Blog on 2040Parts

Top Gear take the Bentley Continental GT Speed Rallying

Top Gear has been on the 2012 WRC Wales Rally with a Bentley Continental GT Speed driven by Kris Meeke with James May as co-driver. We know that Top Gear won’t be back on our screens – at least not with a new series – until 2013, because Jeremy Clarkson told us. But that doesn’t mean Messrs Clarkson, Hammond and May are twiddling their thumbs waiting for the new series to start.

Audi: Electric Turbo, e-Gas & Intelligent Hybrids

Audi are developing new technologies to make cars more efficient including synthetic fuel, electric turbos and intelligent hybrids. Necessity is the mother of invention, and increasingly stringent CO2 emissions targets imposed by governments are making car makers ever more resourceful in their quest to cut emissions. The fact that CO2 emissions are not the bad guy – that’s NOx and particulate emissions – means the environmental benefits are not a panacea for a better climate, but benefits from new technology are nonetheless real.

Singapore Grand Prix (2012): Hamilton on pole for McLaren

Lewis Hamilton posted a stunning lap time to take pole position in tomorrow’s Singapore Grand Prix ahead of the Williams of Pastor Maldonado. All the talk about Lewis Hamilton may have been about a move to Mercedes this week, but under the lights at Singapore today it was all about his stunning lap that captured pole position for tomorrow’s race. Hamilton posted a time of 46:362 to take pole – his third pole in four races – almost half a second in front of second place man Pastor Maldonado in the Williams.

2012 Paris Motor Show | Mondial de l’Automobile 2012 à Paris: Preview

September 29th 2012 sees the start of the Paris Motor Show – one of the biggest auto shows in the world. We’ll have all the news and reveals here on Cars UK. The Paris Motor Show -  Mondial de l’Automobile 2012 à Paris – is one of the most important shows on the auto calendar, and the 2012 show promises to be a cracker.

New Maserati GranCabrio MC Stradale arrives early

The 2013 Maserati GranCabrio MC Stradale – the drop-top version of the  GranTurismo MC Stradale - revealed ahead of Paris 2012. The 2013 Maserati GranCabrio MC Stradale falls in to the latter camp – Maserati hasn’t revealed the cabrio MC Stradale out in to the wild officially, but the photos have leaked on to the interwebs in Russia. The new GranCabrio MC Stradale is almost certain to get the same levels of power and torque from the 4.7 litre V8 as the tin-top GranTurismo MC Stradale, which means 444bhp and 376lb/ft of torque delivers through Maserati’s MC Race Shift auto ‘box.

Ah, to be in Paris . . .

Well, I'm bummed. The Paris motor show press days are next week, and I'm not going. That's right; while my colleagues are cavorting in one of the world's great cities, I'll be here in the Paris of the Midwest, holding down the proverbial fort.

Production 2014 Acura RLX to debut at LA Auto Show

It was springtime in New York and Acura was unveiling the “concept” version of their new RLX flagship (see photos above). Now, with spring behind us and summer celebrated, we head into the autumn show season with news that Honda's lux arm has confirmed that the production RLX is to debut at the L.A. auto show in late November.

GM recalls midsize cars for transmission fix

General Motors is recalling the Chevrolet Malibu, Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura to fix a problem with the transmission shift cable. GM says the tabs on the cable end may break. If that happens, the shifter indicator may not match the transmission's gear.

Concept Car of the Week: Fiat Ecobasic

This week we're celebrating if not the most glamorous then certainly one of the most relevant concept of the last decade, the Fiat Ecobasic. The car was first shown at the 2004 Geneva motor show as Fiat investigated how to replace Giugiaro's ancient but brilliantly utilitarian Panda. The brief was: cheap to produce, cheap to own and friendly to the environment.

Honda planning new Civic Type-R, Compact SUV, Hydrogen & more for 2015

Honda boss, Takanobu Ito, has revealed plans for a new Civic Type-R, new compact SUV, new hydrogen car and more by 2015. Could it be that Honda are starting to come out of the beige doldrums? Although there’s little doubt that Honda makes a very good car, it’s seemed to have been very cautious and chosen follow more than lead in recent years.

