16" Larosa Black Leather Diamond Tuk Harley Fxst Bobber Custom Mount Solo Seat on 2040-parts.com

Rolls-Royce 200EX concept (2009): first official photos of baby Roller

By Gavin Green First Official Pictures 19 February 2009 17:00 Rolls-Royce will show its new ‘baby’ car – though these things are relative – at the upcoming 2009 Geneva motor show, a year before sales commence in spring 2010. The Geneva ‘concept’ car is tagged 200EX but don’t be fooled by the experimental suffix. It’s the real thing – Rolls’ new £180,000 RR4 saloon (the production name is still secret).

Mercedes B55 (2011) - a ballistic V8 B-class

Mercedes' tuning arm AMG has not yet ventured into sensible B-class territory, but a bunch of Merc trainees in Germany has come up with this: the B55. It's a V8-powered B-class, complete with AMG-spec 383bhp 5.5-litre V8 mounted up front and driving an old W210 E-class rear axle. Sounds like a promising skunkworks special, derived from an old B200 CDI hack that was kicking about the training centre.

UPDATED: Honda hints at new European advanced design studio

On the eve of the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, Honda Design's Creative Director, Toshinobu Minami, announced that the company is looking to once again open a design facility in Europe. The announcement came during a presentation at the R&D Center in Waco, just outside the Japanese capital and, while not confirmed, Minami-san strongly hinted that the UK would be a likely candidate to play host to Honda's revitalized European design operations. He cited the country's existing manufacturing and administration facilities, as well as a wealth of new talent from the Royal College of Art in particular.