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BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics (2009) teaser video

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 28 August 2009 12:49 BMW has launched a teaser video for the Vision EfficientDynamics sports car concept that it will unveil at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show – and we've today published a new (sadly teaser again) photo of the green coupé from our friends over at IAAblog.com Not a lot until the final few sequences when we get to see the rear of this eco-friendly concept car. It shows the back of the sports car with F1-inspired winglets and other body addendum, plus external rear lights. BMW announced the car at the same time it confirmed its withdrawal from F1, claiming the concept would ‘demonstrate how efficient a sports car can be’ and that it ‘will also prove that sustainability does not apply to the drive train alone, but to design and materials as well.’ There’s been no hint from Munich on the powertrain, but in line with the other cars BMW will reveal (the X6 and 7-series ActiveHybrids) the Vision EfficientDynamics concept will almost certainly feature hybrid drive.

Last Lexus LFA leaves Motomachi Plant

The very last Lexus LFA – LFA #500 – has left the Motomachi Plant in Japan two years after production started and three years after the LFA was revealed. The idea of a Lexus supercar that cost so much seemed barking mad, but the LFA turned out to be a very special car indeed, not just for its build and performance but for what it meant for Lexus and Toyota – a future that would encompass many of the LFA’s design cues and DNA in future mainstream models. But three years after the LFA debuted, and exactly two years after the LFA went in to production at the TMC dedicated production facility at the Motomachi Plant, Aichi Prefecture, the last LFA – a white LFA Nurburgring Package #500 – has left the building.

UPDATED: Honda hints at new European advanced design studio

On the eve of the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, Honda Design's Creative Director, Toshinobu Minami, announced that the company is looking to once again open a design facility in Europe. The announcement came during a presentation at the R&D Center in Waco, just outside the Japanese capital and, while not confirmed, Minami-san strongly hinted that the UK would be a likely candidate to play host to Honda's revitalized European design operations. He cited the country's existing manufacturing and administration facilities, as well as a wealth of new talent from the Royal College of Art in particular.