Range Rover Sport SVR takes on the Nurburgring – and wins (video)

Range Rover Sport SVR takes on the Nurburgring – and wins (video) We’re not sure at what point a car actually becomes a ‘production’ car, but that’s a tag Land Rover are putting on the new Range Rover Sport SVR as it takes to the Nurburgring and comes away with a time of 8 minutes 14 seconds – the fastest by a production SUV. Land Rover are keen to tell us the lap by the RRS SVR was in a standard production car, by which we assume a car that’s built to the specification announced for the Sport SVR when it arrives next year. That means the full fat 542bhp from its 5.0 litre V8 and performance that is clearly impressive, although Land Rover still hasn’t given us specific performance figures, and certainly enough - together with suspension tweaks – to make it very impressive on road.

Skoda Rapid Spaceback (2013) at Frankfurt motor show

This is the new Skoda Rapid Spaceback that’s basically an estate version of the Rapid hatchback that was launched in the UK last year. Skoda wants its miniature Audi A3 Sportback-lookalike to appeal to young buyers and trendy youthful families when the car goes on sale this October, and it shouldn’t cost much more than the regular Rapid, which starts at £12,905. Skoda Rapid Spaceback – more space you-know-where, then?

CAR's review of 2009: photos of the year

CAR designers Andy Franklin and Alex Tapley have pored over our photographers' output from 2009 and announced their favourite pictures of the year. We've set up a slideshow in the player below and you can flick back and forwards through CAR Magazine's best photos. CAR's famous for the quality of its photography and it's a tradition we're happy to uphold.