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MINI Countryman to be built in India

MINI sells worldwide – even in the US – and, despite claims it was a step too far for the brand, the MINI Countryman has been a big hit for MINI, offering as it does most of MINI’s charm but in a bigger, more family friendly package and with the option of All4 4WD for a degree of off-road ability (well, certainly the ability to treat boot sale car parks with disdain). Now, for the first time, BMW is to build the MINI outside Europe with a new MINi assembly facility coming on stream in Chennai, India, where BMW already makes 3 and 5 Series models as well as the X1 and X3. The plan is part of BMW’s plan of ‘Production follows the market’ where BMW aim to make their cars where they’re sold, so with the MINI brand showing strong growth in India since its launch it makes sense to build them there.

Official: Renault & Caterham to build Alpine sports cars

Renault has confirmed it is to partner with Caterham to build a range of Alpine sports cars in Dieppe from 2015. The partnership between Renault and Caterham is a logical extension of their F1 partnership but now, with the joint venture to produce their own sports cars, goes much deeper than the almost badge-engineering Williams Renaults. A new company - Société des Automobiles Alpine Caterham – will be jointly owned by Caterham and Renault and will develop models in small and large volumes to be marketed as both Renault Alpine and Caterham, and will be built in Renault’s Dieppe factory that currently churns out Renaultsport models for the road and track, and is the historical home of Alpine.

2011 LA Design Challenge entries revealed

As the Los Angeles Auto Show rapidly approaches, the 8th international Design Challenge has been announced. Inviting studios from across the globe to compete, previous years have seen concepts created for environmentally conscious briefs that called for sub-1000lb vehicles through to ‘Motorsport 2025' concepts that reinterpreted motor racing in the semi-distant future. This year sees six design studios turning to the silver screen and creating the next ‘A-list automobile', those being: Honda Research and Development Americas, Inc; Hyundai Design North America; Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America inc.