Articles by Paul Gover

Now comes a shot of the finished article, which will be driven by the world's press next March and is expected in local showrooms by June. International in March, coming middle of next year.

The top speed is more than 320km/h and it will sprint to 100km/h in just 3.5 seconds.

...including the baby Up just previewed at the Frankfurt Motor Show. This is how Carparazzi sees a planned VW SUV based on the current Australian starter car, the Carsguide Car of the Year winning Polo.

...of the E-Tron range that began with the R8 supercar. The most likely base for the Audi E1, according to Carparazzi, is the Volkswagen Up and this is how the car could look for showrooms.

The new Smart ForTwo is expected to be more rounded than the current model, which has always looked like a telephone box with wheels.

As the sixth-generation Three is revealed for the first time, a car painted in bright Melbourne Red hogs the spotlight at BMW headquarters in Munich. The hero colour is splashed on a 3 Series with the latest Sports package, part of a revamp of the world's favourite BMW that starts from a slippery new body with a drag co-efficient of just 0.26 and continues to an efficient diesel with economy of just 4.1 litres/100km and a customer-friendly set of equipment packages that runs from Modern to Sport and Luxury. The new car is also claimed to be 45 kilograms lighter than its predecessor, although owners will be paying a little more - rumours in Germany suggest a 4 per cent rise across the board - for a car that should be in showrooms in the first quarter of next year. The worldwide on-sale date, in more than 130 countries, is February 11. Nearly one-third of BMWs sold every year are part of the 3 Series lineup and that makes the new car absolutely critical, especially with global economic uncertainty and growing showroom pressure from a range of rivals - including the C-Class Mercedes that currently outsells the Three in Australia. "The 3 Series is the heart of the brand. It has been the long-term growth engine of BMW," the global head of BMW sales and marketing, Ian Robertson, tells Carsguide. "It's also been a pioneer. It starts with a good design." But that design is, in some ways, a step backward. After the radical advances at BMW under its previous design chief, Chris Bangle, the all- new 3 is much closer in shape and style to the existing 7 Series and 5 Series model. There was a time when BMWs looked like different slices of the same sausage and that approach is back, to some degree, in 2011 although the new baby has a more adventurous face that links the headlamps to the signature kidney grills across the nose. The newcomer is definitely stylish and the 'package' approach to equipment allows an easy ramp up through the line, including the Sport model with Melbourne Red. "Colours for the Motorsport models are always taken from racetracks. So this one is for Albert Park," says BMW design boss, Adrian von Hooydonk. "In the past we've also had Imola Red and Estoril Blue." The new body is draped over a car that sits a little lower and wider than the outgoing 3 Series, with the promise of more cabin space. The car is known officially as the F30 and there will be at least six models in the eventual lineup, from the sedan and wagon to the GranSport, convertible and M3. At least some are going to take on the new 4 Series tag, although no-one at BMW is prepared to get too far into the future. "We're hear to unveil the 3 Series sedan. The rest will come over time. There are many years to go yet," says Robertson. The mechanical package of the new Three is simple and familiar, with a range of four and six-cylinder engines in the nose - five petrol and six diesel, all with some form of turbocharging - six-speed manual and eight-speed automatic gearboxes (claimed as a first in the class) and rear-wheel drive. The new 3 Series looks elegant and classy, and the cabin is a big step up. The most noticeable changes are the new iDrive display - that pops up out of the dash like a giant flatscreen television - and an iDrive controller that's now offset slightly in a console that contains some of the extra storage spots in the cabin. The car's technical chief, Dr Klaus Draeger, talks about everything from variable-geometry sports steering to the optional M Sport brakes and the car's heads-up display, but full details will have to wait until closer to the Australian on-sale date, and the first driving opportunity with the car in Europe in November.

It was previewed as a motor show tease in 2010 and is now almost ready for showrooms, as this Carparazzi picture shows. The design is more about style than carrying space - a bit like the Holden Commodore Sportwagon - and it's a good looker that increases Mercedes-Benz's model lineup at the top as it also grows its A-Class family at the bottom. Look for it in Australia from late in 2012.

Peugeot is already committed to fielding a hybrid version of its 908 racer in the classic 24-hour contest and now Toyota is being lured back to Le Mans to prove the pace of its petrol-electric hero cars. Either brand could spring an overall win, but with the strength of Audi and its diesels in recent years it's more likely that Peugeot and Toyota will be racing for a hybrid class victory. At first.But Porsche is also looking at a hybrid program for Le Mans and other major brands, including Bentley, are considering racing once new rules - which put a new emphasis on efficiency - come into effect.Peugeot is already testing a 908 Hybrid 4 ahead of the 2012 sports car classic, with drivers reporting solid reliability and extra punch from the performance hybrid package mated to a conventional diesel engine. The car completed more than 300 kilometres at Estoril in Portugal with former F1 drivers Nicolas Minassian, Stephane Sarrazin and Alexander Wurz sharing the wheel.Toyota is only just starting its program but is committed to Le Mans for the first time since unsuccessful efforts in the late 1990s before its abortive attempt a winning in Formula One. "Le Mans is unfinished business. Toyota went there in 1998 and 1999, got pole position both years, but didn't win," says Toyota Australia spokesman, Mike Breen. "Hybrid is the future of automotive technology, and Toyota has been the leader for a number of years. It's now taken the next step into performance hybrids so racing makes sense."The Toyota racer (pictured below) will be a petrol-hybrid car for the Le Mans Prototype 1 category, the cars that compete for outright victory. Toyota supplied an engine to the Rebellion Racing team this year, just as Nissan backed the winning team in the LMP2 class, but this is a revival to rank with the GT-One program of 1998 and 1998.The new car is also confirmed for several other major endurance events, most likely Sebring and Daytona in the USA, and the program will be run from Toyota Motorsport in Germany. It's the same site that was originally established by the late Ove Andersson for Toyota's winning efforts in the World Rally Championship, before it was upgraded for the Le Mans sports car project and then Formula One. Toyota expects its car to be unveiled in January before a full-scale test program leading up to Le Mans next June.

A production-ready 86er is set to compete in the latest round of the VLN championship at the Nurburgring, the same track where the company's LF-A super-car was battle tested before production. Nothing official is coming yet from Toyota but the 86 has been spotted during testing at the track ahead of the race. The car is entered for the 250-kilometre contest in the 'specials'class and is being driven by Masahiko Kagayama and Minoru Takaki, both Toyota test drivers. It is entered by Gazoo Racing, the same team responsible for the earlier starts with the LF-A. Nothing is known yet about the car's mechanical specification, although it has been tweaked with a giant rear wing.

Thousands of production line workers form a guard of honour as the first of the sixth-generation Threes emerge into the light for the first time, and every member of BMW's board of directors fronts to sprout the message.What's clear is that BMW has spent big on a car that promises more luxury and comfort without losing the driving spirit that's come as standard in the 3 Series since its birth in 1975.It's not particularly adventurous in design, but the detailing is everything you expect.When we get behind the wheel we're expecting much more efficiency and technology, but still with the driving dynamics you expect in any new BMW.After all, this car has to work. Benz has just done a great job on a mid-life update of the C-Class that includes more than 1000 new parts, Audi is pushing harder and harder with its A4 and A5 models, and even Lexus wants more BMW buyers in its showrooms.So BMW is pushing back and hitting out with more technology, better value and a car that is sure to work for the vast majority of its existing owners and a growing group of cashed-up shoppers buying their first premium car in lots of new countries - led by China - which are joining the luxury class.The signature tune for the advertising campaign for the new Three sums things up pretty neatly: it's 'Dancing with Myself' by Billy Idol.