01 Polaris Xplorer 250 4x4 Mudflaps Left Right on 2040-parts.com

Volvo confirms big production increase for V60 Plug-in Hybrid

Volvo has been building around 150 V60 Plug-ins a week at its facility in Torslanda – alongside the regular V60, V70, S80 and XC90 – but that is now set to be upped to 282 cars a week for the rest of 2013, with plans to build at least 10,000 in 2014. The fact is that the V60 is a very appealing estate car already, and bolting a plug-in hybrid setup has turned it in to a big hit in showrooms because the barking mad official economy and emissions system bestows the V60 plug-in with emissions of just 48g/km, making it a real no-brainer in countries where governments blindly tax cars based on their official emissions. That means countries like Holland, where Volvo has received more than 3,000 orders for the V60 Plug-in, and the UK are lapping up the hybrid offering from Volvo as a way to escape big taxes and still have a swift (0-62mph in 6.1 seconds), appealing and stylish car.

CAR tech: how much F1 is in the McLaren P1?

We're forever told racing tech makes for better road cars, but is that true, even in the case of the £866,000 McLaren P1? CAR tech looks at the similarities between Jenson Button's weekend racer and McLaren's hybrid supercar: Gives you wings A Formula One car wins or loses by its aero package – and the P1’s a true aero car with a mighty set-up. It has the highest amount of downforce of any road car on sale – so you couldn’t get closer to F1 with number plates if you tried.

Coys To Auction Aston Martin Linked To Bond Author Ian Fleming

A 1954 Aston Martin DB 2/4, considered by many to be the inspiration for James Bond’s original Aston Martin in Ian Fleming’s novel Goldfinger, is to be auctioned by international auctioneers Coys this Saturday 12th July at Blenheim Palace. Not only was the DB 2/4 potentially the catalyst for Fleming’s characterisation of the famous fictional spy, but this particular car boasts an equally intriguing history. This Aston Martin, a DB 2/4 Mk I Vantage, was owned by Phillip Ingram Cunliffe-Lister, whose father was Lord Swinton, a close confidant of Winston Churchill, head of MI5 and the Security Executive during WWII, and Ian Fleming’s boss.