Monroe/expert Series 5778 Rear Sensa Trac Shock on 2040-parts.com

MINI Paceman Adventure Concept – it’s a Countryman Pickup

It’s a MINI Pickup – the MINI Paceman Adventure It’s always hard to decide if a MINI concept – and they’re not exactly as rare as hens teeth – is a real one-off or a pointer to a future production MINI. A good example of that is MINI’s April Fool in 2012 for ‘Camping MINIs’ which turned in to a fully-blown official concept in 2013 as the MINI Clubvan Camper, Countryman All4 Camp & Cowley Caravan. Now we get the MINI Paceman Adventure Concept, a pickup based on the Pacemena (itself based on the Countryman) put together by BMW students and instructors at plants in Munich and Dingolfing and built as an exercise to show the skills and talent of the apprentice programme.

Hyundai Veloster Turbo gets cheaper

Hyundai are set to launch an additional model of the Velsoter Turbo to sit below the Turbo SE for around £2 less. With the regular Hyundai Veloster starting at £18k and the Velsoter Turbo at £22k, Hyundai has worked out there’s a middle ground price point – can you guess what it is? So to fill that gap (yes, it’s a £20k entry point) Hyundai are to launch the bog-standard Veloster Turbo (without the SE badge) which will lose some of the equipment but, as far as we can see, keep the butch cosmetic bits on the exterior.

BMW and Local Motors announce contest winners

BMW and Local Motors have announced the winning ideas in the Urban Driving Experience Challenge after phase one of the contest closed on 16 October. Anthony Franze of Australia won first prize and a cash award of $7,500 with his design for a premium car sharing service called ‘BMW Reward Me.' He also earned himself a trip to Munich, Germany, to meet with the head of BMW's Group Research and Technology, Dr. Christoph Grote.