Ruf XL: A longer Porsche Panamera for the Chinese market

The Chinese love their rear-seat legroom. The workhorse of Shanghai taxi fleets is an extended-wheelbase Volkswagen called the Santana; think 1980s Quantum with longer rear doors. Audi's Chinese division designed and builds a long-wheelbase version of the last-generation A6.

Aston Martin teases new car – could this be the ‘Final Edition’ V12 Vantage? (video)

This tease image from the Aston Martin video appears to show a V12 Vantage outline We reported recently that Aston Martin had told its dealers to stop taking orders for the V12 Vantage Coupe, which we took to mean the Vantage is coming to the end of its shelf life, at least in its current iteration. But a tease video Aston Martin has released for a new car perhaps – ‘Coming Soon’ – points to a final edition version of the V12 Vantage Coupe before it gets put out to grass. The video (below) does show what appears to be a V12 Vantage; it’s the right shape, it has bonnet vents, bits of carbon fibre and an exhaust that sounds about right.

New Audi A1 Sportback: The Five-Door A1 arrives for 2012

Audi reveals the new A1 Sportback 5 Door With almost two years of sales of the ‘Only Premium Car in its Class’ (Audi’s assertion), Audi has revealed the more practical version of its smallest car – the five-door Audi A1 Sportback. Visually, the five-door A1 looks just the same as the three-door A1 – with the obvious addition of a pair of back doors – but Audi has managed to 6mm in height and width which, they say, improves room in the back. Which it may, but as the length and wheelbase remain the same it won’t do anything for legroom.