Happy New Year! Our Top 12 Car News stories of 2011

Top Car News 2011

Happy New Year to all Cars UK readers, and a look back at the top car news stories – month by month – of 2011.

It’s the first day of 2012, so it seems like a good time to look back at the top car news stories of 2011.

Instead of looking at the most read stories overall of 2011 on Cars UK, we thought we’d have a look at the top story for each month. Each month had a clear winner in terms of the top story, apart from March and September where it was too close to call, so we’ve looked back at both stories that were most popular in those months.

Of course, with all the shenanigans going on at Saab through the year we’ve probably seen more pages viewed on the Saab saga (especially if you include Vladimir Antonov in that) than anything else. But this is a look at the most popular stories of the year for each month.

Pagani Huayra First Photo

We have the first of the official photos of the new Pagani Huayra – a week before the Zonda’s replacement is revealed.

We’d been sitting on an official photo of the new Pagani Huayra for a while, but when some murky scans were published on Teamspeed, we thought we may as well jump in and publish the first official photo of the new Huayra…in the world!

The first official photo of the Hyundai i40 interior

The production-ready European Hyundai i40 will debut at Geneva and go on sale in the UK in June. Plus we have the first official Hyundai i40 interior photo.

In a clear sign of how popular Hyundai has become, the biggest story in February was the news that the European version of the i40 would debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March, and the first photo of the i40′s interior.

Two stories just about tied for the top car news story of March, so we thought they both deserved a reprise:

BAC Mono - the world's first single-seat production road racer

Briggs Automotive Company has revealed the BAC Mono, a single-seat road racer with a 2.8 second 0-60mph and 170mph. Costs £67k +tax.

The world has seen many track cars for the road come and go, but the BAC Mono stood out as a real quality product with serious performance. And the photos of the BAC Mono have been some of the most viewed on Cars UK this year.

Koenigsegg Agera R at Geneva

We update the info on the Koenigsegg Agera R with video and photos from Geneva and ask – Is the Agera R a serious contender for star of the show?

We’d run previous stories on the Agera on steroids that is the Agera R, but the story we ran from Geneva got almost as much interest as the BAC Mono story.

The Range Rover Evoque finally gets a price in the UK - from £28k

Land Rover has finally revealed UK prices for their new baby – the Range Rover Evoque – which will start at £27,955 and rise to £44,320.

2011 was very much the year of the Range Rover Evoque, and the reveal of UK prices and details for Land Rover’s new stylish baby struck a chord with readers. As did many other Evoque photos and stories throughout the year.

Aston Martin V12 Zagato - at Villa d'Este

Aston Martin has revealed the Aston Martin V12 Zagato – based on the V12 Vantage – ahead of its debut at Villa d’Este.

The Aston Martin V12 Zagato is a limited edition of the V12 Vantage with Zagato styling and being built by CPP. We’d trailed the story before this, but it was the official reveal that got your attention.

2012 BMW 1-Series - now from BMW

Just 24 hours from the leak of the 2012 BMW 1-Series, BMW manage to release official details of the new 1-Series, and a stack of photos.

The new BMW 1 Series was a big deal, and this story has continued to get a lot of views, as have the photo galleries and other stories on the 1-Series.

Ferrari 550 GTZ - built by CPP

In a further acquisition, specialist car builder CPP (Coventry Prototype Panels) has acquired Milanese Car Design House Zagato for an undisclosed sum.

Another Cars UK exclusive story that got a lot of coverage and a lot of reads. CPP were keen to point out that the Zagato deal was in fact a ‘Partnership’.

Pagani Huayra - not bound for the USA any time soon

We’ve been hearing for some time that the Pagani Huayra is nowhere near ready to be federalised. Will the Pagani Huayra ever be legal in the U.S.? We don’t think so.

We’d been hearing for some time that Pagani couldn’t make the Huayra road legal in the US – despite the US being their prime target as a new market. Shortly after we ran this story Pagani confirmed they wouldn’t be able to get the Huayra to the US until 2013, despite taking deposits.

Another month we couldn’t slip a fag paper (that’s a British ‘Fag’, for the benefit of our colonial cousins) between the two top stories of the month. But it was a clean sweep for Jaguar Land Rover.

Jaguar C-X16 - innovative under the skin

The new Jaguar C-X16 – which may become the Jaguar XE – gets revealed ahead of Frankfurt, complete with hybrid powertrain.

Actually, if you put this story on the new small Jaguar sports car – the Jaguar XE, or whatever it’s going to be called – with the follow-up story when the CX-16 actually arrived at Frankfurt, the CX-16 story was the big winner for September.

Land Rover Defender gets funky with the DC100 Sport

Land Rover has revealed a cool and sporty version of the new Land Rover Defender. The DC100 Sport is an open ‘Speedster’ Defender.

Land Rover’s Lifestyle take on the next generation Defender got a lot of interest. Not quite as much as the Jaguar, but it was so close we thought the New Defender deserved a look-in.

How much longer can Aston Martin keep recycling old technology?

The rumours are continuing to grow that Aston Martin are scouring the car world for a buyer, despite denials from AML.

An editorial piece speculating on the uncertain future at Aston Martin, we wondered what the future holds for a company with ancient platforms and engines and basically just one model. A surprise hit.

Scientists Andrea Rossi talks about his Cold Fusion E-Cat

It may not be directly about cars, but the demonstration by Italian scientist Andrei Rossi of Cold Fusion Energy production E-Cat could change the car world.

A surprise hit, this was an odd story about a mad Italian scientist who claims to have cracked cold fusion. The implications for the future of cars is huge, but the project is far from proved.

Hyundai UK deliver a bumper load of photos and video of the new Veloster

Hyundai UK has been busy taking photos and video of the new Veloster Coupe – due in showrooms in 2012 – and we have plenty of both.

Despite only being published on Christmas Eve, this story on the 2012 Hyundai Veloster – and its photo gallery and video – have kept plenty of you busy over the holiday period.

By Cars UK