Vauxhall Corsa VXR Nürburgring Edition with 205HP Hits UK Shores

The first examples of the Corsa VXR Nürburgring Edition have landed in Vauxhall showrooms in Britain. The 205HP hot hatch is priced at £22,295 or close to £3,400 more than the standard 192HP VXR that starts at £18,900.

The faster and more-focused version of the Corsa VXR is powered by a re-worked version of the regular model's 1.6-litre turbocharged engine which now produces 205-horses at 5,750rpm and 250-280Nm (184-207 lb-ft) of torque, up from 192HP and 230-266Nm (170-196 lb-ft).

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Shocker: British Government Wants to Raise Speed Limit to 80 mph

“Speed kills”, says the cliché. And so do most governments around the world that prefer to keep low speed limits and enforce them by planting thousands of cameras on the roads.

Yet surprisingly, the UK government is proposing a new plan to increase the speed limit on motorways. The announcement came today from Transport Secretary Philip Hammond who announced his intention to raise the national speed limit on motorways from 70 to 80 mph (112 to 128 km/h) as early as 2013.

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Kia's Facelifted 2012 Soul Lands in Britain

The refreshed for the 2012 model year Kia Soul is on sale in the UK with on-the-road prices ranging from £12,495 for the basic petrol model to the £17,795 for the fully equipped diesel variant.

The most important change for the 2012 Soul is the presentation of a new 1.6-liter petrol engine and a revised version of the 1.6-liter turbo diesel, both hooked up to a six-speed manual gearbox that replaces the previous five-speed unit. Furthermore, the diesel model is optionally available with a new 6sp auto in place of the former 4sp transmission.

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New Chrysler Delta Hatch Goes on Sale in the UK [71-Photos]

The new Ypsilon supermini is not the only Lancia model to wear Chrysler's winged badge in Britain. Joining the Ypsilon's voyage across the British channel is the Lancia Delta hatchback that went on sale today as a Chrysler with a starting price of £16,695 OTR.

The move is part of the Fiat-Chrysler alliance's decision to market all Lancia models in the UK under the Chrysler brand name.

Chrysler is marketing the new Delta a C-segment model with D-segment interio space and features. The five-door model measures 4520mm in length and rides on a 2700mm long wheelbase.

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New 2012 Honda Civic Hatchback Priced from £16,495 in the UK

Honda has released UK pricing and equipment levels for the new Civic, which made its world premiere at the 64th International Auto Show in Frankfurt earlier this month. Buyers can order their car now with first deliveries set to take place in January.

In Britain, the ninth-generation Civic will be available with three engines and a choice of four trim levels. Prices for the five-door hatchback start at £16,495 for the entry-level 1.4-liter petrol model and top out at £26,595 for a fully equipped 2.2-liter diesel.

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Color me Matte: New Renault Clio RS 200 “Ange & Démon” Edition to be Produced in…666 Units

Renault is playing the good versus evil card with its new limited run Clio Renaultsport 200 “Ange & Démon”, which is French for Angels and Demons. Deviously, the bespoke version of the Clio RS will be produced in a…fiendish 666 units worldwide - as most of you already know, that's the number of the Beast in the Book of Revelation.

Buyers can choose among three different matte shades, including Toro Red, Givre Nacré and Hologramme Grey, all of which feature a gloss black finish for the roof, upper tailgate, rear spoiler, rear diffuser, F1-style blade in the front bumper, the door handles and exterior door mirrors.

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New Chrysler Ypsilon Supermini Makes its Debut in Britain [50 Photos]

The Fiat-Chrysler alliance has said that the two groups will work hand-in-hand towards the development of all future models, with the Italian branch handling the smaller and compact / medium segments and the American, the medium and larger categories.

We'll have to wait to see the first (real) results, but for the time being, the group is making use of one brand's vehicles to supplement the lineup of another brand through the age-old approach of rebadging.

Following the European premieres of the Chrysler 200, 300 and Town & Country with Lancia badges and names, the table has turned around with Chrysler welcoming a Lancia model into its range, the new Ypsilon supermini. But it's not for U.S. consumption.

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English Champion Jumps Over 3 MINIS in a Promo for the 2012 London Olympics Edition [Video]

England long jump champion and London 2012 Olympic Games hopeful, J.J. Jegede succeeded in his attempt to jump over three Minis in an event that took place at Potter’s Field, London, to promote BMW’s sponsorship of next year's Olympic games.

If you think it was an easy task because the three Minis abreast measure a little less than six meters, while in ideal conditions, a top-level athlete can manage a seven- to eight-meter jump, consider that a car's rooftop is not as forgiving as a sandbox…

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MINI Launches Special Edition Series Dedicated to the London 2012 Olympic Games

Following in the footsteps of its Bavarian parent company, the MINI brand is celebrating next year's London 2012 Olympic Games with the release of a new limited edition series based on the three-door hatchback model.

