Ferrari 458 Italia – in the flesh

New Ferrari 458 Italia out testing And today we’ve had drop in to our inbox a picture of a 458 Italia in the flesh, which gives far more idea of perspective than the artfully-lit studio shots Ferrari released. It’s no real surprise that 458s are running around, with the official reveal only a matter of weeks away at the Frankfurt Motor Show. And Ferrari hasn’t gone to huge lengths to disguise this car – just some black and white paintwork.

BMW X7 SUV confirmed to top BMW’s X Range

The BMW X5 Plug-in Hybrid will be built at Spartanburg along with the new BMW X7 The idea for BMW to build an SUV bigger than the X5 was put on ice when the world’s economy went in to meltdown in 2008, but the idea of a range-topping BMW X7 was back on the cards as long ago as 2010. Now, four years on, BMW has confirmed that they are planning an X7, that it will be built at their Spartanburg Plant in South Carolina and that it will arrive in 2017 or 2018. BMW aren’t prepared to divulge what platform the X7 will use, but it looks likely it will arrive on a revised version of the platform used for the next generation BMW 7-Series, a platform that will likely also be utilised for the new Rolls Royce SUV when that arrives, with the announcement of the X7 making a Rolls Royce SUV even more likely.

Nürburgring sold for £83m to German auto tech group (2014)

By Ollie Kew Motor Industry 12 March 2014 11:00 The Nürburgring racetrack in Germany has been sold to German automotive and aerospace technology conglomerate, Capricorn Group, for a figure in excess of €100m (£83m), it has been announced. The Capricorn bid narrowly beat a rival offer from HIG Europe by virtue of its ‘higher purchase price and good prospects for the region’. For now, it’s business as usual.