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Video: Fiat creates café racer 500 for SEMA

Fiat is preparing a café racer-style 500 for this week's SEMA show by stripping down an Abarth version to take it "down to the essence of what you need to drive a car." The café racer philosophy of ‘more speed, less comfort' was born around the 1960s British 'biker scene and while initially focussed on increasing performance, quickly developed into a culture as concered with 'the show' as 'the go'. "It takes something like this to really get noticed at SEMA," says Craig Buoncompago, Project Manager at Fiat Product Design. "The Café Racer is really going to be one special car that you guys should really come and see." The 500's roof has been chopped, while also shorn of its door handles and being fitted with hot rod billet rims.

British motor show axed for good?

The British motor show will not go ahead in 2012, the organisers confirmed today. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders dashed hopes that the UK expo could return after the recession put stop to 2010's event - effectively ending over a century of UK motor shows. 'The British International Motor Show has been a tremendously successful showcase for the UK motor industry,' said SMMT chief exec Paul Everitt.

'Phoenix Four' MG Rover directors to be banned

The 'Phoenix Four': John Towers, Nick Stephenson, Peter Beale and John Edwards. All roundly criticised in today's government report By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 11 September 2009 09:14 The UK Government today said it plans to disqualify the executives who ran MG Rover in the run-up to its collapse in 2005. A report out today from the Department for Business, Innovations and Skills slams the 'Phoenix Four's involvement in the business and is highly critical of the way they withdrew £42 million in salaries and pensions despite the company's parlous financial position.