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Audi A8 (2014) at Frankfurt motor show

In the wake of an all-new Mercedes S-class, the facelifted Audi A8 will be shown at Frankfurt motor show as the luxury saloon celebrates its twentieth birthday. The A8’s body has been given a nip and tuck, with more power and improved fuel efficiency, too, as it battles the new S-class and the BMW 7-series. How is it different to the current A8?

Cars of the future at the Royal College Art Vehicle Design Show 2013

If you believe everything you read in the media, 'the yoof of today' are falling out of love with the car. Today it's more about the latest smartphone than getting behind the wheel of your first car. But then with social media replacing proper conversation, perhaps a car is no longer needed?

2015 Ford Mustang spy photos revealed

No doubt Ford's biggest news next year is the new 2015 Mustang, launched to help the Blue Oval celebrate the pony car's 50th anniversary. Today we're getting our best look yet at the face of the next Mustang. There are significant changes afoot: We've been reporting for months the new car could look more like the Evos concept car Ford showed at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show.

Professional designers create US icons of tomorrow on CCS' Cultural Immersion Workshop

This year's College of Creative Studies' Cultural Immersion Workshop saw 10 design professionals from Asia – seven of which had never been Stateside before – tour the Midwest on a cultural exploration mission as they sought to provide a fresh perspective on American car culture... in just 27 days. This trip provided the foundation for the innovative concepts that were unveiled at the college on 16 August.

Ferrari 458 Speciale to debut at Frankfurt motor show

Update: Preview video added below, and yes, you can hear the car's engine -- barely -- through the thumping movie trailer-like music. A new Prancing Horse is set to go public at the 2013 Frankfurt motor show: Ferrari will use the event to introduce the 458 Speciale, which will join the 458 Italia and 458 Spider at the lower end of Ferrari's range. Visually, the 2,844 lb., mid-engined 458 Speciale doesn't depart too much from the 458 Italia, though the new model gets a more aggressive fascia and a massive hood duct that -- when coupled with an apparently F1-inspired interior -- hints at the no-nonsense sporting purpose of the car.

CDN-GM Interactive Design Contest 2013 – GMC Brief [w/Video]

Get your sketchbooks and markers ready, because that time is again upon us: the 2013 CDN-GM Interactive Design Contest. Launching this Friday, this year's contest once again challenges design students from across North America to take on one of four briefs from GMC, Buick, Chevrolet or Cadillac. You can enter designs in different briefs, but be aware there's only two months to develop proposals before the shortlist is announced.

Cross-country in a Corvette Stingray: Day One

Chevrolet brought a small fleet of 2014 Corvette Stingrays to Pebble Beach last week. Somehow, we were able to talk them into letting us drive one from Monterey back to Michigan. By the end of the trip, Autoweek will probably have logged more miles in the Stingray than anyone outside General Motors.

One lap of the Web: The 917 song, eating an engine block and Saab sputters back to life?

-- Your author can attest to the aural joy of a properly tuned Porsche flat-six (cooled by air, please), but FlatSixes has posted a video of a 12-cylinder 917K lapping Monza at full-tilt that'll make your mouth water. -- We're all aware of what happens to "end-of-life" vehicles: The crusher or, in many cases, the shredder takes what was once someone's pride and joy and returns it to raw materials. But have you ever seen it happen?

New Volkswagen Golf R gets horsepower boost

This has been a big year for the VW Golf. The first six months of 2013 saw the new GTI, GTD, Variant and TDI BlueMotion all debut in Europe. Now comes the one we've really been waiting for, the Golf R, announced today in Euro trim.

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.

Ferrari 458 Speciale revealed ahead of Frankfurt Motor Show debut

The Ferrari 458 Speciale (pictured) has been revealed ahead of a Frankfurt debut It’s always been a given that Ferrari would make a 458 in the mould of the 430 Scuderia – a more focused and more powerful version of the stock model – and here it is. The Ferrari 458 Speciale. Revealed ahead of a public debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month, the 458 Speciale gets modifications to its aerodynamics and its powertrain and previews the direction of future Ferraris in the process.

Lexus teases Frankfurt SUV concept (2013)

Lexus has released the first picture of what’s expected to be its new SUV concept car, bound for the Frankfurt motor show in September 2013. Clearly set to employ the sharp-creased design and huge ‘spindle grille’ cues from the current Lexus range – not to mention the LF-LC coupe concept – Lexus is nevertheless staying tight-lipped on details of its new model. We’ll see the car revealed completely in early September.

