Volvo S60 L plug-in petrol hybrid heading for Beijing Motor Show

The Volvo S60L Plug-in (pictured) heading for Beijing The Volvo V60 Plug-in is already doing good business for Volvo – despite a price tag of £50k – but the V60 plug-in is a diesel hybrid which doesn’t suit all markets. So Volvo are ploughing ahead with a petrol engine based plug-in hybrid with the debut at the Beijing Motor Show next week of the Volvo S60 L Plug-in, a petrol hybrid version of the long wheelbase S60. At first glance the S60 Plug-in looks just like its regular ICE sibling, but under the skin sits a 2.0 litre Drive-E petrol engine with 238bhp and 258lb/ft of torque – which drives the front wheels – and a 68bhp electric motor with 147lb/ft of torque that can drive the rear wheels, which can be recharged in 4.5 hours.

Audi, Bugatti factories are detailed in cable TV shows

Fans of the Audi R8 and Bugatti Veyron sports cars--a group that includes all of us here at AutoWeek--have the chance on Monday night to go behind the scenes and see how these road rockets are built. The National Geographic Channel, available on cable and satellite TV systems, tells all about the Audi R8 on an episode of Ultimate Factories that airs at 10 p.m. Eastern.

New Bentley Continental GT Speed revealed

The 2013 Bentley Continental GT Speed has been revealed with 616bhp, new gearbox and improved economy. Arrives October 2012. Regular readers will already know that the new Bentley Continental GT Speed debuts at the Goodwood Festival of Speed at the end of the month, but Bentley has now revealed their new GT Speed ahead of that public debut.