Porsche 911 Rear Seat Backs 1969-1971 on 2040-parts.com

Chris Bangle Associates announces 'Illustrate the Future' design competition

Chris Bangle Associates has announced a new design contest called 'Illustrate the Future.' The competition is open to all design students across all design disciplines and coincides with the launch of Managing Director, Chris Bangle's new book. "I have written a fiction book about Car Design and the prologue takes place 25 years in the future," says Bangle. "It contains some concepts I have been working on, and this contest is to see what YOU would make of them." Bangle's novel explores the state of affairs in the car design field and also expresses his concerns about the culture future generations of designers will inherit.

Last-ever BMW M3 Coupe rolls off line

With only a shade over 16,000 examples produced for the worldwide market during its run, the first-generation BMW M3 wasn't built in significantly larger numbers than the Lamborghini Gallardo (13,059 cars by the end of the 2012 model year). And they were all coupes. The four-door M3 was introduced in 1994, two years after the second-generation coupe bowed, sat out the car's E46 run and then returned for the E90's run.

Smart designs eBike

Smart has joined its fellow car manufacturers in designing a bicycle and is putting it into series production. The main components of the eBike such as the frame, battery housing, handlebars, lights and mudguards have been designed and developed specifically for Smart. The two-color concept is, so it's makers claim, recognizable as classic Smart, with the plastic battery housing forming a contrast to the aluminum frame.