New BMW X3 20d xDrive M Sport

The all-new BMW X3 range is set to be enhanced with an M Sport specification to enhance its sporting looks and goes on sale in March 2011, with BMW prices announced at a later date. The M Sport specification includes 18-inch star-spoke M alloy wheels, chrome plated door sill finishers with M designation, High-gloss Shadowline exterior trim for the window surrounds, M Sport multi-function steering wheel, Sports seats and Anthractite headlining.

In addition, BMW has beaten off competition from the likes of Porsche and Aston Martin with the BMW 1 Series Coupe scooping the honour of Best Coupe in the annual What Car ? Reader Awards.  The 1 Series Coupe also came out on top as Best Car Overall and was praised for its solid build quality, economy and dynamics.

James Morrison, BMW 1 Series Product Manager, said of the win,”To have beaten such tough competition is a testament, not just to the quality of the BMW 1 Series Coupe, but also to our customers who are so passionate about their cars. With the customer being the most important critic, BMW couldn’t be more proud to have won such an important award”. The BMW 1 Series range is also available now on BMW car leasing.

Infiniti Centre Glasgow

Infiniti, the luxury Japanese car manufacturer, has opened a new Centre in Glasgow in Scotland. The new premises is based at 4 Braile Crescent, Braehead, Renfrew, PA4 OZJ and is close to the local Porsche and Audi dealers. The new Infiniti Centre Glasgow has a six-car display area that will showcase the new M30d, M37 V6 saloon, G line Coupe, Convertible, Saloon, the EX coupe-crossover and luxury FX SUV.

The new Infiniti Centre Glasgow also offers state-of-the-art servicing and maintenance facilities and Infiniti business car leasing on all the range is on the site now if you are thinking of leasing a new Infiniti car. The other Infiniti sites in the UK are central London, Reading and Birmingham.

100 Sexiest Cars

Vicki Butler-Henderson, one of Channel Five’s Fifth Gear presenters, has just launched a new hardback book naming her “100 Sexiest Cars”. Published by Carlton Books the hardback costs just £19.99 and inside you will find Lamborghini, Porsche, Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, Dodge, Ferrari, Lotus and many more models, many of which Vicky has driven.

Vicky was born into a racing family and started racing karts when she was just 12 years old. She holds an International “C” class licence and has raced most types of cars and in 2004 became the first woman to win a Maserati race in the history of the marque. Many of the reasons for inclusion in the book are quite interesting with her wedding limousine, the Maserati Quattroporte being one example.

Audi

Visitors to the MSN website were asked “Which is your favourite German car brand” and the poll of 26,000 internet visitors reported as follows.

• 29% chose Audi
• 23% chose BMW
• 21% chose Mercedes-Benz
• 16% chose Porsche
• 11% chose Volkswagen

Tom Evans, content manager of MSN cars said,”The days of an Audi being simply an expensive way to buy a Volkswagen are long gone. Audi has a rapidly expanding range, aspirational marketing, its own dedicated dealerships, and “halo” models like the R8 supercar. All this has in the past few years helped Audi to become the German brand many people aspire to”. Audi business car leasing is on the site now.

Moving Motor Show

This year’s 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed will now  have a one-day extension called the “Moving Motor Show” where new car buyers can preview a selection of models and even try them out, (strictly at the invitation of the car manufacturers attending). Most sectors of the new car market will be represented at the Moving Motor Show on Thursday the 1st July, from economy hatchbacks to MPVs, family saloons to SUVs and prestige limousines to supercars.

Manufacturers who have confirmed attendance include Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Jaguar, BMW, Abarth, Morgan, Volvo, Mazda, Rolls-Royce, Ford, Nissan and Alpina. The Festival of Speed attracts over 150,000 visitors every year over the three days and the cars from the manufacturers above will undertake hundreds of runs on a special evaluation route.

McLaren MP4-12C

McLaren has launched a new sports car company called McLaren Automotive and is set to put into production a new range of high performance sports cars. McLaren has obviously built its credentials in Formula 1 and now has an aspiration to manufacture, then sell and service their new vehicles worldwide.

The first sports car will be the MP4-12C and the aspiration is to build bespoke, innovative and unique sports cars to take on the likes of Ferrari, Porsche and Lamborghini.

Volkswagen has taken a 49.9 per cent stake in Porsche AG in the next step towards an integrated automotive group. The price for the stake is 3.9 billion euros.

The combination of Porsche and Volkswagen follows a compelling and strategic logic as Porsche compliments the Volkswagen brand portfolio by expanding into the premium business sector. Porsche, an independent brand under the Volkswagen Group, will also have the potential for significant additional growth.

VW Golf

Volkswagen has announced that it is to take a 49.9% stake in Porsche AG in what is the first step towards an integrated automotive group with Porsche.

The timetable for the creation of the integrated group remains unchanged with the merger of Volkswagen AG and Porsche SE likely to take place in 2011.

BEN, the Automotive Industry Charity, is running a Nintendo Mario Kart Wii Tournament during National BEN Week (13-19 July 2009). The tournament will consist of two stages as follows:

1) The Company League Stage from 13th-15th July will see teams of four people who will compete against each other to see which team takes their place in the Grand Final.

2) The Grand Final will then be held online on Friday the 17th July at 5.30 pm. The top teams will then compete to become The Automotive Industry’s Mario Kart Wii Champions.

Winning prizes include a Nintendo Wii console, tickets to the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Final at Brands Hatch and a Mercedes SLK for the weekend (terms and conditions apply).

Team entry is £20 per team and you will need two Nintendo Wii consoles, two copies of Mario Kart Wii and four controllers. Charles Davis, BEN’s Director of Fundraising and Communications said “This is a great chance to raise money for your industry’s favourite charity while having a fantastic fun time with your team. We’ve never done anything like this before and it’s a chance for everyone to get involved from senior managers to employee’s children. Team Davis are raring to go”.

For booking forms and further information visit BEN’s website at www.ben.org.uk or give BEN’s Events Team a call on 01344 294755.