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2010 LA Design Challenge entrants revealed

Entries for the 2010 Los Angeles Design Challenge have now been revealed. The futuristic proposals, which called for designers to envision a 1000lbs (454kg) 2+2 vehicle that delivers comfort, safety and satisfactory driving performance without sacrificing the emotional connection today's consumers demand from their vehicles, come from the west coast design studios of seven automakers – General Motors, Honda, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota and Volvo. For the first time since the Challenge's inception, studios outside California have also been allowed to enter the competition.

New 2015 Mercedes S 65 AMG Coupe revealed – price from £183,065

The new 2015 Mercedes S65 AMG Coupe arrives The range-topping Mercedes S65 AMG Coupe has been revealed, and offers up its credentials as the perfect alternative to the Bentley Continental GT W12 with its 621bhp V12 delivering performance of 0-62mph in a 4.1 second whoosh. Even with its AMG badge, the S65 AMG Coupe is probably best thought of as the luxury take on the more aggressive and sporty S63 AMG Coupe – just as the V8 Continental GT is the sporty side of the Bentley Continental range – with its more effortless take on performance and power. There’s no doubt you get plenty of power and torque from the big V12, with 621 bhp and 737lb/ft of torque – driven to the back wheels through Mercedes’ seven-speed Speedshift automatic ‘box – on tap, enough to get to 62mph in 4.1 seconds and on to a 155mph limited top speed – but in a more creamy and effortless way than the S63.

Porsche big up the Panamera S E-Hybrid (video)

The Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid (pictured) is a performance Porsche too We’ve long seen hybrids, and plug-in hybrids, as the perfect performance weapon for high-end cars, where the addition of an electric motor offers an unbeatable combination of power and economy. That’s the line that Porsche are taking with the new Panamera S E-Hybrid, and they demonstrated that recently by revealing that the new E-Hybrid managed to average 62mpg in the hands of a bunch of motoring journalists on a test day. Which is an impressive number for any car in the hands of a group of people with lead-lined right feet and clearly demonstrates that the Panamera Hybrid really can do silly mpg even in the real world.