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

New Opel/Vauxhall Astra saloon revealed – but not for the UK

The new Astra with a boot has been revealed but it’s not heading for the UK. It will, however, be offered in Germany and Spain. The hatchback has taken over the car world in recent years when it comes to family cars (although we could see the crossover / compact SUV supplant it before long), which has meant the demise of the traditional saloon, certainly in the UK market.

BMW i8 Concept Spyder

BMW has released images and information about its i8 Concept Spyder, which follows on from the i3 and i8 concepts. This open-top two-seater car features upwards-swiveling doors that pivot forwards around the A-pillars, a transparent glass panel at the rear and is based around the LifeDrive architecture, which fusing independent units together using a lightweight modular construction. A two-section roof is planned for less favorable conditions.

Mini Vision concept: what does it say about the brand's future?

The sight of Mini design head Anders Warming presenting a holographic, 3D projection of the Mini Vision concept as if appearing in his own cartoon was certainly a new one on us, but it captured the quirky, slightly left-field image the subsidiary of BMW Group has cultivated since its relaunch 13 years ago. As the 'Vision' tag suggests, this is billed as a marker of intent for the brand's future design direction rather than a pre-production teaser of the new Mini hatchback (Cooper in most markets) we'll see later this year. However if the third-generation 'new' Mini doesn't look remarkably similar we'd be amazed, such is the level of productionized detailing on this purely digital model.