Raymarine 6' Open Array Radar Antenna on 2040-parts.com

Bedford Autodrome to get Ariel Atoms for 2012

Corporate track-days at the Bedford Autodrome will get lairier in 2012 - Somerset-based Ariel has announced it’ll supply ten cars for the PalmerSport track-day events next year. Stopping short of the unhinged Atom V8, the PalmerSport-spec cars get the normally aspirated 245bhp Civic Type-R engine, and some key changes to set it aside from the Joe-Public Atom. The Palmer-spec car will get a Sadev paddle-shift sequential gearbox, which swaps ratios in 60 milliseconds, whilst some choice chassis mods optimise the Atom for its full-time track-toy brief.

BMW 7-series facelift (2012) first pictures

BMW has given the 7-series the mildest of mid-life facelifts for 2012 – with a series of cosmetic tidy-ups, fettled engines, extra kit and the UK's first hybrid 7-series. The ActiveHybrid7 isn't the most expensive 7-series (that's the 760Li at £101,805), but at £66,040 the petrol-electric saloon is some £8k pricier than the biggest-selling 730d. As the diesel is also cleaner and more economical, we suspect the hybrid Seven will remain a niche seller over here.

Students experiment with interactive window glass for GM

General Motors is thinking long term for its back-seat entertainment. It worked with students from the Future Lab at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Israel to develop apps that run on a car's rear side windows. The project, called Windows of Opportunity, was inspired by studies that say passengers often feel disconnected from their environments.