Volvo Penta Belt. Pn 3582696 on 2040-parts.com

Concept Car of the Week: BMW Turbo (1972)

Built by Michelotti in Turin and unveiled at the 1972 Paris motor show, the BMW Turbo was built both as a symbol of the carmaker's strength after its troubles in the ‘60s and as a celebration of that summer's Olympic Games in Munich. This two-door coupe, based on a modified 2002 chassis with a mid-mounted engine, was born when BMW's design director Paul Bracq convinced the board to let him design a concept that would be part design exercise, part technology testbed. Safety had become an increasingly important consideration following a number of design summits in the early ‘70s, and Bracq used the Turbo to test out a number of safety solutions.

BMW 9 Series Concept heading for Beijing Motor Show debut?

a BMW 9 Series Concept debut at beijing? We’ve only just had confirmation that a new BMW 7 Series SUV is on the way as BMW continues to push at both ends of their range, with the X7 aimed at the new Range Rover and Mercedes GL. Now it seems BMW are also looking to build a car that can take on the very high-end Mercedes S Class – especially the S Class Maybach when that arrives – and maybe scoop up a few sales from lower-end Rolls Royce and Bentley buyers.

Tesla Model S does battery swap in 90 seconds

Tesla can swap the batteries on a Model S in just 90 seconds The Tesla Model S was built from the start to offer battery swap as an alternative to a recharge. And now it’s become a reality. When Better Place revealed their plans – in conjunction with Renault – to offer Battery Swap technology we applauded it as a sensible way to make electric cars a more sensible mainstream option.