Star cars of 2008 - part 4 - Coupes and convertibles

Audi TT S
Price £35,000 (est)
On sale Mid 2008
What's new? Awesome grunt

For the high-performance TT S, Audi is planning to crank the power output of the VW Group's 2.0-litre turbocharged engine beyond the 261bhp currently offered in the S3.

It seems the hunger for even more power from Audi's flagship sports coupe is insatiable. A figure of 272bhp for the TT S has been hinted at, and it's likely it will go on to achieve 0-60mph in around 5.7 seconds.

To deal with all that power, the car will come with the quattro four-wheel-drive system, but it's not yet clear whether the S will be available in both coupe and roadster body styles.

Rumours of an even more potent TT RS, with a turbocharged 3.2-litre V6 engine that will deliver well over 300bhp, also persist.


Audi A3 Convertible
Price £18,500
On sale Spring
What's new? A battle royal with the Mini and BMW 1 Series

Audi is not about to let BMW's new 1 Series convertible have things all its own way - it's planning a direct rival based on the face-lifted A3.

It's surely no coincidence that the A3 convertible will be with us in the spring, which just happens to be when the ship carrying the drop-top 1 Series will be docking in the UK...

The A3 will be Audi's third convertible after the A4 and TT and, like them, it will have a cloth roof - Audi believes that folding metal tops add too much weight.

There'll be some cosmetic improvements compared to the current A3, but the biggest changes are likely to be found out of sight.

Audi has been improving the performance and emissions of its engines in recent months, so expect to see the A3 reaping the benefits.

However, this baby cabriolet has to be a credible alternative to the BMW 1 series and Mini rag-tops.

The pictures reveal that the A3's three-door profile remains intact, but the sloping rear window points to a more sporty feel.

Underneath there are two roll-over hoops and under the bonnet it will use a 1.4-litre TFSI engine.

There will also be the 2.0-litre turbo, which is used in Volkswagen's Golf GTI, and diesel options should include a new 140bhp 2.0-litre TDI.

It is expected that the A3 cabriolet will make its first appearance at the Geneva motor show, and it is likely to cost £18,500.


Bentley Brooklands
Price £225,000
On sale Mid 2008
What's new? More power

Bentley rather immodestly describes the Brooklands as 'the world's most exclusive coupe'. A little chest-puffing is permissible, though.

The twin-turbo 6.75-litre engine, shovelling out 530bhp and 775lb ft of pull, will be the most powerful V8 the company has ever produced, and with only 550 cars planned for production, Bentley is going to be turning buyers away rather than actively seeking them.

With a wider cabin than the previous Continental R coupe's, the Brooklands will also have more knee, leg and headroom than any rival currently on sale.


BMW 1 Series Convertible
Price From £24,000
On sale Spring
What's new? Soft-top version of BMW's hatch

BMW will add a fourth model to the 1 Series range in the spring when a convertible joins the coupe and the three- and five-door hatchbacks.

Prices are likely to start at £24,000.

The car will be available initially with 170bhp 2.0-litre (120i) and 218bhp 2.5-litre (125i) petrol engines.

A 143bhp 2.0 (118i), 177bhp 2.0 diesel (120d) and 306bhp twin-turbo 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder engine (135i) will be added later.

The styling and technology borrow heavily from the coupe, apart from the addition of the folding cloth roof. This opens and closes at the push of a button in just over 20 seconds at vehicle speeds of up to 25mph.

With the top up there's 305 litres of luggage space - this shrinks to 260 litres with the roof down, but it's similar to supermini size.

The hood is available in black, beige or a dark grey interwoven with spangly silver metallic fibres.

Behind the rear seats are a couple of pop-up hoops which are triggered if sensors suspect a roll-over accident.

Among the new car's features is an air-conditioning system borrowed from the 3 Series convertible, which recognises when the roof has been opened and defaults to a 'Convertible' mode.

This triggers the ventilation system to react less to the interior temperature and more to the outside temperature and sunlight to determine the intensity of the ventilation required.

In line with the 3 and 6 Series convertibles, buyers who opt for leather trim will get heat-reflecting hides that reduce the temperature of the seat surface by up to 20 degrees.

Gadgets such as stop-start systems, using braking energy to recharge the car's electrics and gearshift indicators, are already being fitted to other BMWs to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.


Chrysler Sebring Cabriolet
Price From £21,000
On sale February
What's new? Soft and hard folding roofs

The drop-top version of Chrysler's Mondeo-sized Sebring arrives a little out of season in February.

It will be available with the same three engines as the saloon: a Chrysler 2.0-litre petrol unit, the 2.4-litre engine it shares with Mitsubishi and Hyundai; and a VW-sourced 2.0-litre turbodiesel.

There'll be both hard and soft folding roofs, with prices starting at about £21,000.


Infiniti G37
Price £32,000
On sale Late 2008
What's new?? Nissan's luxury marque makes its UK debut

Infiniti is Nissan's equivalent to Toyota's Lexus brand, and its models will be on sale in the UK for the first time this autumn.

The G37 is the only coupe in the range, the other three models being a saloon and two soft-roaders.

The G37 will be a rival to the Audi A5 and BMW 3 Series Coupe.

Infiniti will hope that its rear-wheel-drive chassis will sprinkle some BMW-style magic on the G37.

