1930/31 Ford Model A Left Hood Side on 2040-parts.com

VW road-legal Race Touareg, Gold Edition (2011)

Volkswagen has unveiled two new Touareg SUVs at the inaugural Qatar motor show. One is a rather cool road-going version of the Race Touareg 3 that’s just notched up a victory at the 2011 Dakar rally, and the other is an awful monster called the Touareg Gold Edition. Underneath the skin it’s a genuine version of the latest Race Touareg 3, with a turbocharged 2.5-litre diesel engine, a trick four-wheel drive system and a super-stiff chassis.

Porsche shows Cayenne can do off-road – just like the new Range Rover Sport

Porsche shows the new Cayenne S Diesel can do off-road The Porsche Cayenne has come in for some stick since it first arrived a decade ago as the first SUV from Porsche. The world declared the Cayenne too ugly to look at – well, that was the opinion of a certain Mr Clarkson – but anyone who’s lived with a Cayenne will know just how focused it is; it feels like a high-riding M5 to drive and, despite the misconception that sporty SUVs don’t do off-road, it’s remarkably capable when the going gets tough. We’re sure it’s just a coincidence that the 2013 Porsche Performance Drive – from Chisinau to Bratislava – is taking place just after the new Range Rover Sport arrived as a truly capable sporty SUV – with its Land Rover off-road credentials still intact – but the event has given Porsche the chance to show the new Cayenne S Diesel can also do off-road with aplomb.

Hot seats: from design to delivery [sponsored]

As the user demands on car interiors are increasingly influenced by their growing design consciousness, so suppliers like Lear strive to bring better-engineered seating to satisfy. 2013 was another big year for Lear, as Jeanette Puig-Pey, its global fabric & leather design manager, enthuses: "At our ‘Design2Perform' event we celebrated the unveiling of our brand new collection, with special emphasis on color and texture and our TeXstyle Enhance product, perfect for customization. Laser etching is part of this offering, it is exclusive to Lear Corporation and can be used to add refined design elements to cloth and leather." A mix of fabric and leather in seating is not new but is often seen by the consumer as a cheaper alternative to full leather.