Bentley announces Continental GT Speed for S.Korea

Over the past five years or so, South Korea has seen a massive growth of popularity and demand for high-end vehicles from the most prestigious automakers including Ferrari and Bentley. Yesterday saw the official release of the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. Today was Bentley's turn. The British automaker introduced the flagship model of the Continental range, the Continental GT Speed, for the South Korean market.

The Continental GT Speed was unveiled at the only Bentley showroom in the country by Bentley Motors Korea Chairman David McIntyre and the official importer of Bentley to the country, Charmzone Automotive Corporation. The Continental GT Speed packs a 610hp V12 engine that propels the vehicle from 0 to 60 in under 4.5 seconds. The Continental GT Speed will be available for sales in January of 2008. The sticker price for this piece of art will be a hefty 299,000,000 Won, or approximately $329,260 in US currency.

[Source: Bentley Motors Korea]

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Spied: 2009 Hyundai Genesis

Aren't you just sick and tired of seeing the same camo-clad prototypes of the upcoming luxury sedan from Hyundai over and over? Hyundai just doesn't seem to be satisfied of the product, ever since the first prototypes bloomed in 2005. The series of spy shots here shows us a better glimpse of the rich interior and for the first time, we can see a bit more of the front grille of the exterior. Past the polished Hyundai logo lies a game-changer for the automaker.

Under the hood, the Genesis is expected to be available in two powertrain configurations: a 3.8L V6 powering in the 280-300 horsepower range, and the highly anticipated 4.6L Tau V8 that some reports are indicating horsepower levels in the 360-380 range. The V8 will most likely not be available in its domestic market.

With these new images, the only new information we've garnered is the date of the first official unveiling of the car. The Korean-market Genesis will be unveiled in Seoul on January 9th of 2008. The North American Genesis will make its public debut at next year's Detroit Auto Show.

[Source: HyundaiExchange]

Continue reading to view more images.

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Kia: Next-Generation Sorento CUV to be produced in America

As Hyundai and Kia are rapidly permeating throughout American grounds, it became more evident with an announcement made by Kia on Tuesday during an annual dealers' meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kia will commence production of the next-generation Sorento sport-utility at its West Point, Georgia plant when it opens in 2009. The 2010 Sorento will share platforms with the Hyundai Santa Fe, meaning it will be a car-based crossover instead of the current body-on-frame underpinning.

The powertrains for the 2010 Kia Sorento will be manufactured at Hyundai's plant in Montgomery, Alabama. The Sorento will be the only model in production when the plant opens for the first time. Since Kia expects an annual production capacity of around 300,000, the light of a second model manufactured in the plant comes up. Alex Fedorak, Kia spokesman, stated that the second model will not be added until the plant's break-in process which will occur after the opening of the facility.

[Source: The Montgomery Advertiser]

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BMW announces 320i Special Edition for Korea

BMW Korea has announced the release of the 320i Special Edition, due to go on sale in Korea today. The 320i Special Edition joins the automaker's best selling models in the country, the 320i and the 320i CP (Communication Package). The range boasts a fuel consumption level of 26MPG (11.2km/l). All three models pack BMW's 2.0L Valvetronic 4 that produces 156 horsepower.

Being a value model in the range, the Special Edition loses some premium features found in the other two trims. Despite the deletion, the Special Edition retains some items like Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), Park Distance Control (PDC), run-flat tires, bi-xenon headlights, push button start/stop, power sunroof, and front heated seats.

The 320i Special Edition is coupled to a 6-speed Steptronic Automatic transmission and rides on 16-inch alloy wheels. The 320i Special Edition will be priced at 41.8 million Won or roughly $46,030 in US currency.

[Source: BMW Korea]

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The Prancing Horse officially enters South Korean market

Strolling around Apgujung (a chic neighborhood located in Seoul), it won't be difficult to spot at least one Ferrari parked or zooming around. The importer of the Ferraris, Forza Motors Korea Corporation, has officially opened the country's first Ferrari showroom. Along with that came the official South Korean launch of the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. Opened on the 6th of this month, the new showroom is located at the heart of Sinsa-Dong in Seoul, comparable to Los Angeles, California.