In the US, where Infiniti makes most of its sales, the G37 has rated very favourably against the 3 Series, in part because of its powerful 330bhp, 3.7-litre V6 engine, with a 7500rpm red line. A diesel won't appear until 2009/2010 at the earliest.

The G37 will feature a high standard specification and a good-quality interior.

It looks good, too, with a style that's less bland than you often find in Japanese cars. It manages to exude an air of both sportiness and quality.

Look out for Infiniti dealers springing up in key suburban locations throughout the UK, because Nissan is establishing a stand-alone network.

The dealerships will place great emphasis on their interior design, with relaxing areas for customers and a commitment to Lexus-style service.


Maserati Spyder
Price £70,000 (est)
On sale Late 2008
What's new? A wind-in-your hair ride

When Maserati launched the gorgeous Granturismo coupe last summer, CEO Roberto Ronchi admitted that a Spyder (convertible) would be 'a logical next step'.

Given the usual timing of things with Maserati, we can expect to see it towards the end of 2008.

The Granturismo is a big car that can genuinely seat four people, but the Spyder would almost certainly be shorter and have only two seats.

Power would come from the company's sonorous 4.2-litre V8 mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox.

If the Spyder is anything like the large coupe, then Maserati can be well pleased with its efforts.

It seems silly to say that a car with a 399bhp 4.2-litre V8 feels a little tame, but that's because of the relaxed way the engine does its work. The Granturismo is fast; it just needs stronger pull below 3000rpm.

On long journeys the Granturismo comes into its own. There's minimal road noise coming through the cabin and only occasional road or suspension thuds on coarse surfaces interfere with the calm.

You'd expect wonderful music from under the bonnet, but it is a little understated - you have to push the engine to get a really wonderful tone.

The ride is supple, but that doesn't mean you get a dull driving experience at the wheel of the coupe.


Mercedes SL
Price Price £63,000 (est)
On sale Summer
What's new? Revised styling; new engine

Mercedes will wave farewell to its supercharged 5.5-litre V8 engine for good in the spring when the SL is updated.

The normally aspirated 6.2-litre V8 that has been replacing it in all Mercedes' high-performance AMG cars finally makes it into the SL, too.

The SL55 AMG will therefore become the SL63 AMG, with more power and quicker acceleration, but less pulling strength.

Other changes to be ushered in across the whole SL range include the latest telematics package, some of the advanced safety features from the S-Class limo and the Airscarf neck-warming seats from the SLK.

There will be some cosmetic changes, too. The SL will feature a new nose to fall in line with the big CL coupe


Mercedes SLK
Price £29,000 (est)
On sale Summer
What's new? Reshaped F1-style nose

There'll be a mild face-lift for Mercedes' trend-setting two-seat coupe convertible in the spring.

The main changes are at the front, in an effort to make it look a bit more like the nose of a McLaren-Mercedes Formula 1 car to the casual observer.

It's an evolution rather than a revolution as far as looks go, but more dramatic changes are likely to be found under the bonnet and in the cabin.

The more potent and cleaner engines Mercedes has been progressively wheeling out will surely go into the SLK, while an improved sat-nav/phone/stereo telematics package will be available.


Renault Laguna Coupe
Price £20,000 (est)
On sale Autumn
What's new? A Laguna that's actually sexy

Another company on the verge of making a welcome return to building coupes is Renault, last represented by the Fuego in the late 1980s.

This year the French company is planning to introduce a two-door version of the latest Laguna.

A concept that is 'about 80% of the real car' was on show at the Frankfurt show last September and it was generally reckoned to be as stylish as the new Laguna hatch was felt to be over-cautious.

Based on the five-door Laguna, the coupe is likely to be a fine long-distance touring car, but may not handle as well as rivals.

It's likely to be offered with four-cylinder and V6 petrol and turbodiesel engines, ranging from 2.0 litres to 3.5 litres and 148bhp to 265bhp.

The manual and auto gearboxes will all have six speeds, while V6 models may have the option of four-wheel steering.

When the car goes on sale towards the end of the year, the starting price is likely to be about £20,000, some £1500 higher than for the five-door Laguna.


VW Scirocco
Price £20,000 (est)
On sale Late 2008/2009
What's new? Old name, but new car

VW is about to return to the coupe market after an absence of 13 years.

Its 2008 model line-up includes a new Scirocco, based closely on the Iroc concept car from 2006.

Looking to expand the breadth of its model range, VW has decided that an attractively styled, sporty-looking, affordable coupe has been missing from its line-up for too long.

The new Scirocco will ape Volvo's C30 in offering four-seater accommodation and a practical boot in a squat, broad-hipped, small hatch-sized package.

It will use the fundamentals of the Golf, but if it follows the example of the Iroc, it
will have a slightly longer wheelbase.

Power is expected to come from a combination of VW's direct-injection turbocharged petrol engines and turbodiesels.

That's likely to mean engine capacities of between 1.4 and 2.0 litres, with power outputs thought to be between 150bhp to 210bhp.

When the Iroc was first shown, VW said it hinted at how future models might be given more individual styling.

However, a new management team has been put in place since then and there have been rumours that they have asked for the design, particularly at the front end, to be watered down. We hope that's not the case.

Likewise, while there's no hope of the concept car's interior making it into the showroom, it would be nice to see some of its exciting touches carried though.

Little things such as light-blue instrument backlighting, a gearlever that sits flush with the console until the engine is started and retro-looking toggle switches would be great additions.