In 2008 at the New York Auto Show Kia unveiled the Koup concept. And only a year after, at the same show Kia brought the Forte Koup coupe, a model that stays quite faithful to the concept. The Forte Coupe will be offered in EX and SX versions, with prices starting at $16,595 and $17,695, respectively.

The idea for the car is simple: a sleeker coupe look for the sharp Forte sedan. That also means the engine lineup won’t change from the sedan. The Koup will be available with either a 156 hp 2.0-liter or 173 hp 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine. Both engines are mated to either a six-speed manual or a five-speed automatic transmission.

Standard equipment includes: air conditioning, a driver’s seat height adjuster, adjustable rear seat headrests, tilt steering column, rear defroster, center console with dual cup holders, map lamps and variable intermittent wipers.

Press release after the jump.

Kia Forte Koup originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 8 February 2010 16:00 EST.

read more

Thanks to original article poster

In order to pay a tribute to the 750SS Imola, Ducati’s notorious sportbike from the 1970s, Spain-based Radical Ducati has created an absolutely gorgeous café racer, which was recently revealed. They call it the RAD02 Imola and it is built for track use, but we hear it can be homologated with a few tweaks.

The engine is a 900SSie unit with hot cams, while the chassis is that of a Monster S4R with 749S fully-adjustable forks and MV Agusta ride-height adjuster. Also note the asymmetric megaphone cans, which we happen to like a lot.

The Spanish Ducati builders are already taking orders and mention that the price depends on the exact specs. Still, considering the hours spent to achieve this kind of built quality, the Ducati RAD02 Imola café racer addresses to riders with deep pockets.

Find out more here.

Ducati RAD02 Imola café racer by Radical Ducati originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 25 November 2009 14:53 EST.

read more

Thanks to original article poster