Hot off the press!
No Z28 Camaro, four-cylinder under consideration: Just when you thought you knew all the details of the new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro performance coupe, the Sleuth’s spies have gotten the scoop on a new fuel-efficient model. During a recent interview, product boss Bob Lutz confirmed that his company had been testing the 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder from the Pontiac Solstice GXP and Saturn Sky Redline for use in the Camaro. Separately, several reliable sources had said that the Camaro Z28 program is cancelled. “There will be no Z28 model,” said Chevrolet product manager Cheryl Pilcher in a newly published interview. For the time being, the base Camaro engine is a 300-horsepower V6. A V8 is optional.
TT to be influenced by the R8 supercar: When it first hit the streets less than a decade ago, Audi’s TT coupe was an icon for the automaker’s entire lineup. Since then, that role has been passed to the R8 supercar, which might just set the tone for future TT models. Preliminary sketches of a mid-engined TT — the engine is located behind the passenger compartment, just like the R8 — are already making their way through Audi’s headquarters. Why the change from a front-engine layout? It seems that company engineers are quite pleased with the handling characteristics achieved in the mid-engined R8 and are looking to bring that balance and performance to the TT. However, even if the mid-engine TT is given the green light, it likely won’t hit the market until 2013.
