Rolls Royce Wraith Drophead OFFICIALLY confirmed

A Drophead version of the Rolls Royce Wraith (pictured) officially confirmed for 2016 The Rolls Royce Wraith – a Ghost Coupe in all but name – arrived in 2013 as an almost properly sporting Rolls Royce, one designed for driving rather than being driven in. But the arrival of the Wraith did beg the question ‘How long will it be before there’s a Wraith Convertible?‘, and we thought that question was answered when Rolls Royce boss, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, said in November last year that a drophead Wraith would make it in to production. But it seems the boss saying something doesn’t necessarily make it official, so Rolls Royce has now officially confirmed today that a new Rolls Royce model – offering effortless, open-top touring – is under development and will arrive in 2016.

Renault buys Caterham out of the joint Alpine sports car venture

Renault buys Caterham out of the joint Alpine sports car venture It’s more than eighteen months since Renault and Caterham joined forces to create a new breed of sports cars around the Alpine brand. Renault say the arrangement is a mutual one and officially brings to an end the joint venture, and that the business will be renamed Société des Automobiles Alpine this month, although Renault aren’t excluding further ventures with Caterham in the future. The split means that the Alpine project will now be a purely Renault one, and Renault are planning to get their Alpine to market by 2016.

Multi-touch UI reduces touchscreen interaction to simple swipes [w/video]

Touchscreens have become widespread standard features in many cars over the last few years, consolidating the modern car's many functions into one interface. But despite their advantages there's the big downside of driver distraction, something user interface designer Matthaeus Krenn believes he has solved with his UI. Unlike most other touchscreens, Krenn's interface isn't organized into menus and small, hard-to-hit buttons, but instead makes use of multi-touch gestures, reducing the accuracy and attention needed to operate key functions.