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The Future Role of the Vehicle Designer

The vehicle design department at the Royal College of Art hosted the second in a series of five lectures looking at the future of the profession last week. Moving on from the previous week's topic of sustainability, this debate explored the future roles and responsibilities of the vehicle designer. Head of department Dale Harrow began by posing the question "Is it time to rethink – do we still need the car?" Although still relevant, Harrow's ultimate answer to this was that the profession was about to see marked change, with the end to an era where "designers are locked behind closed doors in studios".

McLaren P11 first details: live blog

By Ben Whitworth Motor Industry 16 April 2009 10:01 CAR is reporting live from McLaren's HQ today. Boss Ron Dennis is going to announce the full strategy for his road car business and we're going to bring you a real-time blog of what we see and hear at the Woking-based Technology Centre today. CAR contributing editor Ben Whitworth is off to Surrey and will be filing his thoughts electronically throughout the morning, so tune in as we bring you the full details of the new P11 sports car and the rest of McLaren's plans. We're updating the words and pictures throughout the day, so start at the bottom and work your way up.

Jaguar F-Type R: Coupe or Roadster?

With the new Jaguar F-Type arriving in showrooms in spring 2013, will the follow-on performance F-Type R be a coupe or Roadster? But it’s clear that the new V8 F-Type S isn’t going to be the pinnacle of the F-Type range – far from it. With Jaguar seeking to hang the whole brand identity on their first real roadster since the E-Type, a range-topping variant in the guise of an F-Type R is a certainty.