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2012 BMW 3 Series launches in the UK from £29,060

The 2012 BMW 3 Series is launched in the UK The 2012 BMW 3 Series has been launched by BMW UK, with just three engines available at launch and prices starting at £29,060. It’s taken a few months from the debut of the 2012 BMW 3 Series back in October to actually launching it in the UK, but now BMW UK has officially launched the sixth generation of the car that underpins their sales. Last week we had the prelude to the official UK launch with a huge gallery of UK-specific new 3 Series Photos, and there’s not a lot more to say we haven’t covered already – we even had UK prices for the new 3 Series back in October.

Audi R8 LMX – the most powerful R8 yet – costs from £160,025

The Audi R8 LMX (pictured) is the first production car with laser lights The new Audi R8 LMX is actually the most powerful R8 road car Audi has produced, but they seem keener you know that it has laser beam headlights. But that’s because they’ve beaten BMW to the punch on the laser front. As a run-out version of the current R8, the R8 LMX has a lot to offer, with more power, more toys, a hefty price tag and a debut in the UK at the Goodwood Festival of Speed next month.

Nissan tests self-cleaning paint

Well that took long enough. Nanotechnology is here, and Nissan is reportedly using it in the paint on its little Versa Note hatchback. We would have started on something a little more exciting, like the hard-to-care-for matte finish on the GT-R's rear spoiler, but that's just us.