Jaguar F-Type to get manual gearbox

Jaguar’s Adrian Hallmark has revealed that Jaguar’s new manual gearbox will be heading in to the new F-Type. They’ve gone because the slush boxes of old have been replaced by new, double clutch boxes that actually give better performance and better economy than a driver with a left foot in action. But still, the yearning for the control and feel of a manual ‘box remains at the core of the driving experience.

Audi A7 Sportback Competition is a 322 bhp diesel special edition

Audi A7 Sportback Competition gets 322 bhp Audi has decided that a fitting way to celebrate 25 years of turbodiesel Audis is to create a special edition A7 Sportback with added power. Seems reasonable. So we get the Audi A7 Sportback Competition which comes with the regular 3.0 litre BiTurbo diesel but with just a little bit more oomph with 322bhp and 479lb/ft of torque – just 6bhp up on the normal lump.

Fisker about to be bought by Volvo’s Chinese owner Geely?

It’s reported that China’s Geely – which bought Volvo from Ford – is about to take a majority stake in Fisker Automotive. But Fisker has run in to big problems when its battery supplier - A123 Systems – went bust leading to Fisker production grinding to a halt. That has now been resolved with China’s Wanxiang Group buying up A123 Systems and it looks like Fisker is heading East too with Geely set to grab a majority shareholding.