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Filed under: Concept Cars, Frankfurt Auto Show, Hatchbacks, Nissan
UPDATE: Official press release added after jump.

Our cohorts over at Autoblog Spanish surprised us this morning with news that Nissan will be bringing this concept, called the Mixim, to Frankfurt next month. We haven’t seen anything official from Nissan yet about the Mixim, but from what our brothers tell us in their native tongue, it is a “vehicle of the future” type concept, meaning there’s no shot for production. It appears to be either an all-electric vehicle, or some type of hybrid The Mixim is a full-on all-electric vehicle powered by a compact lithium-ion battery pack that drives two electric “Super Motors”, each responsible for their own axle so that the car is technically all-wheel drive.

Clearly a hatchback, the Mixim features front-flipping gullwing doors and a 1+2 seating arrangement. The concept is a little over 12 feet long, almost six feet wide and a bit over four and a half feet tall. It also weighs a mere 2,094 lbs., no doubt to maximize either driving range or fuel efficiency. Finally, the Mixim’s also an infotainment powerhouse, with all manner of hardware to keep the driver’s attention off the road, including full internet access.

We’ll bring you more details, including corrections for whatever got lost in translation above, as soon as we find some official info from Nissan. Meanwhile, check out the pics in our gallery below.

[Source: Autoblog Spanish, Motor Authority]

Continue reading Frankfurt Preview: Nissan bringing the Mixim Concept

Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Sports/GTs, Toyota, Australia

below image for TRD Aurion gallery. See here for more, too.

A year after it was initially shown in Sydney as the Toyota Aurion Sports Concept, and a few months after a closer-to-production version was displayed in Melbourne, Toyota Australia has officially launched the long-awaited TRD Aurion. While TRD-editions of existing Toyota vehicles have been available in many markets over the years, the TRD Aurion is the first vehicle worldwide to be sold as a TRD — now established as a new, separate brand under Toyota, like AMG is worldwide for Mercedes, and HSV and FPV are for GM and Ford in Australia.

Viewed as a step up from the Toyota Aurion Sportivo in terms of both equipment, appearance, and performance, the TRD Aurion’s greatest asset is its Eaton TVS (Twin Vortices Series) Supercharger, which sees its first production car application here. The blower gives the TRD Aurion over 323 horsepower and a torque peak of 296 lb-ft, which is channeled forward via a six-speed automatic with sequential shift. 0-100km/h (62 mph) takes 6.1 seconds, and the car is limited to a top speed of 155 mph. Neither number is particularly earth-shattering compared to other specialty models, but TRD says that the goal was to achieve all-around balance rather than all-out performance. Combined-cycle fuel economy for the TRD Aurion is 21.5 US MPG.

Follow the jump for more, including multiple press releases from Toyota Australia.

[Source: Toyota Australia]

Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione – Filed under: Sports/GTs, Videos, Alfa Romeo

When Alfa Romeo showed off the magnificent 8C Competizione coupe earlier this week, the gathered media got to look at it, photograph it, touch it and drool at the site of it. What we didn’t get to do was drive it. Alfa did, however, provide some video footage of the 8C on the road attacking the sort of twisty mountain roads that would make a daily commute actually enjoyable. Alas we can but dream, and watch the video after the jump.

[Source: Alfa Romeo]