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IDSA's 3D-printed car design contest gets underway

Aspiring designers have the chance to see their 3D-printed car designs launched down a miniature model of a ski jump and crash in the Launch Day 2013 competition due to take place at the 2013 IDSA conference, which runs from 21-24 August. Up to five designs can be entered for free until 12 August in the competition, organized by The Industrial Designers Society of America. All submissions will then be judged for both aesthetics and for "using unique attributes of 3D printing" which will whittle them down to just 10 designs that will be printed before the launch.

Toyota's incoming chairman wants new Supra

Toyota Motor Corp.'s incoming chairman said he wants the sports car the company is developing with BMW to be a midsized vehicle comparable to the discontinued Supra. Toyota's next sports car should be like the Supra so that it doesn't overlap with the 86 coupe, Takeshi Uchiyamada said in an interview today in Osaka at a gathering of members of the Keidanren, Japan's biggest business lobbying group. Still, such decisions are up to engineers, Uchiyamada said.

Ferrari P4/5 designer Castriota heads to Saab

Jason Castriota, the noted designer who created the Ferrari P4/5 and the Maserati GranTurismo, is taking his talents to Saab. He will be in charge of design for the Swedish automaker as it looks to develop a new image after being sold by former parent General Motors, Bloomberg News reports. Castriota will work on developing an upscale model of the 9-3 and will try to bolster Saab to better compete with BMW and Audi.