Rampage Step Bars 106 on 2040-parts.com

Peter Stevens and Julian Thomson lead a discussion on the past, present and future of car design

As part of its sponsorship of London's Clerkenwell Design Week, Jaguar and the Royal College of Art brought together three generations of the design school to discuss the past, present and possible future of car design. Held in a suitably grimy warehouse in east London – with the sculpture by RCA students Ewan Gallimore and Claire Mille's we showed you earlier this week sat outside – Professor Dale Harrow, dean of the School of Design and head of its Vehicle Design program introduced Professor Peter Stevens, Julian Thomson, Jaguar's advanced design director and Alexandra Palmowski project designer advanced colour and material at Jaguar took the audience through their careers. Charismatic as ever, Peter Stevens kicked off proceedings that moved chronologically through the decades by explaining how he first became interested in "the art if car design, allied to the science of how they work" through his artistic parents and uncle – journalist and motoring adventurer – Denis Jenkinson during the 1950s and 60s.

Porsche Panamera Convertible coming

Porsche are planning a 2 door Panamera Convertible That new Porsche 928 now looks an even more likely possibility after Automotive News reported that Porsche are looking to make a convertible Panamera. But it won’t be a four door convertible, but a two door. The report says that is to help with rigidity (we buy that) and to keep weight down (yeah, just like they have on the saloon), but what it does mean is that Porsche could easily engineer a fixed-roof, shortened Panamera to create a high-end GT in the style of the 928.

Car clocking fraud on rise again

There could be as many as 486,000 vehicles with a false mileage on the road in the UK, according to vehicle history experts, HPI. The act of “clocking” a vehicle has been around for a number of years and is something that was made easier with the arrival of digital odometers. In the past, the mis-aligned digits and exposed screw heads meant that a clocked car was relatively easy to spot.