Porsche 918 Spyder takes on the Nurburgring

Porsche has taken their concept hybrid supercar – the 918 Spyder – to the Nurburgring to set a time – 7 minutes 14 seconds. But a hybrid halo doesn’t have to mean poor performance, a point Porsche has proved by taking the 918 Spyder to the Nurburgring to set a lap time. The Porsche 918 Spyder can deliver a total of 759bhp from its race-derived V8 and two electric motors which, although less than the likely power available to the F70 of P1, is still a significant amount of get up and go.

Ford Cortina: 50 years ago today…

Ford are celebrating 50 years since the first Ford Cortina was launched and changed the car landscape forever. The Ford Cortina went on to sell an impressive 4.3 million during its twenty year life, eventually turning in to the Ford Sierra and then in to the Ford family car of today – the 2013 Ford Mondeo (which, interestingly, can be had with the 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine – smaller even than the 1200cc of that first Cortina). That first Cortina was the start of Ford’s dominance of the UK car market, leading to an unbroken run of 35 years as the best selling car brand with most of the Cortinas, almost 3 million of them, built at Dagenham – in the days Ford actually built cars here.

2013 Audi S3 – Paris debut

Audi has revealed the new S3 with a 296bhp 2.0 litre direct injection engine which will debut at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. The new Audi S3 – which will bow in at next week’s 2012 Paris Motor Sow – will join the new 5-door A3 Sportback on Audi’s stand at Paris and lay down a firm marker for Audi’s share of the market. The new S3 gets a new 2.0 litre direct injection engine - part of Audi’s EA888 engine range – to go with its new underpinning using the same MQB platform as the latest A3 range, making the new S3 both lighter and more powerful.

News watch Sept 2012: today's auto industry news

Welcome to CAR Magazine's news aggregator as we round up the daily stories in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hourMonday 24 September 2012• Volkswagen has dropped its appeal in the brand infrigement case against former partner Suzuki. The spat dates back to 2004, when VW contested an approval allowing Suzuki to brand a variant of its Swift supermini as 'Swift GTi'.

Audi S3 (2012) first official pictures

Audi has revealed official pictures of the new S3 ahead of its debut at the 2012 Paris motor show. Audi should know what matters when it comes to hot-hatches, with two generations of S3s occupying a 13-year stretch of Audi history. On first impressions, the new model’s restrained styling fits well with the S3’s history of subtle sporting luxury rather than out-and-out hot hatch thuggery.

2013 Buick Encore priced at $24,950

The 2013 Buick Encore crossover will cost $24,950, including a $750 destination charge. The top trim package, called Premium, will sticker at $28,940. A 1.4-liter turbocharged engine will power the small SUV, which competes against the Acura RDX, Hyundai Tucson and the Ford Escape.

2013 Chevrolet Malibu Turbo features 259 horses for a base price of $27,710

The 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Turbo will go on sale this fall with a price of $27,710. Upgraded LTZ models will sticker at $30,925. Both include $995 in destination.

Jaguar offering one XJL Ultimate at Gilt.com

Jaguar is partnering with Gilt.com to sell a special version of its 2013 Jaguar XJL Ultimate. It will come with a Polaris white paint job and a black interior. This is not an auction.

New 2014 Jaguar F-Type video highlights speed and handling ahead of Paris motor show debut

With anticipation for the 2014 Jaguar F-Type sports car building ahead of the car's Paris motor show debut, the boys and girls at Jag are keeping the video previews rolling. Today's episode focuses on the F-Type's driving dynamics. Jaguar's test drivers and engineers flog the car on three tracks—Nardo, the Nurburgring and the company's test track in Old Blighty.

McLaren to introduce special edition MP4-12C at Singapore Grand Prix

McLaren will unveil a unique version of the MP4-12C at the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix on Friday, Sept. 21. It's aptly named MP4-12C Singapore Edition.

Ex-Morgan Chief Designer forms Matthew Humphries Design

The former chief designer at Morgan, has formed his own design consultancy, Matthew Humphries Design, in a bid to branch out into the worlds of bespoke cars and product design. Humphries will continue his relationship with Morgan in a partnership that will see the newly formed company help to develop future models for the independent British sports car manufacturer. The 28-year-old Coventry University graduate believes he can begin moving into the growing market for integrating automotive design elements into product design – such as furniture – and particularly British-themed products.

