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Audi RS3 Sedan coming to America with over 400 hp?

The Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG is a fast, competent car. It's significantly sharper than the Audi S3, and it should be, since its starting price is around $7,000 more. Still, getting walloped by the higher-performing CLA45 AMG must irk some people at Audi, we'd think, which might explain why there are rumors that the S3's big brother is coming to town. Yes, reports are popping up from an Audi of America employee that the Audi RS3 would transition from its Euro-market Sportback body style to a more conventional four-door, and that its styling would be updated in the process. Oh, and it'll have a 400-plus-horsepower, 2.5-liter, five-cylinder turbo with which to bash the four-cylinder AMG. The report comes from Quattro World by way of CarScoops, and goes on to claim that Audi hallmarks like Quattro all-wheel drive and a seven-speed S-Tronic dual-clutch transmission will both be present. The new RS3 Sedan would arrive on US shores in 2017 as a 2018 model, with prices starting between $55,000 and $60,000. That should make Mercedes-AMG very nervous – the CLA45 may start around $50,000, but getting it past the $60,000-range is simple (your author was driving a nearly $68,000 CLA45 just last month, for example). Naturally, we have a call in with Audi of America to see if there's any credence to this report. Stay tuned for updates. Related Video:

Mercedes-Benz Concept GLC Coupe comes to China ready to fight BMW's X4

There's little denying that small crossovers are hot right now. Not only are automakers scrambling to exploit the popularity of the market, they're doing so by offering unique twists on the traditional two-box body style – enter the coupe-like four-door CUV. BMW, for example, has the X4, and now, Mercedes-Benz is bringing a challenger of its own. While it wears the concept name, the new GLC Coupe clearly foreshadows a production model that'll duke it out with the aforementioned BMW. If the vehicle shown above is any indication, when that fight happens, Mercedes will enter it with design on its side. The sheetmetal is muscular, with strong lines on the profile and the hood, while major themes in the front, back and sides are reminiscent of higher-end Silver Arrows. While we doubt the production GLC Coupe will be much of a trail bomber, fore and aft scuff plating is there to give the impression it can handle itself off road. Also, we feel obligated to give Mercedes bonus design points for the diagonally stacked quad exhausts at the back. It's worth noting that the Concept GLC Coupe's styling previews not one but two production vehicles, as it's logical to assume the design language featured here will have a strong influence on the next GLC (the crossover formerly known as the GLK). Not only will the GLC Coupe have aesthetics on its side, at 15.5-feet long and riding on a 111.4-inch wheelbase, it's larger than its rival from Munich, too, although only just. The X4 is two inches shorter overall and has an extra 0.8 inches between the axles. The Benz is wider, too, at 78.7 inches, compared to 74.1. Lending credence to the Concept GLC Coupe's production status, Mercedes released a pretty substantial array of technical details on its new four-door, coupe-crossover. With a twin-turbocharged, 3.0-liter V6 punching out 367 horsepower and 387 pound-feet of torque, we're betting this would be the AMG Sport variant, rather than your everyday GLC. 4Matic all-wheel drive is a must-have in this segment, and it's present here, while a nine-speed automatic transmission is responsible for distributing power. The Concept GLC Coupe will be shown this week at the 2015 Shanghai Motor Show. Check back then for more. Mercedes-Benz Concept GLC Coupe The next coup Stuttgart / Shanghai. In a flowing transition, Mercedes-Benz lands the next coup: the Concept GLC Coupe is a near-production-standard study that carries the successful GLE Coupe formula over into a more compact segment.

Volvo S60 Polestar concept plays in the snow with Mercedes C63 AMG

Chris Harris took to a snowy stretch of tarmac to get a fingertips-on-the-wheel feel of the Volvo S60 Polestar concept. Harris says the turbocharged sedan with 508 horsepower and 424 pound-feet of torque - and a manual transmission - is "a study to see if Volvo can get back into the fast-car market." The Polestar S60 concept, one of which was already purchased for $300,000 by a private buyer, is still making the publicity rounds because even Volvo's Chinese owners realize that, as Harris says, "Volvo sold more cars because it made fast cars" like the old 850 T5 Wagon that stormed the British Touring Car Championship in the 1990s.
For reference, Harris compares the blue wonder to the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG and its 487 hp and 442 lb-ft. The question is, were Volvo to get the price of a production version of the S60 Polestar to climb way down from its 200,000-pound sticker, could it be worthy competition to the established giants?
You can watch Harris divine the answer via a lot of drifting through the snow and a drag race in the video below.