????現(xiàn)在，超豪華汽車品牌已不再矜持地與酷越車或CUV保持距離了。賓利（Bentley）和勞斯萊斯（Rolls Royce）這樣僅供極少數(shù)人享用的高端保守品牌也開始開發(fā)運(yùn)動型多功能車了。

????捷豹（Jaguar）也不例外。在上周舉辦的法蘭克福車展上，它推出了自己的C-X17概念車。

????下一個會是誰呢？法拉利（Ferrari）嗎？迄今為止法拉利方面還沒有正式表態(tài)。不過我敢打賭，這家意大利超跑和F1的生產(chǎn)商正在緊鑼密鼓地悄悄設(shè)計這種車型。

????這些品牌肯這樣放低身段的原因很簡單：要過日子。研發(fā)節(jié)油型引擎、電子設(shè)備和碳纖維這樣的先進(jìn)材料往往要耗費(fèi)巨資，光靠超跑市場難以獲得足夠收入來提供支撐。

????豪華車廠商一度對SUV及其輕量化的兄弟CUV極其不屑。但后來凱迪拉克（Cadillac）推出了凱雷德（Escalade），林肯（Lincoln）推出了領(lǐng)航者（Navigator），或許最重要的是，保時捷（Porsche）2002年推出了卡宴（Cayenne）。這樣一來，從保時捷在德國的老家祖文豪森到加州的卵石灘以及其他眾多地方，一心捍衛(wèi)保時捷純正血統(tǒng)的擁躉們無不捶胸頓足、痛心不已。

????為此保時捷的高層只能耐心向車迷解釋，為了打造全新的911超跑，公司需要卡宴為新車帶來更多的客戶。2011年，保時捷最新跑車991的確與大家見面了。

????汽車網(wǎng)站Edmunds.com資深分析師米歇爾?克瑞布說：“我向純正保時捷車迷們指出過，如果不是因為卡宴的功勞，保時捷這個品牌今天可能早就不復(fù)存在了。各種酷越車現(xiàn)在很受追捧，也是美國、中國和歐洲增長最快的細(xì)分市場。”

????汽車網(wǎng)站Kbb.com的卡爾?布勞爾則說：“捷豹從來就沒推出過酷越車。因此，盡管過去十五年間這個市場不斷擴(kuò)大，它的豪車對手們也紛紛大賺其錢，但它卻大為退步了。現(xiàn)在依靠母公司塔塔（Tata）的財務(wù)支持，捷豹算是有了靠山，可以運(yùn)用高科技生產(chǎn)流程開發(fā)全新的輕量化平臺了。”

????擁有保時捷及其他11個品牌的大眾汽車公司（Volkswagen）一直引領(lǐng)著業(yè)界潮流，它就讓自己的設(shè)計師為蘭博基尼（Lamborghini）和賓利（Bentley）這樣的品牌構(gòu)思適合的熱門車型，其中就包括了酷越車。

????去年的日內(nèi)瓦車展上，賓利就推出了EXP9概念車。這輛車裝有23英寸的超大輪胎，以及猶如噴氣式戰(zhàn)機(jī)進(jìn)氣口一樣的巨大進(jìn)氣孔。而據(jù)公開報道稱，蘭博基尼的CUV也正在最后完善中。憑借龐大的品牌群，大眾可以分?jǐn)傊圃斐杀荆瑫r讓各車型共用引擎，使售價20萬美元的小眾車型也能順利面世。

????今年11月，寶馬（BMW）將推出充滿技術(shù)含量的全新X5酷越車，還給它起了個綽號叫“老板”。這輛車的目標(biāo)是要超越梅賽德斯奔馳（Mercedes-Benz）M級酷越車的銷量。寶馬這款車的售價為53,000美元，載有夜視系統(tǒng)，以及低速擁堵情況下基本實(shí)現(xiàn)自動駕駛的系統(tǒng)。

