03 Yamaha Royal Star Venture Xvz 1300 License Plate Holder 45h on 2040-parts.com

BMW to invest £500 million in UK MINI production

David Cameron welcomes BMW's £500 million investment in the UK What’s going on? Two days on the trot we get good news about the UK economy. Yesterday we reported that Nissan are to invest £192 million to design and build the next generation Qashqai in the UK, and today comes confirmation from BMW that they will be spending £500 million over the next three years in the UK as they gear up for the next generation MINI.

Porsche 918 Spyder: New specs and new photos

The Porsche 918 Spyder specification have been revealed Porsche has tried to keep weight in check on the 918 Spyder, but having a big, heavy electric hybrid setup on board hasn’t made that easy, and nor has making that setup 4WD. So Porsche has built the monocoque chassis from carbon fibre reinforced polymer to keep weight in check, despite which the 918 Spyder still comes in at a weighty 1640kg, even in ‘Weissach’ trim (more in standard guise). So Poprsche has had to be clever about the way they use the power they have on offer.

2012 Mercedes B-Class: First interior photos

2012 Mercedes B-Class Interior - first photo We’re expecting the 2012 Mercedes B-Class to be a big jump on from the current car - certainly in quality and dynamic terms – when it arrives at Frankfurt. And if the photo we’ve had in this morning of the 2012 B-Class’s interior is anything to go by, we’re not going to be too disappointed. We already know that the new B-Class is growing in size and that it will get all new engines with same direct injection as the BlueDIRECT (let’s just hope Mercedes now has the injector problems the C and E Class suffered under control) and a choice of either a six-speed manual or a  new 7G-DCT ‘box, which will be a huge improvement on the dreadful rubber band box in the old B-Class.