2008 Mitsubishi Eclipse 2-door Spyder Man Gt Steering Wheel Wristwatch on 2040-parts.com

India turns the screw on luxury car makers

Land Rover will still be sending CKD to India despite the rise in import duty India’s economy is growing almost exponentially, as a result of which it has a big, rising middle-class with much the same aspirations as the middle-class in the West. Those aspirations include the accumulation of status symbols considered worthy of representing their success and new wealth, none more so than a good set of wheels. So it’s no surprise that the mainstream luxury car makers – Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes, Audi and BMW – are ready, willing and able to provide exactly what India’s middles classes are looking for.

McLaren 12C Can-Am & Historic McLaren Can-Ams at 2013 Goodwood FoS

It seems it was, because by November McLaren revealed the 12C Can Am was going in to limited production – just 30 units at £375,000 each – for deep-pocketed Americans to go track day racing with a 12C that weighs in at 1200kg, gets a few extra horses and 30 per cent more downforce compared to the road going 12C. So with a new track car and a 50th anniversary to celebrate in 2013, McLaren has decided it’s a good idea to take the 12C Can-Am off to play on the Goodwood hillcimb this summer at the 2013 Festival of Speed and, for added interest, take along a selection of models from their heritage collection – the ultimate McLaren racers of the 1960s and 70s – for our delight. McLaren has also given us a teaser video of the M8D Can-Am Racer (below) as a taster of what visitors to this year’s FoS can look forward too, yet another reason to get yourself down to Sussex in July.

Pagani Huayra sets Top Gear lap record and places marker for McLaren P1

The Pagani Huyra set a stunning record time on the Top Gear track last week and in the process laid down a marker for the new McLaren P1. The return of Top Gear at the weekend for Series 19 saw Richard Hammond get to grips with the Pagani Huayra – successor to his beloved Zonda – and after a thoroughly positive test drive Hammond handed over to the Stig to take the Huayra round the Top Gear track. In the hands of the Stig, the 6.0 litre V12 AMG engine with 730 horses powered the Huayra to a time of just 1:13.8, beating the previous record for a production car, held by the Ariel Atom V8, by a sizeable 1.3 seconds.