Vintage General Motors Delco-remy Turn Signal Lever on 2040-parts.com

Lotus's glimmer of hope: Proton stands by Hethel

After another painful year of sales for Lotus in the UK – down 58% on 2011 - Norfolk's beleagured sports car brand has kicked off the New Year with the grand unveiling of its new flagship Malaysian showroom, and the thumbs-up from senior Proton company suits that Lotus isn't on its last legs. The announcement comes in the same week Lotus’s sales figures were released for 2012. Showing a substantial 58% decrease in sales and selling just 137 vehicles, Lotus Cars was the worst performer in the UK with a woeful 0.01% share of the market.  Are Lotus's Malaysian owners sticking by the company?

Porsche 918 Spyder gets its own website

The Porsche 918 Spyder (pictured) now has its very own website It’s more than two years since the Porsche 918 Spider went on sale, but it’s now getting close to arriving in Porsche showrooms so Porsche has created a new microsite dedicated to all things 918. Since it went on sale, the 918 Spyder has been developed further and the production 918 will come with 4WD courtesy of its electric motors – one delivering 154hp (rear) and the other 127hp (front) – which, combined with 608hp from its 4.6 litre V8, promises 0-62mph in 2.8 seconds (and 7 seconds on just the electric motors) and on to 211mph. The new 91 microsite reveals Porsche’s self-imposed challenge was to beat the Carrera GT by at least 10 seconds on the Nurburgring, and there’s video of the 918 out playing at the Nurburgring, as well as plenty of photos and detail on exactly what the 918 offers.

BMW 6-series Gran Coupe (2012) first official pictures

If you want proof that the Mercedes-Benz CLS was an influential car, look no further than the new BMW 6-series Gran Coupe, unveiled at the weekend. It's a four-door 6-series, based very closely on the Gran Coupe concept car shown in 2010. The executive car market has changed a lot in recent years, and BMW is now chasing the same buyers as the Merc CLS, Audi A7 et al.