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Exclusive: Pierre Castinel resigns from Head of Design role at Tata

Tata's Head of Design, Pierre Castinel, has resigned from his post to accept a position at PSA, Car Design News has learned. Castinel was originally hired to develop the design direction and form a brand identity for Tata's full line of vehicles, including cars, pickups, SUVs, MPVs, trucks and buses, but things haven't been going well at the Indian automaker. According to insiders, Tata closed Castinel's design studio in the British midlands last year, forcing the UK-based team to move into the automaker's engineering center in Warwickshire.

Lexus Design Awards open for entries under the theme 'Senses'

When we visited Milan Design Week earlier this year, the winners of the Lexus Design Award were a particular highlight – refreshingly free from automotive references, the work was in the true spirit of the city's celebrated annual festival. The theme of the 2015 competition is Senses, which opens up the opportunity for designers to explore sight, sound, smell, taste and/or touch. Entrants will be judged by a panel including architect Toyo Ito, curators Paolo Antonelli and Aric Chen, and Lexus president and former head of Toyota design Tokuo Fukuichi.

Porsche 918 Spyder (2013) at Frankfurt motor show

This is the new Porsche 918 Spyder, and it’s just been unveiled on the eve of the 2013 Frankfurt motor show. The Porsche 918 Spyder is the successor to the legendary Carrera GT, uses a race-derived engine, hits 62mph in 2.8 seconds, and will reach 214mph. But the Porsche 918 Spyder is also very different to the Carrera GT, because it’s a hybrid and promises Toyota Prius-like levels of parsimony.