Volkswagen hits back, weighs making a bid for Porsche

Volkswagen is considering an audacious reverse-takeover bid for its majority shareholder, Porsche, in a twist in the drawn-out struggle for control between the two German carmakers. The Volkswagen Group's supervisory board is said to be weighing the possibility of purchasing Porsche AG, in a move that would relieve its holding company, Porsche SE, of massive debt that industry analysts suggest the company may not be able to fund should the world's financial crisis drag on well into 2010--a scenario put forward this week by the International Monetary Fund. The secret plan emerged as shareholders were set to convene at Volkswagen's annual meeting on Thursday, and it comes after Porsche revealed that it is carrying some 9 billion euros ($11.73 billion) in debt, most of it owing to interest on loans taken out to purchase its 50.8 percent stake in VW.

Fiat Grande Punto Abarth (2007): first official pictures

By Jack Carfrae First Official Pictures 08 March 2007 11:56 Fiat Grande Punto Abarth: the lowdown Fiat is finally resurrecting the sporty Abarth badge for a Grande Punto hot hatch, unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show this week – and aimed squarely at beefed-up supermini rivals such as the Fiesta ST and Skoda Fabia vRS. Discreet, it ain’t. The new model is coated with chunky Abarth badges and bright-red, go-faster stripes, all bearing the name or trademark scorpion logo of the historic brand.

Kia pro_cee’d GT goes on sale – price from £19,995

The new Kia pro_cee’d GT (pictured) is now on sale in the UK The Kia pro_cee’d GT – a decent stab at a hot hatch from Kia – arrived in January, ahead of a public debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. And now it’s on sale in the UK. The pro_cee’d GT gets Kia’s 1.6 litre petrol aided by a turbo to produce appealing figures of 201bhp and 195lb/ft of torque, enough to scoot the GT to 62mph in 7.4 seconds and on to 143mph.