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McLaren 650S revealed early

The McLaren 650S (pictured) arrives a little earlier than McLaren planned Just a few days age we had the first tease for the new McLaren 650S, a car McLaren said was aimed between the existing 12C and the hypercar McLaren P1. We speculated the 650S would be a tweaked 12C with more power and styling tweaks, and that’s exactly what it is. Driving has managed to publish the first official photos this morning (albeit in fairly low res) and it’s clear the 650S is the 12C with a healthy does of P1 mixed in for extra appeal.

Is the Citroen DS6 on its way after all?

The Citroen Numero 9 Concept (pictured) perhaps previews the new DS6 There have been very strong hints from Citroen for some time that the end of the Citroen C6 wasn’t the end of bigger Citroens, even if big Citroens have a history of only really selling well in France. That always made sense because Citroen now has a new market that appreciates bigger cars, particularly bigger cars that have smaller engines, and that’s China. We thought a DS6 was on its way in 2012 when  Citrone revealed a teaser photo on its Facebook page.

Volkswagen updates Scirocco

Volkswagen has revealed an upgraded Scirocco, which will make its world premiere at the Geneva motor show in early March. Among the changes to Wolfsburg’s 6-year-old coupe are some subtle exterior changes, higher quality interior, and new four-cylinder engines, including a 276-hp version of Volkswagen’s EA888 turbocharged 2.0-liter in the new top-of-the-range Scirocco R. Other engines include a 1.4-liter, 123-hp four and a 2.0-liter producing 177 hp, 217 hp or 276 hp.

Tesla Model S sedan catches fire in owner's garage

Another Tesla Model S sedan has caught on fire. This time, however, the four-month-old electric vehicle didn't hit road debris; according to Business Insider, the car's owner returned from a drive and parked the car in the garage. Moments later, the smoke detector went off, indicating a fire.

BMW 2 Series Active Tourer (2014) - the new BMW MPV

The phrase ‘jumping the shark’ has fallen out of use in recent times, but we’d like to bring it back for one final, special, 2014 celebratory appearance as just about the perfect way to introduce the new BMW 2 Series Active Tourer. No, your eyes are not deceiving you. BMW has built itself an MPV.

One Lap of the Web: Fastest burger in the West

-- Orange Coast Magazine has a profile on the mysterious Lynsi Snyder, CEO and heiress to the greatest hamburger in America, In-N-Out Burger. (If you dispute this, I will come to your house and stomp on your perennials.) Fun fact: she is also an accomplished drag racer, racing an nine-second Dodge Dart in the NHRA's front-drive SS/HA class; she also splits her seat time between a 1970 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda and a 1984 Chevy Camaro. In-N-Out also sponsors Melanie Troxel's Dodge Charger R/T funny car, which we assume emits the tantalizing aroma of an Animal Style Double-Double as it races down every quarter mile.

Chevrolet to restore Covettes damaged in sinkhole disaster

Though we're very happy that no one was hurt when a sinkhole opened up beneath the Bowling Green, Ky. National Corvette Museum, the fate of the eight Corvettes damaged in the cave-in remained has remained unclear. Photos and footage of the incident show a few cars sitting on top of the rubble at the bottom of the 40-foot wide, 25 to 30-foot deep pit; others are presumably pinned under the debris.

New Peugeot 108 set for 2014 Geneva Motor Show debut

Peugeot is on a bit of a roll right now. The Peugeot 208 is a consistent top ten seller in the UK, and the all-new 308 is a highly credible alternative to the Volkswagen Golf. And now - or rather, next month at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show – there’s the new Peugeot 108 city car.

Jaguar F-Type Coupe heading for ‘The Special One’ first after UK debut

José Mourinho and the new Jaguar F-Type Coupe The new Jaguar F-Type Coupe seems to have been around for ages already, but last night was actually its official UK launch, despite being revealed at the Los Angeles Auto Show three months ago. Jaguar roped in a number of its ‘Ambassadors’ for the event at East Winter Garden in Canary Wharf including its newest recruit, Chelsea manager José Mourinho, who is due to get the first customer F-Type Coupe in the UK next month. Jaguar took the opportunity to use its latest advert ‘Rendezvous’ featuring Sir Ben Kingsley, Tom Hiddleston and Mark Strong as a trio of villainous Brits that first aired in the US during the recent Super Bowl, to kick proceedings off and add life to the #GoodToBeBad campaign.

Bugatti won't build new car until Veyron is sold out

Bugatti executives told Bloomberg on Wednesday that the brand won't move forward with a new automobile until all of the remaining Veyrons have sold out. The French automaker built 300 original Bugatti coupes, followed by 150 various variants. The coupes sold out in 2011, but 40 convertibles are still for sale.

