In brief

Productive days
Hyundai sold 130 cars over the four days of Mystery Creek Fieldays from its three-storey stand. Meanwhile, the reborn SsangYong managed 20, not bad given that last year it sold 19 times fewer cars than Hyundai.

Powerful effort
Mercedes test driver Mauro Calo has managed the world's longest powerslide at 2.3km, set in a Mercedes C63 AMG. Calo drove the car 8.5 times around Mercedes-Benz World, stopping only when the rear tyre burst.

Superfast sedan
Rally champ Mark Higgins, in a Subaru WRX STI sedan has beaten the lap record for a production car at the Isle of Man TT circuit, with a 19min 56.7sec lap at an average 181.8km/h.

Thrifty auto
ZF has developed a nine-speed auto it says will cut fuel economy by 16 per cent over a six-speed equivalent in a front-drive car, as the engine can cruise at 120km/h and just 1900rpm, compared with 2600rpm with the same motor allied to the six-speeder.

Sporty roadster
Mini will launch its Roadster next year, with the Countryman-based Paceman coupe expected shortly after. The sportier models are aimed at imparting a more masculine flavour to the brand.

Lotus spin-off
The 419kW 4.8-litre V8 Lotus engine is expected to spawn a half-size 2.4-litre four for the Elise replacement in 2014. The V8 is expected to debut in next year's Lotus Esprit.