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Classic style for road-ready Beetle Dune

A VERY special Volkswagen Beetle has hit the coastal roads of northern Germany, and it might just arrive in showrooms soon, too. The new Beetle Dune concept captures a little of the spirit of the classic version, with 50mm of extra ride height, big, bold wheels and a rear-mounted ski rack. It looks stunning on the move, where its broad-spoked 19-inch wheels look almost like solid discs of polished metal and the ski rack has the visual effect of an old-school Porsche 911-esque spoiler.

Hyundai ix35 facelift to cost from £16,995 – extended model range & specs

The ‘new’ Hyundai ix35 (pictured) costs from £16,995 Hyundai revealed the mildly facelifted ix35 back in March (and a better looking version for the Korean market a couple of months later) and now, with the new ix35 on sale next week, we have news of prices and specs. We covered the tweaks Hyundai have made to the ix35 back in March – and they’re really quite minor – but the trim levels are also changing and the more powerful 2.0 litre diesel is biting the dust. The ix35 range now kicks off with the ix35 S 1.6-litre GDi 2WD manual at £16,995 which comes with 16″ alloys, central locking, USB and AUX, AirCon, Hillstart Assist and Downhill Brake Control (designed to help those who can’t really drive).

2012 BMW 6-series to get xDrive power

Do convertibles and all-wheel drive go together like oil and water, or peas and carrots? BMW seems to think the latter, with the addition of the company's xDrive system to the 2012 BMW 650i. BMW says the all-wheel-driver versions of the 6-series are faster than the rear-drive cars.