CAR tech: Britain's £1bn auto-industry revolution

By Damion Smy Motor Industry 21 October 2013 09:30 BMW, Jaguar-Land Rover and Nissan are just a handul of the car companies to have seen the potential in British design and engineering. Read on to find out just how they're actually helping Britian fight Germany as the car world's most pivotal auto-industry R&D hub. More than £1billion will be invested in the UK over the next decade to build a hub of design, engineering and manufacturing nous in the automotive equivalent of California’s Silicon Valley.

Sam Foose-built Alfa Romeo Carabo clone for sale

If Helen of Troy's face launched a thousand ships, Marcello Gandini's Alfa Romeo Carabo concept from 1968 most certainly launched two decades' worth of wedgy, mid-engine machines, a number of them penned by Gandini himself during his tenure at Bertone. This car, however, is not that car. This one was built in California, by legendary car builder (and father of Chip) Sam Foose back in 1972.

Video: Lexus LF-CC concept explained by its designers

We're big fans of the Lexus LF-CC concept after seeing it in Paris. It's not what you would call traditionally beautiful but it's incredibly complex, engagingly off-beat and, most importantly, shows – along with the LF-LC concept – that Lexus may finally have a recipe for distinctive and consistent design. Here Lexus Design's General Manager Yo Hiruta discusses the continuing evolution of the brand in an interview with the Lexus Blog.