Top Cars

Any day in which we bring you news of a new Italian sports car is a good day by any account. Today we bring you news of three new sports cars under development under the Fiat group umbrella, which we needn't point out controls most of the Italian automotive industry, including Fiat, Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Maserati and Ferrari.

First up to bat is the unique sports car which, as we reported back in March, Fiat is developing for its recently revived Abarth performance brand. Reports now suggest that the Abarth roadster would take an Elise-style approach, and could even borrow underpinnings from Lotus. Power could come from the turbo four in the Punto and 500 Abarth, mounted amidships, but unburdened by a lightweight two-seater chassis.

While we wait for more news on that front, there are parallel reports of a new Lancia coupe-cabrio on the horizon. (This in addition to the rumored Aurelia flagship, anticipated for unveiling in Geneva next March.) Previewed by the Fulvia concept from Frankfurt 2003 (pictured above), the Lancia convertible could also spawn an Alfa Romeo variant. The stage is set, and we'll be keeping a sharp eye out for more news as it emerges.

Like most other manufacturers doing business in the U.S., Honda has been caught by surprise by the sudden shift in demand to smaller cars. When the Fit debuted in the U.S. two years ago, it proved more popular than expected then and allotments were increased for the upcoming redesigned 2009 models. However, the spike in fuel prices has caused a corresponding increase in demand for small fuel efficient cars like the Fit. Sales of the old Fit from January to May of this year jumped 64 percent compared to 2007. Honda has now decided to bump production from 60,000 to 80,000 cars for the 2009 model year. The 2009 Fit has been rated at 28/34 mpg city/highway and will start at $14,620. U.S. production is limited because Honda only has capacity to build 500,000 Fits a year right now for the entire world, and if we get more in the U.S., someone else has to get less elsewhere in the world.

If you were planning on heading down to your local Chevy dealership and placing an order for a new Corvette ZR1, think again. The new super-Vette is the fastest ever made, yet despite its $105k price tag, there'll be a lot of eager customers lining up. But General Motors will only allow certain Chevrolet dealerships to sell the supercar.

Cauley Chevrolet, for example, sells 150 Corvettes a year, and claims it has 60-70 eager customers waiting for the ZR1, but GM will only be allocating four vehicles for the West Bloomfield, Michigan, dealership to sell. Fitchner Chevrolet in Laurel, Montana, sells 35-40 Corvettes a year, but won't be allocated any of the new ZR1s. Out of nearly 4,000 Chevy dealerships in the United States, only 338 will have the chance to sell the ZR1. GM has not released final production numbers for the uber-Vette, but if you want to get your hands on one, you might have to do some hunting.

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It's hard not to love the Maserati Quattroporte. Between its Pininfarina lines and the Ferrari-developed chassis and engine, it's a veritable four-door exotic that makes the top-of-the-line competition from England and Germany look downright ordinary. But both countries are preparing tantalizing new offerings (Aston Martin Rapide and Porsche Panamera), and the Quattroporte has been on the market for five years now. With the complete replacement not due until 2012, Maserati has wisely developed a mid-lifecycle update for its sumptuous sedan. Now after squinting at spy shots for months, details and photos have begun to emerge in cyberspace.

The big question everyone was asking was whether this second-generation Quattroporte would continue with its current 400-hp 4.2-liter V8, or get treated to the more powerful 430-hp 4.7-liter unit that Maserati developed for the Alfa 8C and more recently shoehorned into the GranTurismo S. The answer is, yes. Like its two-door counterpart, the new Quattroporte will now be offered in two versions: the standard Quattroporte and the Quattroporte S. Both will come exclusively with the ZF-sourced six-speed automatic (jettisoning the clumsy sequential transmission that plagued the previous incarnation). Along with the new engine option, the Quattroporte has been treated to some new bodywork: the front grille and bumper have been reshaped and fitted with vertical slats to more closely resemble the GranTurismo's, the front and rear light clusters have been restyled with LEDs, the fenders sharpened up, the mirrors slimmed down and the tail styled more aggressively. Two new colors – a sandy beige and a maroon – are on offer, and the interior has also been ergonomically and stylistically refreshed, integrating the new Maserati Mutlimedia System.

Nissan is currently working on their hybrid coupe model which comes as a response to the Honda’s CR- Z Hybrid. The hybrid sports car, a front- wheel- drive, will be built on a modified “B” platform and will assure an aggressive coupe design with a wide stance. This kind of looks is very popular in Europe, its primary market.

Nissan is also focusing in keeping the weight at a very low level so they will probably use aluminum body panels. The engine is expected to be a four-cylinder 1.5-liter HR15DE, coupled to an electric motor. The power would get to the front wheels through a six- speed DSG transmission. But for now all this is detail as neither this model nor the Honda’s CR- Z Hybrid won’t be revealed before 2010.

Since the epically fast Enzo supercar finished its limited production run, the 430 Scuderia has been left to uphold the mantle as Ferrari's fastest. But as amazing as the Scuderia's performance is, outrunning every previous Ferrari around the company's Fiorano test track, it only goes to show what Maranello is capable of: If they can do this with their erstwhile "entry-level" V8 sportscar, what do they have in store for the Enzo's successor?

Emerging reports suggest that Ferrari could go one (or both) of two ways with its next range-topper. One approach is reportedly being based on the Millechili concept, which as you'll recall was essentially a chopped-down Enzo crafted out of cardboard and plastic holding the promise of environmentally-friendly specs. The production vehicle is tipped to be based on the F430's platform – remember that the 288 GTO and F40 were based on modified 308 underpinnings – but feature a 600hp V10 in a lightweight 1000kg package, with a lengthened wheelbase of around 104 inces, a $500,000 price tag and a production run of 300.

While reports suggest that a second supercar could appear based on the FXX development program, we think it far more likely that one vehicle will prevail, borrowing on themes and components from both the Millechili and the FXX test-bed.