The next generation of the Corvette will come with a rear split-window design. GM’s global design boss Ed Welburn said that the next Corvette, known as the C7, will take on some retro styling cues, like the two-part rear window that first appeared on the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray Coupe.

That design actually only ever last just one year, but has become such an iconic symbol of the Corvette’s legendary heritage.

Welburn said that with modern back-up cameras and blind-sot detection systems, the limited visibility of such a design isn’t as much of an issue as it once was. He did not, however, specify if this would be standard on all models or (as is more likely) if it will be a specific trim level, option pack, or a special model.

Such a design was first hinted at with the Stingray Concept that was featured in the recent Transformers movie. That car is not the next Corvette,” said Welburn to Inside Line. “But the split window is something that I expect for the next Corvette.”

[Source: Edmunds]

Volkswagen is preparing a slightly larger version of its E-Up! concept, which debuted last week at the Frankfurt Auto Show, for the U.S. market.

The tiny 3+1 seater is roughly the size of a SMART fortwo or Toyota iQ. It has a peak output of 60 kw with 210 Nm of torque (80-hp and 155 ft-lbs of torque). With a curb weight of 1,085 (2,392 lbs) the E-Up! Concept can hit 62 mph in 11.3 seconds and drive a total distance of 130 km thanks to stored energy in a lithium-ion battery pack.

The E-Up! Concept is based on VW’s new mini-car platform that underpin a whole new line of small city cars. With zero-emissions and a small size, VW boldly refers to this car as the Beetle of the 21st Century.

Volkswagen has ambitious plans to become the world’s largest automaker and knows it needs to crack the U.S. marketplace to do so. That being said, the E-Up! is just too small for U.S. customers. So to solve that problem, VW is reportedly looking at selling a slightly larger (20-inches longer) version of the electric car in the U.S.

With the gasoline-powered Up! cars not scheduled for sale in Europe until 2011 and the electric version planned for 2013, look for a U.S. debut some time after that.

GALLERY: VW E-Up! Concept

[Source: Automotive News via Autoblog]

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Last week Volkswagen took the wraps off the Golf R at the Frankfurt Auto Show, with the high-powered hatch joining the Scirocco in VW’s expanding “R” category.

Now VW has released a short video of both cars in their ideal environment – the race track.

Along with some stylish bodywork and interior treatments, the Golf R gets a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that makes 265hp and 258 ft-lbs of torque. Mated to a six-speed manual it is slated to hit 62 mph in about 6.5 seconds, or 6.4 seconds with the DSG. It also gets VW’s 4Motion AWD system.

GALLERY: 2010 Volkswagen Golf R

Fiat plans to market Chrysler as a serious luxury brand in the U.S. In an interview with Automotive News, Chrysler’s brand CEO Peter Fong said that he sees the company’s flagship line as “a notch above Lincoln, a notch above Cadillac,” which has us wondering what sort of parallel universe Fong is from.

True, Chrysler did have some success with the 300C, but that’s about it. Since then much of the brand’s products have been cut, while plans for exciting new products – that might just make Fong’s dream a reality – have never come to fruition. Those include the Rolls-Royce-inspired Chrysler Imperial and, more recently, the 200C EV concept.

Fong does, however, say that the company wants to focus the Chrysler brand more on luxury to remove it further from its close relationship with Dodge, which will be more squarely focused on driving performance.

To further burst Fong’s bubble, Chrysler and Fiat have both made it known that there are no new products in the pipeline, which is particularly distressing as automakers like Cadillac have announced several new products, with the LaCrosse and XRS already launched and a new flagship and BMW 3 Series fighter on the way.

[Source: Automotive News via Autoblog]

Porsche has all but officially confirmed that it will build a successor to the incredible Carrera GT. In an interview with Car & Driver, Porsche R&D board member Wolfgang Dürheimer said that he believes such a car will see production. Dürheimer didn’t  comment on when that might be but he did say that a new vehicle along those lines would have a completely different technological approach.

