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Jaguar Land Rover leads UK universities to develop virtual simulation tech

Jaguar Land Rover is to lead four UK universities in a £10m ($15.5m) government scheme to develop virtual simulation technologies and processes to help improve and accelerate the car design process. The carmaker will be leading project teams from the universities of Cambridge, Loughborough, Leeds and Warwick in the Program for Simulation Innovation (PSI), developed to improve the potential of the UK virtual simulation industry. It is hoped that through its results design quality and capability can be improved through the simulation of sights, sounds and smells.

Audi TT speedster 'will be built'

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 20 May 2008 12:15 Audi will build a limited production run of the TT speedster we scooped last week, CAR Online can reveal. The company is planning to make between 50-100 of the chop-top TT especially for the Middle East market. Although spokesmen in Europe have denied any production plans for the unusual open-top TT we spied on test in southern Germany, Audi's marketing director for the Middle East, Bernd Rosenbichler, told us they were planning a small production run for enthusiasts in hotter climes.'We have been asked [by Audi AG] if we could imagine bringing this car here,' he told CAR.

Volkswagen Golf GTE Plug-in Hybrid UK debut

The VW Golf GTE (pictured) gets its UK debut at the NEX next week The Volkswagen Golf GTE – which VW see as a plug-in hybrid Golf GTI – was revealed in February ahead of its debut at the Geneva Motor Show last month and is now heading for the Gadget Show Live at the NEC next week for its UK debut. With a 1.4 litre TSI petrol turbo producing 148bhp and a 101 bhp electric motor, the Golf GTE promises decent performance – 0-62mph in 7.6 seconds – daft official economy figures of 188 mpg and the ability to run on electric power only for up to 31 miles. It’s an appealing combination for a Golf that can offer city running benefits with a turn of decent performance when the mood takes, although at a price likely to be north of £30k it’s not exactly a budget buy.