New Wheels on the Block: 5 cars you need to know about

From Opel’s latest member of the family, to Renault’s unbelievably sexy Alpine sports car, we take a look at five cars that deserve your attention this week.

Renault Alpine

Forget the Porsches, Audis, Toyotas and Nissans that featured at the 83rd 24 Hours of Le Mans last weekend; we were most excited about what Renault had up its sleeve. The French manufacturer unveil its Alfa 4C-rivalling prototype car called the Alpine at the event and Top Gear suggests that it has been designed off the 2012 A110 concept. No word on when it will go into production, but here's to hoping it won't be too long before we see one of the road.

Opel Karl

KARL, Opel’s all-new baby, may be the German carmakers smallest car in size but it’s packed full of potential. With room for five people, six airbags and Hill Start Assist as standard, KARL is priced here in Ireland at just €11,995. So it’s a great little motor for anyone looking to get into the new car market. Available to order now and arriving in Ireland in August, the 3.68-metre long, 1.48-metre high KARL comes with its own new 1.0 ECOTEC petrol engine with 75hp and a host of safety features. Check out more over on Opel.ie.

Toyota Avensis

Toyota Ireland has announced the launch of the much-anticipated New Avensis. Prices start from just €25,870 for petrol and €27,710 for diesel and you can get your hands on one right now. According to Toyota the new 2015 Avensis has been designed to offer significant improvements in five key areas: Styling, Safety, Sensory Quality/Comfort, Equipment/Value for Money & Driving Pleasure/Running Costs. Find out more over on Toyota.ie.

BMW X1

BMW has finally released details on their second generation of the X1 compact crossover. The new X1 looks to have been beefed up in appearances, looking a lot like the X3 from certain angles, and we’ve been told that there has been a 53mm increase in overall height. The second generation X1 will go on sale in Ireland on October 24 with prices starting from €41,310 for the X1 sDrive18d Sport – a front wheel drive variant. More details will be released later in the year.

The Sin City Hustler

Seeing as we didn’t feature any mad concepts or wacky autos in last week’s edition of New Wheels on the Block (check that out here), we’re bringing you a look at the utterly bonkers 12-seat 700hp monster truck limo called the Sin City Hustler. This 6.8-tonne, 3.7-metre tall, 10-metre long behemoth is powered by an 8.5-litre Ford big-block engine and sits atop of 170cm wheels (that’s 67-inches in old money). If you want to roll around in this monstrous monster truck you’re going to have to fork over a cool $1 million to Arizona-based fabricators Big Toyz Racing Motors. Alternatively, you could buy a much more practical vehicle, like a hypercar.