With the German automakers focused on the efficiency of their products, it wouldn’t be a stretch to see a CGT successor act as a sort of green supercar, using several different layers of efficient engineering, such as light-weight parts, energy regeneration and turbocharging, to produce maximum performance through minimal consumption.

[Source: Car & Driver]

Chevy’s on-again, off-again plans to build an ultra high-performance Z28 version of the all-new Camaro are back on again. Ed Welburn, GMs VP of global design, told the folks at Inside Line, that it will see production and that the new body design has already been completed.

The new Z28 would get a version of the Cadillac CTS-V’s supercharged 6.2-liter V8, which makes 556-hp in that application. The V also comes with both a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic, so we should expect both versions to be offered on the high-powered Camaro.

Plans for a Z28 model were canned when the economy took a nose dive and General Motors declared bankruptcy. But during that entire process the Camaro was a bright light, as sales soared. Now GM is hoing to capitalize on the new Camaro and ride its wave of success for as long as possible.

This new Z28 would in many ways be a direct competitor for Ford’s 540-hp Shelby GT500. That being said, expect more than just aesthetic modifications, with bigger brakes and some suspension tuning.

At the earliest the Camaro Z28 would be a 2011 model, with the possibility of sales some time later in 2010.

[Source: Edmunds]

Aston Martin is planning to offer its amazing V12 Vantage model in the United States. Aston’s CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez told the folks at Car & Driver that plans to homolgate the car for use on U.S. roads is already under way and that the initial planned production run of 1,000 units will be increased.

Currently Aston sells the V8 Vantage in North America as the brands entry-level sports car. Powered by a 4.7-liter V8 it makes 420hp. As the name suggests, the V12 Vantage gets a twelve cylinder engine under the hood. In fact, it’s the same powerplant found in the DB9 and the company’s flagship DBS model. It produces 510h and 420 ft-lbs of torque for a 0-62 mph time of 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 190 mph.

The car also gets a long list of light-weight components to ensure the weight gain from the massive V12 is just 110 lbs.

We can’t wait!

GALLERY: Aston Martin V12 Vantage

[Source: Car & Driver]

With Ford getting ready to launch the Fiesta sub-compact in North America, the big American automaker decided to bring over a few of the European-spec models to give the media an idea of what to expect. Competing against cars like the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, Chevy Aveo and Hyundai Accent, Ford arranged for AutGuide to drive the Euro-spec Fiesta and even test out its handling characteristics against some of the competition on an autocross course.

But before we get to the tire screeching, let’s take a look at the rest of the car.

In terms of design, it’s obvious this is not a North American car – in a good way. Because sub-compact vehicles aren’t anywhere near the top of the food chain in the U.S., they don’t often get to have top quality designers work on them. This couldn’t be less true of the Fiesta, as it has its own unique look that is both modern and sporty. When the Fiesta launches, it will join the Honda Fit as the only B-Class car that actually looks like it was designed in the past 10 years.

Inside, the car is equally stylish with a dash that was inspired by the Motorola Razor cell phone. As for the seats, they are comfortably thick and actually have side bolstering (absent in most cars in this segment).

Around town there’s a good amount of power from a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder that makes 119hp. We only tested the five-speed manual version so the automatic is likely to feel a bit more sluggish, but even then it will easily accelerate more briskly than a Yaris.

The shifter is excellent with a light clutch pedal and we really have to say we loved the steering. With electric power assist, it turns with almost no effort at low speed but is heavier on the highway – a perfect combination.

The car also felt like a solid package, muffling outside noise quite well, while offering the driver and passengers the feeling of being in a more substantial vehicle.

On the autocross course the car showed its true colors as a sporty European model. The Toyota Yaris was no competitor at all and neither was the Nissan Versa, which exhibited a comedic level of body lean. The only competitor in the fun department was the Honda Fit and we have to say that the fight might not have been all that fair due to some rather pricey rubber on the Euro-spec Fiestas, with one model running Pirelli P Zero Neros and another a nice set of Continentals.

