"In our tests the XJ consistently outperforms its rivals in the luxury car class," said Andrew Davis, director of ETA. The Jaguar XJ displayed its fuel-economy credentials demonstratively by achieving more than 1,000 miles on a single tank of fuel, which averages out to 53.5 mpg.

"I am delighted we have won this award for the third year running," said Geoff Cousins, managing director of Jaguar UK. "We fully recognize our responsibility to the environment and are committed to playing our role in developing technology solutions for our cars to address climate change -- this award shows we are heading in the right direction."

The top-end car manufacturer already shed 230 jobs in December. Last month the company, a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, said it would stop production at its plant in the central English city of Cheshire for seven weeks beginning in March to deal with the collapse in the auto market.

Car sales have crashed as Britain has fallen deeper into recession, and the future of the country's auto sector is in doubt. Many companies, such as Jaguar Land Rover, have asked for government help to survive. Suppliers have also suffered - British car parts maker Wagon PLC filed for a form of bankruptcy in December.

The accident occurred in heavy rain on a 40mph section of Renfree Way, Shepperton, Surrey, on Sunday.

The rare Bugatti Veyron collided with a Vauxhall Astra van carrying a pregnant woman, who was taken to hospital as a precaution but later went home.

No one else was hurt but police have reported the Bugatti driver for driving without due care and attention.

Surrey Police said the luxury car was driven by a man who had a male passenger with him.

Hurtling through a wetland of intrigue and speculation, this unnamed all-terrain vehicle was last spotted in February 2005 speeding around Belarus. With six balloon wheels and what looks like a mighty drive train, this amphibious creature could give you another way to coast from your island home. Although the manufacturer promised to have them on the market by summer 2005, we're still waiting here in the states. If I were you (and extremely rich), I'd call that brother-in-law in the CIA and see what information you can buy.

The number 640 in the new moniker denotes the total hp rating of the tweaked V12 engine, up 60 hp from the outgoing Murciélago coupe's V12 thanks to a bump in displacement from 6.2 liters to 6.5 liters. Lamborghini says the added power shaves 0.4 seconds from the zero-to-62 mph sprint, bringing it down to a scant 3.4 seconds.

A convertible version of the Murcielago, introduced last year, retains the 6.2-liter 580-hp V12. It has a removable fabric top: When it's installed, Lamborghini advises keeping the speed under 100 mph.

A more aggressive front bumper with reshaped air intakes and a large spoiler underneath distinguish the 2007 LP640 from previous Murciélagos and make the bold design of the outgoing coupe even wilder. A redesigned rear diffuser encompasses twin exhaust pipes, and the taillights are now all red.

"The Quattroporte is a styling masterpiece ... the unpretentious Pininfarina shape will continue to turn heads when other sedans have become yesterday's styling fad. It is these concours-winning looks, underpinned by performance and fit and finish that are world-class, that make the Quattroporte Sport GT our favorite new sedan."

The partying heiress is apparently a poker aficionado, and says she always wins the game in Vegas. But the buzz is that she doesn’t always win — and actually lost her beloved Bentley — valued at over $150,000 — in a recent game, according to various reports. But now an online poker company is offering Hilton a chance to win a new Bently. “If she goes heads-up online in a no-limit Texas Hold'em challenge against poker legend Mike Sexton and wins we’ll hand her the keys to a brand spanking new Bentley,” PartyPoker.com spokesman Warren Lush told the Hamilton Spectator. “Forget one night in Paris, we're offering her one night to win her wheels back.”

A fledging Las Vegas-based company called Hybrid Technologies thinks it has the solution. Hybrid will launch a car it calls LiX-75 at the New York Auto Show on Apr.14. The sleek, $125,000 sports car runs off of electric batteries, boosted by solar panels on the trunk. It recharges in four to six hours from a regular three-prong electric socket. And the company claims it will go from zero to 60 miles per hour in three seconds and hit a top speed of 200 miles per hour.

"It's the environmentalist mid-life crisis vehicle," says Richard Griffiths, head of business development at Hybrid. "It's a sports car that performs like a Porsche Boxster, looks like a Ferrari, and has zero emissions"

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The LiX will utilize lithium ion batteries, big versions of the kind that power laptop computers. Because they can store more energy and degrade less quickly when not in use than the nickel metal hydride batteries used in hybrid cars today, they're rapidly becoming the technology of choice for electric-car developers.

"Lithium chemistry is widely acknowledged to be the next generation of battery power," says Lindsay Brooke, senior editor of the Society of Automotive Engineer's magazine.

"There's a whole new breed of collector that has emerged in the last three-four years," Sheehan says. "Almost all make the kind of money you cannot comprehend."

