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McLaren MP4-12 650S hits the Web ahead of official Geneva reveal

Images of the new McLaren MP4-12 650S have leaked to the Internet ahead of a planned unveiling for the British supercar at the Geneva Motor Show in early March. Created in response to customer demand for an edgier version of the McLaren MP4-12C offering greater levels of driver engagement, the 650S runs a more heavily tuned version of McLaren's twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V8 direct-injection engine producing a claimed 25 hp more than the variant used by standard sibling for a total of 641 hp (as its name suggests 650 ps -- metric hp). Further details remain scarce ahead of the MP4-12C 650S's official public unveiling in Switzerland two weeks from now, although information passed on to prospective customers at a private presentation of the new two-seater held last week suggest it is also in line to receive a series of modifications to its seven-speed dual clutch gearbox, suspension, steering, brakes and aerodynamics -- all aimed at providing it with a more aggressive nature and added racetrack ability.

Mercedes Concept A: Coming to a shopping centre near you

Mercedes Concept A is off on a Shopping Centre Tour We did think there was a chance that the new 2012 / 2013 Mercedes A Class could make an appearance at the Frankfurt Motor Show, but instead Mercedes concentrated on the new B-Class. And with the next European Motor Show not arriving until Geneva in the Spring, Mercedes has decided it will be a good idea to take the Concept A – the Concept version of the new A-Class – on a tour of UK shopping centres to introduce their new baby to the people who might buy it. So over the course of the next month Mercedes will be trotting off to a shopping centre in each major part of the UK (don’t tell the Welsh – or the Northern Irish), with a visit to Braehead in Glasgow, Arndale in Manchester, Bullring in Birmingham and Westfield in London.

Lexus confirms plans for baby IS

By Ben Pulman Motor Industry 22 October 2008 14:15 Lexus has officially confirmed it will build a BMW 1-series rival. Speaking to the German media, European company MD Tadashi Arashima told reporters: 'We will offer a Lexus in the compact class'. He explained that Lexus needed 'smaller and more efficient vehicles' in the face of European CO2 regulations.