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

New Volvo V40 R-Design. UPDATED

We have the first photos of Volvo’s sporty take on the new V40 – the Volvo V40 R Design – ahead of a debut at the Paris Motor Show. Update: Volvo has now caught up with this story, so we’ve added a few more photos and a video. The V40 R-Design will be available as an option across all the V40′s range of engines but the Sport suspension still remains an option, not standard.

Keep Cruisin', Marv Spector

For the last 30 years or so, you could belly up to the service counter at Specter Off Road in scorching Chatsworth, Calif., deep in the Valley, underneath the red-and-white arrow that stretches the length of the squat stucco building. You'd first have to stroll past the long and dark row of dizzying Toyota Land Cruisers -- Japanese fire trucks, FJ60s with roof-mounted machine guns and a propane-powered 1973 Baja 1000 champion. Past the glass cases of old photos and model kits and RC cars from Japan.

Video: Chris Bangle delivers “Empowerment: Design without Designers” talk at Creative Mornings/London

Chris Bangle – the undisputed front man of car design – needs little introduction, so the prospect of the former BMW Design Director and now founder of Chris Bangle Associates giving a talk in our home town of London was too good to pass up. His presentation (which you can watch in full in the video to the left) touched on his time at BMW, but was more focused on the idea of empowering others to create: "design without you in the middle", as Bangle says. From the story of the co-creation of the staircase in his Italian studio to the idea of encouraging people to think about their culture when designing, his philosophies transcend disciplines.