A report coming out of France indicates Peugeot is preparing a hot-rodded variant of the 2014 308 station wagon that will bow in Geneva next March.

Dubbed 308 SW GTi, the wagon will be powered by a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine developed jointly by Peugeot and BMW several years ago. Official details are scarce, but rumors point to a power output in the vicinity of 250 horsepower transferred to the front wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. A dual-clutch gearbox might be offered at an extra cost.

Upgraded brakes on all four corners and a stiffer suspension setup will help drivers exploit the engine’s full potential.

Outside, the 308 SW GTi will feature discreet modifications such as a more aggressive front bumper with large air dams, dual chrome-plated exhaust pipes and 19-inch alloy wheels. A host of GTi-specific paint colors will likely be available.

The GTi will stand apart from less powerful models thanks to bespoke instrumentation and trim, sport seats up front and aluminum pedals. The cockpit will be better finished in order to help justify the higher price and a touchscreen-based infotainment system will come standard on most models.

If the rumor proves true, look for details about the Peugeot 308 SW GTi to emerge over the coming weeks. The wagon could bow in Geneva next to the regular 308 SW and land in showrooms across Europe next summer.

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A new report indicates Volkswagen will travel to next April’s Beijing Motor Show to unveil a new concept car dubbed Golf R Evo.

As its name implies, the Golf R Evo will be a more extreme variant of the existing Golf R. It will weigh considerably less than its regular-production counterpart thanks to the extensive use of carbon fiber body panels, lighter alloy wheels and thinner bucket seats.

The rear seats will be replaced by a high-strength roll cage in order to further reduce weight and emphasize the sporty nature of the car. A model-specific instrument cluster and a considerably simpler dashboard will round out the updates inside the car.

The Evo will be powered by an evolution of the Golf R’s 2.0-liter TSI that will be massaged to churn out around 370 horsepower and 330 lb-ft. of torque, enabling the hot hatch to reach 62 mph from a stop in under 4.9 seconds. Power will be sent to all four wheels wheels via a six-speed dual-clutch transmission and a Haldex-type all-wheel drive system.

British magazine Auto Express reports the Golf R Evo will be added to Volkswagen’s lineup as a regular-production model if it generates a favorable response from the show-going public.

Look for official details about the Volkswagen Golf R Evo to emerge in the weeks leading up to its debut in the capital of China.

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Toyota has released a teaser for its upcoming 2014 Super Bowl commercial featuring the 2014 Toyota Highlander. Starring alongside the family crossover will be the cast of Disney’s Muppets Most Wanted and NFL player-turned-actor Terry Crews.

Whereas Jaguar is trying to evoke the calculated coolness of a Bond villain with its pitch for the F-Type Coupe, Toyota is going for kid-friendly humor with its Highlander spot. It begins with Crews stopping on a desolate road to check out an seemingly abandoned school bus. It’s played like the start of a suspenseful horror plot as unknown figures climb aboard Crews’ Highlander. As horror movie strings crescendo we cut instead to Rowlf the piano-playing dog playfully flicking the child-locked door handle.

According to Toyota, the Super Bowl ad itself will feature the Muppets’ trademark humor, dancing and an original song as they show Crews how to “unboringfy” his life. The ad also serves as a co-promotion vehicle for the upcoming Disney movie Muppets Most Wanted, which opens March 21.

This isn’t the first time Toyota has employed a popular children’s character tie-in to promote the Highlander. At SEMA, the automaker showed a Spongebob Squarepants-themed Highlander complete with built-in aquarium.

The full spot, titled “Joyride,” airs on February 2 during Super Bowl XLVIII.

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Jaguar is preparing to air its first ever Super Bowl commercials during next weekend’s advertising extravaganza interspersed with a football game. Teasers for the ads have been released, revealing the identities of the noted British actors that will be hawking the 2015 F-Type Coupe.

Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers, Thor), Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes) and Oscar-winner Sir Ben Kingsley (Iron Man 3, Ender’s Game) will play the titular anti-James Bonds in Jaguar’s British Villains campaign. Each is noted for their recent turns as baddies in big Hollywood productions, where we Americans apparently can’t get enough of menacing Old World accents.

Jaguar has just released a 30-second teaser commercial for its 60-second actual commercial, in which Kingsley observes an illicit night time meeting on an airport runway. “So they’re coming. All the usual suspects,” he says. Cut to a shot of the F-Type and Kingsley, surprised, remarks, “Oh, and one new one.” with a bit of surprise in his voice. Smash cut to a shot of the car zooming down said runway pacing a helicopter and a closeup of Sexy Beast himself: “You’ll be hearing from us.”

Jaguar released three additional teasers featuring each of the actors as well. Watch them below. The full spot will be aired on February 2 during Super Bowl XLVIII.

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Fiat’s Alfa Romeo division is reportedly putting the final touches on a topless version of the recently-introduced 4C sports car.

Tentatively dubbed 4C Spider, the convertible will be nearly identical to the regular 4C but it will boast a removable roof panel likely made out of a lightweight material such as carbon fiber. The driver will able to neatly stow the roof panel under the front decklid.

The 4C Spider will boast a driver-focused cockpit with two bucket seats, a flat-bottomed steering wheel and a configurable thin-film transistor (TFT) screen that will replace the instrument cluster. A/C will be offered as a no-cost option.

