1999 Pontiac Firebird Interior Door Panel Left And Right...charcoal on 2040-parts.com

New Range Rover Sport takes on Pikes Peak – and wins

The new Range Rover Sport takes on the Pikes Peak Hillclimb Pikes Peak is an unforgiving Hill Climb, spanning 12.42 miles and 156 corners, rising to 4,300 meters above sea level with oxygen levels at the top down to just 58 per cent of those at sea level, making it incredibly hard for both man and machinery to function. But despite the challenge, Land Rover has taken the new Range Rover Sport up Pikes Peak in a new record time for a production SUV, covering the 12.42 mile course of twists and turns in just 12m 35.61s at an average speed of 59.17mph. You won’t be surprised to learn that Land Rover choose to use the new RRS with the 5.0 litre Supercharged engine for the record run, but apart from fitting a roll cage and harness seatbelts, the Sport had no modifications at all.

Concept Car of the Week: Toyota EX-1 (1969)

Back in the 60s, Toyota launched a few iconic sports cars such as the 800 and the gorgeous 2000 GT. Not happy to have created automotive perfection with the latter, the Japanese brand went on to explore even more extravagant shapes and unveiled the first of the EX concepts series in 1969. While its bold lines are truly Japanese, the EX-1 looked like the missing link between the fast silhouette of a 1967 Maserati Ghibli and the hairy-chested heft of a Dodge Challenger.

Rolls-Royce expands Bespoke operation

Rolls-Royce has decided to expand its Bespoke operation due to increasing customer demand for bespoke items, a company trademark. The Bespoke operation team, based at Goodwood, West Sussex, consists of designers, engineers and project management staff and will be doubled by the end of this year, bringing the number of Bespoke experts to over 50. Already in 2011 Rolls-Royce has seen a growing demand for bespoke additions to their cars, leading to the need to recruit more staff in key areas to match growing customer demands.