Car News

Gazoo Racing, Toyota's racing and tuning arm, has applied for European trademarks for the GT86 GR and Toyota Yaris GR names. The trademark applications found by Autocar suggest Toyota is developing, or at least investigating, warmed-over versions of its affordable sports coupe and small hatch. It's unclear when or if these cars will surface.

The Audi Sport range in Australia is expanding from February next year, with the addition of a new RS5 Sportback derivative. This longer-wheelbase model joins its coupe sibling atop the A5 range, adding an extra pair of doors and a wagon-esque boot. In some ways it’s a slicker but almost-as-practical take on the RS4 Avant, right? Apparently designers drew inspiration from the racing details of the bonkers '70s era Audi 90 quattro IMSA GTO.

Anouk Poelmann has stepped down from her role as Peugeot Citroen Australia (PCA) managing director, having taken on the role in June last year. Peugeot Citroen says 'personal reasons' are behind the decision. Poelmann last year moved from Europe to Australia with her family for the role. Peugeot has seen significant sales growth under her leadership, thanks largely to a stronger-than-ever SUV range, while Citroen is gearing up for a 'brand relaunch' next year.

The Abarth 595 line-up has been upgraded for the 2018 model year, bringing an upgraded infotainment display and smartphone mirroring technology. UPDATE, 21/9/18: The Fiat 500 has added the 7.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard across the range. UPDATE, 28/5/18: FCA Australia has indicated the regular Fiat 500 will be getting the upgraded infotainment system as well. See bottom of article for details.

A highly modified example of the new 2019 Volkswagen Jetta has achieved a speed of 338km/h at the Bonneville Salt Flats, as part of the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association’s World of Speed event. This speed was enough for it to take out Southern California Timing Association’s (SCTA) Blown Gas Coupe (G/BGC) class record. To get to this speed, the Bonneville-beating Jetta used a highly-modified version of the familiar Volkswagen Group EA888 engine, producing 447kW at 8500rpm.