Nissan 370z / Infiniti G37 Engine Block Vq37vhr V6 3.7l on 2040-parts.com

Audi shows S3 Sportback (2013) – but is a used S3 a better buy?

Here’s Audi’s S3 Sportback, the five-door version of the 296bhp Quattro hot hatch unveiled last year. The S3 Sportback takes 5sec flat to accelerate from 0 to 62mph, that’s one-tenth of a second quicker than Audi’s official figure for its three-door stablemate. That’s because the initial 5.1sec S3 time was only an estimate, and Audi’s subsequent tests have shown the three-door S3 actually dipping below five seconds in the 0-62mph sprint.

SEAT Leon X-Perience price & spec – costs from £24,385

The ‘Allroad’ SEAt Leon X-Perience goes on sale. SEAT hasn’t got round to building its first SUV, but the new SEAT Leon X-Perience is a half-way step – for SEAT and its customers – with added butchness and off-road pretensions in a high-riding estate car. SEAT has gone the usual ‘Allroad’ route for the X-Perience by fitting new bumpers, adding skid plates, extra plastic cladding and pumping up the ride height to give an estate that actually looks quite alright and, with 4WD and diff locks, can actually walk some of the walk.

McLaren P1 gets 903bhp

McLaren has revealed that their new supercar – the McLaren P1 – will deliver 903bhp and have emissions below 200g/km. The McLaren P1 will get 727bhp from its 3.8 litre V8 with an additional 176bhp coming from an electric motor for a combined power delivery of 903bhp, with the V8 contributing 531lb/ft of torque and the electric motor an instant 192lb/ft for a combined torque of 664lb/ft at 4000rpm. The boost from the electric motor is instantly available at the flick of a button on the steering wheel – McLaren call it Instant Power Assist System (IPAS) – which instantly throws more additional power to aid the McLaren’s V8 than a pair of Fiestas can manage.