New In Package # 2431 Auto Meter on 2040-parts.com

Car Designers Blackmailed

A London court has found former design student Guy Lloyd-Parker guilty of blackmailing US car designers. The London College of Fashion graduate had claimed that 95 car design sketches were stolen from him by two college lecturers in 1994, eventually resurfacing as final designs in the form of the Audi TT, BMW Z3, Mazda RX-8 and the Volvo XC90. Lloyd-Parker, having failed to successfully sue the college, began sending menacing letters to California-based Volvo Design Director Geza Loczi, former BMW and Aston Martin designer Henrik Fisker, and ex-Mazda designer Tsutomu Matano demanding £90,000.

Bentley plans to add four-seat sports car, crossover to lineup

Bentley Motors is looking to add a four-seat sports car and a crossover vehicle to its lineup, using borrowed platforms from Volkswagen Group siblings Porsche and Audi, its top executive said. In an interview during the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Bentley CEO Wolfgang Duerheimer said the crossover would borrow from the Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne platforms. While the crossover may carry a V12 engine like the rest of the Bentley lineup, Duerheimer said, "not everyone needs to have a V12." Duerheimer, who oversaw Porsche's push into SUVs as the company's development chief, said he "knows what is possible" in bringing a luxury brand into new segments.

Audi RS6 Avant heads for EJAF with a little help from Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow signing an Audi RS6 Avant heading for Elton John’s White Tie & Tiara Auction Audi UK has a bit of a history of donating cars for auction at Elton John’s annual White Tie & Tiara Ball in aid of the Elton John Aids Foundation, and 2013′s no different. In the past we’ve had the appealing R8 Spyder as an EJAF auction lot and an A1 painted by Damien Hirst, but this year the EJAF is getting the super-estate Audi RS6 Avant, scribbled on by the delectable Gwyneth Paltrow. Audi roped in Gwyneth to turn up at the UK launch of the new RS6 Avant at Audi City in London and got her scribbling her moniker  on the interior of the RS6, a task Audi says would make their uber-shed worth £88k if they sold it – but if previous EJAF auctions of Audi’s cars is anything to go by it’ll fetch a lot more than that when the hammer goes down.