06 07 08 09 10 11 12 Impala R. Quarter Glass 338366 on 2040-parts.com

Is the Volkswagen BlueSport Roadster back on?

There was talk that VW needed at least three of its brands to take the BlueSport project in to production, and there was talk not just of a VW Bluesport but also a SEAT BlueSport, one from Skoda, another from Audi and even a Porsche BlueSport. But in the end, not a single part of VW’s vast group seemed enamoured enough with the BlueSport to take the project forward. But it now looks as though the idea of the BlueSport is far from dead, with VW’s design boss, Walter de Silva, declaring that he’s a big fan of the BlueSport project, and he’s far from the only one in the VW Group who feels the same.

Ford Transit van gets five-cylinder turbodiesel

The full-size Ford Transit van that replaces the E-series Econoline in late 2013 will have a turbocharged five-cylinder diesel in its powertrain lineup. Today Ford uses the 3.2-liter engine in the Ranger pickup sold in international markets. The engine, which wears Ford's Power Stroke marketing name for diesel engines, is built in South Africa and will be exported to the Transit assembly plant near Kansas City, Mo.

BMW 1-series M Coupe (2011) teaser video

BMW is continuing to build up the hype ahead of the launch of its next M car – this is a teaser video giving us our first glimpse of the undisguised BMW 1-series M Coupe What’s new is our first look at this hot 1-series’ butch bodykit, complete with an engorged front bumper and triple air intakes. There are CSL-alike 19-inch wheels too, and sitting between the cross-drilled front discs is a twin-turbo 3.0-litre straight-six, producing 335bhp and 369lb ft. Drive, thankfully, goes to just the rear wheels, and they’ll be a choice of either a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. There’ll be an M diff too, but we hear it might be on the options list as BMW’s money men fight to keep the list price under £40k.