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GT Academy winner Heitkotter's next step is the 24 Hours of Dubai

It all culminates in January at the 24 Hours of Dubai: That's when video-game player and GT Academy winner Bryan Heitkotter will race, professionally, with European GT Academy winner Jann Mardenborough in a Nissan 370Z. The GT Academy was a contest that started last December in which Gran Turismo 5 players competed for a seat in a real race car. Thousands entered, 32 players rose to the top, and 16 of those were invited to a seven-day whirlwind racing and evaluation program at the Silverstone circuit in the United Kingdom.

New Volvo V40: Geneva 2012

New Volvo V40 at Geneva We catch up with the new Volvo V40 at Geneva – perhaps the most important car for Volvo in years – and find it entirely convincing. The new Volvo V40 was perhaps the most leaked car ahead of its official debut earlier this week at Geneva 2012, and we already knew most of what it would offer. But catching up with the V40 at Geneva confirms what we felt about the V40 when we got the first information – it’s entirely convincing.

Land Rover Defender Harris Tweed (2012) prototype

Here's a curious mix of classic Britishness and modern modifications: a Kahn-tuned Land Rover Defender fitted with a butch bodykit, enormous multispoke wheels and knobbly tyres and - inside -tweed-trimmed bucket seats. It's like a Spitfire wearing a Damien Hurst-penned livery. This is, to give the car its full title, the Kahn Defender Concept 17 Wide Body - Harris Tweed Prototype.