Porsche 911 cabriolet: First official photographs

Porsche has developed an innovative fabric and composite-plastic folding roof for the 911 cabriolet as part of a push to give it a cleaner appearance, improved aerodynamic efficiency and greater levels of refinement than its strong-selling predecessor. Pictured here officially for the first time ahead of its world premiere in January at the Detroit auto show, the new open-top 911 is planned to go on sale in North America in 2012 in Carrera cabriolet and Carrera S models. Eschewing the traditional multilayered fabric structure of the 997 series 911 cabriolet, the next model (991 series) adopts a specially developed lightweight roof that uses two fabric-skinned composite plastic panels for the upper and rear part of the structure, giving it a more uniform shape together with a tauter fit that is claimed to make it more resistant than before to buffeting at high speeds.

Olympic Amy aims for rallying gold

OLYMPIC GOLD medallist Amy Williams OBE is taking on new challenge when she takes part in the Wales Rally GB that starts on 14 November. Williams will be driving a rally-prepared Mitsubishi Evo and will be co-driven by veteran expert and Sky Sports News Formula One pundit Tony Jardine. Although she had never competed in a rally until recently, Williams has had an intensive 10 weeks of training, including tuition from professional rally driver Elfyn Evans.

Vorsteiner dresses, tunes up the BMW 1M

Vorsteiner debuted its GTX-V 1M Program for the BMW 1M coupe. It features a front spoiler, rear diffuser, trunklid, exhaust and forged wheels. The front lip and trunklid are made from what Vorsteiner calls Autoclave Pre-Preg Carbon Fiber.