Toyota Lexus Xenon Ballast on 2040-parts.com

Driven: BMW 6 Series convertible

Every large BMW coupe – from the E9 3.0 CS, through the shark-nosed E24 6 Series, Claus Luthe's beautiful E31 8 Series, right up to the outgoing, Bangle-era E63 6er – has had an exoticism beyond every other car in the brand's range. We drove the latest from the most southern point of Europe back to our London office to find out if it too is a truly Grand Tourer. Stepping off the 'plane in Gibraltar, greeted by a Deep Sea Blue 650i with Ivory White leather, 19-inch rims and Shadow Line exterior trim under the early summer Mediterranean sun, it's clear that the right colorway and a more appropriate setting certainly help the F12's cause after our disappointment with the car at its debut in Detroit earlier in the year.

Vauxhall Ampera & Chevy Volt win European Car of the Year 2012. Are they mad?

Vauxhall Ampera - European Car of the Year 2012 The Vauxhall / Opel Ampera (& the Chevy Volt) has won the European Car of the year 2012. Which seems completely stupid. Last year we had a car that almost no one is buying – the Nissan LEAF – voted Car of the Year.

Audi to engineer next Porsche Cayenne

Audi will develop Volkswagen group's Porsche Cayenne, VW Touareg and Audi Q7 large SUVs in the future. Currently, Porsche has responsibility for engineering the three models, which share the same underpinnings. The decision to transfer developement to Audi comes after Porsche was chosen instead of Audi to be the lead developer for large luxury sedans and sports cars within VW group.