Back in 2001, BMW developed a novel marketing scheme to showcase its vehicle lineup. Rather than standard 30-second commercials, the automaker hired world renowned directors to make a series of 10-minute films collectively called The Hire. Eight episodic shorts were created, each with an unrelated plot but all starring Clive Owen as an unnamed driver for hire whose vehicle of choice was always a BMW.

Directors such as Ang Lee, Tony Scott and Johns Frankenheimer and Woo all lent their talents to the campaign. The result were car enthusiast-oriented works that rivaled some of Hollywood’s best automotive-themed efforts. In fact, a certain Audi-sponsored series seems to have been extrapolated entirely from The Hire. In those pre-YouTube days, it was one of the first viral marketing successes, receiving over 100 million views.

Speculation assumes that the new series will help launch BMW’s i brand of electric and hybrid cars. BMW has not announced the names of any directors or whether Owen will return as the titular hire. You can watch some of the original films below.

Based on the existing Octavia Combi, the Scout gains aesthetic modifications such as plastic cladding on the rocker panels and the wheel arches as well as brushed aluminum trim around the windows. Shorter bumpers on both ends work with a raised ground clearance to help improve the wagon’s approach and departure angles.

To justify the price hike over a regular Octavia Combi, the Octavia Scout’s interior is equipped with premium features such as a three-spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel, a digital compass integrated into the instrument cluster and a wide array of trim options. A touch screen-based navigation system can be ordered at an extra cost.

Precise technical details are not available but Škoda says the Octavia Scout will be offered with two diesel engines and one gas-burning mill borrowed from the Volkswagen parts bin. Regardless of fuel type, the four-cylinders will transfer power to all four wheels via a Haldex-developed all-wheel drive system. Both manual and dual-clutch gearboxes will be available.

After debuting in Geneva, the Škoda Octavia Scout will land in showrooms across Europe next summer. Pricing information and a full set of technical details will be published closer to the wagon’s on-sale date.

The sports car was slated for a Geneva unveiling next month, and McLaren had themselves just released a teaser of the badge, but now the cat’s out of the bag. Though the 650S was expected to split the difference both price- and performance-wise between the 616hp, $250,000 MP4-12C and the 727hp, $1.2 million P1, it looks as if it could also be an evolution of the 12C.

Visually, the The nose is dominated by a larger grille than the MP4-12C’s, more aggressively shaped to direct air towards the front intakes and stretching to the base of the headlights like the P1. Along its flanks, the 12C’s “gills” have been replaced with one large vent on each side. Out back, the rear appears to be more or less in line with the current MP4-12C without any major changes.

Reports suggest that the 650S name is a reference to the 650 hp output from its 3.8-liter V8, the same unit that powers the MP4-12C. Are subtle visual changes and a 5.5 percent increase in horsepower enough to warrant a new model, or is the 650S simply the next iteration of the MP4-12C? After all, the 12C debuted in 2011 and the 650S is expected to go one sale as a 2015 model. We’ll have the answers at the live reveal on March 4 in Geneva.

The images confirm the Scirocco gains minor aesthetic including an updated front bumper inspired by the seventh-gen GTI, revised tail lamps and a selection of new alloy wheel designs.

The interior upgrades are equally discreet and largely limited to two new gauges located in a pod on top of the instrument cluster that provide the oil temperature and the boost pressure. A stopwatch is mounted in the same pod, and leather upholstery reportedly comes standard on all trim levels.

Mechanically, all of the Scirocco’s engines get a bump in power while returning better fuel economy. The lineup includes a large offering of gas- and diesel-burning four-cylinder mills ranging from a 124-horsepower 1.4-liter TSI to a 2.0-liter TSI that generates 280 ponies in the range-topping Scirocco R. Most engines can be linked to either a manual or a dual-clutch gearbox.

Following its debut in Geneva, the 2014 Scirocco will arrive in Volkswagen showrooms next spring. Pricing information will be published closer to its on-sale date.

