Mercedes. Hood Ornament on 2040-parts.com

Nissan opens new design studio in Beijing

Delayed by the deadly earthquake that hit Japan earlier this year, Nissan Motor Co.'s new design center in Beijing finally received a proper opening this week, when global design chief Shiro Nakamura showed off the studio as a new source of ideas for Nissan and Infiniti. Nissan Design China, as the Beijing-based center is known, "is not a studio to just generate ideas for China," Nakamura said in an interview with Car Design News. It's equipped to handle designs of show cars and production cars for both Nissan and Infiniti brands, aimed at customers in China, as well as around the world.

Legends of the Autobahn at Monterey 2013

To prove that there really is something for everyone in Monterey Historics week, on the same day that Concorso Italiano takes place, and The Quail, there’s a further gathering that focuses on Teutonic machinery – Legends of the Autobahn. Now in its fifth year and run by the BMW Car Club of America, Legends of the Autobahn sees the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, Porsche Club of America and Audi Club North America teaming up to produce a show that’s more intimate than most other parts of the Monterey Historics week – but no less absorbing.

Lotus Exige Scura (2009) first pictures

Lotus will unleash its most potent and exclusive lightweight car to date at Tokyo tomorrow; the Exige Scura. Clad in moody black paint accented with slashes of carbon fibre, this is one Lotus you’ll never see coming. Chances are you’ll never catch it either, since the engine sitting behind the driver is Hethel’s most powerful unit shoehorned into the lightweight chassis.