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Our spy photographer has sent us some shots of some forbidden fruit from the wintry north of Sweden. The new Mercedes-Benz B-Class, dressed up to keep prying eyes from seeing too much metal, is in cold-weather testing.

No longer sharing a platform with the A-Class, the front-drive B-Class is roomier and cheaper to build. We’ll be sure to post any future pictures we get as it sheds camouflage.

Check it out in the gallery, or see the photographer’s comments below.

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Our spy photographer caught this Lotus prototype out testing. Could it be a mule for a V-8 engine for the new Lotus Esprit? And if so, will the engine come from Toyota? BMW?

At this point, we can only guess, but we definitely get excited when we look at these photos. Any new developments from Lotus are a sign of good things to come.

Click through the gallery above to see the mysterious Lotus, or scroll down for the shooter’s postulations. And, of course, we’ll keep you up-to-date as more information comes out about this car.

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Along with photos of the Mini Cooper S Diesel , as we are tentatively calling it, we received these photos over the holiday of the Mini Clubman with the more powerful diesel engine. We’re estimating an output of between 140 and 150 horsepower from this grease mill.

See it in the gallery above, and make sure to click here for Cooper S Diesel photos, and more information, including the photographer’s comments.

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Our spy shooter sent us photos of the more powerful diesel versions of the Mini Cooper and the Mini Clubman.

These photos show the Mini Cooper S Diesel, as we’re tentatively calling it, which is expected to deliver something close to 150 horsepower.

It looks as though it will be getting an updated front bumper to differentiate it from the rest of the pack. The jury is still out on whether or not the hood scoop will be included.

Check it out in the gallery above, or click over to the photos of the Clubman S Diesel. The photographer’s notes follow.

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Our spy photographer has sent us shots of the new BMW M3 Coupe, giving us a good look at its updated rear end. The photos show us new taillights, complete with LEDs. A new interior is also in the works.

See the new M3 Coupe in the gallery above, or scroll down for the photographer’s own words.

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Our ever-vigilant spy photographer delivered these photos of the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Wat we can see from the photos are updates to the headlights, hood, and front bumper, and refreshed rear lights and rear bumper.

What we can’t see from the photos is that the new C-Class should be a little more fuel efficient. Our photographer also ponders the possibility of a C-Class coupe.

See the updated C-Class in the gallery above, or scroll down for the shooter’s notes.

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Lately, we’ve seen many examples of updated BMWs coming through the espionage pipeline. These latest spy shots, though, aren’t just another appearance update.

Take a close look at the sticker on the window and under the license plate. It reads, in plain English, “Hybrid Test Vehicle.” Caught in Munich, the 1-series appears to be following in the tire tracks of the 7-Series and X6 ActiveHybrid models we have already seen.

We’ll be sure to keep you posted with any more news on the 1-Series hybrid.

Click through the gallery above to see the BMW 1-Series hybrid prototype, or scroll down for the shooter’s comments.

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As we’ve been seeing lately through spy photos, BMW has been refreshing the looks of their lineup. The BMW X5 is the latest to be caught in our crosshairs.

We see here that the air intakes are on the front are different, as well as foglight placement. The rear bumper has been reshaped, too, as we can see from the side-by-side photo in this gallery. The exhaust tips also have a new shape.

See the new look of the BMW X5 in the gallery above.

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These are the latest spy photos of the BMW 6-Series convertible in testing. Our sources now tell us that it will not get a retractable hard top, as we once thought. The 6-Series will be offered as a soft-top convertible, seen here, and as a coupe.

The new 6-Series will have a wider grille and headlights, and will share most engines with the 7-Series, except for the V-12. The M6 will go the same route as the M5, and drop the V-10 in favor of BMW’s twin-turbo V-8

Click through the gallery above to see the BMW 6-Series convertible, or scroll down for the photographer’s notes.

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From some wintry part of the world, we have received these spy shots of a four-door version of the Volkswagen Polo. Because of its size and fuel economy, we expect the Polo sedan to appear in the US as part of the 2011 lineup.

It will probably see some more changes before it becomes available, and we’ll post any updates or images as its unveiling draws near.

Check out the Polo sedan in the gallery above, or scroll down for the photographer’s comments.

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These are the most recent spy shots of the BMW 5-Series Sports Wagon. It’s still wearing all the camouflage it was wearing back in April, but it’s good to see it out on the road again.

We’ll be sure to keep you up to date as updated models across the BMW line shed their disguises.

Check out some other recent BMW spy photos here and here.

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We’ve just be handed what appear to be the first ever photographs of the next generation BMW 3-Series, albeit in heavily camouflaged form.