That being said, the Fiesta understeered significantly less than the competition and body lean was minimal. We didn’t time the autocross laps, but the Fit still felt slightly more nimble and a bit faster.

The only drawback about the Fiesta we spotted was the cargo room. It’s actually very good, at 10.4 cubic feet behind the second row and 34.6 cu.-ft. total, but that’s nowhere near the Fit’s space (not that any vehicle in this class is).

Overall, we’re seriously impressed by the Euro-spec Fiesta and hope Ford keeps as much of the model intact when it finally makes its way to North America next year.

We can’t wait to get into that car for a longer period of time and hope it looks as good and drives as well as the European model. Chances are it will be close; as one Ford exec told us over lunch, “In the sub-compact market, we’re not interested in being a bit player.”

GALLERY: Ford Fiesta Euro-Spec

As unlikely as it seems, Cadillac may be preparing to launch a high-performance V version of the CTS SportWagon.

The rumors of a 556hp CTS wagon re-emerged when an Autoblog reader reportedly had an email exchange with GM’s product boss Bob Lutz where he asked Lutz if a manual transmission version of a CTS-V wagon were to be built, then he would buy one. Lutz is reported to have responded saying, “Since we do market the V with a 6-speed manual, and since the V-wagon is in the plan, we’ll be selling you a car in one year!”

When asked about this conversation, Cadillac spokesperson David Caldwell responded that, “There’s not been an ‘official’ or announced change in the status of this car. It’s certainly a car we’re thinking of, and one we know how to do. I can’t really speak to what’s inside your reader’s email account. I don’t doubt him… not would I doubt Bob Lutz.”

We still have our doubts about the V-Wagon, and after Lutz’s comments about the Pontiac G8 living on turned out to be false, we’ll take his comments with a grain of salt.

There is still hope, however, as the arguments for why most European automakers don’t bring over their high-powered wagons doesn’t hold up with GM. BMW has never offered its M5 wagon here and neither has Audi offered its RS6 Avant. The issue with those cars, however, is their price. Already extremely expensive overseas, cars like the RS6 are prohibitively priced for the U.S. market, with the twin-turbo V10 wagon commanding 110,000 Euros, or $160,000. With the CTS-V and CTS SportWagon already both existing, and priced significantly less than European competitors, the price issue wouldn’t be nearly as big a factor. Demand for the car still remains a big question mark.

[Source: Autoblog]

Roush has just released its new top-level “Stage 3″ tuning package for the 2010 Mustang. With an R2300 ROUSHcharger blower and a modified 4.6-liter Ford V8 (with new pistons, con rods and a forged steel crankshaft) the motor now makes 540hp and 510 ft-lbs of torque.

Outside, the car gets a full aero kit as well as a new billet upper grille, which deletes he fog lights and gives the car a meaner look, while improving cooling. A set of 18-inch chrome wheels is included with 20-inchers optional. The suspension includes new shocks and struts, as well as tighter and lower springs and stiffer sway bars.

Numerous interior upgrades are also included.

“The ROUSH Stage 3 Mustang has traditionally been among the halo vehicles of our lineup and I’m really proud that it sits atop the pecking order once again,” said Jack Roush. “This new iteration of the Stage 3 represents our highest horsepower and most sophisticated Roush Mustang yet, and is sure to resonate among our fans.”

In addition to this model, Roush has also released a new 540HR package. Designed as a sleeper, it comes with all the power and performance upgrades but with a mostly stock exterior. In testing the HR model ran an 11.8 at 121 mph.

“The new ROUSH 540RH is really intended to be a ‘sleeper’ car,” Roush explained. “It will be purposely built with minimal content as it was designed for the buyer who wanted the ROUSH horsepower but with a blank canvas that can be customized into their own personal one-of-a-kind ride.”

Roush is pricing the 2010 Stage 3 car from $59,945 and the HR model from $46,145. Only 103 Stage 3 models will be produced.

GALLERY: 2010 Roush Stage 3 and 540HR Mustangs

Official release after the jump:

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