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Production Porsche 918 Spyder – first photo from Pebble Beach

The Porsche 918 Spyder arrives at Pebble Beach The Porsche 918 Spyder has been on its way for quite some time, and we’ve seen it in umpteen guises from 918 Concept to 918 in disguise to 918 in Martini colours. And now we get the real deal – the production version of the 918 Spyder. But rather than a fanfare and a gazillion photos, Porsche has simply posted a single photo on Twitter to announce that the production 918 is at Montery Motor Week.

Audi TTS Competition celebrates 500k TTs sold

The Audi TTS Competition (pictured) celebrates 500k TTs built It started off as something of a hairdressers car, but over the course of its 15 year history – and two iterations – the Audi TT has grown to be a credible sport car and a decent seller for Audi. That’s meant a total of 500,000 TTs have been solid since the TT first hit showrooms back in 1998, so Audi are celebrating with a new limited edition model – the Audi TTS Competition. The TTS Competition will be limited to just 500 units and will come in a choice of either Imola Yellow and Nimbus Grey, as a coupe or a roadster.

Pebble Beach and Monterey car week 2013 preview: in pictures

Every August, car nuts from around the globe congregate on the Monterey Peninsula, on the west coast of America, to pay homage to the internal combustion engine. A series of events is run, culminating in the most prestigious concours in the world – Pebble Beach. Over the next few days we’ll be bringing you coverage of the key events and some of the smaller ones too, all leading up the grand finale.

2015 Mini Cooper spotted in the wild?

We caught what certainly appears to be the next Mini Cooper while driving around Santa Monica. The 2015 Mini won't be terribly different from the current one. It still retains its contemporary, instantly recognizable Mini shape, and its contrasting roof paint.

Audi reveals new Quattro concept sketches before Frankfurt

Audi has released a series of official design sketches revealing its reborn Quattro supercar concept, which will underpin the German carmaker's presence at the Frankfurt motor show next month. The modern-day Quattro aims to revive the spirit of the rally-bred Sport Quattro launched in 1984. The aggressively styled coupe has been conceived as a limited-production model that is set to be priced above that of any existing Audi model as technological figurehead for the rest of the lineup with a new plug-in hybrid driveline that mates a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 gasoline engine and electric motor for an overall output close to 800 hp.

Enzo Ferrari died 25 years ago today

The word “Ferrari” is evocative enough as it is, but add “Enzo-era” to the mix and we imagine a very specific type of machine -- a vehicle that is raw, passionate, perhaps a bit prickly, but above all, utterly unique and irreplaceable. There's a reason Enzo-era Ferraris are magical: Enzo Ferrari himself. Born in 1898, Ferrari joined the Alfa Romeo racing team in 1920, established Scuderia Ferrari in 1929 and put his name on a V12-powered race car in 1947.

2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA crossover revealed ahead of Frankfurt motor show

Mercedes-Benz will show its new-for-2015 GLA -- its first-ever shot at the compact SUV class -- at the 2013 Frankfurt motor show in September. The GLA will arrive in U.S. showrooms in fall 2014.

Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class (2014)

As previewed in excellent concept form at the Shanghai motor show, the Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class has been revealed in its production guise. Built on the same platform as the A-, B- and CLA-Classes, the GLA further expands Mercedes' portfolio of C-segment models into the semi-SUV market to take on the likes of the Audi Q3 and BMW X1. Proportionally it appears far happier than the A and CLA from these initial images, particularly around the scuttle area.

Audi readies flagship Sport Quattro concept for Frankfurt

Audi will unveil its new Sport Quattro concept at next month's Frankfurt motor show, previewed in a number of sketches. We first saw the Quattro concept back in 2010 at the Paris motor show and three years later the carmaker has produced another iteration, a 2+2 coupé, that measures in at 4,699mm – 419mm longer than the Quattro concept (4,280mm). From what the sketches show, the Sport Quattro retains the chunky C-pillar of the 2010 Quattro concept, the 1984 Sport Quattro and the original Ur-Quattro models, while the four headlamp units are another nod to the original.

2014 Skoda Yeti Facelift – now comes as Town or Country

The Skoda Yeti gets a facelift for 2014 – and a split personality The Skoda Yeti has been a big success for Skoda – and rightly so, it’s very able and decently priced – but it’s been around for a while and is ready for a facelift. So Skoda has done the usual facelift tweaks for the Yeti – which will be revealed in public at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show – with new grill and lights at the front, titivated tailgate and lights at the back, some new colour options - Moon-White, Jungle-Green, Metal-Grey and Magnetic-Brown – and new alloys. Inside the tweaks are even less obvious with titivations for the steering wheel, dashboard trim and upholstery and the arrival of a rear view camera and automatic parking the main highlights.

