Not only are Bentley soldiering on with it, but they also plan to showcase it at a location where luxury, comfort and refinement don’t really have anything to do with it.

Bentley EXP 9 F SUV Concept

Reportedly, the German owned British brand will be showing off a modified version of this SUV at the infamous Dakar rally.

That means two things. Firstly, the much promised redesign of the Bentley SUV won’t be visible at the rough and tough event.

Secondly, the offroader that will be competing in the event will share almost no components with the concept or the eventual production version of the Bentley SUV.

Bentley EXP 9 F SUV Concept

At the moment, the plan is pretty simple. Bentley plans to buy back some of the Volkswagen Touareg racers the parent company sold when they backed out of the sport.

Should the purchase be successful, the Touareg Dakar editions will then be converted into Bentley facsimiles that will then be entered in the competition.

Bentley made no claims about looking for a win so we’re guessing the best they want is not to embarrass themselves while looking for a little more publicity.

Bentley EXP 9 F SUV Concept

The whole plan sounds like pretty standard automotive stuff but I really can’t see the point.

It’s not the sort of race that has enormous appeal with the sort of market the Bentley SUV is aimed at.

The new Polo R WRC Street is motivated by a 2.0-liter turbocharged petrol unit able to deliver 217 horsepower. Several upgrades such as a revised chassis and a sports suspension able to lower the ground clearance are available as well.

Volkswagen Polo R WRC Street

At the exterior, the German model benefits from new alloy wheels, revised front and rear bumpers, side skirts, a rear wing and diffuser but also wheel arch extensions.

Volkswagen Polo R WRC Street

The interior shot provided by Volkswagen reveal new high quality materials, an Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel, new sport seats and other minor tweaks.

Volkswagen Polo R WRC Street

“From motor racing to the street is the motto of the Polo R WRC Street concept car. At Wörthersee, Volkswagen will be presenting for the first time a preview of an extremely sporty small series,” adds the car maker.

Volkswagen Polo R WRC Street

Now either they’ve been watching Rocky’s movies or they have a lot of hopes riding on the new, smaller model, they’re cooking up.

Fisker Atlantic

Unfortunately for them, that model, the Atlantic, has just had a cluster of details leaked online, much to the EV enthusiast’s treat.

What has been known as the Fisker Nina project is finally whipping into the company’s usual pace. As the leaked documents unveil the production schedule, we spot a major change in our expectations.

By initial reports, the Fisker Atlantic was scheduled to enter production as early as next year but that’s been postponed until 2014, sometime round the middle.

Fisker Atlantic

That is no surprise with a small manufacturer, especially Fisker but it almost certainly means that the plans they have for an SUV by 2015 are being pushed back as well.

On the brighter side, the Fisker Atlantic will have a total output of 300 horsepower thanks to electric power teamed to a 2.0 liter BMW turbocharged four pot.

That translates into a 0-60 time of 6.5 seconds and a top speed that puts just about all EVs to shame. Fuel consumption is also kept to a minimum and the emissions are said to be around 50 g of CO2 per km.

Fisker Atlantic

What else could one possibly want from a car? Well apart from the constantly delayed deliveries a lower price tag would be nice.

So far, the leaked documents see the Fisker Atlantic appear in the $50.000 to $60.000 range, thus fighting some of Germany’s finest products.

We do expect the actual debut to take place at the Paris Motor Show and a better set of images and more details to turn up about quite a while before that, sometime in the beginning of July.

2011 Renault Espace

A facelift felt timely except what Renault is previewing seems to be quite familiar, could they not have made “enough” changes?

That’s to be determined but its doubtful that they would’ve compromised the Espace from its position as a leader in the people carrier segment.

Even though the exterior is mildly refreshed for the first time in nearly nine years, let’s not forget that the Renault Espace has received a set of engine upgrades just two years ago.

2013 Renault Espace

Some of the underpinnings were also updated and, of course, the clever interior hasn’t lost any of its IQ points.

The Renault Espace will be as cavernous as ever and just as slow. More importantly, the van here will be one of the safest cars ever made.

This facelifted model will be known as the 2013 Renault Espace. Contrary to what you’d imagine, the generation will remain the same, this is still the fourth Espace model ever.

2013 Renault Espace

Actual market availability hasn’t been discussed but Renault will most likely want to introduce the 2013 Espace to the market as early as this year.

The company plans to offer the new Citan as a panel van (3,94m long), crew bus (4,32m long) and the Mixto (4,71m long).

Mercedes Citan Van

Under the bonnet we will find a direct-injection turbocharged diesel unit offered in various versions with outputs from 74hp to 109hp. A more potent petrol unit able to produce 113 horsepower will be also part of the range.

Mercedes Citan Van

If you want to use the new Citan at its maximum capacity, you should get the Mixto version which also features a wire mesh for separation, sliding doors and also foldable rear seats.

Mercedes Citan Van

The fuel consumption can be kept low thanks to the Start/Stop system, low rolling resistance tires and many more.

Mercedes Citan Van

Unfortunately, the American customers won’t be able to order the new Mercedes Citan as the company won’t bring the model in North America.

