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Michelin Challenge Design 2012 'City 2046: Art, Life and Ingenuity' – The Finalists

The jury of the 2012 Michelin Challenge Design has selected and released images of its 27 finalists, chosen from a huge number of designs submitted by aspiring automotive designers. The competition's theme, ‘City 2046: Art, Life and Ingenuity', saw more than 1,700 registrants representing 88 countries which left the jury reviewing over 200 projects. Michelin set all participants a challenging brief, calling for designs for a "desirable, safe and sustainable personal vehicle" specifically for Los Angeles, Mumbai, Paris, Rio de Janeiro or Shanghai.

Brabus Mercedes S350 Bluetec ECO PowerXtra D6S kit

Mercedes S350 BlueTEC with Brabus ECO PowerXtra D6S kit The headline is a bit of a garbled eyeful at first glance. But that’s because although Brabus are pushing their new ECO PowerXtra D6S kit already attached to the Mercedes S350 BlueTEC, it can be attached to any other Mercedes running the same V6 3.0 litre diesel lump – like the Mercedes E350 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY we reviewed recently. The BRABUS ECO PowerXtra D6S is a stand-alone, plug and play device that is integrated into the CAN data bus of the car, not just a quick flash remap of the ECU.

Volkswagen Passat Alltrack: The VW Allroad arrives

The VW Passat Alltrack - debuts in Tokyo Volkswagen has jumped on to the Allroad bandwagon with its own take on Audi’s faux off-roader, with the reveal of the 2012 VW Passat Alltrack. As you would expect, the Passat Alltrack is a butched-up Passat Estate with a raised ride height, extra bits of plastic round the bumpers, skid plates, flared side sills and 4WD – VW’s 4MOTION – for more traction in boot sale car parks. But when you don’t need the 4WD, around 90 poer cent of the drive is through the front wheels – saving fuel – with the rear wheel drive only coming in to play when you start to slip and slide.