1974-1979 Ski-doo Elan 250 Deluxe Gates G-force Belt Drive Kevlar Aramid Nr on 2040-parts.com

Modified Mercedes turned to gold

GERMAN tuning firms are known for occasionally crossing the barriers of taste, but this latest offering from Carlsson appears to have gone into new territory. Called the CS50 Versailles – after the Palace of Versailles that King Louis XIV turned into a opulent chateau – it’s based on the latest generation Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which is hardly a car short on luxury. But that hasn’t stopped Carlsson turning it into an automotive homage to gold.

Land Rover reaches coldest inhabited place on Earth

Despite the second snowpocalypse of the year and the reappearance of the polar vortex, the American Midwest and Northeast are not the coldest places in the world right now, contrary to what you might have felt this morning during your commute. So the Petsmart parking lot in Schenectady, New York is going to have have to have to get a few degrees colder if it wants to make it in the Guinness Book of Records. The title holder of the coldest inhabited place in the world happens to be the district of Oymyakon in Russia, though it's a bit further south from the Arctic Ocean than you'd expect.

LA Design Challenge 2010 announced

This year will see the seventh running of the annual LA Auto Show Design Challenge when the industry circus hits the US west coast in November. All participating studios have been tasked to envision a 1000lb (454kg) 2+2 vehicle that is both comfortable and secure while delivering satisfactory driving performance without sacrificing the emotional connection and beautiful styling today's consumers demand. For the first time, design studios from outside the US – from both Germany and Japan – will compete for the prize.