Land Rover Discovery Sport

With the launch of the Evoque, Range Rover and Range Rover Sports, Land Rover has sufficiently bolstered its range of high-profit 'luxury' family of vehicles. Now, the Discovery Sport has been unveiled as the first of its renewed 'leisure' models. As these pictures show, the boundaries between the luxury and leisure ranges lie pretty close together, with the new Sport drawing heavily on the Evoque's design themes: a few degrees of approach angle are traded for rounder, far-less utilitarian bumpers; the character lines are more deeply cut into the bodysides and rise more steeply, and the C- and D-pillars are much faster than the outgoing Freelander/LR2's.

First Ferrari F12 in U.S. goes for $1.125 million

The first Ferrari F12 Berlinetta in the United States was sold on Saturday at the Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas for $1.125 million. The auction benefited Hurricane Sandy victims.

Nissan to open new studio in Beijing

After last week's announcement of leadership changes at Nissan's North American and European design centers, Nissan Investment Co., Ltd (NCIC), a Nissan subsidiary in China, today revealed plans to expand its global design resources with the establishment of a new design studio in Beijing. "With the addition of 20 designers, Nissan's new studio will enhance our design capabilities, as well as our product competitiveness in China and Asia where the automotive industry continues to see robust growth," said Shiro Nakamura, chief creative officer and senior vice president of design and brand. "Locating the studio where our customers live and work allows us to best respond to their needs and design vehicles that exceed their expectations." Scheduled to open early in 2011, the studio in the Chao Yang district of Beijing will be the first design facility in China established by a Japanese automaker.