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Maserati Kubang Concept SUV To Become A Reality In 2014

Maserati has officially announced that the final production Maserati Kubang SUV will be presented to the public at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show.

The Kubang made it’s world debut last September at the Frankfurt show, Maserati has been moving fast to take this from concept to production. “After Beijing, we will retire the Kubang concept. Our SUV will reappear in its production form and with its final name in due time,”  the company’s CEO, Harald Wester, told InAutoNews.com.

Even though the model will be in direct competition with upcoming super-luxurious crossovers such as the Lamborghini Urus and the Bentey EXP9, Maserati expects to sell around 20,000 Kubang SUV units annually, with the United States and China sharing the majority of owners.

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Rolls-Royce Six Senses Concept Revealed At Beijing Auto Show

Rolls-Royce rolled out their super-luxurious ‘Six Senses’ concept – a vehicle designed to truly go beyond luxury and ‘ignite the senses’ – at the 2012 Beijing Aut Show.  Beyond sight, sound, smell, touch and taste – the designers at Rolls-Royce envision the ‘sixth sense’ to be something of an ‘aura’ or ‘glow’ that emanates from the exclusive pearl Carrara white coloration in a mystical and spiritual way. Everything in the Rolls-Royce Ghost “Six Senses” is the ultimate in hand-crafted luxury – from the glove-soft leather and exquisite materials in the cabin to the concept audio system.  Even the trunk is lined in lambswool to softly coddle your custom luggage. 

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Porsche Carrera Cup Celebrates Ten Years Of Motorsport Racing

The Porsche Carrera Cup is one of the most thrilling single marque racing Championships in motorsport and this year sees Carrera Cup Great Britain celebrate 10 years of successful racing at some of the world’s most well known race tracks including Silverstone and Brands Hatch. Over the years motorsport fans have been treated to many memorable races as drivers compete in the iconic 911 GT3 Cup car. We spoke to a number of teams at the first round of the 2012 season about what’s so special about competing in Porsche Carrera Cup and asked what memories they have of their involvement over the past 10 years.  See more video from the Porsche Channel, YouTube.

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Mercedes-Benz Compact Concept Style Coupe Debuts At Beijing

The Mercedes-Benz Concept Style Coupe (CSC) is making a splash at the Beijing Auto Show this year, with it’s new sporty, sexy design and even somewhat masculine look and feel. Rumor has it that new model is a preview of the upcoming CLA 250 compact sedan, which was confirmed for production at the show by Mercedes-Benz CEO  Dieter Zetsche.

Inspired by the highly successful CLS model, “It is the avant-garde sibling that strives to be bold and different, to establish a strong non-conformist identity and to even show a bit of attitude,” revealed Zetsche. “The Concept Style Coupé is expressive and powerful in its design. We are staking our claim very clearly here. This is the model against which sporty vehicles in the executive segment will have to measure themselves in future.”

From Mercedes-Benz Club of America:

Billed as a junior CLS, the CLA will sit below the C-Class on price and features in the future line-up. Using the CSC’s dimensions as reference, the new entry-level sedan will be about 2 inches longer, almost 5 inches wider and close to 2 inches lower than current the C-class. The CSC is 182.5 inches long, 74.4 inches wide and 55 inches tall. Based on Mercedes’ new MFA platform (Mercedes Frontwheel Architecture) FWD, it has a 106.25 inch wheelbase — 2 inches shorter than the C-class but the same as the A-class.

Read more from Mercedes-Benz Club of America Writer and Park Place Motorcars Dallas Member Joe Quenet

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A Preview Of The All-New Mercedes-Benz 2013 SL-550

The sixth-generation Mercedes-Benz SL-Class is getting rave reviews across the internet, and is a perfect addition to the iconic SL-Class lineup. Details such as the lightweight-body (300 pounds lighter than it’s immediate predecessor), aluminum body shell, the 429 horsepower bi-turbo V-8 engine, and an eco ‘start-stop’ feature to help make the design and functionality a bit ‘greener’ – have been carefully thought out and executed in this all-new SL-550. Learn more from Mercedes-Benz SL-Class product manager Dave Larsen, as he offers an intricate explanation of it’s new features and technology, styling and performance specifications.

