McLaren celebrates 50th birthday with special edition 12C supercar (2013)

McLaren will build 100 special edition 12C supercars to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2013: 50 coupes and 50 folding hard-top Spiders. The birthday edition cars get bespoke lightweight components from McLaren Special Operations (MSO) and extra accessories, as well as a hefty price bump. You'll pay £196,000 for a hard-top McLaren 50 12C, and £215,500 for the McLaren 50 12C Spider – a hefty £20,000 rise over the standard cars' price tags.

Sinkhole fears shut commuter route

A ROAD in a key transport-link town is to be closed over fears that a sinkhole exists deep under the surface. A hole has appeared in St John's Road in Watford, Hertfordshire, and preliminary investigations carried out last week had to be stopped as there were concerns about undermining the road and footway further. Hertfordshire County Council said: "A geotechnical engineer present during the investigations advised that there is a possibility that a sinkhole exists deep down in the underlying chalk." Following f urther investigations today, the road is being shut until work on it can be completed.

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.