Quick news: Merc F1 car 'good looking'; synthetic Audi fuels

Mercedes-Benz boss Dieter Zetsche believes its new 2014 W05 F1 car is good-enough looking to avoid the criticisms that controversial designs from rival teams have attracted. "The design of the new cars is more of an issue for others," he said. "I am confident we are among the best-looking cars."

BMW has announced that production of the Mini Countryman and Mini Paceman at the Austrian-based Magna Steyr site will end in 2016. Construction of both models will transfer to the Mini plant in Oxford and Dutch group VDL's new Mini plant in the Netherlands. Magna said it "will continue its collaboration with BMW" with the build of unspecified BMW models. 

Audi's newly developed synthetic alternative to fossil fuel has successfully completed its first major test cycle at Ingolstadt. Trials include mixture and combustion tests, which concluded that the 'e-fuel' burns more cleanly and effectively, resulting in lower emissions. Audi will now look to optimise the production processes for e-ethanol and e-diesel before bringing them to market.

The third international Concours of Elegance will be held at Hampton Court Palace from 5-7 September. It will feature 60 of the rarest cars from around the world, many of which are claimed to have never been seen in the UK. Tickets go on sale on 1 March priced from £25.

A group of American hedge funds are attempting to sue Porsche for £1.5 billion in damages following the company's attempted buyout of Volkswagen. It is claimed that Porsche manipulated the stock market and that it lied about its intentions to buy VW, causing the funds' significant losses as they made trades on VW shares. The lawsuit originally began in 2010, with the damages set at a lower £620 million. Porsche has said that the claims are "unfounded".