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Hyundai puts Michel Nandan in charge of WRC effort

Hyundai has appointed former Peugeot WRC technical director Michel Nandan to head up their assault on WRC. As Hyundai matures in to a credible mainstream force, improving brand perception is crucial to its long-term goals and 2012 is all about improving Hyundai’s brand experience and perceptions of the brand. A part of that focus is to take Hyundai back in to WRC rallying with a much modified i20, where Hyundai are hoping for a better experience than they had when they went rallying a decade ago – which should be a given considering the big strides Hyundai has made in its cars in the last few years.

Aston Martin adds a V8 Vantage S

Slotted between Aston Martin's vaunted V8 Vantage and the venerable V12 variant comes a tweener model that promises to be anything but vague: Aston is adding the S variant, with more power and an upgraded transmission. The Vantage S draws power from the 4.7-liter V8 making 430 hp, 10 hp more than in the base Vantage. The S also adds 15 lb-ft of torque, boosting total twist to 361 lb-ft.

Nissan teases new Sports Saloon Concept for Detroit

Nissan teases new Sports Saloon Concept for Detroit Now we’re in to 2014, and the Detroit Auto Show is just a few weeks away, we’re going to get more news and teases ahead of the show, and this one comes from Nissan. The single teaser image (above) shows a new ‘Sports Sedan Concept’ which looks like it will preview the next generation Nissan Maxima due in 2015. We don’t get the Maxima in the UK, but the Sports Sedan Concept also previews a new style direction for Nissan which is likely – in  toned-down form – to find its way in to future Nissan’s this side of the Pond.