03 Yamaha Royal Star Venture Xvz 1300 Engine Motor 29e on 2040-parts.com

VW Beetle GSR Limited Edition gets 207bhp

Volkswagen are launching a limited edition of the Beetle – the VW Beetle GSR – with yellow and black paint job and 207bhp. The Beetle GSR stays relatively faithful to the paint job on its granddad with the bonnet and boot of the GSR in black, as are the roof and mirrors, and there are yellow and black stripes with ‘GSR’ lettering on the sides, all setting off the yellow paint job and 19″ alloys completing the exterior. Oddly, despite the GSR paying tribute to its 1970s predecessor, you can also order your GSR in Platinum Grey or Black. Inside, the new GSR gets R-Line racing track sports seats with cloth upholstery and yellow stitching )although our Colonial cousins get full leather) and a leather steering wheel with the build number – 1 to 3,500 – on a badge on the wheel, R-Line dash, GSR gear stick, leather handbrake cover and black mats with yellow trim.

Video: Rendering a Le Mans racer using layer masks and pixel locking in Photoshop

Local Motors' designer and community manager Aurel Francois has made this short video explaining how he created his 'Alpine A444' render for the Le Mans Themed Sketchwall Challenge. His side view may be simple in terms of perspective but by using layer masks and pixel locking in Photoshop, the blue race car soon comes to life. Worth a watch of you're looking to get to grips with computer rendering techniques.

Hybrid Cars are Dangerous

Hybrid cars are reckoned to be dangerous to vision-impaired pedestrians - but Lotus has a solution with 'Safe & Sound' But this is about the problems that are starting to arise when Hybrids (and EVs for that matter) are running ‘Silently’. And with sales of Hybrid cars rocketing – particularly in Japan – it is causing concern to the authorities. So the Japanese Government has set up a panel to investigate the problem, consisting of consumers, vision-impaired groups, the police and representatives from the car industry.