Blue Ox Bx3821 Base Plate Vw Passat on 2040-parts.com

Aston Martin and Mercedes 'to strike €300m deal'

By Georg Kacher Motor Industry 22 October 2008 21:25 CAR Online today lifts the lid on the secret deal – codenamed Romeo and Juliet – being hammered out between Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz. We have sensational details of the alliance, including a plan for hybrid Aston Martins, the full range of proposed Lagonda models and even a possible DB10 and 4x4 from the Aston Martin Lagonda stable. Back in August 2008, we revealed how the British sports car maker was in talks with the German giant over future cooperation (read our original Aston-Merc scoop here).

Dacia Duster is Scottish Car of the Year 2012

The Dacia Duster SUV has garnered its first award in the UK – before it even hits showrooms – winning the Scottish Car of the Year 2012. Top car awards should be for cars that are available for buyers to walk in and grab from their local dealer, and they must bring something that’s not just new, but better too. We’re not sure where that leaves the winner of the 2012 Scottish Car of the Year – the Dacia Duster – as it’s hardly a ground-breaking car and it’s not on sale yet.

Porsche 918 Spyder takes on the Nurburgring

Porsche has taken their concept hybrid supercar – the 918 Spyder – to the Nurburgring to set a time – 7 minutes 14 seconds. But a hybrid halo doesn’t have to mean poor performance, a point Porsche has proved by taking the 918 Spyder to the Nurburgring to set a lap time. The Porsche 918 Spyder can deliver a total of 759bhp from its race-derived V8 and two electric motors which, although less than the likely power available to the F70 of P1, is still a significant amount of get up and go.