Spy Shots

...by 2014 when this all-new model is ready for the road, the Korean brand might see a place for a super-frugal city car.  

It's planned as a 2014 model with more comfort, convenience and quality than the old one.  

It's the clear sign that this is the next all-new Benz compact, taking over from the C-Class that already leads the field in Australia after a massive recent makeover.The next C-Class picks up the styling direction of the CLS, which is too brutal for many, with the promise of a miserly three-cylinder engine to open the action. Here in 2014 at a similar price to the current one. 

...and now Carparazzi has caught the mid-engined road runner during testing in Italy. It's one of many future models to be previewed at the Geneva motor show on March 5 and is confirmed for Australia.

With a roofline snitched from the city-first Evoque, the new Sport is the second model developed using the all-aluminium package under the brilliant new Range Rover.

...that's nearly ready for European showrooms. It has a much smoother nose with new lights, bumpers and grille that will also be previewed at the Geneva show.  

The camouflaged car sliding through the snow in Scandinavia is the upcoming Genesis luxury sedan, which promises to take the South Korean company up against a new range of rivals including BMW and Mercedes-Benz.The all-new Genesis is the bait for a new brand of buyer, as well as potentially revolutionising the Korean brand in Australia. Hyundai has already committed to sales of its next-generation Genesis coupe in 2015 and the battle has begun to get the four-door sedan equipped and priced right for Australian buyers."Nothing is confirmed yet. At the moment we're looking at the business case. That's pricing and specification," the spokesman for Hyundai, Bill Thomas, tells Carsguide. But there are some promising pointers."It's confirmed that it will be built in right-hand drive, like the coupe, which is a good indicator that it's appropriate for us. And we're definitely taking the coupe," says Thomas. Our Carparazzi pictures show a car that already looks ready for production, with impressive proportions and the promise of both 3.8-litre V6 and 5.0-litre V8 engines with an eight-speed automatic gearbox.It's already locked for its first official appearance, although it's not clear if there will be a motor-show tease as a concept. "The car is due to be shown at the Detroit motor show next year. I'd imagine it's a 2014 model," says Thomas. The mechanical package under the next-gen Genesis will be shared with the Kia Quoris and perhaps also slide under an upscale SUV.Carparazzi says the newcomer is codenamed DH and uses an update of the existing rear-wheel drive package, with all-wheel drive also likely. On the design front, the car will be sleeker and more upscale - a move obvious from the shape of the bodywork and little touches including the LED running lamps needed for low-light snow driving during testing.  

But don't read too much into the flat-black paintwork or the misshapen and badly-fitted camouflage body panels. Project 150 will morph from an ugly duckling to a rocketship swan within a month as the replacement for the Enzo supercar is readied for the road. The 150 - which is likely to get a new name before production begins this year - is already being previewed in Europe and a handful of Australian millionaires have placed orders, even though the car is only being built in left-hand drive. "My understanding is that probably six or seven will come to Australia," the head of Australia's Ferrari agency, Neville Crichton, reveals to Carsguide. "It will go to Ferrari owners and collectors rather than new customers. People who own an Enzo now would probably be at the top of the list." Crichton has led a Ferrari renaissance in Australia over the past seven years through his company, Ateco Automotive, with a jump in sales and new multi-million-dollar showrooms built in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. But the success is working against him, as Ferrari is planning to set up a direct factory operation under the direction of its current Japanese chief, Herbert Appleroth. On the F150 front, European sources hint that production of the mid-engined road rocket will begin around the middle of the year as Ferrari goes head-to-head with the McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 supercars that are also scheduled for 2013. "I don't know the timing. But I wouldn't be surprised if they show it at the Geneva Show next month," says Crichton. Project 150 is the latest in a string of Ferrari supercars that includes the 288 GTO, F40, F50 and Enzo. Technically, it is powered by a hybrid package that combines a race-bred V12 petrol engine with an F10-style Kinetic Energy Recovery System for a total of around 600 kiloWatts of power. That means a 0-100km/h sprint time of just 3.0 seconds and a top speed of around 370km/h. Apart from the 150, Crichton says his Italian action for 2013 will be intense. "We're waiting for the F12 Ferrari and the new Maserati Quattroporte," says Crichton, who also holds Australia's Maserati agency, and will retain it after the Ferrari split. "The F12 will be brilliant for the brand and we expect the first cars in July. We have big plans for Maserati, with the smaller Ghibli at the Geneva show."    

So it pains us to say that's literally the case with the next Octavia wagon.Bigger than the outgoing line, it looks too like it. 

The Superb gets design cues from the MissionL concept.So, a new grille, squarer headlights and similarly minor mechanical changes.