Aston Martin V12 Zagato We get absolute flat admission to the new £400k appropriate which is based on V12 Vantage
When Aston Martin and Italian architecture abode Zagato get together, something appropriate usually happens.

The accord spans added than 50 years and has spawned abstract like the DB4GT Zagato and the DB7 Zagato. Now Aston has appear pictures of the production-ready V12 Zagato – and we were accepted an absolute flat affair with the car.

The Zagato is based on a V12 Vantage and has been clothed in a aggregate of hand-rolled aluminium and carbon fibre. This cuts 100kg from the Vantage’s kerbweight and after-effects in the amazing appearance you see here.

The aluminium double-bubble roof and billowing haunches are Zagato trademarks, while the diffuser, addle-brain and carbon foreground splitter adumbration at huge performance. A ‘Z’ arrangement in the grille cobweb repeats the Zagato logo.

Each car takes a assiduous 2,000 man hours to build; artlessly painting it one of the four different colours – Scintilla Silver, Alloro Green, Alba Blue or Diavolo Red – is the plan of 100 hours.

Under the physique the 510bhp 6.0-litre V12 is larboard untouched, while appropriate ‘Z’ adornment appearance on the beanbag and bindle shelf. The birr and centre assemblage are akin in carbon fibre.

Only 150 examples will be fabricated at Aston’s HQ in Gaydon, Warks, in a ability congenital abnormally for bearing the One-77. The 
UK amount for the V12 Zagato is an eye-watering £396,000.

Read this week’s Auto Express (out 8 January 2012) for an absolute Q and A with Aston’s architecture arch Marek Reichman.

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Fiat Panda prices appear – Fiat Panda prices appear Prices accept been appear for the new Fiat Panda, starting from £8,900
The new Fiat Panda will alpha from £8,900 if it goes on auction at the end of February. Buyers can accept amid three new trim levels and three engines, all of which are Euro 5 compliant. 

Entry-level Pop replaces Active trim, and starts from £8900 for the 69bhp 1.2-litre petrol. This engine costs £9550 in mid-spec Easy trim and £10,050 in flagship Lounge.

The two-cylinder 85bhp 0.9-litre TwinAir petrol engine is alone accessible with Easy and Lounge trims, priced at £10,750 and £11,250 respectively. The DualLogic automated ‘box is offered as an advantage with this engine for a £750 premium.

Lastly, the 1.3-litre MultiJet turbodiesel engine is accessible beyond the range, priced at £11,100 for the Pop, £11,750 for the Easy and £12,250 for the Lounge.

Pop comes adapted with electric windows, axial locking, four airbags and physique coloured bumpers, while Easy trim adds limited axial locking, air-conditioning, roof balustrade and an upgraded audio system.

At the top of the range, Lounge models appear with body-coloured handles, ancillary moulding and acrimonious aperture mirrors, fog lamps and 15-inch alloys.

ESP and a new Low Acceleration Blow Mitigation arrangement – agnate to Volvo’s City Safety system, which automatically brakes the car to anticipate a low acceleration blow – are accessible as options.

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Car sales abiding in January – Car sales abiding in January UK car sales abiding in January, and Ford Fiesta is still the UK amount one

The UK car bazaar grew by just 0.03 per cent in January 2012, with 128,853 cars sold, alone 42 added than January 2011.

The Ford Fiesta awash 7,824 to be calmly the top-selling vehicle, with the Focus giving Ford a one-two finish. The cast holds the better allotment of the bazaar at 15.57 per cent, and was the alone accomplish to annals a bazaar allotment in double-figures.

While Ford improved, Vauxhall alone a massive 20.91 per cent, yet remained next best with 9.40 per cent bazaar share. Its best agent was the Corsa, in fourth, backed up by the Astra in fifth and Insignia in seventh. 

The GM-owned cast was about overtaken by Volkswagen, who bankrupt aural 521 cars of Vauxhall to accomplishment third with 8.99 per cent of the market. The Golf was the UK’s third-best agent and the Polo sixth.

Audi was fourth, affairs 8,563 cars to advance on January 2011’s 8,302, which gives the cast 6.65 per cent bazaar share. Peugeot came fifth with 7,282 cars awash for a 5.65 percentage.

MG’s awakening saw it become one of the better improvers, affairs 107 cars, which is added than Chrysler (98), Ssangyong (43) and Infiniti (33), although all three brands bigger on the antecedent January’s result.

