Kia"s design department...
Kia"s design department is on a roll! This sleek saloon, codenamed VG, is the latest model to emerge from the Korean manufacturer, and it could well be its best-looking model to date.
Retro styling and retractable...
Retro styling and retractable roofs will be the order of the day for Europeò€™s first major motor show of 2009! Auto Express has learned that the MINI and Fiat 500 will lock horns at Geneva in March with new topless variants.
Weò€™ve already driven the Cooper S Convertible on Page 30, but MINI has something special for visitors to the Swiss event: an even more powerful John Cooper Works model. This will borrow mechanicals from the flagship hatch, and produce 211bhp from a modified version of the Cooper Sò€™s 1.6-litre turbo. Other upgrades are likely to include Brembo brakes, exclusive 17-inch alloys, stiffer springs and a louder exhaust, while a unique bodykit will be an option. But it wonò€™t come cheap ò€“ based on the mark-up for the Cooper S Convertible, prices will start from around Ò£23,000.
Confirmed on Fiatò€™s Geneva stand is the open-air 500. As with the Fifties original, it will get a roll-back roof, allowing the C-pillars and rear side windows to remain where they are, and giving the Convertible the same stunning silhouette as the tin-top 500.
Engines will be carried over from the hatch, with 1.2 and 1.4-litre petrol units and a 1.3 Multijet diesel. A hot Abarth version is set to follow as a rival to MINIò€™s JCW Convertible, with a 1.4-litre turbo producing 135bhp or 158bhp. This hasnò€™t been confirmed to debut at Geneva, but it could be the showò€™s surprise package.