Mitch
05/01/2007, 13h55
http://news.windingroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/vue-rl-1.jpg
Saturn’s new Vue hasn’t hit showrooms yet, and the company is already hard at work on its next Red Line performance variant.
Caught testing in Detroit with minimal disguise by KGP Photography, the new Red Line has a much more aggressive front end, with a particularly pugnacious bumper fascia incorporating large air intakes. Interestingly, the way the fog lamps are integrated into the bumper is reminiscent of the Saturn Sky’s front-end treatment.
The second, more disguised prototype is a hot weather tester from earlier this summer, which reveals that the sporty crossover has a pair of sizeable dual exhausts.
While the current Vue Red Line actually packs the soul of a Honda, the new one is expected to employ GM’s high-feature 3.6-liter V-6 engine, tuned to somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque. The new powerplant is fast becoming a fixture at GM, seeing duty in everything from the Saturn Aura to the new Lambda three-row crossovers. The Vue RL is therefore expected to get the company’s new six-speed Hydra-Matic transmission, hopefully with paddleshift capabilities.
Saturn’s new Euro-inspired Vue has already hit the market, but the hotter Vue Redline hasn’t yet been seen completely clean. But a surprise sighting yesterday in Detroit has pretty much changed that.
Our spy shooter managed to grab the camera just in time to catch this Vue Redline prototype as it ripped away from the stoplight and into traffic. The last-second photo-op precluded us from shooting this latest prototype from the rear, but we got a strong look at the Redline’s aggressive front-end design which brings lots of attitude to the Vue’s slick Euro duds. We have also added a couple shots of a disguised Vue Redline prototype from this summer’s heat-testing season, revealing the car’s mesh grille treatment and its beefy dual exhaust tips.
The Vue Red Line will ditch the current model’s Honda-sourced V-6 engine in favor of GM’s sophisticated, high-feature 60-degree dual overhead cam 3.6L V-6 VVT that delivers 250 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 243 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,400 rpm.
All Vue models equipped with V-6 engines receive the new Hydra-Matic six-speed automatic transmissions, which helps maximize powertrain performance and economy. Later in the model year, a five-speed manual transmission will be available, while all-wheel drive is available with all V-6 engined models.
http://news.windingroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/vue-rl-2.jpg
http://news.windingroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/vue-rl-3.jpg
http://news.windingroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/vue-rl-4.jpg
http://news.windingroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/vue-rl-5.jpg
Saturn’s new Vue hasn’t hit showrooms yet, and the company is already hard at work on its next Red Line performance variant.
Caught testing in Detroit with minimal disguise by KGP Photography, the new Red Line has a much more aggressive front end, with a particularly pugnacious bumper fascia incorporating large air intakes. Interestingly, the way the fog lamps are integrated into the bumper is reminiscent of the Saturn Sky’s front-end treatment.
The second, more disguised prototype is a hot weather tester from earlier this summer, which reveals that the sporty crossover has a pair of sizeable dual exhausts.
While the current Vue Red Line actually packs the soul of a Honda, the new one is expected to employ GM’s high-feature 3.6-liter V-6 engine, tuned to somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque. The new powerplant is fast becoming a fixture at GM, seeing duty in everything from the Saturn Aura to the new Lambda three-row crossovers. The Vue RL is therefore expected to get the company’s new six-speed Hydra-Matic transmission, hopefully with paddleshift capabilities.
Saturn’s new Euro-inspired Vue has already hit the market, but the hotter Vue Redline hasn’t yet been seen completely clean. But a surprise sighting yesterday in Detroit has pretty much changed that.
Our spy shooter managed to grab the camera just in time to catch this Vue Redline prototype as it ripped away from the stoplight and into traffic. The last-second photo-op precluded us from shooting this latest prototype from the rear, but we got a strong look at the Redline’s aggressive front-end design which brings lots of attitude to the Vue’s slick Euro duds. We have also added a couple shots of a disguised Vue Redline prototype from this summer’s heat-testing season, revealing the car’s mesh grille treatment and its beefy dual exhaust tips.
The Vue Red Line will ditch the current model’s Honda-sourced V-6 engine in favor of GM’s sophisticated, high-feature 60-degree dual overhead cam 3.6L V-6 VVT that delivers 250 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 243 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,400 rpm.
All Vue models equipped with V-6 engines receive the new Hydra-Matic six-speed automatic transmissions, which helps maximize powertrain performance and economy. Later in the model year, a five-speed manual transmission will be available, while all-wheel drive is available with all V-6 engined models.
http://news.windingroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/vue-rl-2.jpg
http://news.windingroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/vue-rl-3.jpg
http://news.windingroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/vue-rl-4.jpg
http://news.windingroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/vue-rl-5.jpg