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2014 GAF Boccaro Cup Car Design Contest

The Global Automotive Forum has announced its first car design competition. Called the Boccaro Cup Car Design Contest, the competition is now open, and the deadline for submissions is 15 August. 阅读中文版请点击这里 The theme of the competition is a call for a new breed of designers to take Chinese culture forward with their creativity, and to set new trends for the future of the automobile.

CAR interviews McLaren Group CEO Ron Dennis (2014)

By Gavin Green Motor Industry 17 June 2014 09:44 It seems 903bhp may not be enough. Ron Dennis – back in charge of McLaren Group as CEO after two years of hands-off frustration – confides that some owners of the P1 hypercar are demanding ‘something a bit more edgy’. Perhaps there’ll be a second chapter in the P1 story; 375 hand-built cars have already sold out to wealthy enthusiasts.

Show Review: EyesOn Design 2014

The EyesOn Design show is an annual exhibition that celebrates automotive design excellence of the past, present and future. Held at the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, MI, proceeds from the event help provide financial support for aid to the visually impaired through the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology. EyesOn Design is a celebration of automotive design; a craft that leaves an indelible imprint on the world around us, and one that was explored across a host of exhibition categories at this year's event – most notably with cars from the movies and TV shows.

Bentley Continental GT3-R (2014) first official pics

By Damion Smy First Official Pictures 17 June 2014 12:00 The Bentley Continental GT3-R is the fastest accelerating Bentley ever built. It’s a road-gong version of the car that stormed to victory at Silverstone last month, the Continental GT3, and ticks off 0-62mph in 3.8sec: this is some grand tourer The 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 that’s just been introduced into the Flying Spur saloon has been wound up to a heady 572bhp, with a stonking 516lb ft combining to make this svelte coupe the fastest accelerating Bentley production car ever built, and a whopping 0.8sec better than the V8 S model. The GT3-R is not the fastest Bentley, though, with its top-end only 170mph (virtually walking pace, really), but the eight-speed ZF gearbox and final drive have been tuned to make this car a corner carver, as opposed to a top-end tourer.

2014 Bentley Continental GT3-R revealed

The Bentley Continental GT3-R proves that a year is a long time in motorsport. Just 12 months after Bentley unleashed the awesome and, quite frankly, terrifying Continental GT3 racing car at the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed, we’re being treated to a road-going version. With 580hp and a bold makeover it's certainly not for the faint-hearted.

Bentley Continental GT3-R with 572 bhp V8 revealed

The Bentley Continental GT3-R arrives with a 572 bhp V8 As we reported last week, it looks like Bentley has decided to do a V8 take on the original Continental Supersports with the arrival of the Bentley Continental GT3-R, a lighter, more powerful Continental V8. Just like the original Continental Supersports, the Continental GT3-R loses its back seats and goes on a diet (down 100 kg on the V8S) and gets a retuned version of the 4.0 litre twin-turbo V8 producing 572 bhp and 516 lb/ft of torque together with shorter gearing to deliver a 0-60 mph in just 3.6 seconds (0-62mph in 3.8s). The GT3-R still comes with Bentley’s four wheel drive, but it gets torque vectoring too and a modified ESC and a chassis tuned for outright cornering ability to make the GT3-R Bentley’s most dynamic road car to date.

Brands Hatch drive 'was wicked fun'

A MAN WHO DROVE his girlfriend's car on to the former Formula One circuit at Brands Hatch during a race has boasted that the stunt was "wicked fun". Jack Cottle, 21, steered Saskia Fisk's white Volkswagen Polo into the middle of a Fun Cup race at the Kent circuit on Saturday. He was arrested yesterday on suspicion of false imprisonment after footage filmed from the back seat by his friend, Zac Copson, showed Ms Fisk apparently screaming in terror.

Range Rover Sport Stealth Pack to debut at Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Range Rover Sport gets a Stealth Pack option If you really want to make extreme changes to your new Range Rover Sport, Jaguar Land Rover’s new Special Operations are the go to people. But for an off-the-shelf solution for titivating your new RRS, you can now add the Range Rover Sport Stealth Pack. The Range Rover Stealth Sport Pack is a new bolt-on option for your new Sport that adds exterior titivation for a more aggressive look, quite in keeping with the new Sport’s more sporty on-road dynamics.

Brits prefer driving abroad

BRITISH DRIVERS say they would rather drive abroad than in the UK because continental roads are less congested and in better repair. The lower price of fuel in continental Europe also attracts British drivers. Every year, 4.2 million British drivers head to Europe and research by the RAC shows the UK ranks only 24th when it comes to the quality of its roads.

Renault Megane RS 275 Trophy-R (2014): new Nurburgring challenger unveiled

By Michail Karkafiris First Official Pictures 16 June 2014 09:00 The leaderboard among hot hatches for the Nurburgring lap record is changing aplenty at the moment – and the new Renault Megane RS 275 Trophy-R, unveiled today, has raised the bar again. It packs everything Renaultsport knows about hot hatchery into one tuned Megane RS. Think of the new RS 275 Trophy-R as the GT3 of Meganes, thanks to a 2.0-litre turbo tuned to 271bhp (275ps in metric, hence the name) and a crash diet stripping 100kg from its kerb weight for the sake of spicier performance and better handling.

