PEUGEOT
Maybe because we had driven
it on the international launch the
week before, Peugeot's new 308
wasn't a surprise. But no less
beautiful for all that, a Golf with
a figure. The concept for our
delectation was the R version,
hinting at a hot version no doubt
coming fairly soon. Loved the
paint job.
PORSCHE
Say it quietly, €646,000. That's
what Porsche will be charging in
US$ equivalent when they sell
a production version of this 918
Spyder Hybrid in 2014. A 4.6 V8
and a brace of electric motors
provide up to 887hp, and the car
on the stand had a little earlier
broken the record at Nurbringing
for a street-legal car. First time out.
This is an off-the-planet car.
LAND ROVER
The new Range Rover Sport already has so many
global orders that the Irish launch has had to
be postponed. They promised a hybrid version,
and that debuted at Frankfurt. It offers more than
44mpg equivalent with the V6 diesel and electric
motor setup. To prove the technology, three
prototype Range Rovers completed a 16,000km
drive, partly along the old 'Silk Road' trading trail,
from Britain to China, and then back to Mumbai,
HQ of Tata Motors who own Jaguar Land Rover.
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