1983 Yamaha Venture Royale Xvz1200 Xvz 1200 Drive Shaft on 2040-parts.com

Gordon Murray Design T27 crash tested

The original Smart car probably did more than its fair share to persuade us that small cars needn't necessarily be unsafe. But now Gordon Murray is on the same mission: to persuade us that his titchy T27 city car is as safe as houses too. Gordon Murray Design has just issued its first crash test results, showing a T27 electric car after a crash test at the UK's MIRA industry research lab.  The crash test in question was the European-standard 40% offset deformable barrier front high-speed impact.

Ferrari 458 Speciale (2013) at Frankfurt motor show

More power and pace, less weight and extra helpings of oversteer – here comes the Ferrari 458 Speciale. Regular customers will be reaching for their bank cards and road testers will be jockeying for a test drive of the extreme 458, because Ferrari has taken the most thrilling mid-engined car on the planet and turned the volume up to 11. The 458 Speciale follows in the smokin’ tyre tracks of the 360 Challenge Stradale and 430 Scuderia, in being the maximum attack version of Ferrari’s current mid-engined V8 berlinetta.

Nissan DeltaWing tests at Road Atlanta

The experimental Nissan DeltaWing racecar will be back in action during the finale of the American Le Mans Series race at Road Atlanta on Oct. 17-20. It will be piloted by Nissan's first GT Academy champion, Lucas Ordonez, and ALMS 2011 PC-class champion Gunnar Jeannette.