New Peugeot 108 revealed ahead of Geneva debut

The new Peugeot 108 (pictured) revealed ahead of a Geneva debut The new Peugeot 108, revealed this morning ahead of a Geneva Motor Show debut, is Peugeot’s new take on the city car and, certainly at first look, it seems a good effort. We always liked the Peugeot 107 and its ability to look better than its Citroen and Toyota siblings, be nippy and frugal around town and small enough to park almost anywhere. And although the new Peugeot 108 looks more grown-up, it does seem to promise what the 107 delivered but in a more sophisticated package.

EP Tender could give electric cars unlimited range

Electric car owners, there is finally a solution to range anxiety. For those long trips where you can't just appropriate some random building's electricity, the EP Tender will get you to your destination. The only issue?

2015 Subaru WRX and STI prices revealed

Subaru enthusiasts will be able to get into a 2015 WRX starting at a base price of $27,090, including destination, for the standard six-speed manual model. That's a bit more than the 2014 model, which started at $26,790, but with Subaru’s entirely new platform, we’d like to think the extra $300 is worth it. This 2015 WRX will sport a 2.0-liter direct-injection turbo flat-four engine under the hood, making 268 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque.

Jaguar considering F-Type Targa?

We've driven the F-Type roadster. We've driven the Project 7 Le Mans-of-yore-inspired concept. We've even driven the new F-Type coupe.

Concept Car of the Week: BMW Turbo (1972)

Built by Michelotti in Turin and unveiled at the 1972 Paris motor show, the BMW Turbo was built both as a symbol of the carmaker's strength after its troubles in the ‘60s and as a celebration of that summer's Olympic Games in Munich. This two-door coupe, based on a modified 2002 chassis with a mid-mounted engine, was born when BMW's design director Paul Bracq convinced the board to let him design a concept that would be part design exercise, part technology testbed. Safety had become an increasingly important consideration following a number of design summits in the early ‘70s, and Bracq used the Turbo to test out a number of safety solutions.

Ford S-Max (2015) second-gen family favourite spied in USA

By Ollie Kew First Official Pictures 14 February 2014 16:00 The new Ford S-Max won’t reach UK dealers until early 2015, due to a new Ford supply backlog caused by the closure of the firm’s production plant in Genk, Belgium. In the meantime, Ford is pushing ahead with development of the new S-Max, seen testing here alongside the first-gen model that’s been on sale since 2006. These spy shots come from the United States, where the new S-Max has been spied testing for the first time since its concept car outgoing.

£400,000 parking space for sale

The UK’s most expensive parking space has been advertised for a whopping £400,000 – 15 times the average UK salary. The space, which holds two cars, is located close to the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington. On Bing: see pictures of expensive parking spaces London world’s most expensive place to park Its pricetag is 2.5 times that of the typical UK house – but still £3,792 cheaper than the average house in London, according to the Daily Telegraph.

New BMW 2-Series Active Tourer arrives as BMW’s first front-wheel-drive car (+video)

The new BMW 2-Series Active Tourer (pictured) arrives in the UK September 2014 Many will see it as sacrilege that the new BMW 2-Series Active Tourer MPV is front-wheel-drive, but pragmatists will see it as a sensible move to extend BMW’s depth of offerings. Whichever side you come down on, the BMW 2-Series Active Tourer – previewed by the BMW Concept Active Tourer at Paris in 2012 – is a production reality and does look like it will fill very well the space in BMW’s range for a compact MPV. Despite looks that are almost the opposite of what you’d expect from a BMW – stubby nose and a high roof line; a proper BMW take on the Mercedes B-Class – the 2-Series Active Tourer still manages to exude BMW style, albeit in a more practical way to the rest of the range.

BMW 2-series Active Tourer (2014) first official pictures

By Ollie Kew First Official Pictures 14 February 2014 10:00 BMW purists, look away now. Family guys with growing broods and a penchant for premium badges: step right up. This is the new BMW 2-series Active Tourer.

New car for sinkhole plunge owner

A TEENAGER from High Wycombe whose car was swallowed by a sinkhole has expressed her delight after a motoring website bought her a replacement. Zoe Smith, 19, discovered the 30ft-deep crater in the driveway of her family's home on February 2. She went into hysterics after discovering her prized Volkswagen Lupo had disappeared into the ground.

Chevrolet saves sinkhole Corvettes

CHEVROLET has taken on the job of restoring a number of classic Corvettes which were swallowed by a gaping sinkhole beneath the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky. General Motors' head of global product development, Mark Reuss, said today that the damaged vehicles are some of the most significant in motoring history. He said the company wants to restore as many of them as possible so car fans can enjoy them.

