Ritchie Helmsman Compass Hb-70 on 2040-parts.com

McLaren P11 at Nurburgring – launch imminent

The McLaren P11 has been pounding round the Nurburgring ahead of a launch on 9th September Ahead of the launch of the P11, McLaren are pushing on with testing the P11, and our picture here is of the P11 pounding round the Nurburgring in final testing. The McLaren P11 is the first stage of McLaren’s plans to launch a range of three new cars in the next few years. The P11 is aimed directly at the new Ferrari 458 Italia and the Lamborghini LP560-4.

Ford performance-vehicles boss jumps to Volkswagen position

Jost Capito, Ford's global performance-vehicles and motorsports chief, is jumping to Volkswagen to run the German automaker's motorsports operations. Ford is in the process of launching high-performance versions of some of its newest cars, including the Focus ST. The company also has a version of the Fiesta ST as a concept.

Fiat 500 Abarth gets automatic transmission option for 2015

If you're a fan of the design (and the performance numbers) of the Fiat 500 Abarth and its cabriolet version but not its manual transmission, you'll want to hear this. Fiat has announced that the 2015 Fiat 500 Abarth and Abarth Cabrio will be offered with an optional six-speed automatic transmission in addition to a slightly redesigned interior. The new models will appear at the New York auto show next week.