OFFICIAL: Mercedes GLA Compact SUV – UPDATED with video

The new Mercedes GLA Compact SUV (pictured) has been revealed It’s been clear since we revealed last week that the Mercedes GLA was heading for a reveal at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show that Mercedes were unlikely to wait until Frankfurt itself to unveil the GLA. Yesterday they published sketches of the GLA on Facebook and followed that up with a teaser video. But now we get the full reveal of the new Mercedes GLA.

Top international design talent to descend on Czech Republic for AutoDesign Prague 2013

The automotive design industry will head to Prague on 26 September to speak at the AutoDesign Prague 2013 conference at the National Technical Library. Now entering its third year, the one-day conference – organized by AutoDesign and Styling magazine – will be followed by a workshop the next day, which will focus on techniques including sketching and clay and 3D modeling. The speakers and presentation topics haven't been announced yet but last year's conference featured speakers such as Dassault Systèmes' vice president Design Experience Anne Asensio, while the 2011 edition saw presentations by speakers including Fabio Filippini, Pininfarina's vice president design and chief creative officer, and Peter Horbury, then-vice president of design at Volvo.

Video: GM's Clay Dean on the future of urban mobility

Clay Dean is the star of a new Faces of GM video, Anticipating the Driving Experience of the Future. The global design director for GM's Advanced Design Group, whose job also entails exploring future transportation design solutions, talks about the need to avoid short-term thinking on urban mobility, as by 2030 60 percent of the world's population will live in cities. As new challenges start to emerge, such as increasing congestion, Dean believes it is time to start thinking about transportation in a completely different way.

Fiat to offer two spinoff models based on the 500L for 2014

Fiat unveiled two new versions of its popular 500L in its home market a couple months ago, the 500L Living and 500L Trekking editions, both designed for different audiences. While the 500L Trekking will have adventure in mind, offering a taller ride height and protective bumpers, the 500L Living will be an ideal car for young families. For the 2014 model year, Fiat will be offering both of these in the U.S.

2014 Dodge Durango starts at $30,790

The seven-passenger 2014 Dodge Durango will start at $30,790 when it arrives on dealership lots next month. That’s the same price as last year, but buyers will get a little bit more. Standard features now include an eight-speed automatic transmission with steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters, Uconnect Bluetooth, a 5-inch Uconnect touchscreen, 7-inch customizable gauge cluster and signature Dodge brand LED racetrack taillights.

Carmel kicks off concours craziness

Consider the Monterey car week begun! The Carmel-by-the-Sea Concours-on-the-Avenue launched with its best-ever crowd and what many were calling the best-ever show for the free-to-the-public event held every Tuesday before the Pebble Beach Concours on Ocean Avenue in Carmel. Eighteen blocks total were shut to traffic and jammed with collector cars, everything from classic 911s celebrating that car's 50th anniversary to Ferraris, Trans Am racers and a whole block of Shelby Cobras.

New Audi Quattro Concept at Frankfurt 2013 – first images

New Audi Quattro Concept (pictured) heading for Frankfurt Ever since Audi revealed a quattro concept back in 2010, we’ve expected it to turn in to at least a limited production run. But it hasn’t. And now, instead of the news that the quattro for the 21st century is heading in to production, we’re treated to a new quattro concept instead which may, or may not, make production.

Mercedes GLA baby SUV revealed ahead of Frankfurt

Meet the latest edition to the small Mercedes family – the Mercedes-Benz GLA, a compact ‘crossover’ SUV. The GLA is aiming to take on existing premium rivals such as the BMW X1 and Audi Q3, and may even take a chunk out of the Range Rover Evoque if it gets the opportunity. This new baby Mercedes will make its world debut at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

Mercedes GLA crossover (2013) at Frankfurt motor show

This is the new Mercedes GLA crossover, an A-class in combat trousers and hiking boots. Previewed by the Concept GLA displayed at Frankfurt earlier in 2013, the production GLA is available with two- or four-wheel drive, manual or twin-clutch transmissions, and a range of four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines shared with the A-class hatch. Mercedes GLA: the styling In principle, the GLA is an A-class on stilts, and in the metal, that’s exactly what it looks like.

Skoda Yeti facelift (2013) at Frankfurt motor show

This is the facelifted Skoda Yeti, brought bang up to date with the current Skoda design theme thanks to front and rear styling tweak as well as a restructured model range. It’s a straight-edged, angular redesign, but we can’t help thinking that binning the old car’s bulbous grille and charming foglights has robbed the Yeti of its cheeky character. What has actually changed for the 2013 Skoda Yeti?

