Vauxhall Corsa - first photos of the 2011 facelift

Vauxhall has today issued the first pictures of the new, facelifted-for-2011 Corsa supermini. There's a dash of Insignia flair at the front, but very little else changes on the revised Vauxhall Corsa. The new nose of the 2011 Corsa finally ditches the old-fashioned Vauxhall V-grille, replaced by the newer chrome bar with a prominent Griffin badge like on the new Insignia and Astra.

VW reveals plug-in diesel hybrid concept, claims 261 mpg

Volkswagen has used a car show in the Middle East nation of Qatar to unveil a two-seat plug-in hybrid concept car that the automaker says will deliver 261 mpg. The VW XL1 uses a lithium-ion battery pack, an electric motor and a two-cylinder, 0.8-liter diesel engine for the powertrain. We're still digesting the press release, but here are some highlights: -- VW says the XL1 can travel about 22 miles on electricity from the battery pack.

Olympic cyclist races against Skoda Octavia vRS

OLYMPIC GOLD medallist Ed Clancy took on a challenge of two wheels versus four testing his downhill racing skills against the Skoda Octavia vRS in a race against the clock. Covering a section of the famed Southern Borders Loop, part of the Tour of Britain stage one route, the race centred on a short, but brutally steep, hill climb with five major corners. To even the odds, Ed Clancy raced downhill from a rolling start whilst the new ŠKODA Octavia vRS raced uphill from a standing start.