Vintage Lucite Retro Car Auto Shift Knob Gear Shifter 4 on 2040-parts.com

2012 Audi R8 facelift, more power & S-tronic ‘box

Audi R8 getting a facelift - and more power - in 2012 The supercar with a mainstream car maker’s badge attached that is the Audi R8 has been something of a success as a halo car for the Audi range since it arrived in V8 form in 2007 (well, probably 2008 by the time most customer cars turned up). Since the original V8 R8 arrived we’ve had an absolute deluge – in supercar terms – of R8 models from Audi including the R8 V8, R8 V8 Spyder, R8 V10, R8 V10 Spyder and the rather costly R8 GT and R8 GT Spyder. But through that time the engines – apart from in the R8 GT – have remained the same, as has the woeful R-Tronic gearbox.

Lexus HS250h – the Posh Prius

Lexus HS250h Dedicated Luxury Hybrid. Well, that’s what Lexus calls it. I reckon the LS600 made a pretty good fist of being a ‘Luxury Dedicated Hybrid’, but that doesn’t count apparently because you didn’t have to have the LS as a hybrid.

Honda CR-Z Mugen (2010) first official pictures

Since its conception, Honda has been trying to persuade us that its CR-Z isn't merely a woolly hybrid but is in fact a proper sports car. As if to prove the point, Honda has announced that Mugen-fettled versions of the hatch are to be released for the British market. Recently making a splash in the UK with their banzai track-focused version of the Civic Type R, Mugen started in 1973 and specialise in building and tuning Hondas.