Self-balancing electric unicycle – would you commute on this?

Going straight in at number one on the list of things we didn't expect to read today, the SBU V3 unicycle is coming to the UK. Thanks to London 2012 and Sir Side Burns, cycling has never been more popular in the UK. Now Eddyline Ltd - the sole UK distributors for the SBU V3 - is looking to…er…ride on the back this popularity by importing something with one less wheel.

Audi Quattro concept (2013) at Frankfurt motor show

This is our first look at Audi’s new Quattro concept, the latest evolution of Ingolstadt’s plot to build a flagship super-coupe inspired by its Eighties all-wheel drive icon. However, it doesn’t just look a whole lot more aggressive than the original 2010 Quattro concept – it’s also massively punchier under the skin. What’s new exterior-wise for the 2013 Audi Quattro concept?

Fiat gets naughty, supposedly, with the 500 Cattiva special editions

Monterey car week is the perfect time for automakers to launch new concepts and debut special edition vehicles. But it's usually the big names in the luxury/performance world -- the heavy hitters, if you will -- that show up and show off. Cadillac unveiled the Ciel concept a few years back, BMW featured a Zagato roadster in 2012 and the Porsche 918 concept used Pebble as a stage for its first North American appearance.

Video previews Mercedes-Benz GLA crossover ahead of Frankfurt motor show

Mercedes-Benz We last saw the GLA at the 2013 Shanghai Motor Show. Mercedes-Benz has released a short video and sketches previewing the all new GLA before its Frankfurt motor show debut in just a few weeks. With BMW's X1 and Range Rover's Evoque breathing down Mercedes-Benz's neck, we knew it was only a matter of time before Mercedes-Benz rolled out a compact crossover of its own.

Ford Everest concept

Ford has unveiled its new Everest SUV concept at a Go Further event in Sydney, Australia. It's set to challenge other cars such as Holden's Colorado 7 and the Mitsubishi Challenger. Created by Ford's Australian design and production development team, the concept – a seven-seat version of the Ranger ute (pickup) – previews an SUV that's likely to be on sale within the next two years.

New Mercedes GLA teased on video

Thye new Mercedes GLA (pictured) teased on video ahead of Frankfurt It was only last week we revealed that the latest iteration of the new Mercedes A-Class – the Mercedes GLA Compact SUV – would be making its debut at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show in production guise. And now Mercedes are starting the tease. They kicked of late yesterday with a sketch of the new GLA, but as we’ve already seen the concept at Geneva, and designers sketches are not exactly the most reliable interpretation of the reality, we didn’t see much point in republishing them (you can see them on Mercedes Facebook page).

Toyota Hybrid-R Concept – a Yaris with 400bhp – teased for Frankfurt

The Toyota Hybrid-R Concept (pictured) is a 400bhp Yaris Hybrid heading for Frankfurt We’ve always believed that the best use for hybrid powertrains is to get extra performance without the penalty of increased fuel consumption. Toyota, on the other hand, have primarily used their impressive – if complicated and expensive – hybrid powertrains to yield improved economy and emissions from more prosaic cars like the Prius, Yaris and Auris. But now it looks like Toyota are ready to show us what hybrid technology can offer in the way of performance too, with a tease for what Toyota are calling the Hybrid-R Concept, which appears to be a Yaris with more than 400bhp on tap.

Ford Focus 1.0 litre EcoBoost drops below 100g/km & Focus range gets tweaked

The Ford Focus 1.0 litre EcoBoost (pictured) drops below 100g/km The 1.0 litre. 3-cylinder EcoBoost engine Ford has been rolling out across its range recently is a cracking little engine, and a much better option for most private buyers than a diesel version. Now, Ford has given buyers who want a sub-100g/km car the chance to finally buy a petrol car instead of an oil burner with the first family-sized car with a petrol engine to break the 100g/km barrier.

Jay Leno drives the Chevy Camaro Z/28

Jay Leno took one of the first non-GM-employee drives of the new Chevy Camaro Z/28 on his “Jay Leno's Garage” web series this week. He talked with chief engineer Al Oppenheiser at his warehouse about what it took to add the famous name to the proud pony car. We first saw the new Camaro at the New York auto show in March.

Learner driver sits test 110 times

A 28-year-old woman has sat her driving theory test 110 times, costing the unnamed candidate a whopping £3,410 in test fees. It’s unknown whether the candidate actually passed her driving theory test at the 110th attempt. Reported by the Daily Mirror, the figures released under a Freedom of Information Act request to the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) stand as a new record for failing the first section of the UK’s two-part driving test.