Autoesque

McLaren hasn’t won the Formula One Constructors' Championship since 1998, and the last time the team was victorious in the Drivers’ Championship was back in 2008, when Lewis Hamilton took the title. So the Woking-based outfit must be desperately hoping that its contender for the 2013 season, the MP4-28, might end the fallow period.

Peugeot has finally revealed the price of its new 208 GTi hot hatch.

Suzuki has further strengthened the commuting credentials of its recently-launched Inazuma 250 by introducing a Street Accessory Pack.

Kia has released the first images of its new Pro_cee’d GT, the brand’s first foray into the hot hatch market.

Aprilia has announced the RSV4 Factory APRC ABS SBK Special Edition. As the ‘SBK’ part of that very long name suggests, it has been created to celebrate the marque’s double success in the 2012 Superbike World Championship. After a season-long battle with BMW and Ducati, Aprilia took the manufacturers’ title, while the team’s Max Biaggi won the riders’ title by just half a point.

Kia has reintroduced the Shaker trim grade to its Soul line-up. Along with the Inferno and Quantum versions, the new arrival sits at the top of the range as part of the ‘Originals’ collection which offers distinctive looks with generous equipment levels.

Mini has announced another London-themed special edition. This latest one, named after Bond Street, is based on both the Cooper and Cooper S Clubman.

The long-awaited Ford Fiesta ST hot hatch finally arrives in the UK this month, aggressively priced from £16,995.

Aston Martin has given its four-door Rapide a facelift, more power and an ‘S’ suffix.

Nissan has made its Leaf electric car more affordable for UK buyers.

One of the highlights of this year’s Geneva Motor Show will be the unveiling of the Rolls-Royce Wraith coupé. That won’t be until March but, in the meantime, a teaser campaign is going to offer glimpses of the new model.

While this year sees the 110th anniversary of Harley-Davidson , 2013 also marks the fifteenth birthday of another American motorcycle brand - Victory. And, to celebrate the occasion, it has launched the 15th Anniversary Cross Country Tour Limited Edition.

Škoda has begun UK sales of its Yeti Laurin & Klement. Based on the existing Elegance variant, the newcomer adds plenty of extra equipment for a £2,000 price premium.

The world’s largest capacity production motorcycles - the 2.3 litre Triumph Rocket III Roadster and Touring - have been updated for 2013.

The Corvette Stingray might have grabbed most of the attention at this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit, but the launch of the new 2014 Cadillac ELR coupé is perhaps more significant.

Seat has simplified its Altea and Altea XL ranges by deleting the S Emocion trim grade. That leaves just the S and SE versions but, for the time being at least, those two surviving variants are pretty much redundant thanks to the arrival of the Copa editions which offer lots of free extra kit.

Jeep has refreshed the Grand Cherokee for 2014, giving its SUV a new look and an updated range of engines.

Škoda has announced that its new third-generation Octavia is going to cost from £15,990 when sales begin this March.

Shelby American is best known for remodelling the Ford Mustang, but now the Las Vegas-based operation has turned its attention to the Focus ST.

Vauxhall has announced that the Cascada convertible will be priced from £23,995 in the UK. And there’s no doubt about its aspirations for the new model, as the Audi A5 Cabriolet is being quoted as a potential rival.

Infiniti has revealed its new Q50 sports saloon at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. A replacement for the G37, it will be competing in a tough market segment against models such as the Cadillac ATS, Lexus IS, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

Smart’s fortwo electric drive has gone on sale in the UK, with two ownership routes available.

The lack of a scrappage scheme and the increase in VAT from 21% to 23% at the beginning of the year inevitably meant that fewer new cars were registered in Ireland during 2012.

The Cadillac ATS has been declared the 2013 North American Car of the Year.

An undoubted star of this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit is the all-new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette.

In line with the upgrades just announced for the E 63 AMG, Mercedes-Benz has confirmed some improvements for its CLS 63 AMG Coupé and Shooting Brake.

For most parts of the UK, snowfalls are a rare occurrence. However, when they do happen, traffic generally grinds to a halt and general chaos ensues. Those few days of really harsh winter weather each year can be enough to convince some drivers that they must have an all-wheel drive vehicle, even though winter tyres, chains or even snow socks might actually be a better solution…

Yes, Smart has unveiled another special version of its fortwo city car. Based on the existing passion trim grade, this latest one’s called the ‘cityflame’.

Triumph is expanding its 2013 Tiger range with the introduction of a Sport model. Designed purely for on-road use, the new arrival features both styling and technical enhancements.

The small crossover segment is starting to get very crowded, with more and more manufacturers launching products to compete in it. For example, just a few days ago the Peugeot 2008 was unveiled, and now Renault has revealed its Captur urban crossover.

Following the recent facelift for regular Mercedes-Benz E-Class models, it was inevitable that the high performance AMG versions would be due an update too. And now, after a very short wait, the refreshed E 63 AMG Saloon and Estate have been revealed… but it’s not just the styling that has changed.

The desirable Range Rover Evoque continues to be a great sales success, but that hasn’t stopped Land Rover from announcing the Sicilian Yellow Limited Edition.

Lexus has released the first images of the all-new 2013 IS saloon, which is due to make its public debut at the North American International Auto Show later this month.

With 99,486 registrations recorded in 2012, Peugeot managed to maintain a 4.9% share of the UK market. Not a bad performance then, but the firm seems determined to get 2013 off to a strong start, because it has just unveiled the 208 Intuitive special edition.

Honda has unveiled its MSX125, which is due at UK dealers in the spring. Those initials stand for ‘Mini Street X-treme’, and they sum up this new Thailand-built bike rather well.

Selling the SsangYong Rodius MPV can’t be the easiest job in the motor trade. For starters, it carries a brand name that few have heard of, then there are the looks which, in polite terms, might not be to everyone’s taste.

Peugeot has unveiled the 2008, a new small crossover that’ll be making its debut at March’s Geneva Motor Show.

The Vauxhall Astra has had a successful history in the British Touring Car Championship, having been used to help secure five drivers’ titles in the past. And now the model is set to return to the series, in full Next Generation Touring Car specification.

Nissan’s Sunderland-built Qashqai, the UK’s best-selling crossover, is getting a new trim grade for 2013.

Hyundai has offered a glimpse of its HCD-14 concept with the release of a single, darkened image.

2012 saw 2,044,609 new cars registered in the UK, an increase of 103,356 or 5.3% compared to 2011’s total.

Following the unveiling of its updated E-Class Saloon and Estate last month, Mercedes-Benz has now completed the process by applying similar treatments to the Coupé and Cabriolet models.

Suzuki has decided to extend the ‘VAT free’ offer on its Alto city car until the end of March 2013, probably in response to the imminent arrival of a certain sub-£6k car from Romania.

Despite tough market conditions, 2013 is certainly going to be a very busy year for car launches, with manufacturers set to introduce new products that cover just about every sector and price point.

Citroën has launched the DS3 Red special editions. Based on either the DStyle or DSport trim grades, the new models combine some useful equipment upgrades with various visual changes.

Bentley has ushered in 2013 by revealing its new Continental GT Speed Convertible, the world’s quickest four-seat drop-top.