Bedford Autodrome to get Ariel Atoms for 2012

Corporate track-days at the Bedford Autodrome will get lairier in 2012 - Somerset-based Ariel has announced it’ll supply ten cars for the PalmerSport track-day events next year. Stopping short of the unhinged Atom V8, the PalmerSport-spec cars get the normally aspirated 245bhp Civic Type-R engine, and some key changes to set it aside from the Joe-Public Atom. The Palmer-spec car will get a Sadev paddle-shift sequential gearbox, which swaps ratios in 60 milliseconds, whilst some choice chassis mods optimise the Atom for its full-time track-toy brief.

2014 Porsche Panamera V6 Diesel Facelift gets more power

The 2014 Porsche Panamera V6 Diesel Facelift (pictured) gets more power When Porsche revealed the facelift for the Panamera in April, we commented that we could expect a new V6 diesel to arrive in the Panamera for 2014 with around 300bhp. And here it is. The new Porsche Panamera V6 diesel gets the same tweaks to bumpers and lights as the rest of the range – and modest though they are, they do make the Panamera look a little less bulbous – but the most appealing news is a bit more oomph from Porsche’s entry-level diesel Panamera.

Chrysler, Hyundai set pace as auto sales rise 11 percent

Chrysler Group, Volkswagen Group, Hyundai and Kia set the pace as U.S. light vehicle sales rose 11 percent in January from a year ago, signaling the industry's recovery is gaining traction. Chrysler's sales advanced by 44 percent last month, and volume climbed 40 percent at the Volkswagen Group.