Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas, has confirmed that the Lincoln MKT crossover is due to be reveal this January at the Detroit Auto Show, while a refreshed MKZ will be unveiled at the Los Angeles Show in November.

We already knew the Ford Flex-based CUV was headed to Detroit, with power provided by either a 3.7-liter or a 3.5-liter Ecoboost V6. Both six- and seven-passenger seating arrangements will be offered, along with Blind Spot Monitoring and a Cross Traffic Alert system which utilizes two sonar modules to notify drivers that a vehicle has moved into their blind spot by shining a light on the corresponding outside mirror. Sales are expected to begin later in 2009 and Ford is insistent that the MKT won’t share any body panels with its platform sibling.

The facelifted MKZ sedan will sport the new split-wing grille originally found on the MKR concept. New taillights are also rumored to be part of the package and sales should begin later this year or early in 2009.

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Audi Q5

For months now we’ve seen spy photos and heard speculation about Audi’s new Q5 CUV. Now, we finally have the official news on the latest entry from Ingolstadt. Unlike its big brother the Q7, the Q5 doesn’t share an architecture with a VW model. The Q5 utilizes the same underpinnings as the A5 coupe and A4 sedan/wagon. That means the Q5 has a longitudinally mounted engine rather than the transverse powerplant found in the smaller VW Tiguan.

While we were in Germany to drive the new A4, Audi invited us into their design center in Ingolstadt to check out their new virtual reality design system and have a look at the Q5 in the metal, prior to its official coming out party in Beijing. Compared to the Q7, the Q5 looks substantially more compact than its hefty sibling and is much tidier design overall, keeping with Audi’s current pretensions of being a premium sporting brand. In fact the Q5 falls right in the heart of the premium mid-size CUV segment. Learn more about the Q5 design after the jump

Click either image for a high-res gallery.

Leading up to the official reveal of the Corvette ZR-1, a rare week went by when we didn’t see spy shots of the General’s new super coupe eating up the Nurburgring. But still images don’t tell the whole tale, so InsideLine sent its spies to the North Loop with a video camera to capture an uncloaked ZR-1 making the rounds on the ‘Ring. According to the men behind the lens, they were able to clock the 620 hp, supercharged ‘Vette running laps “in the low 7:40s,” easily within reach of supercars costing substantially more than the ZR-1’s estimated $100k price tag. But what about the elephant on the ‘Ring in the room? The Nissan GT-R V-Spec.

As reported earlier this week, spies caught the GT-R V-Spec lapping the Nordschleife, and with stopwatches at the ready, they were able to time Godzilla’s lightweight (by an estimated 330 pounds), more powerful (70 hp or so) sibling at an unbelievable 7:25 per lap. According to the crew that crudely timed the ZR-1, the track was damp, so that 7:40 time could easily be improved by at least four or five seconds. But that’s still a long way off.

Obviously, both lap times should be taken with a grain of salt considering the less-than-accurate way in which they were captured, but that won’t stop the smack-talk. Keep it civil folks.

Click above for high-res gallery of Nissan GT-R Spec V spy shots at the ‘Ring

Those spy shots we showed you yesterday of a higher-performance GT-R have been confirmed by inside sources as the Spec V model, which will both shed poundage and gain power compared to its baser sibling. Weight is expected to drop by over 300 pounds thanks to extensive use of carbon fiber, and as for how much power the twin-turbo 3.8L V6 will make in Spec V trim… some are saying 550 - 600 horsepower, though we think that’s a bit optimistic as well as just overkill. These shots show the GT-R Spec V attacking a corner at the Nurburgring, and in the German sun we can see the new front splitter below the grille and carbon fiber rear wing much clearer. The current GT-R’s performance has already surprised us all, but it’s clear that this is just beginning for Nissan’s new halo car.

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Infiniti FX

It is official. The all-new 2009 FX50 will not share the showroom floor with a rumored “FX37.” Instead, Infiniti has chosen to keep the less-powerful sibling designated as the “FX35.” That means the engine is the award-winning VQ35HR right out of the Infiniti G35 sedan — not the sweet 3.7-liter 330-hp gem from the G37 Coupe. Under the hood of the FX, the slightly smaller six-cylinder is rated at 303 hp (down just a few horses from the sedan’s rating of 306 hp). The 3.5-liter 24-valve DOHC V6 will be mated to a standard 7-speed automatic with Nissan’s Adaptive Shift Control (those trick magnesium paddle shifters are optional).Like the outgoing FX35 it replaces, the 2009 model will be available in two versions: FX35 and FX35 AWD. The all-wheel-drive model is equipped with Nissan’s ATTESA E-TS (Advanced Total Traction Engineering System for All Electronic Torque Split) AWD system, which is standard on the FX50. According to Infiniti, the new 2009 FX goes on sale at Infiniti dealers in the United States and Canada beginning in June 2008. Thanks for the heads-up Brad!

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2008 Hyundai Tiburon.

The news came courtesy of John Krafcik, Hyundai’s product development veep, who told Automotive News that the 2008 model year of the Tiburon would be its last. However, that doesn’t mean the Tiburon is down for the count. Krafcik is insistent that the Genesis Coupe, which will be coming out about the same time the Tibby is euthanized, isn’t a Tiburon replacement. “We are seriously looking at a small front-wheel-drive coupe to replace the Tiburon,” Krafcik told AN, but he wouldn’t give a time frame for its replacement. He did say that the Veloster coupe concept that debuted at the Seoul motor show last April would be the inspiration for Hyundai’s new FWD, two-door offering. Hopefully, when the production version of the Veloster is unveiled, it’ll carry the same turbocharged 2.0-liter four-pot found in its RWD sibling.