Shurhold 1700 Swivel Pad Base on 2040-parts.com

New MINI JCW GP laps Nurburgring in 8:23 (video)

We have video of the fastest MINI ever – the MINI John Cooper Works GP II – lapping the Nurburgring in 8:23. We revealed back in April that a new version of the MINI JCW GP was on the way, and MINI got round to confirming that in May when the new MINI John Cooper Works GP was officially revealed. At the time, MINI told us that the new MINI GP could hustle round the Nurburgring a full 19 seconds quicker than the old MINI GP making the new hot MINI the fastest MINI ever made (well, the fastest MINI ever made by BMW, anyway).

Graphic U.K. ad illustrates the dangers of texting while driving

A U.K. public service announcement that graphically portrays the dangers of text-messaging while driving is prompting a new round of warnings from driver-safety advocates in the United States. The ad has had tens of thousands of views on YouTube, which has restricted it to viewers who are at least 18 years old.

Design a steering wheel for Ford and win a trip to its Cologne studio

Ford UK, and product development publication DEVELOP3D, have announced details of a new competition, asking designers to create a concept for a future Ford steering wheel. The competition is open to UK-based designers from all industries, and submissions should be emailed in the form of digital sketches or hand-drawn images. The deadline is 7 November, 2014.