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

World Car of the Year 2014 – the contenders

The provisional list of entries for the 2014 World Car of the Year awards has been revealed – this is like the European Car of the Year awards, only judged on a global scale. Each candidate for the main awards must be available for sale on at least two continents. In addition to the main category, the World Car – or WCOTY – awards also includes separate prizes for the World Car Design of the Year, World Green Car and World Luxury Car, the last a change from the World Performance Car of previous years.

Electric Rolls Royce Phantom dropped

Electric Rolls Royce - not being built   Everyone’s at it – building electric cars, that is – and Rolls Royce are no different. They even put together an electric Rolls Royce Phantom for the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year. And in many ways you can almost see the logic in an electric Rolls Royce.

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.