Hardly able to hide from our shooter’s lens while riding on the back of a transporter, the new 3 seems to be following suite with the recently revised 7-Series and Z4 by showing much simpler, cleaner body surfacing, and tidied up lines. We won’t be able to say for certain until at least some of the cladding is removed, but this seems to be somewhat of a return to the crisp, straight-edged 3-Series we last saw in the E46 sedan.

Front and rear fascias, lighting, and mirrors all appear to be revised on this new car, though the full-length ambers on the side-view mirrors seem likely to be revised before the production version hits.

We’ll keep you posted about new 3-Series developments as we know them (including any word from our spy photographer about further details). Until then, take a close look at our gallery of images above, and let us know what you think about the updated 3er in comments, below.

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Here, we see the successor to the Ferrari 612, which we saw once before earlier this year. This test mule has a longer wheelbase than the 612, which could mean more passenger volume, or Ferrari could be making room for a KERS system. It also has the over/under style tailpipes.

Our photographer also offers the possibility of Ferrari’s four-wheel-drive system, compatible with front- and mid-engine vehicles.

Interestingly, the stickers on the steering wheel warn that the engine should only be started with the hood closed.

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Our spy photographer sent us these newer shots of the updated Mercedes-Benz CLS AMG, which will be based on the current E-Class. We should see it with direct-injected V-6 and V-8 engines, including a 435-horsepower twin-turbo V-8. Then there will be the line-topping CLS63 AMG with 544 horsepower.

Our photographer speculates the possibility of a CLS 400 BlueHybrid, an interesting thought, indeed. 

Check out the CLS AMG test mule in the gallery above, and make sure to scroll down to read what the shooter has to say.

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Our spy photographer sent over some shots of a hotted-up version of a BMW M3 on the Nürburgring. Could it be a production version of the GT4 racecar?

From the photos, we can see the huge rear wing and the lower lip in front. The car also looks lower to the ground. We can assume it has lost some weight, and has been fitted with some of performance racing parts. It looks right at home on the 'Ring.

See it in the gallery above, or scroll down for the photographer’s notes.

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The Volkswagen Tiguan, following the lead of other VWs, appears to be undergoing a facelift. It’s a bit different than what we’ve seen on other Volkswagens, though.

The new Tiguan gets a new bumper and air intakes, a new grille, headlights, and LED running lights.

Other than that, we don’t see any other visible changes yet, but there’s still plenty of time before the new Tiguan makes its debut in Geneva next year.

See it in the gallery above, or scroll down for the photographer’s notes on the updated Volkswagen Tiguan.

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These spy photos show what may be a prototype of the Subaru-powered Toyota FT-86. The FT-86 Concept was recently announced, and will show up at the Tokyo Motor Show.

This test mule, seen here on the Nürburgring, is likely a prototype for the eventual production model. If the FT-86 is any indication, this “Toybaru” will be a rear-drive sports coupe, powered by a Subaru-sourced 2.0-liter flat-six engine. With a low weight and low center of gravity, Toyota may finally be making a car drivers like us can get excited about.

See the supposed Toyota/Subaru in the gallery above, and feel free to make any speculations of your own in comments.

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We’ve seen versions of the Volkswagen Up concept at auto shows, most recently as the electric E-Up in Frankfurt.  Today, our spy shooter offers these photos of an Up mule (badged as a Polo) testing on public roads.

The Up should appear on the market as a 2012 model, and, as our photographer points out, it may end up being called Lupo. It will likely house Volkswagen’s clean diesel and gasoline engines, and perhaps we’ll also see the fully electric version come to fruition. Expect a five-door version down the line.

See the diminutive VW Up in the gallery above, or scroll down for the photographer’s own words.

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The 2011 Mercedes-Benz R-Class, as seen in these spy photos, has received quite a makeover. It has a new face, including grille, hood, bumper, headlights, LED running lights, and side mirrors. In back, it gets a new bumper, LED lights, and exhaust.

It still looks like a rolling loaf of bread, but now in a good way.

According to the shooter, it should get an engine update too, to comply with regulations. Look for the new R-Class at the Detroit show in January.

Can’t wait until January? Lucky you, there’s a gallery above. The photographer’s comments follow.

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The new Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG, with its 525-horsepower V-8 propelling it along looks good (from what we can see) as it lurks near the Nürburgring. From these photos, we can see that it will have two sets of two tailpipes. Most of the other features are covered by that thick camouflage Mercedes-Benz uses on their test cars.

Find the gallery above. The photographer’s comments follow.