Cannon 2250119 - Quick™ Release on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes GLA SUV UK launch down a salt mine in Cheshire

The new Mercedes GLA down a salt mine in Cheshire Trying to find an unusual venue for new car launches is something that taxes the brains of car PR teams, and Mercedes came up with somewhere a little left field for the launch of the new GLA Compact SUV – the UK’s biggest salt mine at Winsford in Cheshire. The Winsford Rock Salt Mines – 130 miles of salt mining tunnels running under Cheshire – are the result of salt mining since the 19th century and now comprise of 130 miles of tunnels some 189 metres below ground, a void beneath the earth of 23 million cubic metres. Still a working salt mine, Winsford is also home to a massive storage facility for, among others, the National Archive, where constant temperatures of 14C make for an ideal storage environment.

Mini John Cooper Works WRC: the roll cage in detail

Mini claims it’s created the safest WRC car ever – with a little help from Prodrive.  And to prove the point, they’ve opened up the Mini Countryman WRC’s innards and spilled some of the secrets of its rollcage. The Countryman racer is stripped and fitted with a new type of rollcage designed by Prodrive. Its beams curve outwards and the Banbury engineers say it has been designed to withstand impacts much better than the straight crossbeams used in most WRC cars.

VW Twin Up Hybrid Concept does 257mpg – debuts at LA & Tokyo

Teh VW Up! is getting the hybrid powertrain from the XL ! The VW Twin Up is a concept Up!