Ferrari 458 Speciale (2013) at Frankfurt motor show

More power and pace, less weight and extra helpings of oversteer – here comes the Ferrari 458 Speciale. Regular customers will be reaching for their bank cards and road testers will be jockeying for a test drive of the extreme 458, because Ferrari has taken the most thrilling mid-engined car on the planet and turned the volume up to 11. The 458 Speciale follows in the smokin’ tyre tracks of the 360 Challenge Stradale and 430 Scuderia, in being the maximum attack version of Ferrari’s current mid-engined V8 berlinetta.

The best cars at Pebble Beach and Monterey week 2013

Hmmm – how do we compile a gallery of the best cars at this year’s Monterey Historics week, without letting it run to 100+ slides? And just what does ‘best’ mean anyway? We reckon it can mean unusual, beautiful, powerful, fast – a whole array of things.

New Lexus Concept teased for Frankfurt. Is this the Lexus RC, the IS Coupe?

New Lexus Concept teased for Frankfurt With the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show now just a few weeks away, car makers are starting to tease their offerings, with this morning’s coming from Lexus with a tease photo for a new Lexus Concept. Lexus aren’t giving anything away, but it does look like this tease could be for the new Lexus RC – and a powerful RC-F – Coupe, a two-door version of the latest IS. That makes more sense from the proportions we can work out in the photo than a  first look at a more compact, sub-RX – SUV we also know is in the works, but we wonder how different it will be from the concept for the latest IS.

Subaru BRZ tS is the ‘Sporty’ BRZ STI with no more go

Subaru BRZ tS (pictured) more show – no more go When we ran the tease photo for what appeared to be the Subaru BRZ STI, we did hope this would be the BRZ with more power. After all, STI (Subaru Tecnica International) is the go faster bit of Subaru so it seemed to be pointing in the right direction, a direction lovers of the BRZ (and its sibling, the Toyota GT86) have been hoping for since it arrived – one with more power. But this isn’t the Subaru equivalent of a BMW M or a Mercedes AMG, its more the equivalent of BMW Performance Parts, where Subaru’s STI division have kitted out a standard car with bolt on modifications and called it the Subaru BRZ tS.

Global car launches at Pebble Beach 2013

Not content with playing host to hundreds of the world’s rarest classic cars, the 2013 Pebble Beach motoring week in Monterey, California, also saw the first global public outings of several new cars and concepts. Here’s our pick of these high-profile unveilings with cars from established mega brands like BMW, Aston Martin and Cadillac as well as exotic specialists like fiercely independent Dutch brand Spyker and Moroccan supercar marque Laraki.

Porsche celebrates 50 years of the 911 at Pebble Beach

Seven generations across 50 years; nobody has ever matched what Porsche has done with the 911. What started out as the Porsche 901 quickly became the 911 – and wouldn’t take long to become a legend. As one of the most accomplished road-going supercars ever created, it's easy to see why the 911 is also a consummate champion in the motorsport arena – and to celebrate that fact, at Pebble Beach 2013 there was a huge array of road and race 911s, courtesy of Porsche itself along with a stack of private owners.Click through the gallery to see our pick of these great cars...

VW Golf R (2013) at Frankfurt motor show

The new VW Golf R has been revealed and it’s the fastest version of the iconic hatch ever. The all-wheel drive flagship Golf now has 296bhp, up from 267bhp, with its 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine and all-wheel drive sending the six-speed DSG version from 0-62mph in a feisty 4.9sec – matching the BMW M135i, but still shy of the Mercedes A45 AMG, which cracks it in 4.6sec. Why would I buy this over a Golf GTI?

Ferrari 458 Speciale supercar (2013) unveiled

Ferrari has unveiled the fastest roadgoing V8 in its history: the new Ferrari 458 Speciale. These first photos reveal the new supercar ahead of its world debut at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show in September. This is a harder, high-performance version of one of MSN's favourite V8 supercars.

New VW Golf R revealed – the most powerful Golf ever

Volkswagen has announced the new Golf R hot hatch will make its world debut at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show before going on UK sale in spring 2014. As the undisputed king of the VW Golf range, the Golf R packs 300hp and four-wheel drive, and is likely to be priced from just under £30,000. As such, the Golf R also becomes the most powerful production Golf.

