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

New Land Rover Freelander will actually be a Discovery

It seems – as we expected – that Land Rover are looking to make more sense of their range of off-roaders as new models are launched, and are going to concentrate on three core brands – Range Rover, Discovery and Defender – instead of the current mish-mash where many models really overlap with others (the top end Discoverys are really a cheaper Range Rover). So the next Freelander will become an entry-level Discovery with underpinnings borrowed from the Evoque (which is itself based on the current Freelander platform, a development of the Ford Galaxy’s platform), and arrive in both 5-seat and 7-seat guise, with the new Discovery ’5′ getting a platform based on the new Range Rover and perhaps spawning two models. The new Discovery range will be targeted as a ‘Lifestyle’ core range for Land Rover (much as the original Disco was) and the Range Rover range will be both sporty and luxurious, with a 7-seat Grand Evoque XL joining the current Evoque, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover.

BMW Megacity Vehicle (MCV)

BMW's Project i – an internal codename for a possible sub-brand dedicated to green urban driving – has been in the works for some time. The Vision EfficientDynamics concept, unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Show, showcased some of the lightweight technological advances and design thinking behind the forthcoming zero-emission cars. Recently the firm held a Project i event, where it released teaser sketches of the first vehicle to result from the project, the Megacity Vehicle (MCV) – a four-seater electric car with a rear-mounted engine and rear wheel drive.

Jag designers light up London’s Clerkenwell Design Week

Clerkenwell Design Week might not mean much to car designers more used to motor shows like Tokyo or Geneva. But the five-year-old event is fast becoming a fixture in the broader design calendar, and has been sponsored by Jaguar for the past four years for good reason. In simple terms, Jaguar wants to be seen (and respected) beyond the automotive realm: "We want to connect with other designers and have our designers learn from designers in other fields," advanced design director Julian Thomson told Car Design News.