The Ford Taurus SHO Is Back! [Spy Photos]

These exclusive first shots of a SHO-badged dashboard in testing outside an unknown location are the first piece of evidence portending the reawakening of the Ford Taurus SHO with the 2010 Ford Taurus.

We don't have any details besides these shots of a dashboard emblazoned with a SHO trim level moniker. It's safe to guess the new "Super High Output" Taurus will have the same flavor of Ford's wicked Ecoboost technology as that found in its platform-mate, the Lincoln MKS AWD, which would mean the same rumored 350 HP and 350 lb-ft of torque.

With the new 2010 Ford Taurus looking as dapper as ever, the return of its hot-rodded performance variant can only be good news. No one at Ford has yet confirmed the existence of a 2010 Ford Taurus SHO, or a 2011 SHO, but these pictures don't leave much to the imagination. A look at these exclusive photos here on Jalopnik show the SHO badge emblazoning a SYNC-enabled Taurus prototype dash. Compared to the regular Taurus seen in these interior spy shots, the dash appears to have a carbon fiber-esque look to it around the gauge cluster and above the airbag.

Don't expect it to arrive at January's Detroit Auto Show, where the non-SHO model will debut. Instead, the Chicago Auto Show or New York Auto Show seem like a safer bet.

In the meantime, feast your eyes on these first bits of credible proof of a new generation of SHOwy goodness.

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2010 Acura NSX SPY Photos - Pre-Production Pics

FINALLY!!! Honda has apparently started testing pre-production prototypes of its highly anticipated 2010 Acura NSX, as speculated by these recent spy photos taken in Germany.

This pre-production prototype appears to be loosely based on the recent NAIAS Acura Advanced Sports Car Concept which received a lot of different reactions from many prominent automotive enthousiasts.

The new NSX, which has been delayed more than a UAW strike, is expected to incorporate a front-mounted, 550 hp V10 engine and a new high-performance, rear-wheel-drive based version of Acura’s ‘Super Handling All-Wheel Drive’ (SH-AWD).

According to Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., the delay has been because designers couldn’t agree on the NSX’s styling. “All of the designers are working together on the NSX, but they can’t agree on the styling,” he said in January this year. I think this is going prove to be a good thing in its final design, hopefully another beautiful and timeless design will come of this!!

American Honda President and CEO Tetsuo Iwamura recently confirmed the NSX will be launched in the U.S. in 2010. Honda will also be launching the Acura brand in Japan and Europe around the same time, but the automaker says it will launch the NSX in the U.S. market first.

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[Source: LeftLaneNews.com, BrendaPriddyAndCompany.com]

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Porsche Cayman Turbo At the Nurburgring ?

Here are some interesting spy photos which were taken by BridgeToGantry.com, a site dedicated to all things about the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

Wearing Ludwigsburg license plates, which indicates an official Porsche AG car, BTG spotted this Porsche Cayman doing some hot laps. What was interesting was not it’s appearance but rather its sound. BTG photographer gives an account of hearing the distinct sound of a turbo engine as this Cayman flew past.

BTG states they have seen a similar Cayman prototype making the same noise a year ago, but it’s back. A turbo charged Cayman making somewhere in the neighborhood of 340hp would be a serious threat and outperform its older sibling, the 911. Known for being lean and well balanced, a Cayman Turbo would absolutely cannibalize 911 sales and Porsche knows it. According to BTG, privateer teams last year who were using the Cayman were suddenly upgraded to, “money-can’t-buy factory-backed RSR 911s.”

[Source : BridgeToGantry.com, WorldCarFans.com]

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New Saab 9-3 Mule Snapped Masquerading As Opel Insignia [2010 Saab 9-3]

What appears to be a lightly camouflaged Opel Insignia is most likely a development mule for the next-generation Saab 9-3 — despite Vince Burlapp's speculation that it's a 9-5. The previous 9-3 was built on the Vectra's Epsilon platform; Insignia is replacing Vectra, which makes the Saab variant here a 9-3. What we can't see in these photos is whether this mule is carrying Turbo X XWD running gear, but it makes sense for the Saab line to take advantage of available cross-wheel drive throughout the next generation of vehicles. What also remains to be seen is where GM will take the styling direction for the Swedish brand, which is desperately in need of differentiation in a crowded and competitive sport-luxury car market. UPDATE: Auto Motor & Sport, the original source of the photos, claims the car actually appears to have a 9-5 interior.

[Auto Motor & Sport]

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First Photos Of New Car-Based Ford Explorer [2011 Ford Explorer]

The quick shutterbugs at KGP just snapped these first pictures of what appears to be a test mule for the new Ford Explorer running around on a car platform on the streets of Dearborn, MI. We've already reported the next-generation Explorer will be more car-like, something hinted at with the Ford Explorer America concept shown at Detroit earlier this year. The mule captured by KGP appears to be a mixture of the Ford Flex and Taurus X but with a taller ride-height, higher cowl and a revised A-pillar. All of this points to a taller, shorter vehicle than the current Explorer. Full spy report below the jump.

A new style of test mule has begun running around Ford's development centers, perhaps offering the first signs that testing has begun on Ford's car-based Explorer. The rough test mules (we've now seen several running the streets of Dearborn) are a mix of Ford Taurus X and Ford Flex, but there are some telling alterations, raising the prototype's ride-height, along with a higher cowl, and rigged A-pillars to accommodate what appears to be a more steeply-raked windshield. There are also clear signs around the rear hatch and roof rails that the platform has been widened. While the front clip is pure Ford Flex, the lowest slat of the Flex's three-bar grille has been removed, perhaps to better approximate airflow of the next Explorer's grille.

Ford also used the Taurus X body on mules for the Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT, but those mules had additional length added to their wheelbases. This latest mule features no such additions, suggesting that this new model will be shorter than the Flex for a more fuel-friendly footprint.

Ford confirmed earlier this year that the Explorer would be ditching its body-on-frame SUV construction in favor of a new unibody, car-based approach for greater fuel-efficiency. The Explorer's new direction was previewed by Ford's Explorer America concept at the 2008 North American International Auto Show, and the general proportions of these latest mules seem to adequately approximate that concept.

The new unibody Explorer crossover is expected to reach the market in 2010.

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