Ritchie Ma100 Hand Bearing Compass on 2040-parts.com

BMW and Pininfarina to show Gran Lusso Coupé concept at Villa d'Este

BMW and Pininfarina have collaborated on a concept car – the Gran Lusso Coupé – for the 2013 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. Previewed in these teaser images, the gloriously glamorous-sounding Gran Lusso (lusso being Italian for ‘luxury') appears to fuse BMW iconography – the front fender vent, Hofmeister kink DLO and horizontal rear lamp treatment – with a little more Latin flair with a rocker that flicks up the rear lamp and joins the shoulder line. The full-width rear lamps also promise to be suitably exotic.

Who's Where: Alfonso Albaisa appointed Nissan Design Director for Global Passenger Vehicles and Electric Vehicles

Alfonso Albaisa has been appointed as Nissan's Design Director for Global Passenger Vehicles and Electric Vehicles, a job that will see him move back to Japan. Albaisa joined Nissan Design America almost 24 years ago and has worked on vehicles in every category and on both interior and exterior projects. He has also worked on customized super yacht design and architecture, one of his particular passions in life.

Treasures from West Germany lurk at Sonoma Raceway

In my role of Chief Justice of the 24 Hours of LeMons Supreme Court, I travel to Sonoma Raceway, aka Sears Point, at least twice per year. Most of the time I'm there, I'm stuck disciplining miscreant racers with incomprehensible penalties, but every so often I slip away in my Race Organizer Review car to shoot some action photos of the competitors. A good area for shooting LeMons cars is from the access road that runs parallel to the track between turn 10 and turn 11, and getting there takes me past an area of shops and garages… and I always spot some interesting cars parked there.