SEMA 2008 show report: Volkswagen Passat CC

By Ben Whitworth Motor Shows 07 November 2008 09:00 Volkswagen’s sobriety took a back seat at the SEMA show in Las Vegas this week – it pulled the covers off a pair of muscle-bound Passat CCs, a racy 295bhp Tiguan and a grunty diesel Jetta aimed at cajoling the American market into turning its back on gasoline. The unambiguously named Performance CC – designed by Volkswagen’s California-based design centre – gets a shot in the arm from a three-stage turbo boost to its 2.0-litre TSI engine. In Eco mode you get a modest 222bhp and 236 lb ft of torque, GT mode hikes those outputs to 252bhp and 268 lbs ft, while the Full Power stage unleashes 311bhp and 313 lb ft.

Jaguar XF Sportbrake: Official

The Jaguar XF Sportbrake finally arrives After months of teasing and spy shots the 2012 Jaguar XF Sportbrake is finally revealed ahead of its debut at the Geneva Motor Show next week. Jaguar has managed to get almost as much pre-launch publicity from the new Jaguar XF Sportbrake as they did from the year-long launch of the XJ. From ‘official’ spy shots to XF Sportbrake Christmas cards via their @sportbrake Twitter account, they certainly covered all the PR bases.

SMS Supercars releases illustrations, pricing for go-fast Mustangs

SMS Supercars released illustrations this week of its new performance Mustang, which will start at $64,990 for the coupe. SMS is Steve Saleen's new venture, and it is planning two main versions based on the 2010 'Stang. A 470-hp model, the SMS 460, is the “base” car, and a convertible version is $69,990.