Power for the 4C Spider will come from a turbocharged and direct-injected 1.7-liter four-cylinder engine borrowed from the 4C coupe. It will 240 horsepower and 258 lb-ft. of torque to the rear wheels via a six-speed dual-clutch transmission, enough to propel the 4C Spider from zero to 60 mph in roughly 4.5 seconds and on to a top speed of 155 mph.

Although Alfa is keeping its lips sealed about the 4C Spider, we hear the it could greet the public for the first time at next March’s Geneva Motor Show and land in U.S. showrooms in the spring of 2015. Expect the Spider to carry a small price premium over its fixed-roof counterpart.

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McLaren has confirmed it will add a fourth model to its rapidly growing supercar lineup. Tentatively called the P15, it will bridge the rather wide price chasm between the quarter-million-dollar MP4-12C and $1.15 million P1.

McLaren chief executive Mike Flewitt confirmed with Autocar that the P15 will employ a turbo engine mounted midship in the carbon fiber tub that underpins all modern McLaren road cars.

The engine is assumed to be an advanced version of the 616hp 3.8-liter turbocharged V8 that powers the MP4-12C, but Flewitt says that the car is such a long ways off that technology could very well change by the time it’s ready for production. Pricing for the P15 is estimated at £400,000, or $660,000.

In the meantime, McLaren is focused on bringing its Porsche 911 Turbo-fighter to production. Code named the P13, it is expected to start in the £120,000 ($198,000) range and will be offered in open-top and track-ready performance versions in the years following its introduction.

McLaren estimates that the P13 could account for more than half its sales, or as many as 2,500 units once it goes on sale. The P13 is expected to go on sale later this year as a 2015 model.

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While the Lexus RC F was well-received at its recent unveiling at the Detroit Auto Show, Toyota’s luxury division isn’t done with performance models yet. A report from Japan hints that a next-generation IS F sedan will be produced concurrently with the grand touring coupe.

According to Car Sensor, the decision to green-light the IS-F was fast-tracked to take direct aim at Lexus’ German competition. The high-performance F cars’ chief rivals, the Mercedes C63 AMG and BMW M3/M4, are offered in both two- and four-door configurations.

Power would likely come from the RC F’s naturally-aspirated 5.0-liter V8, estimated to produce just north of 450 hp and 383 lb-ft of torque, with a fuel-saving Atkinson-cycle cruising mode and direct- and port-injection. Likewise, the RC F’s eight-speed automatic and torque vectoring differential will follow.

As with the current IS F, a wider track with flared fenders to match will likely set the IS F apart from its lesser stablemates visually. A suspension more aggressively tuned than the current IS F Sport’s is expected as well. In essence, it will be a four-door RC F styled to resemble the IS sedan.

Photo by Mark Elias.

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Volkswagen’s Czech Republic-based Škoda division has detailed a new option package called Outdoor that gives the range-topping Superb Combi station wagon a more rugged look.

The package yields a look that is very similar to sister company Audi’s A4- and A6-based allroad wagons but it is offered as a trim level instead of being marketed as an entirely different model. The Outdoor package consists of the usual allroad-esque equipment such as plastic trim on the rocker panels and on the wheel arches, brushed aluminum trim on both bumpers and a brushed aluminum roof rack.

Outdoor-equipped Superbs also gain bigger fog lights up front, a wider air dam and a slightly raised ground clearance in order to get over uneven terrain with aplomb.

Škoda has not revealed whether or not the Superb features Outdoor-specific modification on the inside.

The Outdoor package is available on all members of the Superb Combi lineup with the exception of the GreenLine model, whose eco-friendly vocation would not bode well with the Outdoor’s offroad pretensions. This enables buyers to choose from a wide array of Volkswagen-sourced gasoline and turbodiesel engines, six- and seven-speed dual-clutch gearboxes as well as front- and all-wheel drive layouts.

The 2014 Škoda Superb Combi Outdoor is scheduled to arrive in European showrooms shortly after its debut at next March’s Geneva Motor Show. Pricing information will be published closer to the trim level’s introduction.

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A report coming out of England indicates Volkswagen is preparing a hot-rodded variant of the Polo sub-compact hatchback.

Tentatively called Polo R, the car will be powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that will send 250 horsepower to all four wheels via a six-speed dual-clutch transmission and a tuned variant of Volkswagen’s 4Motion all-wheel drive system. The extra ponies will enable the Polo to reach 62 mph from a stop in less than six seconds and reach a top speed of 155 mph.

A multi-link rear suspension will replace the torsion beam setup found under the regular Polo in order to keep the extra power in check. Beefier brakes on all four corners will round out the mechanical upgrades.

Outside, the Polo R will borrow styling cues from the heavily-modified Polo that competes in WRC events around the world. Expect the sub-compact to pack a full body kit consisting of large bumpers on both ends, side skirts, a trunk-mounted spoiler, an air diffuser and fender flares. Multi-spoke alloy wheels and a pair of chromed exhaust tips will complete the look.

The story will be roughly the same on the inside, where the Polo R will gain sport seats for the front passengers, a flat-bottomed multi-function steering wheel and a R-specific instrument cluster.

Volkswagen has not commented on the Polo R but English magazine AutoCar claims the car will be presented at the Geneva Motor Show next March. It will land in showrooms across Europe shortly after as a limited edition of 2,500 cars.

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