Auto For Speed

Ever since Opel lifted the covers off the stylish GTC Concept back in 2007, there have been rumors flying throughout the internet and the media about a production version of the study that would essentially replace the Vectra-based Calibra of the 1990s.

And while many (yours truly included) may support that an Astra-based sports coupe sounds like a more reasonable and lucrative proposal for Opel, Car Magazine has returned with an update on the Calibra II / GTC Concept story.

The report claims that the four-seater coupe is still under consideration but if it gets the final okay, it could go on sale as early as 2013, which sounds plausible given that the car would be more or less a two-door version of the Opel Insignia (sold in the U.S. as the 2011 Buick Regal).

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Miami isn’t exactly a driver’s town. It’s a tangle of perfectly perpendicular secondary streets demarcated by lengthy stoplights and the occasional drawbridge or toll booth. Perched on the very tip of Florida, it’s one of the last places we would voluntarily spend time behind the wheel, but despite the bumper-to-bumper traffic, hair-raising lane changes and lawless nature of the traffic patterns, high-end metal is the norm down here.

We’re fighting for our right to merge against a Bentley Continental GT, Ferrari F430 and a murdered-out Nissan GT-R as we make our way toward South Beach, contemplating the implications of dinging a car worth more than our mortgage when it dawns on us: The high rollers around us should make way – we’re driving one of the most unique cars in the country.

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Like the original Audi TT, Peugeot’s new RCZ is a stylish and compact sports coupe built on the platform of a mainstream, front-drive hatchback. But it’s been a dozen years since the Volkswagen Golf-based German went into production, and three more since the TT concept was first revealed at the 1995 Frankfurt Motor Show. Perhaps the French just wanted to be absolutely certain the idea would stick…

While Peugeot can’t be accused of creating a hasty imitation, the similarities between the RCZ and TT are remarkable. The French car began as a concept unveiled at the 2007 Frankfurt show. Turning it into a production car took three years. It’s built on the platform of a volume-production European C-segment model, in this case the 308. Every one of these steps treads in the faded tracks of the TT. Price is the only point where Peugeot departs from the blueprint. Going on sale across Europe through May, the RCZ will wear price tags 20- to 25-percent lower than equivalent TT models.

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With the modern automobile’s mass generally increasing year by year, it is often said that the mark of a good vehicle is its ability to shrink around the driver — to drive like a smaller, lighter car than its lengthy list of standard equipment and safety features would suggest. Here, on the impossibly tight and windy sections of Malibu, California’s famed Mulholland Drive, the 2011 Jaguar XJ L Supercharged — Jaguar’s newest flagship luxury sedan — does exactly that.

More than 4000 pounds and 206 inches of luxury sedan isn’t exactly in its element hustling the fine, treacherously narrow line between jagged, rocky canyon walls and perilously steep drop-offs, but the Jaguar is sure-footed and well-composed. The winding ribbon of well-traveled gray asphalt seems custom-made for a 7/8ths scale car — a diminutive Lotus Exige, perhaps. Still, the long-wheelbase, aluminum-framed Jaguar XJ is up to the task, turning in with precision and quickness decidedly against the norm for the executive transportation class. But then, Jaguar has never been enamored with the norm.

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We’re getting our first glimpse of the 2012 Dodge Durango (or Magnum) thanks to a set of renderings by Andrew Currie.

Created from leaked patent drawings, the renderings reveal the Durango will feature a Ram-inspired grille, a large front bumper, and a distinctive hood. Other styling details include a flat rear bumper (when viewed in profile), subtle character lines, and a roof-mounted spoiler.

Chrysler may be working hard to get its new crop of Fiat-infused small car offerings to market, but we must not forget that a great bulk of the automaker’s sales will be made up of crossovers and SUVs, spearheaded by vehicles like the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee and the upcoming Dodge Durango replacement (possibly called Magnum) in 2012. We’ve seen spy shots and patent filings of the reworked Dodge crossover, but Cheers and Gears forum member Andrew Currie has spent some time creating renderings of what the all-new CUV could look like. Very believable, if we do say so ourselves.

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