Honda Oem 01-05 Civic 1.7l-l4 Exhaust-heat Shield 18182pld000 on 2040-parts.com

Will Volvo need a JV in China with itself?

Western car makers wanting to operate in China need a joint venture with a Chinese partner. And it looks like Volvo is going to have to partner with itself to keep officials happy. The Chinese authorities are keen to make sure that Western car makers can’t just rock up on their doorstep, open up a factory or three and flog cars in the most populous nation on earth.

Happy New Year! Our Top 12 Car News stories of 2012 – month by month

Happy New Year to one and all from all of us here at Cars UK. We take a look back at the top car news story on Cars UK for every month of 2012. As it’s New Years Day 2013, it seems the right time to take a look back at the top car news stories of 2012.

Renault Twin’Run gets 316bhp & pays homage to the Renault 5 Turbo

The Twin’Run is an extreme version of the next Twingo and manages to pay homage to the old Renault 5, with a thumping great V6 bolted in the middle and pumping out 316bhp and 280lb/ft of torque, enough to get to 62mph in 4.5 seconds and on to 155mph. The Nissan-sourced V6 gets mated to a SADEV six-speed sequential gearbox and comes with a limited slip diff to stop the tyres burning off when the going gets brisk. As well as endowing the Twin’Run with lots of power, Renault has also kept weight down to 950kg by using a tubular chassis, glass-polyester composite for the bodywork, lumps of carbon fibre and not a hugely laden interior.