Porsche 991 GT3 Cup (2013): the new racer revealed

The first 991-generation to bear the GT3 name isn't a hardcore road car: it's the latest version of the world's most successful racing car. This is the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, a stripped-out racer that'll compete in a one-make racing series from 2013. It'll also spawn other racing versions of the rear-engined icon, and eventually track-day versions of the 991 too.

Toyota and Mercedes-Benz are top global car brands

Toyota & Mercedes-Benz are the Top Global Automotive Brands 2011 Interbrand, a branding consultancy, delivers a report on the world’s brands every year, and in 2011, despite recall woes and the devastation of the Japanese Tsunami, Toyota leads the automotive brands, with luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz just behind. Interbrand uses three measures to gauge how effective a brand is – performance of branded product, the brands ability to secure earnings and the role of the brand in purchasing decisions – to come up with a chart of the top 100 world brands. At the top of the tree are companies like Coca Cola, IBM, Microsoft and Google, but car brands do well with Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Honda, VW, and Ford all making it in to the top 50.

Hyundai Veloster Turbo gets 400bhp

Hyundai in the US has created a Veloster for this year’s SEMA show – the Hyundai Velocity – with a 400bhp Cosworth makeover. SEMA show cars are always extreme and always completely over the top, but they do show just what can be done with mainstream cars when car makers are let off the leash of marketing constraints. This year Hyundai is out playing, and as well as creating a Genesis Coupe with Cosworth power they’ve also taken the new Hyundai Veloster Turbo and created a 400bhp monster SEMA car.