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

BMW Concept Active Tourer Outdoor arrives. It carries bicycles.

BMW Concept Active Tourer Outdoor (pictured) carries bicycles We’ve already had a preview of BMW’s ‘Green’ take on the new FWD 1-Series with the Concept Active Tourer ahead of the Paris Motor Show last year, and now we get the ‘butch’ take on the same theme – the BMW Concept Active Tourer Outdoor. But unlike most car makers, who make their pseudo off-road saloons ready for the great outdoors with raised ride height and bolt-on plastic cladding, all BMW seem to have done is fit the Tourer Outdoor with a bicycle carrying system. But unlike most bicycle carrying systems that bolt the bikes to the back of the car, BMW’s system puts the bikes under cover in the back on built in, retractable carriers.

New BMW 4-series Gran Coupé: OFFICIAL

The BMW 4-Series Gran Coupe (pictured) has been officially revealed The new BMW 4-Series Gran Coupe leaked out yesterday ahead of an official reveal by BMW, but that leak has prompted BMW to action and we get the official reveal today, probably sooner than BMW had intended. Looking like a shrunken 6-Series Gran Coupe – and visually similar to the 3-Series saloon too – the 4 Series Gran Coupe gets a liftback tailgate similar to the 3-Series Gran Turismo to differentiate the 4-Series Gran Coupe from the 3-Series saloon and add to its appeal. The profile is more swoopy too with a short glasshouse, smaller frameless rear doors and comes in 14mm longer and wider – and 40mm lower – than the 3-Series, and gets the same chassis as the 4-Series Coupe with a wheelbase of 2810mm.

Videos: Chris Bangle shares his views on design and the future of car design

Chris Bangle is a man that needs no introduction on these pages. Both revered and castigated, Bangle's work has undoubtedly been influential for a generation of designers. His unconventional practices – employed at a time when design was still largely segregated from other departments during the development process – yielded many avantgarde and contentious designs, but Bangle's fundamental understanding of the design process, creative vision and desire for change can never be cast in doubt. While Bangle shares his views on the future of the car in the video to the right, the video to the left provides an insight into the former BMW design chief's thought processes and gives us a glimpse into his home and studio in the Piedmont region of northern Italy.