Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Lamborghini looks ahead to a new year and a new Murci

A year of transition promises to give way to a year of renewal for Lamborghini. It's hard to say 2010 was a bad year for the iconic Italian automaker, as it still created a major buzz on the auto-show circuit and its sales were down only slightly. But all signs point to 2011 as a new beginning for Lamborghini.

Smart Forspeed concept signals new design direction

Smart will unveil a new concept at the forthcoming Geneva motor show that signals a new design direction, hints at future product and confirms parent company Daimler's renewed commitment to the brand. Car Design News was granted early access to the concept, baptized Forspeed, at a secret photography studio in Stuttgart last week and heard the head of advanced design, Steffen Kohl, explain how the two-seat, electric-powered vehicle prefaces design themes in both the next Fortwo and the revived Forfour, which will be launched in 2014. "The fullness of this concept's exterior surfaces is important and will be reflected in future production models," said Kohl, "Smart will still be short, spacey, agile, and with wheels at the corners of the car, but with an added sporty and emotional design and without losing all the brand's iconic elements like its ‘plastic fantastic' aspect and the safe and hi-tech modular tridion shell assembled with all these changeable body parts.

Tokyo Motor Show 2013 preview guide

Next week is a busy week in the world of international motor shows, as both the LA Motor Show 2013 and Tokyo Motor Show 2013 kick off with press days on 20-21 November. MSN Cars will on the ground at both shows – but here are the cars and concepts that already have us excited about the Tokyo event. The Tokyo Motor Show is Japan’s premier motoring salon, and is located at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition centre, 3-11-1 Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo.