Articles by Nelson Ireson

There probably isn't a huge market for a somewhat off-road-capable, three-door, sporty, compact hatchback. So what is the market for a more hardcore, sporty, less off-road-capable version of that same hatchback?We're not sure, but that's exactly what the MINI Paceman John Cooper Works is. This is our first look at the hot edition of the Paceman, courtesy of rampant leakage around the web today ahead of its official debut, expected sometime in the coming months.The 2013 MINI Paceman the John Cooper Works edition is based on was just unveiled to the public at the 2012 Paris Auto Show in September, so the JCW is close on the heels of its more normal (though still somewhat oddball) counterpart.Leaked to the web without specs or information, the MINI John Cooper Works Paceman is already familiar--if not quite pleasing--to our eyes. But do the official details on MINI's latest car persuade us to want to like it?Close, but not quite. You see, this is arguably the most confusing and least attractive cut of MINI's one-sausage-many-lengths theory of design. Pairing the high-riding and soft-roading qualities of the Countryman with the enthusiast-focused John Cooper Works formula could have resulted in a three-door MINI Paceman Baja Edition--a sort of micro-Raptor.Instead, it leaves us with a John Cooper Works Paceman, good for 7 seconds to 100km/h from a 160 kilowatts turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine driving ALL4 all-wheel drive. Peak torque of 300 newton-meters is available from 1,700 rpm to 4,500 rpm with the Overboost function enabled--pretty stout for a smallish turbo four.A choice of manual or automatic six-speed transmissions is available, and it won't affect the 0-100km/h times. But as strong as that little engine is, the 7-second 0-100km/h time hints at the problems of going tall and off-road-ish: weight. The JCW Paceman is quicker than the JCW Countryman, but not by much.By way of contrast, the Scion FR-S manages a rather anemic 147 kilowatts from its boxer engine, with at most about three-quarters the torque of the MINI JCW Paceman's engine--and even then, it's all at the top of the tach--and yet it can dash to 100km/h in about the same time, with rear-wheel drive only.The comparison is apples to oranges on everything, and all of it should favour the MINI. But the clock doesn't. That spells a stout curb weight to us. MINI doesn't disabuse us of this notion with the official announcement--curb weight isn't anywhere to be found.www.motorauthority.com 

Like it or not, BMW will be launching the new mid-size hatch with the form factor something along the lines of a smaller 5-Series Gran Turismo. Whether it will be called the 3-Series Gran Turismo or come as a new model, remains unclear. Whatever it's called, this is what it will look like. Two completely undisguised versions were spotted in the US during a recent photo shoot for the car, and they will be making their official world debut soon, most likely as 2013 models. The version in brown is a regular model, while the silver one has been fitted with a planned M Sport Package. From the spy shots, we can see that the 3-Series GT is sporting the latest in BMW design cues. Some key elements include a more pronounced grille, headlights that blend into the grille, accented intake surrounds and new vender vents shaped like a reversed number seven. Many of these elements will also be appearing on the upcoming 4-Series Coupe and 4-Series Convertible, the respective replacements for the 3-Series coupe and convertible models. The elements were first previewed on BMW’s Active Tourer Concept at the 2012 Paris Auto Show, a concept that will also spawn a smaller 1-Series GT. At the rear, we can clearly see an additional line running across the hatch just above the BMW roundel and a "GT" badge. This suggests that the new 3-Series GT will feature a two-tier rear hatch design, just like its bigger brother. The previous interior spy shots reveal the cabin’s design will stick close to the 3-Series sedan's themes. We're also expecting an updated navigation system, a revised menu for the iDrive interface and more voice-activated controls as part of BMW's expanding ConnectedDrive technology portfolio The vehicle rides on a slightly longer version of the platform underpinning the latest BMW 3-Series, which means it should be powered by the same slate of engines as well. This equates to a 180kW/350Nm 2.0-litre turbo four in a base 328i GT and a 225kW/400Nm 3.0-litre turbo straight-six in the 335i GT. An xDrive all-wheel-drive system will likely be an option. Look for a debut at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show in January. www.motorauthority.com    

During a 40th anniversary celebration at the Nürburgring last week, BMW showed its upcoming M6 Gran Coupe to a select group. Now, it has released teaser images of the car from that event online.The images don't tell the whole story, but they tell most of it. As we've already gleaned in our spy shots and spy video, the M6 Gran Coupe will not vary too terribly much from the look of the standard Gran Coupe--and where it does, it will closely resemble the standard M6 coupe.The looks are largely unchanged but the stylish four-door picks up the twin-turbo V8 mechanical package from the latest M5 sedan and M6 coupe and convertible twins. The force-fed V8 is lifted straight from the M5, complete with 412 kiloWatts of power and 680 Newton-metres of torque  from 4.4 litres.There is no such thing as a manual M6, but the seven-speed double-clutch manumatic is driver adjustable between slur and speed shift and the car will thump to 100 in 4.2 seconds with a top speed in the M6 Carsguide tested last week - if you're prepared to pay a little extra on tyres and things.Tie that in with a promise from BMW that "more details on the all-new M Automobile will be available in December," and you have what's shaping up to be a Detroit Auto Show debut for North America.As always, stay tuned for more details as they emerge, and look forward to our live coverage of the Detroit Auto Show in January.www.motorauthority.com 

We've finally also been given a rough unveiling date for the Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG: next spring (in the Northern Hemisphere). That timing is, of course, when the Geneva and New York auto shows happen. Which will host the debut isn't yet clear, but we'd put our money on Geneva. The A45 will mark a lot of firsts for Merc's AMG tuning works: it's the first time any Mercedes AMG has had a four-cylinder engine, a front-wheel-based or all-wheel drive, and a twin-clutch gearbox. No outputs or performance figures have been revealed, but AMG engineers have hinted at about 260kW of power and more than 450Nm of torque -- and a 280km/h top speed plus what Mercedes-Benz claims will be the fastest cornering speeds in its class. Expect to pay over $60,000 for the hot sub-five-second hatchback. www.motorauthority.com      

According to documents submitted to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Fiat is already planning a convertible version of the 500 Abarth, and a turbocharged non-Abarth version of the 500 called the 500T.Good news for fans of high-performance small cars and convertibles everywhere, if it holds up.

And it looks like it will hold up.The documents, sourced via Car and Driver, show a pretty clear chart of upcoming 2013 models, and the Abarth is clearly listed under the "2 Door Convertible" group, while the 500T Sport is added to the standard Pop, Sport, Lounge, Abarth, and Electric lineup.

Having wrung out the hardtop 500 Abarth at Spring Mountain in the US earlier this year, we know it delivers on many levels where the standard 500 doesn't. Whether the similarly-powerful, but non-Abarth 500 will show similar fun potential remains to be seen.The convertible version of the Abarth is sure to win fans, however, as many of you commented that a soft top was the only thing holding you back.Of course, it will likely be the retractable-cloth-roof  (a la 500C) sort of convertible, rather than the whole-top-comes-off kind, but even so, it means more sun in the cabin with (hopefully) all of the benefits of the Abarth. www.motorauthority.com.au