Heico Sportiv, the performance tuning company, has unveiled a special edition 325bhp version of Volvo’s new S60 T6 called the Black Sapphire.

It has an upgraded six-cylinder turbo petrol engine offering a 25bhp improvement and increased torque from 324lb ft to 339lb ft.

This allows the Black Sapphire to sprint from 0-62mph in 5.8 seconds and go on to a limited top speed of 155mph.

To cope with the extra power, new sports springs have been fitted, which lower the car’s ride height by 30mm.

Exterior changes include 19in Diamond cut alloys and a two-part front spoiler and rear diffuser bumper made of superlight plastic and carbon fibre.

Safety technology includes Driver Alert, BLIS (Blind Sport Information System) and Pedestrian Detection.

Just 100 versions of the Black Sapphire metallic special edition will be made, though none will come to the UK. It will cost €63,968 (£53,000).

Ford’s Mondeo is facing up to a bright future! The family car has benefited from a host of updates, including a freshened up look and a powerful range of efficient engines.

Subtle tweaks have been made to the front end, bringing the car’s Kinetic design up to date. The lower grille has been widened, while the narrow single-bar upper grille reflects the new family face already seen on the next Focus.

Diagonal LED running lights now sit above the foglamps in the front bumper, and a pair of parallel grooves add an extra sense of definition to the previously flat bonnet.

There will be a new range-topping, 237bhp version of the 2.0-litre EcoBoost turbo petrol engine, which will come equipped with Ford’s slick Powershift automatic gearbox as standard. This gives the car a 0-62mph time of 7.5 seconds, but emits only 179g/km of CO2 and returns 36.6mpg.

The 2.2-litre TDCi Duratorq diesel has also been revised to extract some extra performance. Power is now up 12 per cent to 197bhp, making it the fastest oil-burning Mondeo ever. The cabin has been polished up, too, with ambient interior lighting and satin chrome detailing applied to the steering wheel and switchgear.

Despite the extra kit, prices will remain largely the same when the car goes on sale in October – but the high-spec Titanium now costs £200 more, starting at £19,945.

MEET the Citroen that’s riding high! These are the first pictures of the firm’s new DS4 hatch, which delivers on the style promised by the DS High Rider concept seen at this year’s Geneva Motor Show.

Following the DS3, which is based on the C3 supermini, the DS4 features a more extravagantly designed exterior than the C4 which underpins it. The newcomer measures 4.27 metres long, 1.81 metres wide and 1.53 metres high, making it shorter, wider and 10cm taller than the regular C4 and a little bigger than the MINI Countryman.

At the front, the hatchback wears the latest Citroen family face, that debuted on the C5. The extra chrome on the two-bar grille and the pair of boomerang-shaped daytime running lights add class, while at the side, generously flared wheelarches house 19-inch alloys, although smaller rims are available.

The interior boasts higher-class materials than in the regular C4 hatch. Liberal use of chrome for the dials, leather on the dash and doors, plus aluminium for the pedals demonstrates the firm’s attention to getting the luxury details right. Buyers will be given the choice of five leather combinations. Top-specification cars feature hide trim designed to mimic expensive watch bracelets linked together. Meanwhile, every variant gets a panoramic windscreen which extends backwards into the roof line and helps bathe the cabin in light.

Under the bonnet, the DS4 features a line-up of five engines. Diesel buyers can choose from a 110bhp 1.6-litre unit with e-HDi stop/start tech and regenerative braking, and a 160bhp 2.0-litre. There are three petrol choices, too: a 120bhp 1.6 VTi, and a pair of turbocharged 1.6-litre units with 155bhp or, in the range-topping car, 200bhp.

The DS4 debuts at October’s Paris Motor Show, before going on sale in the UK in early 2011.

Nissan’s GT-R is set for the most comprehensive update yet! To go with the freshly updated look revealed in these leaked pictures, Nissan’s halo-car will get a few engineering tweaks as well as welcoming a luxurious new Spec-M model to the range.

Visually, the GT-R gets new daytime running lights and a restyled front bumper, while at the back there’s a new diffuser. The tweaks are functional too, the new shape improves the GT-R’s aerodynamics, with the drag coefficient dropping from 0.272 to 0.268. The updated diffuser has improved downforce by 10%.

The black and blue paint finishes shown in the picture are all-new for the updated car and will be named Aurora Flare Blue Pearl and Nebula Opal Black.

The driving experience will be improved too. A new set of forged aluminium wheels are 12kg lighter than the existing units, helping to improve everything from acceleration to handling.

Spec-M variants offer buyers new levels of customisation and there’s a £4,000 optional pearlescent white finish unique to the luxurious supercar. Among the changes will be softer springs, more comfortable leather seats and a wide selection of interior colours and materials.

All new models will see power and torque from the twin-turbcoharged 3.8-litre V6 increased and efficiency improved by around 3%.

The lighter and more powerful performance focused Spec-V will also inherit the latest updates. Below that, base models will now be labelled Pure Edition.

In Japan prices for the Spec-M start at £115,000 and Pure Edition models start at £66,000.

Meet Mazda’s future. This is the Shinari concept, which will make its public debut at the Paris Motor Show at the end of September. The stylish four-door coupe previews the look of the next generation of Mazdas and ushers in a new design language.

Called Kodo, which translates from Japanese as ‘soul of motion’, the new look has been created by Mazda’s new design chief Ikuo Maeda.

At the front, the Shinari concept features the familiar Mazda prominent wheelarches and angular front grille. But the newcomer also gets a dramatic bumper, Audi-style intricate headlights and Aston Martin-aping grille in the front wing.

A pair of creases add flair to the car’s side, which looks a lot like the current Jaguar XF, while at the rear, there are shades of BMW’s Concept CS.

On the inside, the concept features a driver-oriented cockpit made of a high-class mixture of materials, including leather and aluminium.

The car that the Shinari previews is likely to be the next Mazda6. However, the concept’s look will influence the entire next generation of Mazda cars.

Nagare was created by Mazda’s former design chief Laurens van der Acker, who left the firm for Renault earlier this year. Van der Acker will show off the DeZir concept at Paris as his new vision for the French brand.