It’s been a while since the British company unveiled and we’ve even seen tuning of a more or less successful quality and even a racing version.

McLaren MP4-12C

We pretty much know its entire ideology, all of its specs, all of the figures and we’re almost certain that it’s a boring car.

Just kidding, it’s the sort of vehicle that will forever change your perspective on what’s technically possible and can easily scare you half or to actual death (depending upon health condition).

Despite this presentation, that’s not what’s in the news about the McLaren MP4-12C these days. It’s actually it doing something less.

McLaren MP4-12C

Particularly, we’re talking about the situation in which the McLaren MP4-12C has less of a roof. That’s right, according to C&D the convertible version of the British car is just around the corner.

They’re expecting the MP4-12C Spider to be unveiled by the end of 2012 and on its way to clients the one after that.

A little bit of news is also available on the McLaren F1′s successor. The much awaited V12 engine of such a high end seems like an impossibility right now.

McLaren MP4-12C

The familiar twin-turbo 3.8 liter V8 engine will almost certainly be powering it, but it will considerably turned up a few notches.

Alongside the extra engine tuning, McLaren might also deliver a hybrid/KERS system to put down even more power when the situation calls upon it.

It took its fair share of bashing so far and it’s a pretty market specific vehicle but the Japanese are selling it pretty steadily.

2012 Renault Zoe

The only thing that’s looking very bad for it at the moment is the way rivals are catching up to it. Rivals like the Renault Zoe.

It’s rather uncomfortable to think that the biggest rival for a car Nissan has a lot of image riding on is actually made by one of its partners.

Anyway, while on the American market the Nissan Leaf will continue to be all on its own, the fresh Renault Zoe will take on Europe.

2012 Renault Zoe

The price of the Zoe is a lot more appealing than the Leaf since it costs about half of the Nissan while offering pretty much the same space.

Dropping the price seems to lose nothing. The Renault Zoe is expected to be able to drive another 20 miles on a charge and there’s another thing.

If the Leaf has been talked of as looking ungainly, the Renault Zoe is much more appealing and full of that specific French design flair.

2012 Renault Zoe

There really seems to be no stopping the Renault Zoe EV. Perhaps it being lost among the rather extensive range of electric vehicles Renault offers.

Somehow, if that’s the biggest ever problem of the Zoe, I reckon electric cars are actually reaching levels where they’re acceptable nowadays.

The new Toyota Pixis Epoch is 3,3 meters long, 1,4 meters wide and 1,5 meters tall and even if it won’t win any beauty contest, the Japanese car maker thinks that it is a good alternative for more expensive models in the segment.

Toyota Pixis Epoch

Under the hood sits a tiny 600cc engine able to deliver 51 horsepower and 60 Nm of torque, a unit linked to a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

Thanks to the small power train, the Japanese models returns a fuel economy of 3,3 liters/100km and CO2 emissions of 77 g/km.

Toyota Pixis Epoch

“Available in eight pleasing colors such as Cotton Ivory, the Pixis Epoch sports a simple form without extraneous elements, giving it an air of sophistication with advanced and vibrant styling,” says Toyota.

Toyota Pixis Epoch

The company says that the model can easily accommodate four adults while modern features such as satellite navigation and automatic air conditioning are available for the range-topping versions. Toyota prices the new Pixis Epoch at €7,670 (795,000 yen) in Japan.

The news simply went down as thanks to some meetings before Opel and PSA will have the French outfit develop the next generation of the Zafira.

Citroen C5

As it turns out, not only is that not true, but the meeting actually went the other way round on the whole development situation.

It’s going to be the Germans who are going to do the developing of the upcoming version of the Citroen C5 sedan.

If I’m honest, the Opel Zafira never really needed improvement in any aspect but the Citroen C5 has been, since the last generation, looking and feeling quite a lot more … German.

Citroen C5

With Opel now coming out with this sort of information, it’ll be just bringing stuff out in the open when it comes to development.

That’s not to say that the French have certainly collaborated with Opel when they came up with the car but PSA must have certainly been looking over somebody’s shoulder.

Even though Opel isn’t doing great financially and GM is still trying to cut the losses there, they need to look to the future.

Citroen C5

That’s why they’ll be making a new platform for some mid-sized cars such as the Opel Insignia, Citroen C5 and even the Peugeot 508.

PSA will certainly not mind cutting costs when making bigger cars, the sort which make for a better profit margin than the hatchbacks they usually sell.

Most probably, the new Mini JCW GP features a reworked 1.6-liter turbocharged engine able to develop more than 200 horses.

2013 Mini JCW GP

The British model sports a new high performance braking system, new front and rear aprons, a new set of alloy wheels and a roof spoiler in the rear.

2013 Mini JCW GP

Mini also offers a new pair of side skirts, a rear diffuser and also a revised chassis and an adjustable sports suspension.

2013 Mini JCW GP

At the interior, the new Mini gets rid of the rear seats in order to reduce the total mass and improve the performance in the same time. About 2,000 units will be produced with the delivery time set for the end of this year.

2013 Mini JCW GP