2004 Isuzu Ascender Floor Center Console Gray 2502074 on 2040-parts.com

Vauxhall Astra VXR (2012) gets 282bhp + new GTC photos

Astra GTC Concept Paris Vauxhall sneaked us a peek at the 2012 Vauxhall Astra VXR a couple of weeks ago – slightly titivated and called the Astra GTC Concept admittedly – but the 2012 Vauxhall Astra VXR none the less. And we ran the story, even though there was precious little to say beyond they’d turned the ‘blades’ round on the doors to make it look more butch and that it’d turn up when the 3 door Astra does in a years time. But Vauxhall has decided to throw a little more out there, so we get images of the interior and some firm (ish) news on the oily bits.

Sergio bows at Pininfarina Tribute Rally

Pininfarina showed its Sergio barchetta concept at an event in the UK last week where the main aim was to set a record for the largest number of Pininfarina cars gathered in a single location. As Autoweek went to press, the total was nudging towards 200, an early audit of the delectable selection of machinery arranged on the lawns around Hurtwood Park Polo Club suggesting at least 180 cars with more still to report. “We're hoping to get over the magic 200, but will have to wait and see,” said Gary John on behalf of the organizers, Brokersclub.

Peugeot puts RCZ designer on Twitter

Like many automakers, Peugeot is now making conspicuous use of social media platforms as a component in its new car launch campaigns and in order to manage customer relations online. For its new RCZ coupe, Peugeot in the UK has been running a social media campaign under the strap line "It chooses you", with associated Twitter and Facebook accounts – which culminated with a member of the public winning an RCZ last week. For auto designers, there was little interest in the campaign up until last week, when Peugeot put RCZ designer Boris Reinmöller behind a computer terminal and opened him up to a public Q+A session through its Twitter account.