Clarke Racing, Oversized Gas Tank #11616 on 2040-parts.com

How South America designed the Ford Ka

The Ka Concept was shown at the São Paulo auto show in Brazil in November 2013, and was revealed in production form last week. It marks the first time the Ka has reflected the broader brand homogeneity of the 'One Ford' design strategy, and continues the Ka's shift in direction from the distinctive original.The new car is the work of Ford's South American design studio in Camaçari, Brazil - its second 'One Ford' car, following the EcoSport. But while the crossover enters a new segment, the 17-year history of the Ka nameplate in Brazil gives an insight into how the demands of the local market have taken precedence over design iconicity.

One Lap of the Web: Rolls-Royce in Thailand, 130-mph lawn mowers and Formula One in Canada

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. -- Check out some factoids about Formula One in Canada and how drivers have faired at Canadian tracks over time.

Volkswagen Golf R 400 Concept with 395bhp heading for Beijing

The VW Golf R 400 can hit 62mph in 3.9 seconds Volkswagen usually reserve their extreme concepts for the Worthersee Show, but they’re heading to next week’s Beijing Motor Show with a very extreme Golf R. The VW Golf R 400 Concept takes the regular Golf R – perhaps the most ‘grown-up’ hot hatch you can buy – and not only adds more power but extreme styling too. That means the 2.0 litre turbo 4-cylinder engine in the Golf R being crankes up to deliver 395bhp (400PS) which cuts the 0-62mph time by a full second over the production Golf R with the DSG ‘box to a supercar-bashing 3.9 seconds.