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Government to make UK hub for driverless cars

The government has today announced plans to make the UK a world centre for the development of driverless cars – with a £10 million cash incentive to any town or city that builds a test site for autonomous vehicles. The news comes as part of chancellor George Osborne’s 2013 Autumn Statement – alongside plans to scrap the car road tax disc and freeze fuel duty. Tax disc to be scrapped after 93 years On Bing: see pictures of driverless cars Milton Keynes is already experimenting with driverless pods – with plans to introduce a trial in 2015.

Rolls-Royce teases Wraith before Geneva motor show

Rolls-Royce has revealed the first actual photo of the upcoming Wraith coupe, which will debut at the Geneva motor show in March. The first teaser image was just smoke in the shape of the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament, but this photo shows the actual shape of the car. Last week we reported that the big coupe will most likely carry a 6.0-liter V12 engine that should create about 600 hp, and that the car will be about 7 inches shorter than the four-door Ghost.

New Mercedes SL 400 replaces SL 350

The new Mercedes SL 400 (pictured) replaces the old SL 350 It’s a little over two years since the latest Mercedes SL arrived, and Mercedes has now decided to add a little zest to sales by dropping the old SL 350 and replacing it with a new Mercedes SL 400. The new SL 400 gets its power from the new E400 which means a twin-turbo 3.0 litre V6 with 328bhp and 354 lb/ft of torque – 26bhp and 81 lb/ft more than the old SL 350 – enough to let the SL 400 scoot to 62 mph in 5.2 seconds – 0.7s better than the 350 -= and on to a limited top speed of 155 mph. The new SL 400 has to make do with Mercedes tried and tested 7-speed auto – despite a new 9-speed now being available in Mercedes’ arsenal – which gives the SL 400 official economy of 38.6 mpg and emissions of 172g/km – not that you’ll come close in the real world.