Alfa Romeo 164 1987-1995 New Door Stop on 2040-parts.com

Design boss plans Hyundai's next big splash

Every two weeks, Christopher Chapman makes the rounds at Hyundai's Irvine, Calif., design center to see what his team has in the "corner stack." The "stack" is a pile of index card-sized sketches on the corner of every designer's desk. For Chapman, Hyundai's U.S. design boss, it's a way to encourage his designers to keep ideas flowing.

Ferrari 458 Speciale with active aero debuts at Frankfurt

The only thing better than a 458 is, of course, a lighter, stronger and more aerodynamically efficient 458. Toward that end, Ferrari unveiled the 458 Speciale at Frankfurt, a successor of sorts to the Challenge Stradale and 430 Scuderia, previous specials that, as good as they were, wouldn't last a race on the same lap as this one. “This is the most powerful V8 Ferrari, never made before,” said Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo, who still speaks much better English than we could ever hope to speak Italian.

Mazda's rotary engine stalled, not forgotten

Development of the next-generation rotary engine from Mazda Motor Corp., first unveiled three years ago, is making slow progress despite missing emissions targets. A top Mazda powertrain executive said today that the 1.6-liter rotary engine, called the 16X, is about 30 percent more fuel-efficient than the current rotary engine used in the RX-8 sporty car. In fact, the 16X so far performs slightly better than Mazda's standard two-liter gasoline engine, said Mitsuo Hitomi, general manager of the Japanese carmaker's powertrain division.