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2011 LA Design Challenge entries revealed

As the Los Angeles Auto Show rapidly approaches, the 8th international Design Challenge has been announced. Inviting studios from across the globe to compete, previous years have seen concepts created for environmentally conscious briefs that called for sub-1000lb vehicles through to ‘Motorsport 2025' concepts that reinterpreted motor racing in the semi-distant future. This year sees six design studios turning to the silver screen and creating the next ‘A-list automobile', those being: Honda Research and Development Americas, Inc; Hyundai Design North America; Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America inc.

Volvos to get twin-clutch gearbox

By Ben Pulman Motor Industry 14 May 2008 13:33 Volvo’s C30, S40 and V50 are now available with a new six-speed twin-clutch ‘box – dubbed Powershift – mated to the company’s 134bhp 2.0-litre diesel. The new twin-clutch gearbox has been developed with Getrag (and Volvo's parent company Ford), and is basically the same unit recently announced in the Focus and C-Max. Volvo claims the new gearbox offers an 8 percent improvement in fuel consumption over a conventional six-speed automatic.

First Sight: BMW Zagato Coupé

"I've been looking for a way to collaborate with Zagato and Nori [Norihiko Harada, Chief Designer Zagato] for around 20 years," explains Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design as we stand in the shadow of the magnificent Villa Erba. "Last year at this event we had a conversation and decided that it was the right time to do something." BMW and Zagato both have history associated with the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este – Europe's most glamorous car show – yet until last weekend the two illustrious names had never crossed paths. The BMW Zagato Coupé marks the first project between the two and the first Italian-designed car to wear the blue and white propeller since the 2003 Bertone Birusa.