What’s next?
An all-new Scirocco is in the works but it is not expected to arrive until 2017 at the earliest. It will go back to the nameplate’s coupe roots and lose the current model’s distinctive shooting brake-like silhouette while packing more power all across the board.

Although the facelifted 2014 model won’t make it on these shores, Volkswagen is expected to cave in to public demand and offer next variant of the coupe on this side of the herring pond.

The fourth-generation ND chassis code, as it’s referred to by enthusiasts, will feature a variation of the well received Kodo styling theme. The striking “soul of motion” design language has propagated throughout the Mazda lineup in recent years, beautifying the CX-5, Mazda3 and Mazda6.

However, the MX-5 will break the chain by eschewing the five-sided Kodo grille for an oval opening reminiscent of the 1989 Miata. The rest of the design will still be Kodo-fied while retaining the instantly recognizable profile that the roadster has maintained over the last quarter century.

The engine is expected to be a tuned, naturally aspirated version of the Mazda3′s SkyActiv 1.5. A test mule disguised as a current MX-5 has been spotted at the Nurburgring, and it has been noted that the hood is a bit longer than the outgoing design. Though that’s a decrease in displacement, the ND’s weight is expected to drop down to around 2,094 lbs, a 400-plus pound diet compared to the current MX-5.

As previously reported, the ND platform will also underpin a new Alfa Romeo roadster, but the Italian company will develop its own 1.4-liter turbocharged engine. Both will be built in Mazda’s home city of Hiroshima, but will have only 40 percent of their parts in common. The MX-5 is slated to go on sale in 2015.

The car is likely a pre-production test mule or press vehicle and was first spotted by Lexus enthusiasts site Kaizen Factor in southern California wearing manufacturer’s license plates. A number of details indicate that this is an RC 350 F Sport, an appearance and handling package slotting in between the base RC 350 and the fire-breathing, 450-plus hp RC F.

The first clue is the Ultrasonic Blue color, which Lexus reserves exclusively for its F Sport and F models. Its 10-spoke brushed aluminum and graphite wheels don’t match the all-graphite more aggressive wheels found on the RC F concept shown in Detroit and currently on display at the Chicago Auto Show.

Additionally, the air intakes on either side of the front fascia are smaller than those on the RC F. Most tellingly, the Lexus spindle grille is a standard waterfall design and not the mesh wave pattern that dominates the face of the RC F. One interesting note is the minuscule foglight bezels molded into the edge of the spindle grille.

Lexus has not confirmed whether this is the RC 350 F Sport. We’ll know more when we attend the Geneva Motor Show March 4.

Competing for a new team called Volvo Polestar Racing Australia, the S60 packs a 5.0-liter variant of Volvo’s well-known 4.4-liter V8 engine that has been tuned to generate over 650 horsepower. The sedan reaches 62 mph from a stop in just 3.2 seconds and tops out at 185 mph.

The track-bound S60 rides on a bespoke chassis engineered with input from Garry Rogers Motorsports, one of Polestar’s partners in Australia. The car is instantly recognizable as a S60 but it packs a wide array of aerodynamic add-ons including a front splitter, side skirts, a rear air diffuser and a rear wing. Dunlop race tires wrapped around 18-inch forged aluminum wheels help put the power to the ground.

The Akylone was previewed by a 1/3-scale model presented at last year’s edition of the prestigious Top Marques show. The supercar wears a powerful, low-slung design characterized by a swooping front end, sculpted body panels and a wrap-around windshield. G-shaped LED tail lamps and two center-mounted exhaust pipes finish off the look.

Fitted with a chassis crafted out of a mix of carbon fiber and aluminum, the Akylone tips the scale at just 2,400 pounds. 58-percent of the car’s mass lies on the rear axle and 42-percent is on the front.

Power comes from a 4.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine developed in-house Reinhard Könneker, an engineer whose resume includes positions at Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The eight-cylinder sends just over 1,200 horsepower and 861 lb-ft. of torque to the rear wheels via a seven-speed sequential gearbox and a limited-slip differential, enabling the Akylone to reach 62 mph from a stop in 2.7 seconds and go on to a top speed of 220 mph.