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LA Auto Show Design Challenge entries unveiled

The 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show Design Challenge entries have been revealed a few days before the show is set to open. As in previous years, several of the major players in the automotive design world are participating and automakers and design studios such as BMW DesignworksUSA, Subaru, Mazda, and China's SAIC and Changfeng will be exhibiting concept art. The theme of this year's design challenge is called "Biomimicry & Mobility 2025: Nature's Answer to Human Challenges.” With nature coming to be seen as one of the best R&D labs for design, and with biological knowledge doubling every five years, design studios were challenged to design vehicles that use biomimicry to increase the efficiency of mobility itself.

Mini launches 'Inspired by Goodwood'

Mini has just held a launch party in Germany for the new ‘Mini inspired by Goodwood'. Unveiled at Pavillon 21 Mini Opera Space, a temporary mobile performance venue located on the Marstallplatz in Munich, the new trim level was developed by designers working in both the Mini and Rolls-Royce design studios. Finished in a cornsilk beige hue (a color typical of Roll-Royce interiors), the Mini Inspired by Goodwood's cabin exudes an air of sophistication found on premium, luxury products – right down to the lamb's wool carpeting.

Jag designers light up London’s Clerkenwell Design Week

Clerkenwell Design Week might not mean much to car designers more used to motor shows like Tokyo or Geneva. But the five-year-old event is fast becoming a fixture in the broader design calendar, and has been sponsored by Jaguar for the past four years for good reason. In simple terms, Jaguar wants to be seen (and respected) beyond the automotive realm: "We want to connect with other designers and have our designers learn from designers in other fields," advanced design director Julian Thomson told Car Design News.