2004 Kawasaki Kx125 Kx 125 Two Stroke Shifter Lever 04 on 2040-parts.com

Spy Shots: Could this be the 2014 Porsche GT3 RS?

Brenda Priddy & Co. sent us the above photos in an e-mail with the subject line “BREAKING: 2014 911 GT3 UNCAMOUFLAGED!” So, we opened it and found a few shots of Porsche's new rear-engine, mini Panamera in “all black everything” but sporting very little camouflage. If this is indeed the 2014 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, the bodywork is either quite a bit more restrained than that of the outgoing 997.5 GT3 RS, or it's wearing bodywork that won't appear on the 2014 GT3 RS when it debuts at the Paris motor show in September.

Ford announces new Silicon Valley research laboratory

Ford has announced plans to open a new R&D center in California's Silicon Valley with a view to creating a hub for collaborative technology projects. With neighbors including Google, Microsoft, facebook, Apple and Stanford University, it's certainly setting up shop in the right part of town. Its location also connects Ford's Advanced Design Studio in Irvine, CA and Ford employees working with connectivity platform partner Microsoft Corp.

Umea Institute of Design prepares for annual Degree Exhibition

Another end of term approaches and the Masters students from the Umea Institute of Design in the north of Sweden have just presented a preview of their final thesis projects. There are 22 graduating students in total, eight of whom are from the Masters course in Transportation Design. Transportation Design is one of three MA courses offered at the Umea Institute of Design - the others are Advanced Product Design and Interaction Design.