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Kia to launch a new range-topping V8 saloon dubbed K9

Kia will build their rumoured rear-wheel drive V8 saloon - but it won't come to the UK, sources in Korea have confirmed to CAR.Following the domestic badge hierarchy, this new range-topper would logically be called the K9. Perhaps that dog-inspired badge may explain why the car won’t come to Europe, but US sales are expected.  Kia’s new range-topper: the ‘K9’ The new large Kia saloon was scheduled to be shown in 2011, but it has now been pushed back to a 2012 launch. The new saloon would sit above the front-drive 3.5-litre V6 K7/Cadenza saloon in the Kia line-up. CAR understands the new exec will be ready by May 2012.   The K9 represents the first application of sister brand Hyundai's rear-drive technology from the Genesis and Equus. Expect Hyundai's 'Tau' V8 engine under the bonnet, along with the upcoming eight-speed automatic transmission which arrived in the Genesis R-Spec saloon at the 2011 Chicago auto show.

Volkswagen GTI Roadster Vision Gran Turismo brought to life and heading for Worthersee

Volkswagen GTI Roadster Vision Gran Turismo brought to life We’ve already had Worthersee Concepts from Skoda, Audi and SEAT, but now we get the Worthersee Concept from the Mother Ship – the Volkswagen GTI Roadster Vision Gran Turismo Concept. VW has brought to life a car created for the virtual world of Gran Turismo gaming and has revealed a series ofd design sketches (above) before the real car makes its appearance at Worthersee. VW are calling the GTI Roadster a supercar with aggressive styling, and the GTI Roadster certainly looks dramatic (although that drama may well be a little less extreme when it arrives in the metal) and, just like the Skoda CitiJet and SEAT Ibiza Cupster Concepts, manages without a roof.

End of the road for 'Queen's favourite' car

ONE OF the most-loved and long-lived road vehicles, and a favourite with the Queen, is to cease production. The last Land Rover Defender will be produced by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) at Solihull in the West Midlands in December 2015. Featuring in the Angelina Jolie film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and in the latest James Bond movie, Skyfall, the Defender name can be traced back to the early 1990s.