Electric car maker Tesla has unveiled its third vehicle - a crossover named the Model X that can do 0 to 100kph in under five seconds.
The California-based company says the design incorporates the best of an SUV and a minivan while it has what Tesla calls "falcon wings" for easy access to the second and third rows.
The falcon wings open up and out of the way, meaning you can step out instead of climbing out, even in the narrowest of parking spots.
The Model X will be offered with the option of a dual motor all-wheel drive for better all-weather driving and to increase torque by half, giving it a 0 to 100kph time of 4.4 seconds.
Already, the company is reporting that the car is the fastest selling Tesla ever. One day after it was revealed at Tesla's design studios in southern California, advance sales exceeded $40 million (Dh147m).
Traffic to teslamotors.com also hugely increased, which caused a knock-on effect for Tesla's Model S, which saw reservations up by 30 per cent after the X reveal.
Production of the X begins in late 2013 with the first deliveries due in early 2014.
Strong regional sales for Audi
After record sales worldwide last year, Audi is continuing where it left off in the Middle East with its strongest ever January sales figures.
The German marque sold 691 vehicles in the region last month, an eight per cent increase on the previous year.
Its flagship A8 L witnessed an 80 per cent rise in sales to 160 units, while the A6 executive saloon sold 134.
In line with the 2011 annual results the UAE remains the largest market in the region, with 258 units sold in January, followed by Saudi Arabia, with 164 units sold (up 16 per cent), and Kuwait, with 111 units (up 148 per cent).
Other notable increases in sales include Iraq, with its newly opened Audi dealership, registering growth of 180 per cent, Qatar (up 100 per cent) and Oman (up 40 per cent).
"The January 2012 results reinforce the progression made by Audi in 2011 towards becoming the number one premium brand in the Middle East", says Audi's Middle East managing director, Jeff Mannering. "Our aim is to keep this momentum up with new products, dealer network investment and commitment to customer delight."
Man survives in his car at -30°C
A man survived for 61 days trapped in his car under more than two metres of snowdrift in temperatures as low as -30°C.
The driver had no food or water and says he managed to stay alive by eating snow before he was rescued by snowmobile riders on a forest track at Umea, Sweden, last week.
All he had were cigarettes, comic books and a sleeping bag. Peter Skyllberg, 44, says he had been trapped in his car since December 19.
Police in Sweden say he was emaciated and in a very bad way when he was found, only being able to string together broken sentences. He is being treated for hypothermia.
Swedish press say he could have been rescued last month had police followed up a report by two men who spotted the car and told them its plate number.
Some experts believe Skyllberg survived by going into a state of hibernation. "He probably had a body temperature of around 31°C, which the body adjusted to," says Dr Stefan Branth, from Uppsala University.
But Norrlands University Hospital's chief medical officer, Dr Ulf Segerberg, rubbished that claim, saying that Skyllberg's car kept him warm by providing insulation similar to an igloo.
1913 Rolls-Royce with aristocratic background on sale at auction
A 1913 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost with an aristocratic history is going under the hammer next month.
The Burgundy classic car was once owned by the famous and affluent Vanderbilt family of New York, who earned their wealth through shipping and railroads.
The car was driven by Alice Claypoole Gwynne, the wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt II.
Although the driver was exposed to the elements, the Vanderbilts would have toured around New York in covered deep red wool broadcloth rear seats, while mounted on the divider wall is a stem-wound clock to ensure one wasn't late for an important business meeting or luncheon date.
The Rolls has a manual transmission and a 7,428cc inline six-cylinder engine producing 40hp.
The car, which now has 89,300 miles (143,700km) on the clock, will be auctioned by Dan Kruse Classics in Smithville, Texas, on March 3. There is no indication of what it will fetch.
Porsche names sport SUV Macan after Indonesian word for tiger
Porsche has revealed the name of its new sports car in the SUV segment - the Macan.
Derived from the Indonesian word for tiger, Porsche says it was chosen to reflect suppleness, power, fascination and dynamics - core characteristics of the new car.
"The Macan combines all sports car characteristics with the benefits of an SUV and is a genuine Porsche", says Bernhard Maier, a sales and marketing chief at Porsche. "The name of a new Porsche has to fit with the brand, sound good in very many languages and dialects and evoke positive associations."
As the fifth Porsche model line, the Macan is central to the company's Strategy 2018, a plan to expand its model portfolio.
Production will start in Leipzig, Germany, in 2013, after the plant there has gone through a €500 million (Dh2.4 billion) upgrade. The investment is one of Porsche's biggest building projects and will create more than 1,000 jobs in the city.
