Luxury Sport Cars Dony Blog's

Even though the 2011 Shelby GT500 carries a base price of $49,495 without any options ticked, Ford has already received more than 3,000 orders for the 550HP Mustang since the car was announced earlier this year. But despite the sales success, the Deaborn-based automaker said today that U.S. sales of the 2011 Shelby GT500 will be limited to just 5,500 units for this model year.

"We are pleased with the pace of retail orders for the 2011 Shelby GT500," said Fritz Wilke, Mustang brand manager. "The car continues to be popular with sports car enthusiasts and collectors who are blown away by the increase in horsepower and performance. The limited production of the 2011 should make this year even more desirable."

Following on from yesterday's release of the first photos of Citroën's new C4 compact hatchback, we just got our hands on a short static film as well as details on the engine range that will be available at launch.

When it goes on sale across Europe after its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show, the French firm's Golf-rival will be offered with a total of three petrol (plus one LPG capable) and three diesel engines.

The gasoline range includes a 95HP 1.4-liter unit coupled to a five-speed manual, a 120HP 1.6-liter available with either a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic, an LPG capable version of the 1.6L unit, and finally a 1.6-liter turbo with 155HP that's hooked up to a 6-speed semi-automatic gearbox.

Diesel fans can choose between a 1.6-liter HDi producing 90HP or 105HP (both linked to a manual gearbox), and a 2.0L HDi with 150HP coupled to a 6-speed manual transmission.

Furthermore, the two 1.6-liter HDi units are available in e-HDi versions that come with a semi-automatic 6-speed transmission and Citroën's new pseudo micro-hybrid system that features the latest generation Stop & Start system.

Shanghai GM, a joint venture between General Motors Corp and China's SAIC Motor Corp, has revealed the all-new 2011 Buick Excelle GT compact sedan that will go on sale in the country on June 23. It will be available in China with a choice of two petrol engines, a naturally-aspirated 1.8-liter with 108kW/145HP and a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-pot churning out 135kW/181HP.

The GT model expands Buick China's Excelle range that already includes the five-door hatchback XT model. And in case you didn't notice, both the Excelle XT and GT are based on the latest generation of the Opel Astra and share the same Delta II platform and mechanical hardware as the Chevrolet Cruze.

As we have already told you in previous reports, the four-door Excelle GT will be coming to Buick stores here in the States sometime next year, most likely with a different name but without any significant cosmetic changes.

Buick's new entry-level model will slot under the new Regal in the firm's U.S. range with the Volkswagen Jetta considered one of its closest rivals.

The new five-door i20 will go on sale in the UK on January 15, with the first three-door i20s arriving in April, but Hyundai decided to announce full pricing for its Getz replacement model. When the i20 goes on sale in the new year, the entry level 1.2-litre Classic will start at £8,195 for the three-door with a five door costing an extra £450. All i20s will be equipped with air-conditioning, six airbags, active head restraints, remote locking, electric front windows and an aux-in socket as standard.

The mid-range Comfort model, which Hyundai expects to be the best seller, starts from £8,995 and adds 15-inch alloy wheels, body colour door mirrors and handles, electric rear windows, full iPod integration, steering wheel mounted audio controls, a trip computer and a six-speaker system. The flagship model of the i20 range is the Style and it comes with 16-inch alloys, climate control, part-leather upholstery, metal-look facia and front fog lights.

The i20 will be available with two new petrol and diesel engines, including a 78HP 1.2-litre 'Kappa' petrol and 100HP 1.4-litre petrol borrowed from the i30 and the 1.4-litre capacity diesel unit offered in two version with outputs of 75HP and 90HP.

The European market Hyundai i20 has received some minor improvements under the hood as well as to the aerodynamics and the interior of the car. Hyundai started by adding a small spoiler to the underneath of the vehicle to improve airflow around the wheels, while all i20s now use low friction engine oil and an alternator management system.

These changes help the best-selling 1.2-litre petrol engine reduce its CO2 emissions by 5g/km to 119g/km, while the 1.4-liter petrol model sees a 13g/km drop to 129g/km as well as a 4.3mpg UK improvement in fuel consumption.

As for the diesel engines, CO2 emissions on the 75HP model drop by 6g/km to 110g/km. Thanks to the introduction of a new 6-speed gearbox, the 90HP version achieves a 7.2% improvement in fuel economy.

Hyundai also made a few minor changes to the interior. Along with the addition of an 'Eco Drive' indicator that suggests the best time to change gear, the dashboard and instrument illumination is now blue instead of red, while Bluetooth phone connectivity with voice recognition is now added as standard on all models except the entry-level Classic.

The South Korean supermini is available to order now, with prices in the UK starting from £9,520.