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Bentley Motors Celebrates The Queen’s Birthday With The Diamond Jubilee Edition Mulsanne

Bentley Motors and its customers in Beijing celebrated HM The Queen’s Birthday and her Diamond Jubilee year at the gala opening of one of the world’s largest Bentley dealerships – a new landmark in the cosmopolitan Sanlitun district. To mark the occasion, Bentley unveiled the first example of its Mulsanne Diamond Jubilee Edition.

just 60 examples of the Mulsanne Diamond Jubilee Edition have been created, with each car representing a year of Her Majesty’s reign.  The car was designed by the craftsmen and women of Bentley’s Mulliner division, the creators of the State Limousine presented to Queen Elizabeth II in 2002.  These iconic Bentley vehicles are distinguished by a range of exquisite, handcrafted features paying tribute to the Jubilee. These include bespoke embroidery to all four headrests using gold stitching, veneered picnic tables in the rear cabin decorated with a gold overlay depicting a royal carriage used for great occasions of state,  as well as luxurious, hide cushions featuring the same motif.

Two beautiful, highly-polished stainless steel treadplate plaques featuring the famous ‘Bentley Mulliner, England’ script and ‘Diamond Jubilee Edition’ were also commissioned for these Mulsanne models.

Read more from BentleyMotors.com

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MotorTrend Magazine Celebrates Volvo’s 85th Birthday With Top 8.5 Faves

This month marks the 85th Anniversary of Volvo.  In honor of this celebration, MotorTrend magazine identified its favorite 8.5 Volvo models produced over the last eight and a half decades. The top 8.5 picks were:

953-1958 Volvo TP21 “Sugga” (shown top left)

1957-1970 Volvo Amazon

1961-1972 Volvo P1800

1974-1993 Volvo 240 (and Turbo)

1995-1997 Volvo 850 T5-R

1998-2006 Volvo S80

2006 -Current Volvo C30

2011 – Current Volvo S60

1975-1980 Volvo 66

Read more on the history of Volvo and specifics on each model  in the  full article on MotorTrend.com

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Mercedes-Benz Furniture Collection

Mercedes-Benz is making its mark on the interior design industry with a new line of home furnishings. In partnership with Italian furniture manufacturer Formitalia, Mercedes-Benz plans to debut this new designer furnishing line at the upcoming Milan Furniture Fair.

The collection will consist of a sofa, a chaise lounge, a dining room table, a sideboard, assorted chairs, a home theater system stand, a chest of drawers and a bed. Each piece promises to offer “dynamic yet timelessly elegant design,” including wooden chair backrest shells inspired by the seat shells in Mercedes’ latest research vehicles.  Each piece will wear a subtle Mercedes-Benz Style logo.

Gorden Wagener, head of design at Mercedes-Benz Style said of the collection, “The various pieces of furniture reflect the progressive, dynamic design idiom of our current show cars and concept vehicles, offering an exclusive, emotional experience outside our vehicles as well.”  While Mercedes-Benz is new to furniture, other high-end auto makers have strayed from vehicle design into other luxury goods markets. Maserati recently partnered with ultra-luxury designer Fendi on an exclusive line of travel gear. 

The true Mercedes-Benz enthusiast can furnish their space with pieces from this new collection starting in October. The furniture will be available through high-end furniture stores, studios and interior designer showrooms.

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Grapevine Lexus Dealership Has Rare LFA Supercar

The pre-owned department at Park Place Lexus Grapevine is offering for sale a rare Lexus LFA. The vehicle is in exquisite condition as it was only driven a total of 300 miles. Only 150 Lexus LFA supercars were originally produced for the U.S. market, so exclusivity is guaranteed.

Featuring an obsidian exterior coupled with a sporty red interor, this supercar is a race car in Lexus clothing. With a super high-performance engine that generates a staggering 552 horsepower along with an incredibly light carbon fiber body, the car will ensure that every drive is memorable and exhillerating.

Outperforming almost everything in the world, the LFA has set record lap times on some of the most well-known race tracks in the world such as the Nürburgring (Nordschleife).

The 2012 Lexus LFA is available now and can be found front and center in the showroom of Park Place Lexus Grapevine. Racing license not required.