European Car Magazine Formerly Vw & Porshe Old Vintage May 1992 on 2040-parts.com

2014 Audi A8: Price from £58,800

The 2014 Audi A8 (pictured) costs from £58,800 Audi revealed its facelift for the A8 and S8 back in August but now, with first new A8 deliveries due in the UK in January 2014, Audi has managed to come up with a price for almost the entire A8 range (and the S8). The starting price for the new A8 starts at £58,800 for the 3.0 TDI quattro (the FWD A8 has bitten the dust) rising to a substantial £79,900 for the 4.0 TFSI quattro S8. So far, they haven’t come up with a price for the range-topping 6.3 W12 LWB A8.

Kia Sportage KX-4 range topper

Kia has added a new model at the top of the Sportage range – the Kia Sportage KX-4 – with plenty of toys, a 181bhp 2.0 litre CRDi and 4WD. Just like sister company Hyundai, Kia no longer looks to be the cheapest on the block and is instead looking to offer the best it can, including range-topping cars with decent levels of power and plenty of toys. So step forward the new Kia Sportage KX-4 with a 181bhp version of the 2.0 litre CRDi diesel engine, 4WD and plenty of toys making it the most powerful Sportage on sale – and the best equipped.

Pace cadets: At AMG academy, students take their finals with their right feet

Mercedes-Benz USA launched the AMG Challenge in 2002, a program touted as "a chance to experience the thrill of driving the newest Mercedes AMGs on some of America's best racetracks." This year, MBUSA abandoned the Challenge in favor of the AMG Driving Academy, a multistage driver-development program pioneered by AMG in Europe. The difference? According to Greg Clark, AMG manager, "the Challenge was more about the cars, while the Academy is more about the driver." Having participated in both the Challenge and now the Academy, we'd say that difference is subtle, at least as it applies to the one-day program.