Renault Megane Renaultsport 275 Trophy-R Special Edition celebrates Nurburgring record

The Renault Megane Renaultsport 275 Trophy-R (pictured) breaks a Nurburgring record We knew Renault were planning to take the Megane Renaultsport 275 Trophy to the Nurburgring to have a crack at the FWD production car record and wrestle it back from the SEAT Lean Cupra 280. After some extreme weight saving measures – and some chassis tweaks – Renault managed to push the 275 Trophy round the Nordschleife in 7min 53.4 seconds, beating the SEAT’s time of 7min 58.4 seconds to take the record (video below). But not being one’s to miss a marketing opportunity, Renault has decided that they should celebrate the Nurburgring record with a new limited edition Megane – the Megane Renaultsport 275 Trophy-R Special Edition.

London road casualties at lowest ever

THE NUMBER OF DEATHS and serious injuries on the roads of London has fallen to its lowest ever, showing a 23% drop in 2013 compared to the previous best figures. Pedestrian figures are down even more at 25% for the same period. In 2013, there were 132 fatalities on London’s roads, which is the second lowest figure since records began.

Range Rover Sport Stealth Pack (2014) first photos

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 16 June 2014 11:14 Land Rover has tacitly admitted that Range Rover Sport buyers are different to Range Rover customers: the Stealth Pack unveiled today is a personalisation programme which makes RRS models stand out from the crowd. Available on HSE Dynamic and Autobiography Range Rover Sport models only, the Stealth Pack is ironically named: it's designed to make owners stand out, rather than melt into the background. But then that's always been the way with the Range Rover Sport, the model that likes to show off a little more than its more restrained big brother.

McLaren Resurrects Iconic GTR Badge For Track-Only P1

NOT convinced that McLaren’s current P1 supercar is fast enough? Don’t worry, as the supercar maker has unveiled plans to build a limited-run version packing 1000 horsepower. You’ll have to be quick though, as this track-only model will be built after the 375th and final regular P1 variant leaves the production line.

Barn Find Rare Healey Racer Set To Star At Auction

A RARE British sports car will be offered in Silverstone Auctions’ two-day sale at the forthcoming Silverstone Classic race meeting on July 26th and 27th. Fittingly the car is a 1950 Healey Silverstone, one of just 105 ever built. The car was hand built at the Donald Healey Motor Company factory in Warwick and was designed to be equally at home on the road or racetrack.

The Designers, Pt6 – Laurens van den Acker, Renault

Car Design News launched its first-ever Car Design Review yearbook at the Geneva Motor Show, featuring the award-winning Production Car and Concept Car Designs of 2013. If you're interested in buying a copy of the 160-page yearbook this interview appears in, alongside trend reports, bespoke car design infographics and a special feature on Marcello Gandini, our inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Car Design Review can be purchased here. Name Laurens van den AckerRole VP design, Renault GroupAge, nationality 48, DutchLocation Paris, FranceEducation Delft University of Technology, Holland "I hope 2013 was the end of the crisis in Europe.

1973 Volvo 1800ES fetches $92,400 in Bonhams auction – a classic Volvo record

The most expensive Volvo P1800 in the world. With Volvo now on a sensible track of producing good-looking, premium Swedish cars, we have wondered if historic Volvos will start to climb in value as modern Volvos become more appealing and more upmarket. And it seems they might be.

2016 Subaru WRX STI will get the WRX Concept’s looks

The next Subaru WRX STI should look a lot like the WRX Concept (above) Subaru fans were delighted that the new Subaru WRX STI – revealed at the Detroit Auto Show in January – was actually going to make it to the UK, and at a price that isn’t too barking at £29k. But the joy that the new Scooby was heading for Subaru’s UK showrooms was tempered somewhat by its looks, looks that owed far more to the last generation WRX STI than the stunning Subaru WRX Concept we saw at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year. The WRX Concept was everything we hoped the Scooby could be, with form being allowed to come to the fore rather than being a result of function, and making the WRX far more appealing.

The Porsche Le Mans legends - the cars and men in pictures

By Ben Pulman Motoring Issues 14 June 2014 16:11 Between 1970 and 1998 Porsche won Le Mans 16 times. As Porsche returns to La Sarthe this weekend for the famous Le Mans 24 hours, we look back at the most famous cars, race directors and drivers who helped create the Porsche legend. We interviewed the team's most famous drivers and engineers ahead of Le Mans in the June 2014 issue of CAR magazine.

Don’t text and drive says Volkswagen – very effectively (video)

Cinema goers in for a shock in VW’s don’t text and drive campaign We’re not the biggest fans of putting drivers in a bubble of concentration behind the wheel, which is what law makers seem to be trying to do. Don’t take a sip from that water bottle, don’t change the channel on the radio, don’t have a conversation with your passengers, don’t smoke, don’t take hands-free phone calls – in fact, don’t do anything but drive. But it’s a foolish trend as it’s the little things going on that keep drivers alert; focusing just on the driving is a sure fire way make drivers’ brains go in to a fug and lose concentration.

