07 - 08 Yamaha R1 Frame 2007 R1 Chassis Slvg#0984 on 2040-parts.com

MINI JCW Roadster rides the ‘Ring

MINI JCW Roadster pounding the Nurburgring Now we’ve got the MINI Coupe out in the open, with and without its swirly black and white camouflage, it must be close to MINI doing the same with the Roadster. Which is probably why we have spy photos of the MINI JCW Roadster pounding round the Nurburgring – last shakedowns, we assume. Because we can’t imagine MINI dragging out the reveal of the production model Roadster much past Frankfurt – if it takes that long – which will be a full two years on from when MINI first revealed the 2-seater MINI Roadster – the soft top twin of the MINI Coupe.

Jaguar XE Roadster WILL get 3.0 litre diesel

This Jaguar XE is running a 3.0 litre diesel lump Earlier today we ran an update on the ongoing speculation on Jaguar’s small sports car, confirming that Jaguar will debut the Jaguar XE at Frankfurt in September. And now we can add to that by reporting that it WILL be getting the option of a 3.0 litre diesel lump when it goes on sale in 2012. We’ve speculated for some time that Jaguar will add the very good 3.0 litre TDV6 from the XJ and XF to the range of engines on the XK.

Who's Where: Wulin Gaowa appointed design director of GM China Advanced Design

Wulin Gaowa has been appointed to fill a newly-created role as GM China Advanced Design's first Design Director. She will start her new role with immediate effect. Gaowa, who was most recently the Advanced Design Director of Exterior Design and Interior at the Beijing Automotive Technology Center, will be based at GM China's Advanced Technical Center in Shanghai, due to open later this month.