2014 Michelin Challenge Design finalists announced

Michelin has announced the 15 finalists of the 2014 Michelin Challenge Design, themed ‘Driven/Undriven: The Duality of Tomorrow's Automobile'. Their work will be showcased in January at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. A judging panel of automotive designers and industry experts selected individuals and teams from Italy, China, South Korea, Finland, Serbia, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Guatemala from over 900 registrants from 74 countries.

Audi RS7: 2013 Detroit Auto Show

The new Audi RS7 has been revealed at the Detroit Auto Show complete with the 552bhp 4.0 litre V8 from the new Audi RS6 Avant. With the same 552bhp 4.0 litre V8 the new RS6 Avant gets, the 2013 RS7  has permanent 4WD and can get to 62mph in the same blistering time as the RS6 Avant – 3.9 seconds – and on to a top speed of 155mph. That is unless you specify the Dynamic or Dynamic Plus package and then the RS7 can hit either 174mph or 189mph.

VW Race Touareg 3 (2011) first pictures

You might usually associate the Volkswagen Touareg with school-run mums whose furthest foray off-road is up the kerb and onto a wet field – this is something different, this is the new VW Race Touareg 3. That there is, and it’s the Race Touareg 2 that’s taken the chequered flag at the last two Dakar rallies, becoming the first diesel-powered winner in 2009. And after 2010’s 1-2-3 finish, the VW board decided it was onto a good thing and commissioned Volkswagen Motorsport to update its Touareg racer for the January 2011 race.