car features a turbocharged engine putting out around 500hp. The reasoning behind this car has to do with the NSX’s participation in the JGTC, the Japanese GT race series (that had its US debut at Fontana last December). I heard Honda is turbocharging the NSX for that series, and to make that legal, need to sell some road going versions of the car. See the rest of this post for pictures.
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Ferrari may be preparing a new entry level model, poised to compete with the Porsche 911 and Aston Martin V8 Vantage. The image below is one idea of what it may look like.

Just saw in AutoExpress that they’re recalling around 2500 MR2 Spyders over there. The problem is with a seal in the master cylinder that can corrode, allowing fluid to bypass the seal and thus affecting stopping distance. I don’t know if this affects US cars but would assume so, so if you own one of these and have a problem like this, might want to look into that.

If you’re planning a trip to Germany, might want to wait a few years. Porsche is building a new museum in Stuttgart, set to open by 2007.

Lotus Sport, the performance division of Lotus Cars Ltd., has developed the Lotus Sport Exige 240R, a limited edition high performance sportscar with total global build volumes kept strictly to 50 cars.

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This comes as a surprise to few; BMW is unveiling an M version of their 6-series (coupe based on the 5-series). A 500+hp V10 engine will push this coupe to 60mph in under 4.6 seconds. Quick, but not all that impressive given the amount of power this car has. As a comparison, the Lotus Elise accomplishes the same acceleration with only 190hp. This can likely be attributed to the BMW’s hefty mass (though the carbon fiber roof of the M6 surely helps).

Expect more information after the Geneva motor show.
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