New Volvo V40: Now it’s official

The new Volvo V40 finally arrives officially After endless leaks of photos and videos, the new Volvo V40 has now been revealed officially ahead of Geneva 2012. In the last two weeks we’ve had the 2012 Volvo V40 leaked all over, from a grainy scan to a full set of official photos and even a new V40 promotional video. But finally, Volvo has thrown in the towel and we get official information on the 2012 volvo v40 released.

Mercedes CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake gets a Spencer Hart suit

Nick Hart and his Mercedes CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake Getting a menswear specialist to makeover a high end car isn’t the most obvious route to go, but Mercedes say Savile Row’s Spencer Hart shares a creative ethos with the three pointed star, so it’s a natural fit. And actually, Spencer Hart’s creative Director, Nick Hart, has done his brand – and Mercedes’ – absolutely no harm with an appealing makeover of the Mercedes shed on steroids that is the CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake. The Spencer Hart CLS gets a specially created colour - Nick Hart Midnight Blue – and instead of chrome highlights on the exterior Nick has subtle, dark shades instead.

BMW Alpina D3 BiTurbo – a great diesel

The BMW Alpina D3 BiTurbo - a brilliant, quick and economical everyday drive Alpina has turned out some stunning versions of the BMW range over the years (and some not so stunning – their 8 Series springs to mind) and they fill a gap that is either not profitable in small volume for BMW or, in some cases, a hole that BMW hasn’t plugged. And this one is a good hole to fill with the BMW Alpina D3 Bi-Turbo, a 3 Series diesel with the heart of a hot hatch. Alpina has taken the engine out of the 1 Series 123d and given it a boost to 240bhp, in the process dropping the 0-60 time to a very creditable 6.9 seconds But it’s not the sprint that count,  but the way this peppy diesel unit delivers it.