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2014 Volvo XC90 on track as part of £3.5 billion investment in Sweden

Volvo are investing £7 billion in their future – half of that in Sweden – and the first model to benefit will be the long overdue 2014 Volvo XC90. Just like all of Ford’s premium automotive adventures - Land Rover, Jaguar and Aston Martin included – Volvo has suffered from a long period of under investment but now – with China’s Geely in charge – they’re forging ahead with big investment and big plans to try and emulate the turnaround Tata has accomplished at JLR. That means an investment of £7 billion over the next three years – £3.5 billion of that in Sweden – in a new scalable architecture (SPA) platform and new Volvo engine architecture (VEA) to underpin most of Volvo’s future models.

Fiat unveils new 900cc TwinAir two-cylinder engine

Fiats of old used to feature noisy two-cylinders with a fetish for overheating, yet the Italians are at it again, this week releasing details of their new TwinAir two-cylinder 900cc engines. You can see how it works in our video below. The new engines, the first in a series of two-cylinders by the Italians, are designed to trump all other downsizing efforts. Headline figures from the 83bhp twin are 23% more power than the regular 1.2 four-pot and the same as a 1.4 16v - yet with 30% less consumption.

Punchy diesel bound for Mini Cooper

By Phil McNamara Motor Industry 07 November 2006 09:00 Mini is planning the first ever diesel Cooper – and the common-rail unit will have almost 50 percent more power than the outgoing Toyota engine. The Mini Cooper diesel will run the 1.6-litre HDi four, which features in Peugeot-Citroen and Ford cars. Peak power is 110bhp, with 180lb ft of torque on tap.