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Volkswagen iBeetle takes iPhone integration to another level

When we’re all walking round with Smartphones that possess the sort of computing power only a major desktop could offer just a few years ago, it makes sense for car makers to tap in to that power to control functionality and Infotainment in their cars. Which is why Volkswagen has rolled out the iBeetle at this week’s Shanghai Motor Show with a level of integration with Smartphones from Apple, and that previews a roll-out of Apple integration from VW, offering far more functionality and control than we’ve seen before. Or at least that’s the VW claim.

Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series and SLS AMG GT get UK price

The lesser of the two new offerings, the new SLS GT, will cost from £165,030 and gets an extra 20bhp over the standard SLS, taking its output to 591.bhp, with power driven to the rear wheels through the AMG SPEEDSHIFT DCT seven-speed ‘box, with 0-62mph taking 3.7 seconds on the way to a top speed of 199mph. If it matters, official economy is 21.4mpg and emissions 308g/km. Standard specification includes nappa leather and Alcantara for the AMG performance steering wheel, designo black leather with red stitching, AMG mats, B&O BeoSound AMG, red seat belts, 19″ alloys at the front and 20″ alloys at the back, carbon fibre mirrors, red brake calipers and AMG GT badges.

MG3 supermini (2013) first official pictures

This is the MG’s new Fiesta-fighting supermini: the MG3. It’ll go on sale in late 2013 carrying Korean brand-challenging prices and what MG is touting as ‘a distinctive statement of modern British style’ aimed at young buyers. Though the 3 is more likely to draw in penny-pinching pensioners, given that MG’s past that is rather more evoctive than its present.

Bahrain Grand Prix (2013) RESULT

Nico Rosberg put in a cracking lap in qualifying for the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix to take pole position, but the Mercedes did look like it might have problems with tyre degradation in the race. With Sebastian Vettel lurking alongside and Fernando Alonso right behind, it was a big ask for the German to turn his pole position in to a win, and so it transpired. Alonso managed to briefly get past Vettel at the start of the race, but Vettel soon got his second place back and within a couple of laps had taken Rosberg for the lead.

Ford Escort returns – for China: Shanghai Motor Show

The Ford Escort Concept has been built by Ford with the aim of taking a sizeable chunk of China’s compact saloon market – estimated at 5.5 million sales a year – and looks remarkably production viable and far from ‘budget’. Escort is a badge China knows – there are plenty of old Escorts floating around Chinese roads – so it’s a sensible move by Ford to revive a badge that already resonates as a compact, affordable saloon with Chinese car buyers. This new Escort gets a proper version of Ford’s latest design language – including the Aston Martin grill – and has good lines and strong detail including jeweled headlights with the lucky Chinese ’8′ discernible ; it looks entirely cohesive and nothing like a Focus with a boot grafted on.

MG3: Shanghai Motor Show

The MG3 SuperMini for Europe is a titivated version of the MG3 the Chinese market gets, complete with a decent dose of flair and additional equipment and cosmetic enhancements to make it more appealing to Western tastes. That means hockey stick shaped LED running lights across the range, black A-pillars, mesh grill (well, mesh slit at the front), dual colour side skirts, dual colour alloys and a rear valance MG say was inspired by generations of MG sports cars. Although only 4 metres long, MG say the MG3 offer space inside that matches or beats all competition (room for  four six-footers they reckon) and gets a ‘rolled and raised’ dash that accentuates the space on offer and sculpted backs to the front seats to help space in the rear.

Lexus GS 300h: Shanghai Motor Show

Offering much better economy than the GS 450h, it offers not only a viable alternative for private buyers looking for a bit of beautifully built Japanese luxury with lower running costs, but also makes the GS a much more appealing option for company car drivers – probably where most of the sales will be made. Lexus are aiming for Co2 emissions below 110g/km for the GS 300h (the IS 300h manages 99g/km) which will give headline economy around 60mpg – a third better than the GS 450h can manage. Power comes from the same hybrid drivetrain as the IS 300h, which means a 2.5 litre petrol mated to an electric motor and delivering 215bhp and o-62mph in around 8.5 seconds.

Bahrain Grand Prix: Rosberg takes pole for Mercedes

So much for the 2013 Mercedes being uncompetitive. Nico Rosberg put in a strong performance in Bahrain in qualifying for tomorrow’s F1 race, beating Sebastian Vettel in to second place and Fernando Alonso in to third. But whether this was a qualifying ‘special’ from Mercedes we won’t really know until tomorrow.

Tiff Needell compares the 911 and F-Type

It was a mere matter of time before somebody pitted the new Jaguar F-Type against a flat-six-powered automobile from Stuttgart. And while our natural inclination would've been to choose the mid-engined, two-seat Boxster S to mash heads with the 380-horse V6 S model, the lads at Evo had Tiff Needell compare the new Jag to a 911 Carrera Cabriolet. The heavier Neunelfer is a closer power/weight match to the F-Type.

