BREAKING: FIRST BMW M5 TEASER RELEASED!

And so begins the year of reckoning for the all-new BMW M5, a year in which major changes are happening not only within BMW’s power corridors, but the entire industry itself. This short video clip is the first to tease the all-new M5, a car with such expectation on its shoulders that anything less than perceived perfection on its part will have critics seething.

FACELIFT MERCEDES-BENZ C 63 AMG WOOS GENEVA

This year sees the new facelift Mercedes-Benz C-Class being launched in the South African market. The segment leader (it outsells the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 and Volvo S60 in Mzansi) is getting some new components inside and out to keep it at the top. And the big daddy of them all, the C 63 AMG, has been shown at Geneva 2011.

SAAB SAVING FACE WITH FACELIFT 9-3 AT GENEVA

Geneva, Switzerland, was the scene where Swedish brand SAAB took the sheets off its new facelift 9-3 range. That might sound laughable to some, since the car was launched well over 6 years ago. Germans would normally do a facelift during a car’s midlife cycle, so around 3 or 4 years after its initial launch.

REAR VIEW CAMERA FOR UPCOMING FORD RANGER BAKKIE

The all-new Ford Ranger bakkie which comes to Mzansi later this year, will be the first bakkie in the country to be offered with a rear-view camera to assist those of use with a bad sense of depth and possibly direction. Rear-view cameras are not new in the market; most of the upmarket executive sedans do offer them either as standard or optionally. For the first time a utility vehicle will benefit from this technology too.

TOYOTA UNVEILS FT-86 II CONCEPT AT GENEVA 2011

The new FT-86 II Concept makes its world debut at the Geneva motor show, giving the clearest indication yet as to the final design of Toyota’s next sports car. It marks a return to the passion for driving that has inspired great Toyota cars of the past, starting with the legendary 2000 GT in the 1960s.

GENEVA 2011: NEW PEUGEOT 508 PURRS OUT

Peugeot is pushing ahead with its C/D segment car, the all-new 508 sedan, at the 2011 Geneva International Motor Show. Competing with the likes of Volkswagen Jetta, Honda Accord and Mazda6, the 508 replaces the 407 range and appears all grown up, spacious and quite refined.

GENEVA 2011: ABT SUPER TUNES AUDI R8 SPYDER

Tuning outfit ABT, which is known for turning VW Group products into megaproducts, is at it again. At the 2011 Geneva show, ABT announced the arrival of the Spyder R8 GT S, a car based on the Audi R8 Spyder. Drama is what this car is all about. If the pictures aren’t enough to convince you, check out the performance stats.

GENEVA 2011: ARTIST RADCLIFFE EVOQUED INTO ACTION

London artist Benedict Radcliffe last night unveiled his latest creation, an exclusive wireframe art installation as part of his recent collaboration with Land Rover. 

The installation, a life size piece of art based on the new Range Rover Evoque has been created specially to coincide with the Geneva Motor Show and the reveal of the many exterior and interior design features that allow customers to personalise their vehicles.

MINI'S NEW RALLY JCW CAR UNCOVERED AT GENEVA 2011

On Tuesday, the 81st International Geneva Motor Show (CH) provided the stage for MINI to unveil the MINI John Cooper Works S2000 – the latest milestone on the road to the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). This is the forerunner to the MINI John Cooper Works WRC, which the MINI WRC Team will entrust to drivers Dani Sordo (ES) and Kris Meeke (GB) for its debut in the premier category of rallying in Rally Italy from 5 – 8 May 2011.

FIAT "GREENEST" IN EUROPE AGAIN

For the fourth year running, Fiat Automobiles is the brand which has recorded the lowest level of CO2 emissions by vehicles sold in Europe in 2010, with an average measurement of 123.1 g/km (4.7 g/km less than the 2009 average). Fiat also ranked first as Group, with 125.9 g/km, an improvement of 5 g/km on last year. The record is certified by JATO Dynamics, the world's leading automotive consultancy and research firm.

GENEVA 2011: NISSAN SEES GT-R DOING 2 SECONDS!

While the world of enthusiasts watched in awe as the 2008 Nissan GT-R lapped the Nurburgring in a controversial 7 minutes and 29 seconds, some wondered if this really wasn’t the start and not the end of Godzilla’s new saga. Barely a year later it dipped 7:26.7 at the same ‘Ring, and cemented itself as one desirable and affordable supercar.

GENEVA 2011: SAAB RISES LIKE A PHOENIX

Last year around this time, General Motors finalised the sale of SAAB to Spyker of the Netherlands. A few days ago Spyker passed on the SAAB brand to a group in the UK. It seems the company’s fortunes are currently uncertain, but that hasn’t stopped it unveiling this appropriately named PhoeniX Concept at Geneva 2011.

RENAULT R-SPACE DEBUTS AT GENEVA 2011

The Renault R-Space Concept measures 4.25 metres long, which makes it just about the same size as the current Scenic III MPV. Difference is that this one features something that could be said to be a miniature engine, one that’s normally found in motorbikes, albeit super ones.

ROLLS-ROYCE COULD BUILD NO-PETROL ELECTRIC PHANTOM

On 1 and 2 March, the Rolls-Royce stand will also debut 102EX, a one-off, fully electric powered Phantom that will serve as a test bed to gather a bank of owner research in 2011. This will be crucial in informing future decisions on alternative drive-trains for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

BMW VISION CONNECTEDDRIVE SHOWS FUTURE TECH

BMW’s Vision ConnectedDrive, unveiled today at the 2011 Geneva International Motor Show, serves to showcase a number of new technologies as well as existing ones being taken to their next natural levels.

GENEVA 2011: ALFA ROMEO SHOWS OFF 4C

Alfa Romeo is gunning for the big premium guns lately, as evidenced by this 4C Concept car unveiled at Geneva 2011. The car is inspired of course, by the exceptionally beautiful but apparently flawed 8C of the recent past. This is essentially the more accessibly 8C.

BRABUS TUNES DIESELS TO BOMB STATUS

If you thought BRABUS only tuned up AMG models, you clearly don’t know BRABUS. Why recently they started work on the new CLS range and actually tweaked not the AMG big daddy, but the smaller, younger ones, including the CLS 250 CDI BlueEfficiency. That’s the diesel one if you didn’t know.