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2014 Land Rover Defender Challenge announced

By Damion Smy Motor Industry 30 October 2013 12:01 Land Rover has confirmed that it is the official sponsor of the 2014 ‘Defender Challenger by Bowler’, which will see a field of up to 15 tricked-up Defender 90s hit the rough stuff as crews get down and dirty, Dakar style. It’s all about enticing those who are curious about rally raids, such as the legendary Dakar event that’s held early each year. A lack of experience, as well as costs, has made it difficult for novices looking to qualify for the necessary licence, so the Defender Challenge is ideal for rally wannabes looking to dip a toe in the water, so to speak, with no experience required to enter.

Hennessey Venom GT hits new, unofficial, speed record (video)

The Hennessey Venom GT (pictured) hist 270.49mph on a NASA runway Top speed records for production cars is starting to seem pretty irrelevant as there’s almost nowhere an owner can ever hope to hit those record speeds. And the performance of cars like the new McLaren P1 – where  performance and handling are much more the focus than outright top speed – has added the the irrelevance. But that doesn’t stop some car makers aiming for the bragging rights of the world’s fastest production car, and John Hennessey and his Hennessey Venom GT are back with another claim on the title.

2014 Range Rover Evoque revealed with 9-speed gearbox & Active Driveline

The 2014 Range Rover Evoque (pictured) gets a raft of improvements for 2014 In the run-up to the Geneva Motor Show in March, Land Rover revealed they were planning to fit a new 9-speed ZF automatic gearbox to the 2014 Range Rover Evoque. And they’ve done that, and more, as they reveal the 2014 Evoque. It’s hard to call the 2014 Evoque a facelift as it’s more about evolving the Evoque with improvements as it matures, but there are some interesting changes beyond a few cosmetic upgrades for 2014. Chief amongst the changes is the new 9-speed ZF ‘box which promises some quite impressive economy improvements, with fuel consumption, and therefore emissions, improving by up to 11.4 per cent with the most frugal Evoque – the FWD with the 148bhp 2.2 litre diesel – now boasting official figures of 57.6mpg and 129g/km.