Driving the Edison 2 Very Light Car 4.0

Oliver Kuttner got into the alternative car business to make money. Or, more accurately, he got into it to win money. In 2010, the $5 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize was up for grabs and Kuttner, a Charlottesville, Va., real estate developer and former IMSA/ALMS racer, won it with his single-cylinder-engined Very Light Car (“Lightweight Endeavors,” June 27, 2011).

USAA reveals 'best value' cars and top picks for teens

The top safety pick rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety before being entered into the selection pool. Here are the results of USAA's research: Best value Large Sedan: Dodge Charger Midsize Sedan: Dodge Avenger Small Sedan: Mitsubishi Lancer Large Luxury Sedan: Lincoln MKS Midsize Luxury Sedan: Audi A4 Large SUV: Chevrolet Traverse Midsize SUV: Ford Explorer Small SUV: Kia Sportage Midsize Luxury SUV: Lexus RX 450h (hybrid) Large Pickup: Toyota Tundra Sports: Scion FR-S Coupe: Honda CR-Z Wagon: Audi A3 Minivan: Dodge Grand Caravan Top picks for teens 1.Dodge Dart 2.Dodge Avenger 3.Honda CR-Z 4.Chrysler 200 5.Honda Insight 6.Volkswagen Golf 7.Hyundai Elantra 8.Nissan Versa 9.Kia Optima 10.Chevrolet Malibu

2014 Kia Cadenza priced at $35,900

The 2014 Kia Cadenza sedan will cost $35,900, including shipping charges, when it goes on sale later this month. Kia's new flagship sedan is offered in one trim level, though it’s also available with luxury and technology packages. Standard Cadenza features include an updated navigation system with the brand's in-house UVO eServices telematics system, an 8-inch touchscreen, with a standard back-up camera and back-up warning system, an Infinity 12-speaker audio system, leather seat trim with heated front seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, keyless entry with push-button start, a 10-way power adjustable driver's seat and Bluetooth wireless technology.

Lexus ES sedan production coming to Kentucky

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to invest $360 million to bring production of the Lexus ES sedan to Kentucky, making it the first model from Toyota's premium brand to be built in the United States as the carmaker pushes to localize more manufacturing. Under the plan announced Friday in New York by CEO Akio Toyoda, Toyota will boost annual capacity at its Georgetown, Ky., plant by 50,000 vehicles to accommodate ES output.

Autoweek in review

On Monday, Ford and GM announced they would work together on nine- and 10-speed transmissions, we found out how to outrun a dust storm in a Lexus LFA and legendary driver Stirling Moss made some interesting comments. The embargo on the Jaguar F-Type broke on Tuesday, we learned about a documentary on the Pebble Beach Road Races and Porsche showed off its 911 RSR for race duty. On Wednesday, pictures of the next Lamborghini Aventador slipped out on the Web, the Mercedes GLA concept was revealed and the Flat Rock, Mich.

Concept Car of the Week: BMW Spicup (1969)

The oddly named Spicup, standing for Spider and Coupé, was first presented at the 1969 Geneva Motor Show. Carozzeria Bertone had previous collaborations with BMW such as the 3200CS coupe by Giugiaro. The friendship between Nuccio Bertone and Willhelm Hoffmeister, head of bodywork construction at BMW, must have also contributed to the brand agreeing to provide an early pre-production of the E3 generation 2500 saloon as a base for the concept.

One Lap of the Web: Bugatti Aerolithe, Jaguar D-type and the Copperstate 1000

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. -- Sympatico Autos brings us video of a meticulous, period-correct re-creation of the long-lost Bugatti Aerolithe on a proper Bugatti chassis.

Pink Rolls Royce FAB 1 actually has a pink vinyl ‘Wrap’

But it seems Rolls Royce must have thought much the same, as it turns out that the impressive paint job isn’t actually that at all, but a pink vinyl wrap provided – free of charge – by car vinyl wrap experts Raccoon. Raccoon chose a gloss laminated film to wrap the Ghost to make sure it looked as indistinguishable as possible from a bespoke paint job, and it worked. No one has noticed the pinks Rolls Royce doesn’t have a custom paint job and that’s down to Raccoon taking extreme care to carefully wrap not just the outside panels, but also stuff like door sills and any areas that might otherwise give the game away.

New Rolls-Royce Ghost Alpine Trial Centenary Collection

We all know that ‘Special Edition’ cars help car maker shift metal, and even at the top end it works – especially in China. All of which explains why Rolls Royce are delivering a new limited edition Ghost for China at the Shanghai Motor Show this weekend – the Rolls Royce Ghost Alpine Trial Centenary Collection – which takes inspiration for its titivation from the Silver Ghosts that took part in the Austrian Alpine Trials in 1913. The Alpine Trial event in 1913 – just before the world changed forever – saw four Rolls Royce Silver ghosts drive for 1820 miles through almost impossible mountain terrain and establish Rolls Royce as the makers of the ‘Best car in the world’.

