1 Pair X Car Comfortable Seat Belt Shoulder Pads Cover / Star Wars Logo Red on 2040-parts.com

Smart Forspeed concept signals new design direction

Smart will unveil a new concept at the forthcoming Geneva motor show that signals a new design direction, hints at future product and confirms parent company Daimler's renewed commitment to the brand. Car Design News was granted early access to the concept, baptized Forspeed, at a secret photography studio in Stuttgart last week and heard the head of advanced design, Steffen Kohl, explain how the two-seat, electric-powered vehicle prefaces design themes in both the next Fortwo and the revived Forfour, which will be launched in 2014. "The fullness of this concept's exterior surfaces is important and will be reflected in future production models," said Kohl, "Smart will still be short, spacey, agile, and with wheels at the corners of the car, but with an added sporty and emotional design and without losing all the brand's iconic elements like its ‘plastic fantastic' aspect and the safe and hi-tech modular tridion shell assembled with all these changeable body parts.

BMW M5 comes alive with all-wheel drive

The 2012 BMW M5 will come with a handful of firsts for the sedan. It will be the first time the car houses a turbocharged powerplant, the first time a dual-clutch gearbox is used and, most importantly, the first time the M5 gets all-wheel drive. That's the word from BMW brass in Shanghai, where Albert Biermann, head of BMW M's research and development, confirmed the powertrain, Autocar reports.

Jaguar XK 5.0 Prices and Specifications

Full Jaguar XK 5.0 - Coupe and Convertible - Specifications and prices below. The standard V8 version with the normally aspirated V8 is a great choice for a Grand Tourer. It offers performance pretty much up with the previous Supercharged XKR, but in a much more refined and civilised way.