Porsche buys Nardo for high-speed tests

Porsche has announced it is to take ownership of the famous Nardo Proving Ground in southern Italy. The company's engineering consultancy wing, the Porsche Engineering Group, will assume ownership as of May 2012. Nardo is currently owned by Italian firm Prototipo SpA.  No fee has been disclosed by either party.

David Brown Automotive Speedback sports classic looks, modern performance

A new 510-hp, V8-powered British sports car has broken cover in London, boasting classically inspired styling, a hand-built aluminum body, crafted interior trim and a $400,000 price tag, Created by a new company, David Brown Automotive, the Speedback is a prototype built on a Jaguar XKR platform with the aim of delivering a “vision of a classic-looking sports car without compromising modern convenience and features.” Drive comes from the XKR's supercharged 5.0-liter V8, unmodified and boasting 510 hp and 461 lb-ft, mated to a six-speed ZF automatic transmission. The 3,968 lb. curb weight is very similar to that of the donor car, so performance and economy figures are also similar: 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds and a top speed limited to 155 mph.

Peugeot 2008 Crossover already selling well in UK – and half are White

More than half of UK sales of the new Peugeot 2008 (pictured) are white cars The Peugeot 2008 – the crossover/SUV take on the new 208 – arrived in production guise at the Geneva Motor Show in March and looked a properly credible effort from the beleaguered French car maker. In fact, when Peugeot announced prices for the 2008 and their UK target sales of 8,000 a year, we thought they were being conservative with their projections, especially as the 2008 starts at a very reasonable £13k. That soon proved to be right when Peugeot announced it was having to double production of the 2008 as sales were much stronger across Europe than they’d anticipated, and it seems the same is happening in the UK.