Volkswagen CrossBlue Coupe photos arrive early

We didn’t expect the CrossBlue Coupe to look quite as dramatically ‘squashed’ as the design sketches, and it doesn’t. But it does look like a decidedly rakish SUV with a distinctly more coupe look than the full-sized CrossBlue SUV we saw at Detroit in January. Apart from being sleeker than its boxy sibling, the CrossBlue Coupe is also less compendious, and drops the full 7-seats the Crossblue had in favour of a 5-set layout.

Are Jaguar planning to revive the Daimler badge?

The Jaguar XJ has always been an impressive car (well, if you ignore some of the periods of unreliability since it launched in the 1960s) and the last ‘traditional, 3-box XJ was very similar under the skin to the new swoopy coupe version that had transformed the fortunes of the XJ in the luxury car market. It just didn’t sell. That was changed with the latest XJ which comes with stunning (if, perhaps, slightly divisive styling).

Interior Motives China Conference 2013 – Day One

This year's Interior Motives China Conference got off to a great start yesterday in its new home at the Hilton Hongqiao in Shanghai. The theme of this year's event is 'Technology and Tradition; Old meets new in modern-day China.' Interior Motives is the print magazine from Car Design News, which focuses on the design development of vehicle interiors. The sixth running of the annual conference has seen a large shift in the Chinese market since the first.

Lamborghini Aventador LP720-4 50° Anniversario (2013) first pictures

Lamborghini will build 100 examples of this special edition Aventador to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary this year. Called the Lamborghini Aventador LP720-4 50° Anniversario, the car features an uprated engine, aggressive aerodynamic addenda and bespoke interior treatment. What's changed for the Lamborghini Aventador LP720-4 50° Anniversario?

GreenGT H2 completes first laps ahead of 2013 Le Mans

Are we entering the era of the eco-friendly racing car? French outfit GreenGT could be spearheading the push, with the announcement its new H2 hydrogen racing car has completed its first successful racing laps testing at the Magny-Cours circuit in France. The wacky-looking hydrogen hybrid racing car will compete in the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race, filling the ‘experimental competitor’ pit garage vacated by the radical-looking 2012 Nissan DeltaWing.

VW CrossBlue Coupe concept (2013) first pictures

This is VW's latest SUV concept: the CrossBlue Coupe. If the name sounds familiar, you'll remember it from the CrossBlue concept SUV we saw at the Detroit motor show back in January 2013. This car is lower, and boasts sportier detailing.

Giugiaro Parcour goes for a dusty drive

Giugiaro calls the Parcour “a type of GT car that did not exist until now.” We completely agree. The jacked-up, 550-hp, Lamborghini-powered supercar won our Best Concept at the Geneva motor show in March. On Thursday, we got to see it on the street -- actually on dirt.

One Lap of the Web: Peugeot climbs, an extremist sinks and a proposed $1,500 race car

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. -- Peugeot has prepped a Pikes Peak 208, and the folks at Gizmag take an in-depth look at the car.

2014 Chevrolet Cruze Turbo Diesel to deliver 46 mpg on highway

General Motors said the 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Turbo Diesel will deliver an estimated 46 miles per gallon on the highway, besting the company's initial target by four mpg. The estimate is also good enough to top the rival 2013 Volkswagen Jetta diesel, which achieves 42 mpg on the highway. The Cruze's 2-liter turbo diesel engine produces 148 horsepower, compared with 140 hp for the Jetta diesel.

Mercedes GLA Concept: OFFICIAL

Aimed at cars like the BMW X1 and Audi Q3, the GLA is a good-looking compact SUV that carries much of what’s good about the new A-Class, raises its ride height, adds a few butch bits and creates a car that will probably have more appeal for owners of the old A-Class than the new A-Class does. The GLA heading for the Shanghai Motor Show sports a 2.0 litre turbo with 208bp, 4MATIC and a 7G-DCT gearbox – which we guess makes it a GLA 250 – and sports something new – laser headlights that function as projectors. The GLA features a pair of cameras on the front of the roof rails that can take 3D HD images and can be removed if you want to use them for mountain biking or jet-skiing or whatever floats your sporty boat.

VW CrossBlue Coupe Concept heading for Shanghai

Volkswagen are heading to the Shanghai Motor Show with a new SUV concept as car makers strive to satisfy car buyer’s lust for rugged cars to prowl the urban landscape. But the VW CrossBlue Concept doesn’t seem to be a car that fits in to the fad for compact SUVs, rather it’s a full-size SUV that appears to be a coupe version of the VW CrossBlue Concept we saw earlier this year in Detroit. So far we only have a sketch of the CrossBlue Coupe, and you can be pretty sure it won’t be quite as ‘Coupe’ as the sketches indicate when it does turn up in Shanghai this weekend; think more Audi Q7 than Mercedes GLA.

Mercedes GLA concept (2013) first official pictures

This concept car previews the look of the new Mercedes GLA. ‘GLA’ is new jumble of letters from Merc – essentially this is a jacked-up crossover version of the current A-class hatchback. A production version of this Shanghai motor-show bound concept will be on sale in a Mercedes showroom near you from 2015.