College Exhibition: IED Fiat/Chrysler project

Second year students at the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Turin, Italy, recently completed a Fiat/Chrysler sponsored project, which began in February 2009. Conceived as a didactic exercise to think about the recent alliance between Fiat and Chrysler, 37 students were asked to design a vehicle capable of combining the technical know-how, platforms and values of both brands in order to generate interesting and competitive new products for the European and the American markets. In creating their concepts, students were asked to take into account the style, economic accessibility and the low environmental impact of Fiat vehicles as well as the new platforms and major industrial and production capacity afforded by the Italian automaker's alliance with the Chrysler brand.

Scandal-laden Jaguar up for auction

A STUNNING 1959 Jaguar XK150 Drophead Coupé with connections to one of the most famous British political scandals of all time has been lined up for auction. The car, with the number plate WLY 150, was owned by Dr Stephen Ward, the osteopathic physician who was at the centre of the Profumo Affair in 1963. Ward was the man who introduced John Profumo, Conservative MP and Secretary of State for War, to longstanding friend, model and showgirl Christine Keeler, who at the time was also allegedly in a relationship with Soviet spy Yevgeny Ivanov.

Aston Martin Vantage gets V12, but we won't get the car

The Aston Martin V12 Vantage, the hottest version of the two-seat coupe, is the latest step in the automaker's new-model offensive for 2009. Revealed just days after the Rapide four-door, the V12 Vantage is the second of four major reveals from Aston this year. Also coming is the DBS convertible, which will share stand space at Geneva with the V12 Vantage and a concept for a new Lagonda, the dormant brand that Aston plans to bring back to life as a super-luxury Rolls-Royce/Maybach challenger.