Mercedes-Benz unveils AMG Vision Gran Turismo concept

Mercedes-Benz has unveiled its AMG Vision Gran Turismo concept that will be featured in the upcoming Gran Turismo racing game. The concept features bulbous wheelarches and a long hood stretching back to the pushed-back cabin, designed to emphasize its aerodynamics, while the grille is a reinterpretation of the wide Mercedes-Benz sports car grille with the central star. It also features gullwing doors and side-view cameras, together with racing-inspired elements such as the release catches on the hood and fuel caps positioned on the roof.

Your chance to shape CAR Online – and win £500

By the CAR Online team 04 December 2013 12:50 Fancy winning £500? We’re looking for your views on what the CAR website should offer – and we’ll pay a cash prize to one lucky respondent. Completing the online survey is easy: it doesn’t take long to tell us how you use our site and what you like – or don’t like – about it.

MIT develops self-transforming materials that behave 'like robots without robots'

A cross-disciplinary research lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a suite of programmable materials, including carbon fiber, printed wood grain, textile composites, rubbers and plastics, that self-transform when exposed to an external stimulus. Director of the Self-Assembly Lab, Skylar Tibbits, presented a TED talk on 4D printing in 2013, where he demonstrated how a flat sheet of material could effectively build itself when exposed to water, like a robot without a robot. Following positive feedback from industries including aviation, automotive and manufacturing, his lab has been working on developing materials that change according to different activation sources, including heat, light, and air pressure, in addition to water – all of which have automotive relevance.