Volkswagen chief: No. 1 in the world by 2018

Volkswagen chairman Martin Winterkorn reaffirmed his company's ambitious and audacious goals on Wednesday night on the eve of the Paris motor show: pass Toyota and General Motors for the title of world's largest automaker in 2018. Winterkorn was the final speaker after an event that featured unveilings from each of the German conglomerate's brands. He said his company wants to record total sales of 10 million in eight years, which would vault it pass the current levels of global leaders Toyota and GM.

New Volvo V40 R-Design. UPDATED

We have the first photos of Volvo’s sporty take on the new V40 – the Volvo V40 R Design – ahead of a debut at the Paris Motor Show. Update: Volvo has now caught up with this story, so we’ve added a few more photos and a video. The V40 R-Design will be available as an option across all the V40′s range of engines but the Sport suspension still remains an option, not standard.

GT Academy winner Heitkotter's next step is the 24 Hours of Dubai

It all culminates in January at the 24 Hours of Dubai: That's when video-game player and GT Academy winner Bryan Heitkotter will race, professionally, with European GT Academy winner Jann Mardenborough in a Nissan 370Z. The GT Academy was a contest that started last December in which Gran Turismo 5 players competed for a seat in a real race car. Thousands entered, 32 players rose to the top, and 16 of those were invited to a seven-day whirlwind racing and evaluation program at the Silverstone circuit in the United Kingdom.