????酷越車，或稱CUV的得名原因是它們是基于轎車平臺打造的，而不像SUV那樣是基于卡車平臺打造的。后者有一些車型目前仍有部分市場，其中比較著名的就有凱迪拉克的凱雷德。這款大型豪華車的最新版基于通用汽車（General Motors）最新的卡車平臺制造，將于十月份的紐約車展上首展。

????現(xiàn)在的汽車市場上，一方面是轎車日益變得輕便、省油又便宜，一方面卻是CUV大量涌現(xiàn)。而這些車的主要使命就是給那些富裕人群提供一種高端大氣的交通工具，方便他們把孩子、愛犬和馬鞍運(yùn)到度假勝地。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：清遠(yuǎn)

????

????No longer is the world of ultra-luxury cars off limits to crossovers or CUVs. Bentley and Rolls Royce, the ultimate names in stuffy high-end transportation for one-percenters, are working on variations of the sport utility vehicle.

????Jaguar is too. It showed its C-X17 concept last week at the Frankfurt Auto Show.

????Who's next? Ferrari? No official word from Maranello. I'd bet my last nickel, however, that the maker of Italian exotics, supercars, and F1 racers is busily and quietly working on a design.

????The reason is simple: Economics. The market for sports coupes simply doesn't generate enough revenue to support the eye-wateringly high cost of research and development for advanced fuel-efficient engines, electronic gadgetry, and cutting-edge materials such as carbon fiber.

????Makers of luxury cars once viewed the SUV and its lighter-weight heir, the CUV, with disdain. But Cadillac gave birth to the Escalade, Lincoln (F) hatched the Navigator and, perhaps most importantly, Porsche in 2002 introduced the Cayenne. The anguished wails of Porsche purists could be heard from the brand's home in Zuffenhausen, Germany to Pebble Beach, California and beyond.

????To create a new 911 sports car, Porsche executives explained patiently, the company needed the customers that Cayenne would bring to its showrooms. In 2011, Porsche introduced the latest series of its sports car, the 991.

????"I point out to Porsche purists that the brand might not exist today if it wasn't for Cayenne," says Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst for Edmunds.com, the automotive website. "CUVs of all sorts are popular and represent the fastest-growing segment in the U.S., China, and Europe."

????Karl Brauer of Kbb.com says, "Jaguar has never offered a CUV, which has held the brand back even as the segment expanded and competing luxury brands cashed in over the past 15 years. Now, with the financial support of parent company Tata, Jaguar has the backing to develop new, lightweight platforms utilizing high-tech manufacturing processes."

????Volkswagen, which owns Porsche and 11 other car brands, has been a trendsetter, pushing its designers to imagine up-to-the-moment versions for brands such as Lamborghini and Bentley, including crossovers.

????Last year, Bentley showed its EXP9 concept in Geneva, complete with 23-inch wheels and enormous air intakes reminiscent of a jet fighter. A Lambo CUV was scrubbed at the last moment, according to published reports. VW, by dint of its large number of brands, can share engineering costs and engines, bringing even a small-volume $200,000 car into the realm of feasibility.

????BMW this November is introducing a new, technology-packed version of its X5 crossover that it nicknames "the boss." The idea is to surpass sales of Mercedes-Benz's M-Class crossovers. Selling for $53,000, the new X5 version will feature night vision and a system that will allow the car largely to drive itself in heavy, low-speed traffic.

????Crossovers or CUVs got their names because they are built on car architectures, as opposed to SUVs, which were based on trucks. A few of the latter are still capturing a slice of the market, notably Cadillac's Escalade. The newest version of the big luxury vehicle, based on General Motors' (GM) newest truck platform, will debut in New York in October.

????At one end of the automotive world, cars are getting lighter, more fuel efficient, and less expensive. At the other end are the CUVs, for the affluent who still need a suitably elegant means of transporting kids, dogs, and saddles to the summer place.