24 Apr 09
MG's MG 6
MG6
MG is making a return to the UK, and the MG6 is the first new model to appear under Shanghai Auto Industry Corporation (SAIC) ownership. It's not that new, however: under the five-door hatchback body lies an updated, shortened version of the old Rover 75/MG ZT platform, and there's a tweaked 1.8-litre K-Series engine under the bonnet.
However, it has been styled and fine-tuned in Britain by SAIC, now working at the old MG Rover facility in Longbridge. The MG6 will go on sale in China alongside the closely-related Roewe 550, and in the UK in 2010.
Peugeot RD Concept
Peugeot RD Concept
Hell's Angel meets Heinkel: this three-wheeled Peugeot concept with articulated structure looks like a futuristic cross between a 'chopper' trike and a '50s bubble car. The driver sits in a low-slung capsule looking out between the pair of huge front wheels, using a head-up display and joystick- and tiller-influenced controls.
Sadly, the electrically-propelled RD Concept is not bound for production; it's the work of young Columbian design graduate Carlos Arturo Torres Tovar, winner of a Peugeot competition.
Roewe N1
Another offering from the ashes of MG Rover: the N1 concept, a small family-sized five-door hatchback, previews a car to be badged Roewe 350.
Developed from the platform of the larger 550 - itself derived from the Rover 75/MG ZT - and featuring a series of four-cylinder petrol engines (1.1, 1.4 and 1.6) based on the old Rover K-Series, it's a bit of a blast from the past. Sportier, less conservatively-styled MG versions ('MG4') are planned for UK sale.
Porsche Panamera
Porsche Panamera
To launch the Panamera prior to the show's opening, Porsche hoisted a car 94 floors up in the Shanghai World Financial Centre - via the service lift, since you're asking. The fast four-door goes on sale in the UK in September, priced from £72,226.
Porsche was just one of Europe's upper-echelon brands showing in Shanghai; Audi revealed its facelifted A7, BMW launched the X5 M and X6 M, Land Rover promoted its revised Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Discovery - but the biggest British announcement was the name of the new 'baby' Rolls-Royce. This 5.4m-long baby is to be the Ghost, and it's powered by a 500bhp V12.
