Polaris Outlaw 450 Mxr 525 525s Exhaust Pipe Muffler #58 2008 on 2040-parts.com

Vauxhall Astra VXR EXTREME heading for Geneva as the quickest Astra yet

The Vauxhall Astra VXR EXTREME (pictured) is heading for a Geneva debut. The VXR range of Vauxhall’s – the sportiest of Vauxhall’s car range – is ten years old this year, so what better way to celebrate than with an even more extreme version of the Astra VXR. Vauxhall obviously agree as they’ve revealed the Vauxhall Astra VXR EXTREME as the new top of the range Astra VXR and it’s heading for a debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March before going in to limited production.

CPP buys Zagato

Ferrari 550 GTZ - built by CPP In a move that seems to have received no coverage whatsoever, our favourite specialist car putter-together – CPP (Coventry Prototype Panels as was) – has quietly bought up Zagato. For those of you who are ‘Vlad Watchers’ this may come as no surprise. It seems that Vladimir Antonov is on a quest to buy up everything interesting there is to buy in the specialist car world (and Portsmouth FC too – no accounting for taste!), which includes funding CPP and its recent acquisitions.

Toyota ME.WE Concept: It’s an egalitarian EV

Based on the electric running gear of the Toyota i-Road we saw at Geneva (but with a full set of wheels) Toyota and Massaud have created an urban vehicle that takes transport back to the basics; a 2CV for the 21st century, perhaps, or a grown up home-made kart seems to be where the ME.WE is at. The construction of the ME.WE comprises a tubular aluminium chassis and a pile of interchangeable polypropylene panels that can change the function of the ME.We from city car to convertible to pickup to 4×4 (thanks to electric motors on both axles) and is, by any definition, transport and not a car you’d have to make a statement. Inside is just as basic with a single dial for the instruments, flat surfaces made from bamboo (designers love a bit of bamboo), batteries for the electric motors under the floor and you have to store any luggage on the roof under a weatherproof cover.