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Audi A1, Damien Hirst & Elton’s White Tie & Tiara Ball

Sir Elton John, David Furnish and the Damien Hirst decorated Audi A1 (click for bigger image) Elton John hosts a White Tie & Tiara Ball event at his home in Windsor every year, with an auction for charity as part of the event. This year it’s on the 24th June – this Thursday. And it has a very special Audi A1 being auctioned off, courtesy of Audi UK.

Bentley set to enter Dakar rally with new SUV

Is Bentley planning to enter the 2013 Dakar rally with a race version of its new Range Rover-rivaling luxury SUV? CAR has uncovered early plans suggesting that Crewe is preparing to do exactly that, helping give its EXP 9F 4x4 a motorsport pedigree to smoothe the arrival of this rather controversial 4x4. CAR understands that Bentley is currently buying back the Race Touaregs that VW Motorsport sold to privateer teams after leaving the event to concentrate on its Polo WRC entry.

Mercedes-Benz GLA stars at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show

The Mercedes-Benz GLA compact crossover is making its European debut at the firm’s home motor show, Frankfurt 2013, and it’s aiming to take on the BMW X1 and Audi Q3 in the up-market small SUV sector. Being based on the firm’s A-Class hatchback is a good way to start, too, with decent, efficient engines, plenty of premium quality and some striking styling to boot.