The better declines were, Saab (predictably at -99.2 per cent) followed by Abarth (-37.18), Proton (-32.35) and BMW (-28.39) abaft Renault (-27.54) and Mitsubishi (-26.97).

According to the SMMT’s figures, sales of diesels grew by 6.3 per cent, with petrol bottomward 7.0 per cent. The SMMT has revised its 2012 sales anticipation to 1.92 actor units; a 1.1 per cent abatement from 2011’s 1.94 million.

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Toyota Yaris Amalgam New Yaris Amalgam is accepted as the a lot of able assembly Toyota ever
A new Toyota Yaris Amalgam has been accepted as the a lot of fuel-efficient Toyota amalgam to date. The Yaris Amalgam will bear a claimed 80mpg and 104g/km, accessible both the Auris and Prius hybrids, which acknowledgment 89g/km.

The Yaris Amalgam will use a new 1.5-litre petrol engine that, accumulated with the electric motor, produces 99bhp. The engine itself is 10 per cent abate and 16.5kg lighter than the arrangement acclimated in the Auris and Prius. The electric driveline apparatus accept aswell been bargain in admeasurement and weight, including the motor itself, the Power Control Unit and transaxle, which is beneath and lighter. 

The nickel-metal hydride array backpack is amid beneath the rear seat, so cossack amplitude is the aforementioned as in the accepted Yaris. 

The new amalgam supermini will be appear at the Geneva Motor Show in March, and goes on auction in June with an accepted starting amount of £15,500.

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VW Golf GTI Cabriolet Volkswagen is set to bare the Golf GTI Cabriolet at the Geneva Motor Show
A new VW Golf GTI Cabriolet is set to be apparent at the Geneva Motor Show next month, Auto Express has learned. 

A soft-top GTI debuted at â?¨the Worthersee affability accident in Austria endure year – area it starred alongside an R Cabrio – and it’s rumoured that the new archetypal will be a endure acclamation for the MkVI Golf, which will be replaced in 2013. 

It would be alone the additional time that a Golf GTI Cabriolet has been accessible – the endure was the MkI adaptation in the eighties. 

While the GTI’s engine has been offered in the Golf Cabriolet and Eos hard-top for some time, a abounding GTI-spec car hasn’t been available. The move would acquiesce UK barter to buy a ‘proper’ drop-top GTI, with the 208bhp 2.0-litre turbo akin to GTI-specific abeyance (including another Adaptive Chassis Control) and a GTI autogenous accumulation checkerboard seats. Six-speed chiral and DSG gearboxes would feature, â?¨as would 17-inch alloys.

The Worthersee GTI wore 19-inch Glendale admixture auto – accessible as a £1,005 advantage over the GTI hatch’s accepted Monza 17-inch alloys. It aswell had the Edition 35’s LED lights, additional an advancing bodykit with bespoke foreground and rear bumpers and ancillary skirts. It’s been appropriate this car is an optioned-up production-ready GTI Cabriolet and not â?¨a one-off appearance model.

That’s not all, though. There’s a acceptable adventitious that VW could aswell put the Worthersee Golf R Cabrio into production. This would be the a lot of able VW convertible produced, with a 268bhp 2.0-litre turbo and four-wheel drive.

The GTI Cabriolet is acceptable to amount about £27,000 – about £4,000 added than the hatchback. An R adaptation would be priced at about £35,000. The GTI adaptation would access in showrooms â?¨by September.

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VW up! GTI rumoured Volkswagen up! GTI with added almighty turbocharged three-cylinder engine rumoured
Volkswagen could be alive on an up! GTI according to aggregation sources. The up! GT will go on auction aboriginal next year – but Auto Express has been told there’s no acumen a added almighty adaptation cutting the GTI brand can’t go on sale. 

We collection a ancestor adaptation of the 108bhp up! GT beforehand this year, and engineer Torsten Oehmke told us it was accessible to get even added ability from the 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo. “We ability be able to accomplish 130bhp in future,” he said. “The six-speed box could absolutely handle the added ability and torque.”

We asked Oehmke if a added able-bodied archetypal could carrythe GTI badge, and he told us: “That’s a catechism for our marketing department. If it asks us to alarm the car GTI, so be it. There is absolutely allowance aloft the up! GT.”

Oehmke aswell accepted that the 108bhp engine will also be fabricated accessible to Skoda and SEAT, so they can produce hotter versions of the Citigo and Mii city-limits cars. Plus, the engine will arise in the Polo.

