2004 Bombardier Quest 500 4x4 Gates G-force Belt Drive Kevlar Aramid Cd on 2040-parts.com

WRC Mini Concept (2010) first official pictures

While the Mini Countryman might be destined for suburban mumsville, BMW has confirmed the new model will also terrorise the countryside in the form of the WRC Mini from 2011, with IRC champ Kris Meeke at the wheel. Officially launched at the 2010 Paris motor show in concept guise, the WRC Mini will be engineered and run by motorsport doyen Dave Richards and his Prodrive outfit, although customer packages will be available too, allowing independents to compete in the car. Not so much – this is no time for misty-eyed Paddy Hopkirk odes.

BMW/Exa-sponsored project at ACCD

Art Center's BMW/Exa 7th term sponsored project, which we first reported on back in mid-February, recently had its final presentation at the conclusion of the Spring 2008 term. You'll recall the project tasked the students with redesigning a future X5 Sports Activity Vehicle with the express mandate improving its aerodynamic efficiency by at least 30 percent. To achieve this lofty goal, the co-sponsor on the project, Exa Corporation was going to provide both their engineering software PowerFLOW and their technical know-how to virtually test the students' Alias StudioTools design models and provide them with real world aerodynamic feedback.

Lotus takes the top off Exige S

Lotus is adding an Exige S Roadster to its lineup, based on the new Exige we saw at the Frankfurt auto show. Unfortunately the road-car version will not come to the United States. The Roaster is powered by the same 345-hp V6 as in the hardtop Exige, as well as in the bigger Evora.