Le Mans 2014 in pictures

This weekend (14-15 June) sees the start of the 82nd running of the Le Mans 24-hour race, one of the most gruelling and prestigious events on the sportscar calendar. It's also something of a pilgrimage for tens of thousands of Brits, and we'll be joining them to bring you the full flavour of what amounts to a heady mix of summer festival and motor race. Click the image above to join us on our Le Mans road trip

David Brown Automotive Speedback UK debut at Goodwood Festival of Speed (video)

The David Brown Automotive Speedback (above) gets its UK debut at the Goodwood FoS The reveal of the David Brown Automotive Speedback was a pleasant surprise. We’d expected the Speedback to be yet another take on the E-Type – based as it is on the underpinnings of the still very able Jaguar XKR – but instead it was a proper classic GT car that looks much like a classic Aston Martin from the 1960s – think DB5/DB6. Glorious though a DB5 or DB6 is to own, a lot of the time they’re more a work of art to covet than a car you can drive every day.

Tesla gives away its electric car secrets for free

Tesla Elon Musk, the CEO of the pioneering electric carmaker Tesla, has announced that the company is to "open source" all its technology patents in order to speed up the progress of electric car development. In an extraordinary press statement entitled 'All our patents are belong to you' – a reference to online memes and gaming culture, in case you were wondering – Musk has categorically stated that Tesla will not challenge any company that takes advantage of its technology when building rival electric cars.   Tesla gives away electric car technology: will not sue Having recently reviewed the Tesla Model S, this sounds great news for the future of the electric car, but commercial suicide for Tesla as a business.

Mercedes AMG GT gets new 503 bhp Twin-Turbo 4.0 litre V8 (video)

The new Mercedes AMG GT (pictured) gets the new 503 bhp Twin-Turbo 4.0 litre V8 We’ve speculated that the new Mercedes AMG GT – and, for that matter, futures ’63′ AMGs – will get a new twin-turbo V8 to provide the power as Mercedes look to move away from the naturally aspirated 6.2 litre V8 in cars like the SLS. And this is it. A new 4.0 litre twin-turbo V8 – the M178 engine – has been developed to replace the 6.2 litre V8 and, in initial tune, develops 503 bhp at 6250 rpm and 479lb/ft of torque from just 1750 rpm.

Mini Boosts Multimedia Appeal With Gopro Filming App

THE Mini has never been camera-shy, but now the brand’s latest models can get themselves on camera easier than ever before. In what’s being touted as a world first for a car brand, a new Mini Connected App enables GoPro cameras to be controlled via the dashboard – meaning shooting a film is now as easy as changing a song on the audio unit. This makes it possible to start shooting with a camera mounted on or inside the car while travelling.

Nissan’s Qashqai Named Top Tow Car

THE all-new Nissan Qashqai has proved it has the pulling power to match its looks after it was named as The Overall Winner at the prestigious Tow Car Awards 2014. The British-built model also won the 1,400kg-1,549kg (kerbweight) category. Judges from the Camping and Caravanning Club and influential magazines Practical Caravan and What Car?

McLaren P1 GTR: first official info on the 986bhp track-only P1

By Michael Karkafiris First Official Pictures 13 June 2014 14:40 Here’s the official confirmation of McLaren’s track-only version of the already insane P1. The McLaren P1 GTR will pack 986bhp (or a nice, round 1000ps in metric), 83 ponies more than its street-legal sibling, a wider track, full slick racing tyres and bigger downforce levels  than the regular P1 – if you can call a car like the P1 ‘regular’. Rumours talk about a fixed rear wing instead of the deployable one on the standard car.

Bloodhound SSC: behind the wheel inside 1000mph cockpit

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 13 June 2014 00:01 Want to know what it feels like to hit 1000mph? This is our first look inside the cockpit of the Bloodhound SSC, the new supersonic rocket challenger looking to set a new world land speed record. The Bloodhound SSC's cabin is cramped and looks more like the cockpit of a Eurofighter jet than a car.

Forza Horizon 2 reviews: what the experts at E3 say

By Michael Karkafiris First Official Pictures 13 June 2014 07:00 Forza Horizon 2 launched this week at the 2014 E3 gaming show in Los Angeles. Time, then, to see what the critics say about one of 2014’s most eagerly awaited driving games. For the last few years, driving simulators have raised the bar so much that the gaming community can now safely declare that there is little need for them to go out in the real world and have fun with their cars.

Tesla opens its patents for everyone to share EV knowledge

By Michael Karkafiris Motor Industry 13 June 2014 10:43 Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors and one of the most talked-about personalities in the automotive industry, announced today that his company has opened all of its patents to make way for the competition to catch up and promote electric mobility for a wider audience. Open-sourcing your patents is a rather unusual strategy in the automotive world but Musk says that ‘Tesla Motors was created to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport. If we clear a path to the creation of compelling electric vehicles, but then lay intellectual property landmines behind us to inhibit others, we are acting in a manner contrary to that goal.