Creapole: creating the next generation of creative designers

As the automotive industry continues to look towards other design disciplines for inspiration and ideas, French design school Creapole is increasingly well positioned to cater for their needs. While relatively small, Creapole's range of courses – which as well as Transport Design includes Product Design, Fashion, Art Design, Visual Communication, Movie and Video Game Animation, and Interior Architecture – gives its students experience in a broad range of creative media. The foundations of Creapole's success lie in its hands-on approach not only to teaching, but also to the tools used by its students.

Jaguar F-Type – new video ahead of debut

We have new video of the Jaguar F-Type ahead of its reveal in a week’s time at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. Jaguar then did pragmatic thing and released that rogue image of three F-Types officially (rather than twisting arms to take it down as sister company Land Rover did with the first photo of the 2013 Range Rover) so we could see the F-Type in decent detail. But just the one photo.

New Range Rover – sold out for 2013

One UK Land Rover dealer is already reporting the 2013 Range Rover is already sold out for 2013, a week before it debuts at Paris 2012. Not only has Land Rover managed to push the Range Rover more upmarket - and managed to bring in the new 3.0 litre diesel at a similar price point to the old V8 diesel without any real moans about price hikes - they’ve made the Rangie more economical, more powerful and much ‘Greener’. That message seems to have filtered in to Range Rover buyers very quickly, with one Land Rover dealer in the UK already reporting they’ve sold out of their entire allocation for 2013.

McLaren MP4-12C SGP Edition

A trio of special edition McLaren MP4-12C have been commissioned from McLaren Special Operations by Singapore car dealer Wearnes Automotive. We’ve had quite a flurry of activity from McLaren lately , what with the UK debut of the 12C Spider, the McLaren X-1 based on the 12C by McLaren Special Operations (MSO) and the big one – the new McLaren P1. The McLaren P1 is the headline act for a golden halo for McLaren, but the MP4-12C and McLaren Special Operations are the main source of income for now – or at least until the ‘Baby’ McLaren to take on cars like the Audi R8 and Porsche 911 arrives in a couple of years time.

2013 Audi A3 Sportback revealed (+video)

Audi has revealed the 2013 A3 Sportback ahead of a Paris 2012 debut, the five door version of the new A3. The new A3 Sportback is bigger than both the new A3 – by 35mm – and the old A3 Sportback – by 58mm – and it get a bigger boot than both – 380 litres with the seats up and 1220 litre with the seats down. There’s not a lot to say about how it looks, because it looks just like the new A3 with an extra pair of doors and a set of roof rails, but that extra length does mean a small amount more legroom in the back.

Volvo V40 Cross Country (2012) first official pictures

Volvo is beefing up the V40 hatch with the new V40 Cross Country - a rough 'n' ready soft-roader to be shown at the 2012 Paris motor show. Ring any bells? Cast your mind back to 1997 and the release of the V70 Cross Country, to which the V40 Cross Country owes its existence. Volvo V40 Cross Country: 'all-road' performance The V40 Cross Country comes in front- or all-wheel drive formats, topped by the 2.5-litre T5 that’ll churn out 250bhp and pass 0-60mph in six seconds. A 40mm ride height increase is likely to limit on-road performance, but should come in handy should you need to traverse any troublesome countryside on the school run.

CAR magazine app: the new digital edition of CAR

CAR magazine has launched its new monthly iPad edition – the CAR magazine app. It's available now to download from Apple Newsstand and iTunes. The CAR magazine app is a digital edition of the monthly mag, tailored to work beautifully on iPads.

Jaguar F-type (2013) first official picture

Jaguar has let slip the first official picture of its highly anticipated F-type. It comes just weeks ahead of the car's true debut at the 2012 Paris motor show.This is the first time the production F-type has been seen in the nude, without its cosy camouflage blanket to shield its sleek silhouette. An E-type successor at last?

Hyundai Veloster Turbo gets cheaper

Hyundai are set to launch an additional model of the Velsoter Turbo to sit below the Turbo SE for around £2 less. With the regular Hyundai Veloster starting at £18k and the Velsoter Turbo at £22k, Hyundai has worked out there’s a middle ground price point – can you guess what it is? So to fill that gap (yes, it’s a £20k entry point) Hyundai are to launch the bog-standard Veloster Turbo (without the SE badge) which will lose some of the equipment but, as far as we can see, keep the butch cosmetic bits on the exterior.