The British firm plans to build 2012 examples of the special edition series in Cooper, Cooper D, Cooper S and Cooper SD trims, which will be available in a choice of three colors Chilli Red, White Silver or Lightning Blue.

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British carmaker Ginetta to Unveil a New 310HP, Carbonfiber Sportscar

[Ginetta G40R Pictured Above]

Unless you are into boutique car manufacturers, there's a good chance you've never heard of Ginetta. Yet the British company has existed for more than half a century: it was founded by four brothers (Bob, Ivor, Trevers and Douglas Walklett) in 1958.

Since this isn’t a history lesson, we’ll move forwards a few decades. More specifically in 2005 when Ginetta was acquired by LNT Automotive, a company owned by businessman and racing driver Lawrence Tomlinson. Soon after, the moved the company to new premises and introduced a new car, the G50, while also announcing a one-make racing series.

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Project Kahn Turns its Focus on the RS

Aftermarket British tuner Project Kahn has released a mild upgrade package for the now obsolete Ford Focus RS. The company left the hot hatch's 305HP-strong 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-five intact, and concentrated on the styling aspect of the tune. Read more »

Another Day, Another Shade for Ford's Transit SportVan Limited Edition

Like clockwork, Ford of Britain has just unveiled another version of its special edition Transit SportVan, this time 180 examples if the commercial model finished in a new livery with metallic silver bodywork and graphite racing stripes.

Color is the only differentiating factor among the previous versions of the Transit SportVan, which was first launched in 2007.

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Caterham Launches New Company, Will Introduce Brand-New Models

Back in April, when the owners of Formula 1’s Team Lotus acquired British sports car maker Caterham, they promised to “have all the ingredients and the launch pad to take Caterham to new exciting horizons with innovative products and greater brand exposure.”

True to their word, Caterham's new owners announced on Monday that they are creating a new, standalone engineering business named CTI (Caterham Technology and Innovation).

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Citroën DS3 Racing Special Receives the Superchip Treatment

These days, the easiest way to improve the performance of any modern car is through a software upgrade. British tuner Superchips, which specializes on ECU remaps, has launched a new program for the special edition Citroën DS3 Racing that has a limited production run of 1,000 units.

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Ford Adds New Metal Special Edition with 134HP to Fiesta's Range in the UK

Looking for a more special Fiesta supermini? Ford has you covered in the United Kingdom with the launch of yet another limited edition model, called the Fiesta Metal of which only 1,000 examples will be built.

The new car is based on the three-door variant and is powered by a 1.6-liter Duratec petrol engine that generates 134-horses at 6,700rpm and 160Nm (118 lb-ft) of torque at 4,250rpm allowing it to complete the 0-62mph (100km/h) sprint in 8.7 seconds.

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Perodua Joins Forces with Wolfrace to Create Limited Run Special for the UK

Malaysia's second largest automobile manufacturer after Proton, the PERusahaan Otomobil KeDUA Sendirian Berhad company, which is more widely know by its abbreviation Perodua, has joinced forces with UK tuning house Wolfrace for the development of the Myvi Wolfrace Design Concept that will soon enter a limited production run. Read more »

Nissan Introduces 2012 Juke with Improved Fuel Economy in Europe

Nissan continues to fine-tune its Juke small crossover, which has received some mechanical tweaks in Europe that promise to further reduce emissions and lift fuel economy.

The Japanese company says both the 1.6-litre petrol and 1.5-litre dCi diesel drivetrains have undergone an optimisation programme that includes revised gear ratios for the manual transmission models.

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Toyota Says New Prius Plug-in Hybrid will Cost Under £31,000 in Britain

After Toyota's U.S. arm came out with pricing details on the new Prius Plug-in Hybrid, the firm's British division is next in line to inform buyers what they're going to pay for the car when it goes on sale in Britain in the first half of 2012.

However, instead of giving a exact price tag, Toyota UK said the plug-in version of the Prius will "cost less than £31,000" before any government incentives, which can reduce the price to customer by up to £5,000, or under £26,000.

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Aston Martin Says it Can't Satisfy Demand for $49K Cygnet

Aston Martin’s chairman Ulrich Bez has admitted that sales of the subcompact Cygnet are “not as high as we hoped”. He claimed though that the reason is not the lack of customers, but of supply.

“I’m not satisfied with sales of the Cygnet” Bez told British magazine, Autocar. “We can’t deliver as many as customers want, as we don’t have enough stock. It is the sort of product a customer wants and decides they want on the spot –they don’t want to wait for their car to be built, but to drive it away there and then,” he added.

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Healey Sports Cars to Revive Jensen with New Interceptor GT in 2012

Brand revivals are not very common, but they are not a novelty either. For example, BMW did it with the Mini with considerable success, while Mercedes-Benz was also able to resurrect Maybach with… err…let's just say unsatisfactory results.

Now Healey Sports Cars Switzerland [HSCS], which owns the brand rights to Jensen Motors will re-launch the company with a spanking new car next year.

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