McLaren MP4-12C to cost £168,500

McLaren will charge £168,500 for the MP4-12C supercar in the UK. That's the new 2011 price, including the rise in VAT from 17.5% to 20% from 1 January. Today's news means that the MP4-12C will cost £1000 less than a Ferrari 458 Italia, its arch rival, at existing tax rates.

Suzuki Swift Sport (2011) first official picture

This is the new Suzuki Swift Sport, a lovely little hot (well, warm) hatch that will be officially revealed at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show in September. And you can forget about the current crop of turbocharged and big power-chasing hot hatches – this Swift Sport uses a naturally aspirated engine good for just 134bhp… 134bhp! I know the last Suzuki Swift Sport wasn’t big on power but Minis and VXR Corsas boast over 200bhp… Yes, but that’s not the point.

Lincoln aims at luxury crossovers with MKT

In an effort to grow the brand to customers who normally buy imports, Lincoln will offer up a full-size crossover, the MKT, that is due in dealerships in late summer. We saw the Lincoln MKT at the Detroit Auto Show. As sales of full-size sport/utility vehicles decline--Lincoln says industry-wide sales are down 5.2 percent for 2008--sales of crossovers are growing.