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OFFICIAL: Alfa Romeo 4C laps the Nurburgring in 8:04s

The Alfa Romeo 4C (pictured) laps the Nurburgring in 8:04s We wouldn’t normally report on a car lapping the Nurburgring in around 8 minutes; after all, the Nurburgring lap record for a full production car is sub-7 minutes, so 8 minutes seems almost a stroll. But the lap time round the Nurburgring for the Alfa Romeo 4C is worthy of note because it’s a new lap record for a production car with less than 250bhp, and puts the Alfa 4C very much on the map as a performance car. We’d heard rumours a few weeks ago that Horst von Saurma has managed the impressive time in the 4C round the Nurburgring, but Alfa has now confirmed the time – with the 4C shod with road-legal Pirelli Zero Trofeo tyres – was completed on 23rd September 2013.

First customers are key to EV sales success, execs say

Word of mouth is a key element to generating buyers for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Today, it's the early adapters, tech-savvy buyers who are embracing the technology and buying the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt and the battery-powered Nissan Leaf. But for these vehicles and similar models to go mainstream, anxiety about the technology needs to be eliminated.

McLaren tease the New F1 (P12)

With a debut at the Paris Motor Show on 27th September, McLaren releases the first teaser photo of their new hypercar. We’ve been anticipating the reveal of the new McLaren F1 – the McLaren P12 – for some time, and expected it to appear at Pebble Beach last month. The new car at Pebble Beach turned out to be the McLaren X-1 (although McLaren did take an iPad presentation of the new F1 for the delectation of the privileged few) but now we know for certain that the new McLaren will get its public debut at the 2012 Paris Motor Show.