Marine Lifesling Man Overboard Rescue System Sailboat Safety Throwable Buoy Boat on 2040-parts.com

Smart Forspeed concept signals new design direction

Smart will unveil a new concept at the forthcoming Geneva motor show that signals a new design direction, hints at future product and confirms parent company Daimler's renewed commitment to the brand. Car Design News was granted early access to the concept, baptized Forspeed, at a secret photography studio in Stuttgart last week and heard the head of advanced design, Steffen Kohl, explain how the two-seat, electric-powered vehicle prefaces design themes in both the next Fortwo and the revived Forfour, which will be launched in 2014. "The fullness of this concept's exterior surfaces is important and will be reflected in future production models," said Kohl, "Smart will still be short, spacey, agile, and with wheels at the corners of the car, but with an added sporty and emotional design and without losing all the brand's iconic elements like its ‘plastic fantastic' aspect and the safe and hi-tech modular tridion shell assembled with all these changeable body parts.

Porsche 911 (991)

The release of a new generation of the Porsche 911 is always a major motoring event and the launch of the latest – the 991, which will make its debut in Frankfurt next month – appears to be the most significant since the icon switched to water cooling with the 996 in 1998. While quite obviously an evolution of the 997 and every version prior, the 991 is longer (+56mm), wider (+65mm) and lower (-11mm) than its predecessor, while the wheelbase has been extended in order to increase rear leg room and move the model further into the GT segment. Its front lamp graphics offer a visual link to the 918 concept car and sit above a set of angular DRL/turn signal units and enlarged lower mask intakes.

One Lap of the Web: High plains drifters, Vettel FX and supercars in London

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. YoTtube user Munch997 uploaded eight minutes of supercar glory, filmed on London streets.