Hot new cars for 2011

You have to spend money to make money. 
Or so the saying goes, at least. 

And with a very busy 2011 pulsing along the new cars pipeline, it seems that the world's car manufacturers are hoping to entice us into their showrooms with fresh new models and technical innovation throughout this new year. 

After all, there's a recession to beat and some pretty serious investment cash to recoup. 

So if you're looking for frugal not fast, electric power over electric performance, or family-friendly instead of just selfish 2-seater fun, there's much to look forward to with innovations aplenty. 

Could this be the year that full electric vehicles take a hold on the market? Or will the fuel-slurping supercars just keep on coming? Even the mainstream real-world looks more exclusive and exciting. A good year for automotive enjoyment indeed. 

Here's the fist part of our three-part TotallyMotor round-up of what's coming up in 2011... 

Alfa Romeo 

First in the honours list we have an evocative Italian brand, with Alfa Romeo tweaking their well-received swoopy Giulietta with a 'mid-point' 138bhp diesel engine in January. There's also a TCT version using the 6-speed dual-clutch gearbox and 168bhp, 1.4-litre MultiAir engine from the Mito. 168bhp suggests quite potent petrol performance with a nicely reasonable 121g/km of CO2 to pay for. 

Audi 

Well, the big news from the powerful German brand is the imminent spring arrival of their RS3, A3 hot-hatch variant. Quite big money for quite a small car, with a tad under £40k the price tag, but when you factor in 335bhp and a 0-62mph time of just 4.6-seconds, things start to add up. There's not much to touch it for the money, until the BMW 1-Series M Coupe comes along, that is. 


A little later, in May, and the A1 1.4 TFSi will be warming up Audi dealers with its distinctly toasty 182bhp, while we could be seeing a 5-door A1 concept in the autumn. In April all executive attention will turn to the lighter, more emission-friendly A6 saloon that's got more lightweight aluminium than ever, as well as a new dual-clutch option. 

Aston Martin 

Aston says that they've sold almost all of their planned One-77 ultra-cars, and at well in excess of £1m, it's their most expensive car ever. This wide, wild and wicked wonder-car will begin to grace the driveways of a very select few this month, and with a 7.3-litre, 750bhp V12 engine and liberal use of carbon fibre and aluminium, I'm sure the new owners are more than just a little bit excited. 


Right at the other end of the Aston scale is the Cygnet. Arriving in May, the Toyota iQ-based small-city-dweller uses a 1.3-litre, 97bhp motor, but still costs an eye-watering £30k. Expect a fair amount of the bespoke for this amount of money. 

BMW 

The latest 3-Series release, the race-inspired M3 GT, hits showrooms this month and will be the last car from the current run of 3-Series models with an all-new variant of the firm UK favourite due in 2012. The all-new car will prepare the famous 3 for the new age of electric and hybrid power. Is this the end of M3s as we know them? 


Other hot news from BMW is their new 1-Series M Coupe, set to start selling in May. This beefy, 340bhp twin-turbo mini-super-saloon will go head-to-head with Audi's RS3, making the summer months all the more exciting for fans of precisely potent German performance. The 1-Series Coupe and Convertible get some facelift tweaks. 



Caterham 

We don't have an image or indeed any real details on Caterham's new car, so for the time being here's an appetite-whetting shot of the distinctly fast 'n' feisty Superlight R500. 

The new car, the first from Caterham for some years, will build on their core brand values and hopefully won't be too restricted by rules, regulations and sales volumes. But, it's all fantasy guesswork until the car debuts at the Autosport show, 13th - 16th January at the NEC. 

Chevrolet 

On the sensible side of things from Chevrolet is their new 7-seat MPV, the Orlando, arriving in May, hopefully casting off any last shadows of the old Daewoo style. 


On the fun-flipside of their range is the muscular Camaro, seen here as a daring drop-top. A fat slice of history and a big bag of V8 grunt can be yours from August, and for £40k that's a hell of a lot of car. 


And Chevy's big hope for big sales is their electric Volt, available to order in June, but not whirring around your town until the early 2012 deliveries. It looks like the future and uses a 1.4-litre, petrol 'generator' to power its batteries, potentially eking out 70-miles of serene travel per gallon of fuel. 

Citroen 

The buoyant French brand is off to a flying start in 2011 with their game-raising all-new 5-door C4 arriving at dealers mid-January. Cleaner-looking and a little less 'groovy' than the original C4, the new model offers interior refinement and a whole host of safety features and engine options. 


And with its low-profile 'feet' firmly on the wild side is the 204bhp DS3 Racing (back right), also soon to be seen blurring about our city streets in January. The highly-tuned 1.6-litre, turbo petrol engine propels the funky front-driver to 60mph in just 6.5-seconds, but it can still seat four adults all wrapped up in the latest safety equipment. There are only 200 due to land in the UK, so if you fancy one you better get cracking. 

Chrysler 

Chrysler's Voyager MPV has been around for a while now and there's no big news on an all-new car from the troubled American ex-car giant, with just a Fiat-assisted facelift the cards for later this year or early next. Still, it will be interesting to see what they do with it - perhaps swapping some of that American flab for Italian flare? 


October brings bigger news from Chrysler with their re-badged (from Lancia) Ypsilon city car. It's based on the Fiat 500 chassis and runs the award-winning 85bhp, 95g/km CO2 Twin Air Fiat engine, underneath a slightly less endearing face. If the Ypsilon can offer Italian charm and decent inner space alongside that frugal engine then Chrysler could do well in Europe. 

Ford 

Ford have some very big news for September this year with their all-new Focus mainstay coming to dealers' shelves as the winter draws in. The family 5-door has always ridden high in the public's good books so much is at stake to continue the good news. 


But, so far, continue it does, with the ST variant following soon after. And news doesn't come much better than a 247bhp, 2-litre Ecoboost turbo petrol engine and promises of the usual exhilarating tweaked Ford handling. 247bhp in a family hatch? Wow! 

Honda 

The evergreen Accord gets some styling and equipment upgrades around the middle of this year, with the prices slightly upgraded, too. 


The little Jazz gets a general facelift and a new hybrid model, which should return some impressive economy figures when the wheels start rolling for real in February. 

Hyundai 

It's been a long time coming, but Hyundai's curvy coupe, the Veloster, should finally go on sale in the autumn/winter time this year, marking a seriously stylish new design language for the Hyundai range. Does the Veloster make you sit up and take notice? 

September will welcome the new i40 midsize offering, in estate mode to start, but with the saloon soon to follow. Like the Veloster it's full of curves and was designed by Hyundai in Germany. But will it drive like a European car? -totallymotor.co.uk