The F430, F430 Spyder, and the 612 Scaglietti is also available alongside the 599. The new state-of-the-art showroom packs an Italian-exclusive service center for the owners of the prancing horse to stop by for regular maintenance check-ups. Every new Ferrari purchased are "Taylor-Made" for the owner's picky tastes.

[Source: Ferrari]

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OFFICIAL: 2009 Kia Borrego

Kia quietly unleashed the first official press release and the first official image of the automaker's first mid-size body-on-frame SUV. Due to be unveiled at the upcoming Detroit Autoshow in January, the "Borrego" is Kia's first automobile to be packed with an available V8. Code-named the "HM" during its testing phases, many had speculated the moniker to be "Mesa" in relation to the Borrego's preview concept. The production version managed to retain all the good cues like the bold chrome slat grille from the KCD III Mesa Concept shown in 2005.

The Borrego will pack a standard 3.8L V6 powering in the 250-270 horsepower range. The upper-models will receive the anticipated 4.6L Tau V8 with horsepower levels in the 300's. The press release only indicated the availability of a V8. Kia boasts the largest towing capacity to date of a Kia with the Borrego. Built on a body-on-frame platform, the Borrego ought to create some needed competition with other BOF offerings like the Ford Explorer. Albeit the design flows very nicely and is frankly sleeker than the Explorer's, we question the time of the Borrego's entrance to the dying BOF SUV market.

The Borrego will arrive at your local Kia dealerships during late spring or early summer of 2008 as a 2009 model. As always, Kia will tag every Borrego with an impressive 10-year/100,000-mile warranty. Pricing will be announced closer to the sales date.

[Source: Kia Motors America]

Continue reading to view an official press release and the original hi-res image.



PRESS RELEASE: KIA ANNOUNCES NAME OF HM SUV, "BORREGO"

Kia Motors America (KMA) today announced it will give its new midsize SUV the moniker of “Borrego” when it debuts in January at the Detroit Auto Show.

The Kia Borrego will be manufactured in Korea and go on sale in North America in late spring or early summer of 2008 as a 2009 model.

Built with body-on-frame construction incorporating the latest in NVH engineering philosophy, Borrego will be Kia’s newest addition to its well-rounded full-line of vehicles that continually provide value, safety and a steadfast 10-year/100,000-mile warranty to consumers.

Borrego will be available with either a V6 engine or the company’s first V8 offering, which will also boast Kia’s largest towing capacity to date

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TheCarBlogger Goes Seoul-o

For those who still hang on to us and check our blog every so often, I thank you very much and I can't find the right words to express my gratitude towards you folks. For long periods ever so often since the end of the summer break, TheCarBlogger has been facing unexpected hiatuses disappointing many of our daily readers. The number of our visitors dropped significantly from an average level of 600 visitors to somewhere near the 200 level. This drop prompted me to find out the best solution for this problem, so it benefits you.

Since the first day of the opening of TheCarBlogger, the majority of our articles reported on cars and news in North America. We also had quite a few international articles. You might have also noticed that we like to report on events occurring in South Korea. Exclusive spy reports of the upcoming models from Hyundai and Kia were frequent and it was those articles that garnered the most attention to our site from around the world. Add to that, the popularity of Korean automobiles has gone through the roof over the recent years. So, what does this even have to do with the big news waiting to be unleashed. Well, you already have somewhat of an idea now.

From today, TheCarBlogger is your source for the latest automotive news sprouting from the Korean automotive industry. As a Korean myself, TheCarBlogger gains great advantages over other international automotive websites that need more than a Google Translator to report on the latest reports from Seoul. This change means more than just news from the Far East. TheCarBlogger will also be here to report on the latest news of Korean automakers around the world, including the U.S. and Europe. Has Ferrari officially signed the deal to officially enter the Korean market (actually, they will officially on November 16th)? TheCarBlogger will be here.

So, with all this corporate mumble, what advantages do you get? Well first, there is currently no professional Korean automotive blog that reports 100% in English anywhere on the web. That means no more digging on Bobaedream with Babelfish or a Google Translator. Exclusive information and images regarding upcoming Korean cars will be right here. I can proudly concur that:

TheCarBlogger is the first English Korean automotive blog on the web.

I would very much appreciate feedback on this change and throughout the course of the week, you'll be seeing some physical changes made to the blog. We're in the process of implementing a new domain as well.

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