Thule Fit Kit 2171 (honda Civic, 4-dr Sedan, 2006-2012) on 2040-parts.com

Nissan 370Z Nismo cost £36,995 & rest of 370Z range gets a price cut

The extra bang you get from the Nismo isn’t that great – it gets just 13bhp more than the regular 370Z – but it does get tweaked suspension, brakes and a sports exhaust as well as a rather OTT body kit. The body kit may be a bit too brash for many tastes, but Nissan do say it gives the 370Z levels of downforce that rival the GT-R, so when your neighbours laugh at your Halfords-esque 370Z you can tell them it’s all about the go and not the show. We’re sure they’ll believe you.

VW XL1 (2013) 314mpg eco-car heads for production

VW supremo Ferdinand Piech has kept his promise of putting the XL1 super-eco car into production. VW has confirmed the 313mpg XL1 will be built in limited numbers, around 50 of which are earmarked for UK sale. It's an expensive way to save money on fuel though: projected prices for the XL1 run into six figures.

Porsche engineer Rolf Frech named engineering chief at Bentley

The Porsche-ization of luxury-car maker Bentley moved another step forward on Wednesday as Rolf Frech was named as its engineering chief. Frech, who has been Porsche's director of the complete vehicle engineering group for the past decade, replaces Ulrich Eichhorn, who is set to become head of the VDA, the German auto-industry association. Eichhorn, 50, joined Bentley as engineering chief in 2003 from Volkswagen, where he had been in charge of research and development.