Carqacteristic Design ; Facelifted 2012 Skoda Superb and Octavia Snapped Testing in the Alps

While the Volkswagen Group is keeping itself busy with new introductions such as the VW brand's Up! and the soon-to-be launched Skoda MissionL (albeit under a different name), the company has not forget about its current portfolio and is working on improving its offerings in all segments..

This time, our team of spy photographers snagged the 2012 Skoda Superb facelift in sedan form undergoing testing in the Alps.

Skoda's engineers had the front and rear ends of the cars covered up to hide the styling tweaks, but it seems that the Superb will gain a similar front end treatment to the MissionL concept with a slightly longer grille, revised headlamps and a redesigned bumper with a large opening that encompasses the lower set of lights.

Comparable changes are expected at the back with new tail lamps (possibly with LEDs) and a re-sculptured bumper.

In one of the spy pictures, we also spotted a camouflaged Skoda Octavia Combi (that would be the silver car you see in the spy pictures below). Apparently, even though the Czech automaker refreshed the Octavia in late 2008, it is preparing another facelift for its compact model.

The changes that we can see on the Octavia prototype include a revised front end with a new bumper that sports the same styling cues as the MissionL Concept and the 2012 Superb. 

2012 Design and Concept Chevrolet Camaro GT3 by Sareni United

The Chevrolet Camaro is a relative newbie in the world of GT3 racing, but ever since the fifth-generation model was revealed a few years ago, a lot of racing teams have gone to battle with the American muscle car.

With the new year still on the horizon, a lot of teams have begun their preparations leading up to the 2012 season. One in particular, German-based YACO Racing, is hard-at-work preparing their version of the Camaro GT3 race cars that were built by Sareni United.

With the Sareni-built Camaro GT3, YACO Racing is preparing their race cars to compete in a number of GT3 race series in the coming year, including that of the German ADAC GT Master series and GT3 European Championship. Since the car is being prepped for racing, the overall set-up has been completely modified for the occasion. One look at the Camaro and you’ll notice a number of changes being made, including the use of a new front bumper design, an enormous rear spoiler, and a refurbished interior, complete with all the necessary elements - race seats, roll cage, etc. - for a GT3 race car.

Another thing about this particular Camaro GT3 race car is the involvement of SaReni United, which is owned by Reiter Engineering and who introduced their own version of a Camaro GT3 racer about a year ago that YACO Racing will be using for the 2012 season.

Performance details on the Sareni Camaro GT3 center around a 7.9-liter Katech V8 engine rated at up to 650 horsepower and 627 lb/ft of torque with lap times similar to the Gallardo LP600+ GT3, which incidentally, is another one of Reiter Engineering’s creations. This engine is mated to a newly designed HOLINGER gear box with paddle shifters located on the steering wheel.

A New Car Blog Section

 

In the last couple of monthes I have been working real hard on learning more about Blogging with Joomla!
Still my main blogging platform is WordPress, but I found out that a blog with Joomla like this one is not that hard to do.

However, using a layout like this is not the best option, and als there are some extra components I want to integrated in the future.
If you look at the site now, you will find a new section and menu on Car Design Blog where there will be blog posts on af course Cars and Design.

Enjoy the updates on Design, Concept cars and Supercars and lots, lots more!