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New Car Sales Accelerating Ahead

IT’S GOOD news in the new car market as the latest figures from industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reveal registrations already outstripping those of 2012 with one month of the year still to go. A total of 159,581 new cars were registered in November - a 7% rise on the figure for November 2012. Last month's figures took the year-so-far total to 2,111,819 - a 9.9% rise on the January-November 2012 total and already in excess of the year-end 2012 figure of 2.04 million.

Bertone Jaguar B99 GT concept (2011) at the Geneva motor show

Bertone B99 GT – the racing version Next to the fully-trimmed B99 show car on Bertone's stand is an exterior mock-up of a GT2-class racing B99.  Two additional electric motors up front mean the GT has 972bhp all wheel drive capability.  A carbonfibre splitter, diffuser and flat undertray are matched with a massive bootlid wing.  There's enormous side-exit exhausts for the range-extender generator, a 100mm lowering job and a lurid green paintjob.  It’s an extreme way for Bertone to highlight the dual images of luxury and performance that Jaguar has in its heritage – particularly since there aren’t currently any saloons in the FIA GT2 series.  Perhaps they should have painted it in a '70s Broadspeed XJC touring car livery to get the full effect. More details on the Bertone B99 exterior design Bertone claims that it has modernized classic Jaguar three-box saloon design with the B99, with Bertone’s design chief Mike Robinson and his team drawing inspiration not just from past Jaguars, but the stealthy big cat that lends its name and image to the brand.  They coined the slogan "Cunning Glamour with Race-Bred Innovation” to embody the B99’s design… but from the two cars on the stand it looks like reconciling those disparate aims in the one vehicle may have been a bit beyond them. The roofline has been shortened and lowered in proportion to a conventional three-box body, inspired by a Jaguar cat stalking its prey.

2014 VW Golf R priced from £29,900

Volkswagen has announced the UK pricing for the new Golf R. Arriving in showrooms in March 2014, the R becomes the new range-topping Golf, above the GTI. It comes in three- and five-door variants, and is priced from £29,900.