Saturn L Series Dome Map Light Tan Beige 00-05 on 2040-parts.com

Classic style for road-ready Beetle Dune

A VERY special Volkswagen Beetle has hit the coastal roads of northern Germany, and it might just arrive in showrooms soon, too. The new Beetle Dune concept captures a little of the spirit of the classic version, with 50mm of extra ride height, big, bold wheels and a rear-mounted ski rack. It looks stunning on the move, where its broad-spoked 19-inch wheels look almost like solid discs of polished metal and the ski rack has the visual effect of an old-school Porsche 911-esque spoiler.

Lorenzo Ramaciotti visits RCA for 'Two of a Kind' project

Lorenzo Ramaciotti, Fiat-Chrysler's head of global design, has visited the Royal College of Art as part of the Fiat ‘Two of a Kind' project explaining how Italian design has become world-famous in all fields in a talk themed ‘The Roots of Italian Car Design'. The ‘Two of a Kind' project asks four teams of four Vehicle Design students to design innovative exterior and interior proposals for how the Fiat 500 and the Panda might look in 2020, taking interactivity, digital interface, sustainability and global appeal into account. Maserati brought along a Quattroporte, a GranTurismo Sport as well as an Alfa Giulietta Sportiva to complement his talk in the hope it would encourage students to consider what the carmaker believes are the three concepts of the legacy of Italian car design: sportiness-dynamism; elegance-balance; and character-personality.

Saab's plan to become a successful indy car maker

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 14 July 2009 09:24 Saab has spelled out to CAR its vision of being an independent car maker double the size of Jaguar. Saab is in the process of separating from GM, as part of the seismic restructuring underway at the car maker previously known as the world's biggest. The final details of Saab's future ownership should be announced in the next few weeks.