06 Impala Speedometer Cluster Us Opt Uh8 338362 on 2040-parts.com

Lincoln opens first dedicated design studio for 40 years

Ford has opened the first dedicated Lincoln design center for 40 years in Dearborn, Michigan, as part of its ongoing brand reinvention. Last August Ford announced it would be creating the studio for its luxury brand as well as increasing spending, giving it unique interiors and powertrains in an effort to differentiate it from the core Ford offerings. The Lincoln Design Studio has been built on the campus of Ford's Product Development center and houses designers, sculptors, modelers and engineers who make up part of a larger Lincoln Product Development team that will create four new Lincoln vehicles by 2015.

Bentley Continental GT3-R with 572 bhp V8 revealed

The Bentley Continental GT3-R arrives with a 572 bhp V8 As we reported last week, it looks like Bentley has decided to do a V8 take on the original Continental Supersports with the arrival of the Bentley Continental GT3-R, a lighter, more powerful Continental V8. Just like the original Continental Supersports, the Continental GT3-R loses its back seats and goes on a diet (down 100 kg on the V8S) and gets a retuned version of the 4.0 litre twin-turbo V8 producing 572 bhp and 516 lb/ft of torque together with shorter gearing to deliver a 0-60 mph in just 3.6 seconds (0-62mph in 3.8s). The GT3-R still comes with Bentley’s four wheel drive, but it gets torque vectoring too and a modified ESC and a chassis tuned for outright cornering ability to make the GT3-R Bentley’s most dynamic road car to date.

Lotus CEO Dany Bahar on the crisis at Lotus Cars

Lotus chief executive Dany Bahar has laid bare the business position at Lotus Cars since the takeover of parent company Proton by Malaysia's DRB-Hicom. Norfolk's sports car maker has been buffeted by rumours of financial crisis and looming collapse since development was frozen by the new owners (click here for our coverage of the crisis at Lotus. CAR scored an interview with Bahar at the Hethel headquarters yesterday afternoon. He was abroad at the time of last week's media maelstrom, when rumours and slurs flew around about the state of Lotus's finances.