Autoblog UK

Mercedes-Benz World (or dad's playground as it's affectionately known in the office) has stepped into the road safety breech to offer motorists a course specially designed to prepare them for the challenges of driving in the snow and ice.

The Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy staff will conduct the hour long, £100 course on a one-to-one basis, offering full instruction on everything from cornering, to pulling out on an icy road, to what to do in a spin.

The driving elements of the Winter Driving Course will take place on the Mercedes-Benz World's purpose-built handling circuits in Weybridge, Surrey and can be tailored to an individual driver's requirements.

There's even a first class museum on site to enjoy once you're done on the track. Be warned though, the facility is also a fully-functioning dealership; look like you're enjoying it too much, and there's every chance someone might try and sell you something.

Our transatlantic cousins have been salivating over the new Ford Shelby GT500 since the car emerged at the start of the week. Because the Mustang name doesn't have quite the same resonance on this side of the pond, we were content to smile, nod sagely and then return to more pressing matters.

That's before we heard the GT500's all-new aluminium-block 5.4-litre V8 heart coughed and spluttered into supercharged life.

Ford's low-key video took all of 7 seconds to remind us that when it comes to blue-collar muscle, no one does it like the blue oval. The new Shelby GT500 develops 550hp and 510lb ft of torque, but what it actually produces is cinematic noise and face-splitting grins.

Thanks to Ford's Special Vehicle Team engineers, the new car is significantly lighter than its predecessor and therefore should return better handling, fuel economy and acceleration. A Focus RS would make more sense day to day of course, but the Shelby's old fashioned drifting potential cannot be underestimated. America, consider our heads turned.

Is this the new performance version of the Citroen DS3? Our colleagues at Autoblog Spanish certainly seem to think so.

Rumours of a DS3-R have been circulating for a while, and with the WRC version of the car due to replace the current C4 in 2011, it would be strange if Citroen didn't seize the opportunity to build a rival to the highly successful Mini Cooper – especially as the DS3's muscular proportions seem custom built for hot hatch flourishes.

Whether the pictures are accurate or not, the car pictured certainly seems to fit the bill. Flared wheel arches, a lower ride height, bigger brakes; expect all to feature on the forthcoming car. A 1.6-litre turbocharged four cylinder engine producing around 200bhp is predicted beneath the bonnet (this would make sense – PSA has access to such an engine) connected to a six-speed manual.

The DS3-R has also been tipped to appear at Geneva. We'll be lingering near the Citroen stand to see if that's true.

Volvo has released the details of the new S60 ahead of the car's official debut at the Geneva show.

The saloon will launch into one of the car industry's most competitive markets, but Volvo insists that the S60's new design and superior driving characteristics will mean it can compete with the likes of BMW and Audi.

The company is touting the S60 as a four -door coupe – hardly an original pitch – but there's no denying that the car's fastback appearance. The long C-pillar and contoured shoulders give the S60 an athletic stance, but brand recognition has not been entirely sacrificed in the pursuit of increased sportiness; the car is still unmistakably a Volvo.

As expected, Toyota has confirmed today that it will issue a global recall on the latest Prius.

This will affect 8,500 owners of the car in the UK. The recall is the result of inconsistent brake pedal feel on bumpy or slippery roads once the ABS has been actuated.

The manufacturer is confident that a software upgrade will solve the problem, and was quick to reassure customers that the car remained safe to drive as there was no evidence of actual brake failure despite the reported loss of feel.

Bentley has released the first teaser pic of the new, ultra-exclusive Continental Flying Star which will be officially unveiled at next month's Geneva show.

Based on the Continental GTC, the new Flying Spur was designed and built by Italian coach builder, Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. Just 20 examples of the car will eventually be made.

Bentley is unlikely to have any trouble shifting them. The shooting-brake body is likely to cause quite a stir, especially as it isn't just for show; the two rear seats can be folded flat to reveal over two metres of shotgun-swallowing load space.

Prices will depend on just how bespoke you want your Flying Star to be, but expect it to have a hefty premium over the £156,800 Continental GTC Speed.

Given the inexorable rise of oil burners over the past decade it is a surprise to discover that in terms of fast, affordable diesel hatchbacks, the new Seat Ibiza FR TDI really is the only show in town at the moment. Bring any of the cars current competitors to mind (Fiesta, Corsa, Mito, Punto, 207, Fabia, Polo etc) and all lag some way behind the Ibiza's power.

The FR's superiority is thanks to the new 2.0-litre TDI engine Seat has wedged under the bonnet. The turbo diesel produces 140bhp, but the headline figure is the torque; 236lb ft between 1750 and 2500rpm. These figures mean the Ibiza is not only quicker than the previous model, but also comfortably faster than anything else in its segment.

And thanks to common rail technology, the new engine is also more economical and has lower emissions. Seat claims the FR is capable of 64mpg, while CO2 emissions of just 119g/km means the Ibiza costs just £35 a year in tax. Even the insurance is cheap.

Two motorbikes featured on the Top Gear Vietnam Special have been bought by the National Motor Museum.

The episode in question saw Clarkson, Hammond and May challenged to travel the length of Vietnam in just eight days. They were given 15 million Vietnamese dong, but soon realised that £600 wouldn't be enough to buy them cars in the bike-dominated nation.

After a painfully slow start, Toyota's PR machine is beginning to kick into high gear in an effort to limit the damage done to the Japanese company by multiple vehicle recalls.

The manufacturer has just launched a TV commercial in the US called 'Commitment' which conforms to the first three rules of brand rehabilitation; repent, repent, repent. The video makes it clear that the firm has not lived up to its customers expectations in the past few weeks, but now a solution to the problem has been found and the full focus of the company is on correcting the issue as quickly as possible.

The 60 second advert is the first shot fired in the battle to restore people's faith in the brand; expect it to be swiftly followed by a Toyota marketing blitzkrieg. Only one thing is guaranteed; the manufacturer's PR predicament will take a lot longer to solve than its technical problems did.