Volkswagen puts a price on the VW Polo BlueGT

The Volkswagen Polo Blue GT – a warmed over Polo – will cost from £17,400 for the 1.4-litre 138bhp 6 spd manual. The Polo Blue GT gets the 1.4 TFSI engine with 138bhp so the little Polo can row along well enough, but it also get cylinder deactivation for when you’re not blatting from traffic light to traffic light to endow the Blue GT with official average economy of 60.1mpg (or 62.7mpg if you opt for the DSG ‘box). When you’re not worried about being parsimonious with your fuel the Polo GT skips along to 62mph in 7.9 seconds and handles well enough thanks to the Polo’s already decent setup and a 15mm lower suspension.

BMW 1-Series M Coupe (2011): more details

BMW's readying a pocket-sized M3 for those on a smaller budget: the BMW 1-Series M Coupe. While official information remains scarce on this 2011 pocket rocket, we've grabbed a few more pointers to its performance and stats. Set to be launched in early 2011, the 1-series based M spells a return to more lightweight M cars after the X6 M and its ilk that strained relations with the most fervent M division fans.

Dany Bahar wants £6.7 million compensation from Lotus

The Dany Bahar saga at Lotus continues with Bahar claiming £6.7 million compensation for his firing as Lotus CEO. Back in May, ex-Ferrari man Dany Bahar was ousted as CEO of Lotus, confirmed a month later by Lotus parent DBR-Hicom who appointed Aslam Farikullah – an engineer, not a marketing man – to oversee a way forward for Lotus, and just last week Lotus put Bahar’s custom Esprit up for sale. But that appears not to be the end of dealings between DBR-Hicom and Bahar as Bahar has issued proceedings against his former employers seeking compensation of £6.7 million for wrongful dismissal.