New Audi A1 Black Edition and Contrast Edition & 143PS 2.0-litre TDI engine

New Audi A1 Black Edition (left) & A1 Contrast Edition It was always obvious from the start when Audi launched the A1 that they intended to go the MINI route and offer as many options and limited editions as they could muster. So the launch of the Audi A1 Black Edition and A1 Contrast Edition is not exactly a shock. And nor is a new 143PS 2.0-litre TDI engine option.

Brilliance A3: China’s BMW X1 substitute. A Rose by any other name?

The Brilliance A3 - China's BMW X1 Lookalike The easy headline would be ‘Brilliance A3 – BMW X1 Clone’. But that would be a little unfair to Brilliance. Western car makers – as we’ve mentioned many times before – are compelled by Chinese law to partner with a local car maker if they are to trade in China.

Audi R8 Spyder raises £620k for Elton John AIDS Foundation

Elton, David and the man from Audi with the chromed R8 Spyder The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) needs no big introduction from us, especially to regular readers. Quite simply, it’s an astonishingly generous charitable foundation founded by, and driven ever on, by Elton John, and it’s raised getting on for £50 million since Elton founded it in 1993, thanks in no small part to Elton’s generosity with his royalties (always making sure he has enough left over for flowers, of course). And as it’s Elton who’s the heart and soul of the EJAF, fund raisers tend to be a little more interesting than a bring and buy stall on the local village green.