The most beautiful cars at Pebble Beach and Monterey week 2013

It’s said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but there are some car designs that just work brilliantly – ones that few will ever argue are anything other than beautiful. These are two dozen such cars – we reckon all are landmark designs that will always look nothing less than stunning.

Range Rover Evoque updated for Frankfurt Motor Show 2013

Land Rover has updated the Range Rover Evoque for 2014 with a series of new technological features. The key addition is a new nine-speed automatic gearbox but the firm says detail changes have been made throughout – making it smarter, more tech-savvy and greener. The new Range Rover Evoque will be revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month, before going on sale later in 2013 in time for the 2014 model year.

New Mercedes S 63 AMG costs from £119,565

New Mercedes S 63 AMG (pictured) costs from £119,565 The arrival of the new Mercedes S-Class in May saw MB move their range topper on properly for the first time in almost a decade, but with UK prices staring from £62,650 for the S 350 BlueTEC it wasn’t going to be on most people’s shopping list. And if you can’t afford Mercedes’ entry-level S-Class there’s no hope of affording the new S63 AMG, which Mercedes has revealed will cost an eye-watering £120k when it arrives in the UK in November. To be entirely fair, the new S63 is an awesome car with immense performance (which would be even more impressive if Mercedes endowed it with 4WD, as they do in other markets) with its 5.5 litre bi-turbo V8 developing 577bhp and getting the S63 to 62mph in 4.4 seconds.

New Ford Kuga Titanium X Sport tops Kuga range

The New Ford Kuga Titanium X Sport (pictured) is the new top of the range Kuga Ford’s latest Kuga crossover/SUV is turning in to something of a success story for Ford, with Kuga production increased earlier this year to keep up with demand. Not only that, but it seems some 87 per cent of all Kugas are being ordered in range-topping Titanium and Titanium X trim levels, which leaves Ford just one option – come up with a name for a trim level even higher than Titanium X to bring in more high-priced sales. Our suggestion earlier in the year was to do exactly that, perhaps with a Titanium XX, Titanium Ultimate  or Titanium Black, but Ford has decided on Kuga Titanium X Sport for their new range topping, more expensive, better equipped Kuga.

CAR’s £1000 support for upcoming journalists – in honour of Phil Llewellin

The Phil Llewellin Student Journalist of the Year award will go to the best student writer from the motoring journalism courses at Coventry and Cardiff Universities. The winner receives £1000 and also a work experience placement at CAR magazine, whose pages were graced by Phil Llewellin’s work until his untimely death in 2005. Entries for the award, run by the Guild of Motoring Writers, must be received by 30 September, with the winner announced at the RAC Club in London on 5 December.

Packard 1108 Twelve wins Pebble Beach concours

The 1934 Packard 1108 Twelve that won the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in a perfect coat of dark green paint was once a lowly taxi cab prowling the streets of Puerto Rico in roughly applied red and orange livery. "A gentleman named Ricardo Ricasta bought it in New York in 1934 and the car returned to Ricasta's original home in Puerto Rico for a while," owner Joseph Cassini said. "When he passed away and the family had no interest in the car, it became a taxi cab for a while." Imagine hailing a cab in downtown San Juan and this magnificent Packard rolls up.

Toyota Yaris Hybrid-R concept (2013) first picture of 400bhp Yaris

Here’s the first image of Toyota’s new hot hatch concept: a Yaris Hybrid boasting a faintly ridiculous 400bhp power output. You won’t be surprised to learn the Yaris Hybrid-R isn’t intended for series production: it’s just a party piece to celebrate 5.5m worldwide Toyota hybrid sales since 1997, and point to future Toyota hybrids that the company says will offer faster performance and a grin-inducing drive. What powers the Toyota Yaris Hybrid-R concept?

CAR tech: what's next for car interior design?

Your new car could soon be as thoughtful, powerful and communicative as KITT from the Knight Rider TV series. That’s the ultimate expression of the connected car, a trend which is intensifying rapidly. Over the next five years, car cockpits will be able to relay more information on bigger, multiple screens and through the windscreen, and you’ll be able to give commands far more intuitively thanks to voice recognition and gesture control software.

The most expensive Ferrari ever sold at auction

A new record price was set at Pebble Beach this weekend when the 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S NART Spider pictured here became the most expensive Ferrari ever sold at auction. That isn’t the same as saying it’s the most expensive Ferrari ever, but the NART Spider is an extraordinarily special piece of Prancing Horse history. Join us as we explore what makes this particular car so important, and take a closer look at one of the most valuable cars in the world.