Nissan Juke Nismo debuts

The Nissan Juke Nismo will debut this weekend at Le Mans 24 Hours and go on sale in the UK in early 2013. The Nissan Juke Nismo sounds like it should be a slightly watered-down version of the Juke R, but it’s not. The Juke Nismo, revealed at the end of 2011, is in fact a titivated regular Juke; think the Nissan version of IPL.

Second new London taxi of 2014 unveiled

LONDONERS had better prepare themselves for another new generation of taxi, just days after Nissan confirmed its own assault on the Black Cab market. The plug-in hybrid Fraser-Nash Range Extended Electric Metrocab is capable of more than 75mpg and less than 50g/km of CO2, and is expected to cost no more than a current Hackney carriage. The company says the vehicle could save cabbies £30 to £40 per day in running costs and can go longer between fill-ups.

Next-gen Passat to offer hybrid and twin-turbo power

VOLKSWAGEN is going even more upmarket with the all-new version of the Passat, which is due to hit showrooms later this year. Soon buyers will be able to include a plug-in hybrid and an all-new 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel among their forecourt options, as VW goes chasing after its sister company Audi. Weight-saving measures have chopped up to 85kg from the new kid on a like-for-like basis, which helps achieve VW's stated efficiency boosts of 20% versus equivalent outgoing Passats.