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

NHTSA proposes rules for automakers to add sound to hybrids, EVs

Automakers would need to make hybrids and electric vehicles emit sound under rules that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed on Monday. The rules, ordered by Congress three years ago, are meant to protect pedestrians and bicyclists from vehicles that make little sound when using electric power. NHTSA says that designing the vehicles to make noise at speeds below 18 mph would prevent about 2,800 injuries over the life of each model year of vehicles.

McLaren's latest P12 teaser video

McLaren has followed up its announcement that its Paris-bound P12 hypercar, teased with an image last week, by releasing a video that suggests the shape and aerodynamics we can expect from the car. The video shows a series of lights passing over an invisible object – the P12 – and using the lightshow it is possible to imagine the general shape of the car, without any detail of course. If the P12's unveiling is anything like the light show in the video, it should be a fantastic experience in Paris.

Who's Where: Satoshi Wada to open independent design studio

Satoshi Wada, former Senior Designer at Audi AG and Nissan Design Japan, is set to open his own design studio. Called SWdesign TOKYO, his ambitious plan follows on from a growing line of design managers who have left successful OEMs to establish their own design practices. Wada, who resigned from Audi AG in Ingolstadt earlier this month, told CDN he is aiming "to create a new vision with my own independent design studio in Tokyo".