8k0407510r Upper Handlebar Wheel Suspension Front Right / 8k0407510r / 2896166 For Au- on 2040-parts.com

Jaguar F-Type lands in the lap of the 2013 Playboy Playmate of the Year

It does seem like Jaguar have decided that association of the F-Type with high-profile public faces is a good way to get the F-Type a few headlines, so we’ve had Lana del Rey singing her heart out in the F-Type cause, Damian Lewis acting his socks off for the F-Type’s Desire film and a plethora of faces associated with Jaguar’s Mille Miglia outing this year, where they’ve managed to get the F-Type front and centre and firmly bolted on to Jaguar’s Heritage outing. Now it’s the turn of Raquel Pomplun to raise the profile of the new F-Type a little higher, as Hugh Hefner has gifted her $100k and the use of an F-Type for a year as part of her prize for being crowned Playmate of the Year. Ms Pomplun may have preferred the F-Type as an outright gift – rather than a year long lease – but at least she’ll have the chance to parade round sunny California with the top down for 12 months.

Hot seats: from design to delivery [sponsored]

As the user demands on car interiors are increasingly influenced by their growing design consciousness, so suppliers like Lear strive to bring better-engineered seating to satisfy. 2013 was another big year for Lear, as Jeanette Puig-Pey, its global fabric & leather design manager, enthuses: "At our ‘Design2Perform' event we celebrated the unveiling of our brand new collection, with special emphasis on color and texture and our TeXstyle Enhance product, perfect for customization. Laser etching is part of this offering, it is exclusive to Lear Corporation and can be used to add refined design elements to cloth and leather." A mix of fabric and leather in seating is not new but is often seen by the consumer as a cheaper alternative to full leather.

2012 Audi TT RS starting price set at $56,850

If you have your heart set on the top-shelf Audi TT RS, prepare to pony up $56,850 plus destination and what we’d assume are plenty of options to put one in the garage. Worth it? You decide: The highest-performance TT will get a 2.5-liter turbo five with 360 hp and 343 lb-ft of torque, with the twist available from just about off-idle to 5,400 rpm.