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Lotus CEO Dany Bahar on the crisis at Lotus Cars

Lotus chief executive Dany Bahar has laid bare the business position at Lotus Cars since the takeover of parent company Proton by Malaysia's DRB-Hicom. Norfolk's sports car maker has been buffeted by rumours of financial crisis and looming collapse since development was frozen by the new owners (click here for our coverage of the crisis at Lotus. CAR scored an interview with Bahar at the Hethel headquarters yesterday afternoon. He was abroad at the time of last week's media maelstrom, when rumours and slurs flew around about the state of Lotus's finances.

Volvo V40 & V40 Cross Country: 2014 updates announced

Volvo are updating the new V40 for 2014 with new engine and gearbox options and a new 4WD option for the V40 Cross Country in Europe. There’s a new petrol engine choice – to go with the existing T3, T4 and T5 – in the 120PS T2 petrol engine, a 1.6 litre which offers 53.3mpg and emissions of 124g/km, a good choice if you don’t like to hustle, don’t do big mileage and pay your own bills. As well as a new engine option, Volvo are offering an auto option on the V40 D2 and V40 R-Design D2 which manages economy of 68.9mpg and emissions of 102g/km.

2014 Subaru WRX STI sets new Isle of Man TT lap record

The new Subaru WRX STI set a new Isle of Man TT record lap Last month we reported that rally driver Mark Higgins was heading back to the Isle of Man in an almost standard Subaru WRX STI to have a crack at breaking the record he set on the TT course in 2011 in the last WRX STI. The 2011 lap record Higgins set was the first time the record had been broken in 21 years, a record set by Tony Pond in 1990 in a Rover 827 Vitesse in a stunning drive in a less than ideal car for the task. Mark Higgins, perhaps unsurprisingly, blitzed Tony Pond’s 100mph average speed round the TT course and turned in a time of 19:56.7 at an average speed of 113mph.