CAR was hanging out at Jaguar yesterday when we spotted this: the new XKR Goodwood Special – an XKR turned up to 11 to wow the crowds at this weekend’s Festival of Speed.

Editor Phil McNamara was on hand to soak up the one-off XKR, which points to a harder, faster XKR. Power rises to 523bhp from the standard XKR’s 503bhp and torque swells to an earth-rippling 516lb ft.

The new Jaguar XKR Goodwood Special: the lowdown

We were at the Whitley design centre on an, ahem, top-secret feature for a future issue of CAR Magazine, when design director Ian Callum and chief engineering type Mike Cross arrived unannounced in the XKR Goodwood Special. Read the rest of this entry »

The 500 has been an unprecedented success for Fiat. Last year the company’s revitalised UK dealer network shifted 15,148 500 models, and this year that number is expected to climb some 34% to 20,310. And this sales success will be bolstered by the arrival of the 500C convertible.

On sale from 2 July 2009, the dinky 500C echoes its 1957 predecessor with a simple folding fabric roof and winning character. Only 1500 are destined for the UK this year because of production constraints – from next year this should level out to annual sales of around 3000, around 15% of total 500 sales. Read the rest of this entry »

With the absence of Porsche’s RS Spyder LMP2 sports cars competing this year, Audi has recruited Porsche’s top two Le Mans drivers to compete in the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Driving a Porshe RS Spyder Timo Bernhard (28, from Germany) and Romain Dumas (31, from France) were the most successful driver pairing in the LMP2 class of the American Le Mans Series in the last three years. The duo claimed nine overall wins for Porsche and won the LMP2 title two times in a row. Read the rest of this entry »

Although media focus has shifted to the smaller Q5 crossover, Audi hasn’t forgotten about the larger Q7. The 2010 model, debuting at this week’s 2009 Shanghai motor show, sports a few small repairs, helping it fit in with Audi’s heavily-revised portfolio.

If you’re a fan of the Q7’s physical form, you’ll be elated to know the crossover’s shape doesn’t change for 2010. Exterior changes are limited, with the largest revision being revised front and rear bumper skins. Others, notably the new grille insert and LED daytime running lamps, help bring the Q7 in line with the company’s current design ethic. Read the rest of this entry »

Audi is adding a couple of new technologies to its modular efficiency platform to further boost efficiency. Starting in the second quarter of 2009, Audi will start equipping some of its vehicles with a start-stop system and will add an efficiency program to the vehicles’ on-board computers.

The modular efficiency platform is Audi’s program for improving the fuel consumption and lowering the emissions of its vehicles without affecting their sportiness or drivability. One item that is already on this platform is an energy recovery system, which recovers energy lost in braking and stores it back in the battery to reduce the load on the alternator. Read the rest of this entry »