Ferrari Unleashes Fresh Batch of Photos of FF Four-Seat GT Playing Around in the Snow

Citing "outstanding interest" and "numerous requests", Ferrari has unleashed a handful of additional photos of its new flagship four-seat GT, the FF. This is the second time after the initial presentation of the supercar in late January that the Italian firm has published pictures of its first-ever all-wheel drive model, yet somehow we still haven't seen the car in its entire form. In this latest batch, we get to see a very lightly camouflaged black prototype and a final model in Ferrari's traditional red color, both fooling around in the snow.

The new FF replaces the 612 Scaglietti in Ferrari's range, and is powered by a 660HP-strong V12. It will be unwrapped at the forthcoming Geneva Motor Show in the beginning of March.

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Alfa Romeo Celebrates Support of UK Athletics with New MiTo Sprint

Automakers find all kind of excuses to create special edition versions of their cars, and by special edition we actually mean better equipped models. For Alfa Romeo, the raison d'être of the new MiTo Sprint is "the continued support of UK Athletics (UKA)". Wonder what they'll think of next...

Well, in any case, the new UK market MiTo Sprint is available in UKA ‘Union Jack’ inspired colors (red, white or blue), and comes with some £1,500 worth of extras, including cruise control, leather steering wheel and gear stick, remote audio controls on the steering wheel, Blue&Me Bluetooth hands-free system with voice recognition, and media player with a USB port.

In addition, the special version also features a rear spoiler, 16-inch alloy wheels, fog lights, and unique Sprint badging.

UK buyers have a choice of two petrol engines, the 1.4 16V 95 bhp costing £13,295 OTR and the 1.4 TB MultiAir 135 bhp with ALFA TCT automatic transmission priced £16,395 OTR, and one diesel unit, the 1.3 JTDM-2 95 bhp version which starts at £14,845 OTR.

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Volkswagen Officially Reveals 2012 Tiguan SUV Facelift Prior to Geneva Motor Show

Volkswagen has dropped the first official photos of its refreshed Tiguan following the leak of a single picture of the compact SUV that appeared on the automaker's public website on Thursday. But while we got more than half a dozen of photos, VW did not release any info on the 2012 Tiguan other than that it will make its world premiere at next month's Geneva Motor Show and that the base price of the new model in Germany remains the same as before at €24,175 (US$33,000) for the entry-level Trend and Fun with the 122HP 1.4-liter TSI petrol.

The company added that it accelerated the presentation and the start of advance sales of the "technically and visually refined" Tiguan several weeks because "sustained high demand for the previous model has resulted in it being sold out."

Looking at the photos we can see that the exterior changes have shades of the new VW design language seen across the Eos, Passat and Touareg. There's a new face up front with a wider but more plain grille flanked by redesigned headlamps incorporating LED daytime running lights and a restyled bumper. The changes at the rear are also inspired by latest VW models as the Tiguan's tail lamps have been squared off, while the bumper has also been re-designed.

The only visible change inside the cabin appears to be the newly designed steering wheel.

We'll have more on the updated Tiguan as soon as Volkswagen releases more information and /or photos.

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Seat Adds Exeo 143HP 2.0-liter Diesel Engine with Multitronic CVT Transmission to the Mix

The Seat Exeo is essentially a previous generation Audi A4 with some “auto emocion” touches here and there. However, having an older platform doesn’t mean that it’s a bad car, especially when it comes with the VW Group’s latest powerplants and transmissions. The Multitronic CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) gearbox is one of them and now it has been paired with the 143HP 2.0-liter TDI diesel engine available on both the Exeo sedan and station wagon (ST) models.

Although it comes with 7 pre-configured gears, the CVT transmission can virtually provide infinite gear ratios, better exploiting the engine’s resources, while reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

In terms of performance, the diesel-powered sedan accelerates from standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 9.3 seconds and can reach a top speed of 208 km/h (129 mph). The station wagon is marginally slower (0-100 kmh/0-62 mph in 9.6 seconds, top speed of 201 km/h or 125 mph), but both versions are equally frugal, requiring 5.8 lt/100 km (40.5 US mpg) in the combined cycle.

The Seat Exeo and Exeo ST equipped with the 143-horsepower diesel and Multitronic gearbox come as standard with seven airbags, dual-zone air conditioning, front and rear power windows, foglights, chrome roof rails (on the Exeo ST), remote-controlled central locking, cruise control, Bluetooth, auto-dimming rear view mirror, CD MP3 radio with 8 speakers and 17-inch alloys.

Besides the transmission addition, Seat says that all new Exeos benefit from a repositioned the rear seat configuration, which increases legroom by an impressive 4.4 cm (1.73 inches) without affecting the comfort or cargo space.

The new version of the German-sourced Spanish sedan is available for sale in Europe.

By Csaba Daradics

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