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Nissan Invitation abstraction First pictures of the Nissan Invitation abstraction accept been arise advanced of its Geneva debut
The Nissan Invitation abstraction is set to brilliant at next month’s Geneva Motor Show. Nissan assembly accept told us that the supermini-MPV abstraction credibility the way for next year’s Note replacement.

The Invitation has adventurous curve afflicted by the Juke crossover, and looks far added advancing than the accepted Note. These images appearance abysmal bumpers and aciculate lights, additional a across-the-board bottle roof.

Video: watch the official promo for the new Nissan Invitation

Inside there are aciculate creases in the aperture trims and on the council wheel. The smooth, aerial centre animate has a touchscreen affectation and annular altitude ascendancy dials, while the gearlever is army on its own sculpted ‘island’.

The heavily bolstered sports seats are absurd to accomplish it to production. Instead the supermini-MPV is set to get adjustable flat-folding seats agnate to the accepted Note.

Expect the new Note to appear with an engine ambit that’s agnate to its predecessor’s – acceptation 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre petrol engines, additional a 1.5-litre diesel.

There’s aswell belief that it will accomplish use of the 97bhp 1.2-litre supercharged three-cylinder DIG-S petrol engine from the Micra. This includes stop-start technology and emits 99g/km in the Micra, which is a agnate emissions ambition that Nissan is aiming for with the Note.

We can apprehend to see the assembly Note some time in backward 2013, and prices will alpha from about £12,500.

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BMW M6 Convertible Our spies bolt the new M6 Convertible testing advanced of the Geneva Motor Show
The BMW M6 Convertible has been spied testing advanced of its admission at the Geneva Motor Show next month.

The 552bhp soft-top is the a lot of able assembly BMW anytime built, and takes the 650i M Sport – which at £77,715 already costs £4,675 added than an M5 – and sharpens it up.

These photos acknowledge that the Convertible will chase the blueprint accustomed by the M6 Coupe and Gran Coupe stablemates, which accept already been spotted testing.

It has the aforementioned advancing foreground and rear aprons as the M6 Coupe photographed alongside it. Four annular exhausts alter the 650i’s brace of trapezoidal pipes at the rear.

A set of 19-inch alloys apartment cross-drilled brakes are bright from these shots, while we’d apprehend the M6 Convertible will chase the advance of added M cars in not application run-flats tyres.

It will be powered by the M6 range’s 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8, which will be akin to an eight-speed automated transmission. We would apprehend a 0-62mph time of about 4.6 seconds, which is hardly slower than the lighter Coupe’s estimated 4.4 seconds.

As to equipment, Xenon headlights and a head-up affectation will be standard, with a Harman Kardon audio arrangement offered as an option.

The M6 Convertible is accepted to be priced at about £90,000 if it arrives in showrooms this summer.

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Range Rover appropriate copy The Range Rover TDV8 Westminster Copy celebrates the accepted models 10th birthday
Land Rover is to bless the 10th ceremony of the accepted Range Rover by ablution the TDV8 Westminster Edition.

The newcomer replaces the TDV8 Vogue and Vogue SE models, and has a ablaze ‘Noble’ accomplishment to the grille and ancillary vents.

The foglamps and a lower splitter now appear in ‘Titan’ silver, as do the arresting new 20-inch, 10-spoke admixture wheels. Plus, there are aflame treadplates and appearance atramentous trim throughout the interior.

What’s more, TDV8 and Supercharged Autobiography models get acrimonious and cooled rear seats, additional a new administration pack.

The Westminster costs £69,995, while the TDV8 and Autobiography are £84,295 and £86,895.

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SEAT Mii five-door appear – SEAT Mii five-door appear Five-door SEAT Mii will be apparent at the Geneva Motor Show in March
First official pictures of the five-door SEAT Mii accept been appear advanced of its admission at the Geneva Motor Show next month.

The added applied Mii is the aforementioned 3.5-metre breadth as the three-door model. Like the Skoda Citigo and VW up!, the Mii has a best Euro NCAP blast analysis appraisement and cossack amplitude of 251 litres with the seats up and 951 with them folded.

The five-door Mii uses a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder engine with 61bhp or 76bhp, abiding 63mpg and 60mpg respectively. Eco editions do 69mpg and afford 96g/km CO2.

Sales will alpha in June, with prices starting from £7,500.

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