Geared for Competition

D will bring you the import car preview in March. We can, however, preview some of the significant import car news as of press time.

●Mercedes dealer showrooms will beshowing a new Mercedes coupe in mid- tolate ’88. Shorter and lower than the 200series, its engine should be the real standou

●Motor Trend calls the Porsche 959 “themost technically sophisticated car on theplanet” At more than $130,000, the magazine says that “lying beneath the driver’sright foot is all the performance and engineering genius that is Porsche.” Porsche isn’tsure whether it will immediately import thecar to the United States, but we’re hoping tosee some on Dallas streets in the near futur

●The Acura Legend, manufactured by themakers of Honda, is a wonderful new top-of-the-line addition to the Luxo-sedanmarket that is now “owned” by the Europeans. But will people really pay $20,000 fora Honda?

●Volkswagen’s latest Scirocco, with its16-valve engine and $12,000 base price, is anexcellent value.

●The new Alpha Romeo Milano, according to Road & Track magazine, is “the fastestsedan in its category, in both top speed andzero-to-sixty sprints.”

●A 16-valve, 2.3 liter, four-cylinderengine will power a new BMW to be introduced next spring.

●Wait until you see the Jaguar CabrioletXJ-S, We think it looks significantly betterwhen the top is up, but this long, sexy car,with its enormous V-12 engine, showsevidence of its strong bloodlines.

●A new two-seat Maserati BiturboSpyder with a 2.5 liter, V-6 engine is due inDallas in late 1987.

●Saab’s new 900 Cabriolet is out of thisworld. And we hear that the recently introduced 9000 will have some subtle bodychanges for the ’87 model year.

●Peugeot has exploited the Statue ofLiberty centennial celebration by introducing its limited edition SOS Liberty. The 1987Pininfarina styling dominates here, andsince the “Notre Dame des Immigres” wasinaugurated on October 28, 1886, this specially equipped Peugeot will be introducedon October 28.

●It looks as though Volvo will launch its 480 Turbo in the U.S. by next fall. The car is a dramatic departure from the classic Volvo look and has front-wheel drive.