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Concept Cars, Sports/GTs, Euro, Supercars, BMW, Misc. Auto Shows

BMW’s supercar icon, the M1, blew out the candles at the Concorso d’Eleganza at Villa d’Este this weekend. In honor of the car’s thirtieth birthday, BMW rolled out the new BMW M1 Hommage, a concept/design study that pays tribute to the original M1 and shows what could be possible if BMW were to produce a new mid-engined sports car. Follow the jump for the breakdown.
[Source: BMW]

 Concept Cars, New York Auto Show, Coupes, Scion

The Scion Hako is one of the ugliest concept cars any of us have ever seen. Seriously, in New York, our watches stopped working in its presence. At the vehicle’s introduction, Scion called its orange-hued affront to the senses a “sporty version of a box” — a turn of phrase we’re still trying to wrap our brains around. What’s next? Record execs selling us the “easy-listening version of Slayer”? But we digress.

Our friends at Jalopnik were equally uninspired by Hako, so they asked their readers to build a better concept using the magic of Photoshop. They have winnowed down the entrants to a group of five finalists — a mail truck (above), a better coupe (shown at right), a hot rod, a Hako-mino, and a Deora-ish pickup. Follow the jump to see the latter three and then head over to Jalopnik to vote for your favorite. The winning ‘chopper will be announced tomorrow. His or her prize?

[Source: Jalopnik]

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Last time we brought you photos of the 2009 Cadillac XLR it was hidden behind a forrest of trees. This time we’ve got a great shot of the new XLR roadster in the buff. The new XLR is basically a re-skinned Corvette that’s set to be unveiled to the public later this year, which may explain why it’s running around without any tape on. The Art & Science look is still in full effect though not quite as angry looking as the previous generation. You’ll notice the new grille and restyled fog lamps immediately, which help move the design forward. Spy report below the jump.

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Well, it looks like Ford just got rolled by the 600 lb. gorilla of Edmunds on the spy photo of the 2010 Ford Taurus. They’ve decided to toss the Dearborn, MI-based automaker around like a toy doll, pasting the spy photo of the new Taurus we first showed you yesterday back up on top of the Inside Line, with not a care in the world for Ford’s threats of lawsuit or a “changed relationship with Ford” PR. We’re guessing…

…a site with a big consumer side like Edmunds’ Inside Line’s able to just beat back those big bullies and take those “big” threats and file them in the “idle” category. Sadly, all we’ve got is Gizmodo. Not that they’re anything to sneeze at, we’re just sayin.’ Anyway, we’re just happy to have blazed the trail for the consumer car sales-lead giant because if there’s one thing we can be sure of — that’s definitely the 2010 Ford Taurus.

The radical change could be the result of an overwhelmingly positive response to Ford’s Mondeo sedan, a midsize four-door sedan already on sale in Europe but too expensive to import to the U.S. It was penned by Ford’s European design group led by Martin Smith. Up to this point, a U.S. design group, currently led by Peter Horbury, has worked on U.S-specific models like the Taurus.

Expect to see this Taurus sporting a version of Ford’s new EcoBoost V6. The new turbocharged engine promises V8-like power with the efficiency of a four-cylinder. Big promises for sure, but even if it doesn’t quite meet those goals, the 2010 Taurus should be one of the more powerful sedans in its class without sacrificing too much in the way of fuel mileage.

Expect to see the official unveil of the 2010 Ford Taurus at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show next January. Sales should begin in the fall of 2009.

Concept Cars, Supercars, Lamborghini

Anything you can do, I can do better. That’s pretty much been Lamborghini’s attitude towards arch-rival Ferrari since Ferrucio Lamborghini starting building sportscars to spite Enzo Ferrari. Fast forward 45 years and with both men gone, the idea remains the same: if Ferrari could create an exotic supercar and name it after its founder, so can Lamborghini. Only in this case, the heritage is carried on by independent designer Pule Magau of carrozzeria Magvisio.

What you see before you is the Lamborghini Ferruccio. Like the Reventon, the Ferruccio was conceived as an ultra-exclusive uber-exotic based on the Murcielago LP640. But while the Reventon had its production run upped to 100, the Ferruccio was planned for only 10 road-going examples: five coupes and five roadsters. Also like the Reventon, the Ferruccio was supposed to sell for Є1 million ($1.5 million), but it very well might have been the manifestation of the Reventon that stopped the Ferruccio project in its tracks, siphoning off potential customers to the factory’s own show-stopper.

The use of carbon fiber inside and out on the Ferruccio promised to undercut the Murcielago’s 0-60 time to three seconds flat en route to a claimed top speed of 230 mph, with 330mm ceramic discs and six-pot calipers to keep the speed in check. Couple that with razor-sharp styling to rival the Reventon, and you’ve got an interesting package, if only it didn’t cost so much. Magau, however, is reportedly working to reduce the costs. If those goals can be met and the deposits roll in, the Ferruccio project could turn from wet dream to startling reality. Thanks for the tip, Mike!

NOTE: Autoblog team is split 50/50 on whether this is actual news or a bit of chain yanking from the Brits. Nunez wants it categorically stated on record that he is 100% convinced this is an “elaborate BS festival”, noting that CAR’s link to Magvisio’s website is bogus. Noah, meanwhile, points out that there’s even a video rendering of the Ferruccio, which means it would be one very elaborate hoax if it weren’t the real deal. Alex fires back that the BBC was responsible for the most famous April Fools stunt ever. Your call

[Source: Car Magazine]