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

Starting Out: How to become a car designer

It's a common predicament. You're 16 years old and desperate to become a car designer but have little idea about how to achieve that burning ambition. Well, discovering Car Design News is a good start, but if you're serious about training as a designer to work in a major car studio then you need to do a course in Transportation Design, a branch of Industrial Design (sometimes known as Product Design).

Citroen Divine DS Concept showcases the DS brand’s direction

The Citroen Divine DS Concept is heading for Paris Citroen do good concepts, and the DS Divine Concept is another slightly barking gilded lily from the French car makers, pointing the way to future DS models and design. About the size of a DS4, the DS Divine is driving the DS brand in a different direction to Citroen, and the lack of any Citroen badging demonstrates Citroen’s intent to set the DS models apart from the regular Citroen models as a standalone brand around the world, much as they already do in China. With a big diamond pattern grill up front and its low, squat stance, the DS Divine looks convincing, even if the oversize alloys and some of the detailing are typically ‘concept’, particularly the windowless back end.

Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake on the way

Mercedes’ design boss Gordon Wagener has revealed to WhatCar that they are planning to go exactly the same route with the CLA as they did with the CLS, and create a coupe estate. The CLS Shooting Brake (pictured below) has been very well received, and with much of the world downsizing its cars a CLA Estate is a very sensible way to go, offering all the good design elements of the CLA – which already looks like a CLS on a boil wash – in a car that has more practicality. Wagener gave no idea of time scale for the CLA Shooting Brake, but with the first CLAs expected to hit customers in June it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a concept CLA Shooting Brake arrive by the time of the Frankfurt Motor Show in September before going on sale in 2014.