Kawasaki Teryx 750 08-13 Billet Tailgate Latches Chrome Finish on 2040-parts.com

Laurenz Schaffer Appointed President of BMW Group’s DesignworksUSA

There's a game of musical chairs being played at DesignworksUSA, the BMW Group's design consultancy subsidiary. Starting December 1 this year, two key executives will be taking on new roles within the design consultancy, while the company's current President will be moving on to a new position within BMW Group Design. The first appointment is that of Laurenz Schaffer, currently Director of the Munich studio of BMW Group DesignworksUSA.

McLaren 12C GT Sprint fills the gap between the 12C & GT3

McLaren 12C GT Sprint (pictured) debuts at Goodwood FoS McLaren has revealed a track car that’s not quite as focused as the 12C GT3 or the Can Am, but a bit more focused than a regular road-going 12C – the McLaren 12C GT Sprint. Built by McLaren’s race car division, the GT Sprint gets the same 616bhp and seven-speed twin clutch gearbox as the regular 12C but with new oil and cooling systems and a new radiator at the front borrowed from the GT3 car, McLaren has had a play with the suspension on the 12C GT Sprint, lowered it by 40mm and fitted racing slicks to make the Sprint a lot firmer and sharper than its road-going sibling. Cosmetically, the GT Sprint gets a new front bumper, a bonnet that looks like it came of the 12C GT3, bigger air ducts and wing louvres and the option of lightweight bodywork and a carbon fibre rear wing to push the price up if you want to spend more.

How safe are new minicars?

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently tested a total of 11 minicars in its relatively new small-overlap crash test, and the Chevrolet Spark was the only one to earn an Acceptable rating. The small-overlap crash test was instituted in 2012 with the goal of better replicating real-life car crashes, most of which don't follow the pattern of traditional government crash tests. Instead of a car hitting a stationary object with 100 percent of its front making contact, the small-overlap test examines how a car behaves in a frontal impact at 40 mph where only a quarter of the car's front hits an object.