This new collector, he says buys the latest to one-up collector buddies. The owner may drive the car, sometimes at racetracks rented out to car clubs, sometimes to the latest trendy restaurant. But piling on miles hurts resale value.

Ferrari, the Italian make with an esteemed racing tradition, says North America is its most important market and nearly three in 10 of its North American cars go to California. Mattioli's Beverly Hills shop sells more Ferraris than any dealer in the country.

"It has to do definitely with the attitude of people living in Southern California, who are very open-minded," says Manfred Fitzgerald, director of brand and design for Lamborghini.

A 6.5-litre V12 engine lies at the heart of the LP640, where LP stands for 'longitudinale posteriore', which refers to the V12 unit mounted lengthways behind the cockpit.

With deeper and wider cylinder bores than the previous 6.2-litre V12, the new 6.5 ups power to an imperious 631bhp at 8,000 good-for-the-soul revs per minute.

Coupled to a new six-speed gearbox, which can also be ordered with Lambo's e-gear sequential paddle shift, the LP640 howls from 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds - 0.4 seconds quicker than the 6.2-litre model.

And it's helped on its way by an electronic launch-control device called, rather brilliantly, Thrust.

Although the show car isn't a runner, it was designed on the Gallardo's platform with production feasibility in mind. If the response to the concept is amply enthusiastic, look for the Miura as a 2008 or 2009 model with a 6.5-liter version of the Murcielago's V-12 engine. While the original Miura's motor was transversely mounted, the new one would have a more conventional longitudinal configuration. Expect more than 650 hp and a price north of $350,000 if and when the Miura appears.

OK, forget all you know of Holland, the tulips and wooden clogs and windmills, and replace it with this Audi-powered supercar. The £143,000 Spyker C8 Spyder borrows the S8's 4.2 liter 400-hp V8 and puts it to good use at the rear of a splendidly-finished and unique-looking frame (unique in a good way). A better power to weight ratio than a Modena or GT3 helps the C8 Spyder hustle to 60 in about 4.5 seconds, but the gearbox isn't really suited for such a powerful machine; first and second gear are very short short, and the overall tight stack yields 4000 rpms for a 100 mph sixth-gear cruise, not that anyone should ever drive that fast, anyway.

Strapped in with the four-point racing harness there is no way the driver can reach the handbrake, for instance, you need to have a co-pilot. You can't see the front of the car either, which makes manoeuvring it rather stressful, and the turning circle - I am not exaggerating - is about the same as a stretch limo's. Also, the steering is way too light, and, oh yes, the brakes don't seem to do much.

"Maybach's ability to earn first or second place on all of the four pillars of a luxury brand allowed it to break through despite its relatively low awareness and newness," said Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute. "It is clearly an impressive win for Mercedes Benz, which launched the automobile in the hopes of capturing a solid share of the ultra luxury car segment. Still, the resilience of Rolls Royce and Bentley, given the onslaught of models from new competitors such as Maybach, and from traditional competitors such as Ferrari, Maserati, and Aston Martin, is a testament to their ability to adapt while maintaining their heritage and brand identity."

The prototype wowed the crowd. And they'll likely love it even more when they hear the rumor circulating that Pininfarina is in talks with Maserati about a possible limited-edition production run of the one-off study, which was first revealed at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show in March.

What this means to you: These works of art will likely be snapped up by collectors and enthusiasts worldwide, if they ever become reality.

The Maybach Exelero high-performance show car unveiled to the world for the first time this week is a remarkable car with an even more remarkable story behind it. The 700-hp V-12 biturbo two-seater is a unique custom model produced for tyre manufacturer Fulda Reifenwerke, which is using the Maybach Exelero as a reference vehicle for a newly developed generation of wide tyres. The German manufacturer of luxury cars built the unique model as a modern interpretation of its legendary streamlined sports car from the 1930s, thereby forging a link with the historical predecessor, which at that time was likewise based on a powerful Maybach automobile (SW 38) and used by Fulda for tyre tests.

The Arnage Drophead Coupé, based on the 2005 Arnage sedan, is the successor to the hugely successful Bentley Azure convertible. It is powered by a 450-horsepower, 6.75-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine. The first of the four-seater convertibles will be ready for delivery in spring 2006. Bentley chairman Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen described the car as "the most sensationally beautiful convertible."

Voted as the most anticipated car of 2005, the new Audi A6 is a showcase of design breakthroughs. Starting with the visible, the A6 is the first to wear the striking new face destined to be worn by all Audis from this day forward. Underneath the hood beats an all-new V6 engine with direct injection technology for more efficient operation. Pumping 255 horsepower from only 3.1 liters, it's as powerful as it is efficient. Top it all off with Audi's secure, performance-enhancing Quattro all-wheel-drive system and the new A6 becomes the most noteworthy automobile to receive this award.