This document discusses two upcoming new vehicles: 1) The BMW i3 electric compact car, which will have a glass roof, rear-hinged rear doors, and a battery pack taking up much of the floor space. It uses a skateboard chassis layout that splits the car into a rolling chassis and passenger compartment. 2) The Porsche Cajun compact crossover SUV, which will begin production in 2013. It is aimed at challenging the BMW X3 and Range Rover Evoque. It will be powered by a range of engines from a 2.0L gasoline to 3.0L diesel, and is expected to answer demand for a smaller version of the Porsche Cayenne.

1. Disregard all that glass in the roof and
the lower halves of the door, and you've
got a pretty good idea of what the
production variant of this two-box
compact will look like. It's sized like a
Mini Countryman All4 with 10 inches cut

2. off the nose, while a battery pack takes
up much of the ground clearance and
raises the floor a bit. The rear-hinged
rear doors open after the front doors
have opened. The construction concept
BMW is calling LifeDrive can be
considered the first production
application of the skateboard chassis
concept GM introduced as the
AUTOnomy in 2002. It splits the car into
a rolling aluminum chassis "Drive"
module that bears all

3. The Cayenne’s long-awaited little brother, the Cajun,
has finally been given the ’go-signal’ for production
by Porsche, officially confirming what we’ve all known
for quite some time.
The confirmation was made through a press release
that announced the company’s new multi-million dollar
investment towards its production facility in Liepzig,
Germany. While that was the main onus of the release,
news that the Cajun will be produced in the site
beginning in late 2013 is what’s gotten the industry’s
attention.

4. For all of the Cayenne’s popularity, there were still
some people that thought that the Porsche SUV
needed a smaller version, a crossover that would
appeal to people who thought of the Cayenne as to big
and bulky for their liking.
The Cajun will answer all of that, as it is being prepared
to be an agile crossover that will challenge the likes of
the BMW X3, the Mercedes GLK-Class, and the Range
Rover Evoque in the crossover market.
Details behind the Cajun were not announced, but the
popular consensus is that it will carry a wide range of
powerplants that will include a 2.0-liter TFSI engine with
223 horsepower, a supercharged V6 that will carry an
output north of 300 horsepower, a 2.0-liter TDI (diesel)
engine that will see 200 horsepower, a 3.0-liter V6 TDI
that will have 314 horsepower, and a hybrid TFSI
engine with 211 horsepower to go with an electric
motor that produces 44 horsepower.
For those that have long wished for a smaller
version of the Cayenne, your prayers have been
answered. Production for the Porsche Cajun will
begin in 2013.

5. Now that Maserati has unveiled the Kubang concept at
the Frankfurt Motor Show everyone knows that the
production version is just around the corner. The only

6. question is: will it keep the Kubang name? Apparently no!
It has been reported that the company has just filed a
patent application in Europe for the name "Cinqueporte" -
that of course will be used for a five-door car.
That make us believe that the future SUV will carry the
"Cinqueporte" moniker - unless of course Maserati has
something else planned that has managed to keep to
itself until now. A very strange choice we might add
considering the SUV will be built in the US at Chrysler’s
Jefferson North plant in Detroit, MI.
The SUV will be built on a Jeep Grand Cherokee platform
and will be powered by a 4.7-liter V-8 unit capable of
about 450-hp, coupled with ZF’s eight-speed automatic
transmission. For Europe Maserati will also be offering a
VM Motori’s 3.0-liter V-6 with power increased to over
300 HP. The Maserati SUV will be launched on the
market in 2013.