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503-hp Volkswagen GTI concept headed to Worthersee?

Volkswagen has issued a series of official design sketches hinting at the appearance of a radical open-top concept car to be unveiled at the Worthersee fan meet in Austria on May 29. Called the GTI Roadster, the new two-seater was originally conceived as a virtual three-dimensional image in a joint cooperation between Volkswagen and Sony for inclusion in the PlayStation “Gran Turismo” video game series. But with enthusiasm for the low-slung roadster running high among its design team, Volkswagen has decided to turn it into a full-size concept in homage to a long history of GTI models.

Kia Car Design Award winners announced in Beijing

The first Kia Car Design Award was successfully concluded on 20 May in Beijing, with Chinese student Li Bai being presented the prize for first place by Seon-Ho Youn, Vice President of Kia Design Center. Bai, from Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts, became the first ever winner of the award for his Kia Rhyme Concept, described by Seon-Ho Youn as "a perfect combination of design and Chinese culture." Bai's luxury sports car concept was inspired by Chinese philosophy, which can be seen in the headlamp design that reflects the traditional Chinese Ba gua, or ‘Eight Diagrams'. These are eight diagrams used in Taoist cosmology that represent the fundamental principles of reality through three lines, each line either 'broken' or 'unbroken', representing either yin or yang.

Daimler plans to offer a pilot Smart car rental program in Texas

With Smart's U.S. sales continuing to drop dramatically, Daimler AG is launching a pilot program in Austin, Texas, for short-term rental of the micro car. The program, called car2go, would allow registered users to pick up an available Smart, use it for as long as needed, and return it to designated locations in the city.