BID TO SLOW TRAFFIC ON M3 STRETCH

FIRST it was a stretch of the M1 and now the same speed reduction plan has been announced for a stretch of the M3 motorway in Surrey and Hampshire. The Highways Agency (HA) has proposed that a three-mile section of the M3 between junction 3 at Lightwater in Surrey and junction 4 near Farnborough in Hampshire be subject to a 60mph restriction. This section is part of a 13.4-mile stretch that is being upgraded in a £174 million scheme, with the 60mph proposal, to operate between 7am and 7pm daily so air quality levels can be met.

Rain, wind and snow to batter UK

FLOOD VICTIMS are bracing themselves for yet more misery as heavy rain, wind and snow is set to batter Britain. Forecasters warn that the appalling conditions which have ravaged communities show no signs of abating, with heavy rain expected today and Saturday. A "multi-pronged attack" of wind, rain and snow is expected to strike tomorrow, with heavy rain leading to more potential flooding as downpours of up to 40mm (1.6 inches) could fall in just six hours, with gusts of up to 70mph, a Met Office spokesman said.

Peugeot 108 (2014) first official pictures

By Ollie Kew First Official Pictures 14 February 2014 07:00 This is the new Peugeot 108 – the replacement for the Peugeot 107 city car. Like its predecessor, the 108 will be sold in Toyota guise as the new Aygo, and be restyled to become the new Citroen C1. All three will make their first appearances at the Geneva motor show in March 2014.

Dacia Makes Its Popular Duster SUV Even More Attractive

THE DARLING of the budget motoring sector is celebrating its first birthday, and to mark the celebration Dacia is making its already affordable Duster SUV even more attractive. With boasts of being the fastest growing car brand in the country, Dacia is tempting buyers a range of highly competitive monthly repayment offers available on new Duster models ordered until 31st March 2014 Selected Duster Ambiance models are available from £199 deposit and £199 per month. For £10 per month extra customers can upgrade to the higher grade Laureate specification.

Prime Minister praises JLR during visit to new engine plant

Prime Minister David Cameron today praised Jaguar Land Rover as he made a surprise visit to the firm’s brand new £500 million engine production facility in Wolverhampton. The PM flew in to join a special contingent of MPs, local government officials and the press on an early preview tour of the in-construction new plant, just six weeks after the JLR team themselves moved in. Apparently, an insider told MSN Cars, the PM had personally requested to visit the plant – and he wasn’t originally invited!

Lamborghini Huracan racks up 700 orders ahead of a Geneva debut

The new Lamborghini Huracan (pictured) secures 700 orders before a public debut The new Lamborghini Huracan – the long-awaited replacement for the Lamborghini Gallardo – was revealed just before Christmas and has been doing a tour of private reveals to Lamborghini faithful around the world. Those private presentations look like they’ve been quite a success, with Lamborghini reporting 700 secured orders for the Huracan already – half the average annual orders of the Gallardo in just a month – before it’s even been publicly revealed. With styling that owes more than a passing nod to the Aventador, 602bhp from its 5.2 litre V10 and 4WD, the Huracan is an appealing mid-engined supercar from Lamborghini, especially has Lamborghini seem to have worked hard to increase the quality of construction and materials used.

Storms batter Britain

THE MET OFFICE has issued a "red" weather warning for exceptionally strong winds in western parts of Wales and north-western parts of England, while the Thames is predicted to rise to its highest level in more than 60 years in some places. On the day dubbed Wild Wednesday, gusts of 108mph hit Aberdaron on the Llyn Peninsula in north west Wales, while 96mph winds were recorded off the south coast of England at the Needles, on the Isle of Wight. The Met Office has forecast 2.75ins (70mm) of rain by Friday in the already-sodden West Country - more than the region would normally get in the whole of February - with south Wales, western Scotland, Northern Ireland and other parts of southern England also expected to bear the brunt of the deluge.

Toyota Prius Recall: 30,790 cars in the UK, 1.9 million worldwide recalled

The 3rd generation Toyota Prius (pictured) is being recalled Toyota’s hasn’t had a lot of luck with recalls in the last few years, although the latest recall for the Toyota Prius isn’t quite on the scale we’ve seen for previous recalls. It’s only eight months since the last Toyota Prius recall – which affected around 5,000 Prius models in the UK from 2009 – but this latest recall is a lot more extensive, affecting third generation Prius built from March 2009 to February 2014 and totalling 30,790 cars in the UK and 1.9 million worldwide. The issue is a problem with the hybrid system’s boost converter software, which is used when the car is under heavy load such as accelerating hard from a standstill.

Button issues Triathlon challenge

Formula 1 star Jenson Button is challenging his McLaren team-mates to down tools and race him - in the annual triathlon he organises. The 2009 world champion driver is signing up his mechanics to take part in the challenge being staged in July for the third year. Button is a keen athlete who has taken part in a number of triathlons over the years.