A roundup of today's other motoring news in brief
* Opel has released photographs of its new city car, the Adam (pictured). It will initially be offered with three petrol engines, starting with a 1.2l 70bhp and a five-speed manual transmission; plans are also in place for a smaller petrol engine. Despite its size, the car will feature a park-assist system, which steers the car into parallel-parking spots. As with many modern cars, the Adam includes an onboard infotainment system that integrates the owner’s Android or Apple smartphone, making internet-based apps available. The four-seater, to be built in Germany, will make its public debut at the Paris motor show in September. The first cars will arrive in showrooms next January.
* Volkswagen has managed to avoid paying a €900 million tax bill on its purchase of Porsche. The two German firms have been working towards a merger for three years. The final price VW will pay for the sports-car maker is €4.5 billion.
The addition of one Volkswagen share – just the one – to that price tag is what’s allowing Wolfsburg to sidestep the tax. While that’s going on, Suzuki, in which VW bought a nearly 20 per cent stake in 2009, is offering to buy back the shares, following an acrimonious and public falling out, for almost the same amount paid for them. It’s expected that Suzuki will tie itself to Fiat once the divorce is final.
* Love or loathe it, Bentley looks set to give the green light to the SUV concept revealed in Geneva earlier this year. According to reports, the firm has received more than 2,000 expressions of interest, and, while a production version will be modified from the concept car, it seems that we will see this giant on the road, though mostly in China rather than Europe.