08 09 10 Dodge Charger Dash Panel 9904 on 2040-parts.com

Nissan-designed Santa’s sleigh

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 17 December 2008 14:30 Canadian designer Martin Uhlarik penned Nissan’s sleigh, which dispenses with reindeer altogether and can be used instead in conjunction with a rather faster steed, a Nissan GT-R. It’s quickly apparent that Nissan’s SC01 sledge will have a much greater load capacity than rival designs – and we’d certainly pull over fast if we saw this in our rear-view mirrors. Uhlarik is project design leader at Nissan’s Paddington design centre in London and was senior exterior designer on the Qashqai+2 and NV200 concept.

Toyota reveals new Le Mans car as Peugeot quits

Peugeot has announced that it’s closing its Le Mans and endurance racing programme with immediate effect. The unexpected announcement is a blow to the world-famous French endurance race, as the diesel-powered 908 HDi LMP1s have been the only cars able to challenge Audi’s dominance over the past few years – Peugeot won the Le Mans 24hrs in 2009. On the same day that Peugeot Sport announced the closure of its endurance racing programme, Toyota revealed its new 2012 Le Mans racer.

Aston Martin V12 Zagato – 49 bite the dust

The Aston Martin V12 Zagato was going to have up to a 150 production run, but Aston Martin now say they will build just 101 cars. The Aston Martin V12 Zagato is a great creation with OTT styling courtesy of Zagato. But, when all’s said and done, it’s just a V12 Vantage in pretty clothes with a few tweaks, yet it costs three times as much – a slightly eye-watering £330k.