Honda Vf1000f Front Axle Assembly 1984 84 82629 on 2040-parts.com

Ford justifies its Vignale sub-brand (video)

The Ford Mondeo Vignale (pictured). Ford’s first Vignale-badged car Earlier this month, as the Frankfurt Motor Show approached, Ford revealed that it’s going back to a sales tactic they created in the 1970s – badge-engineering their cars with a coachbuilders name to create an upmarket sub-brand. Last time Ford played this game we had almost 30 years for the Ford Ghia, a range of Ford’s mainstream models that had all the toys as standard to try and create an appealing high-end option for buyers.

Gordon Murray’s T27 Electric Car

Gordon Murray's T25 - still under wraps Back in March we reported on a new small car concept from Gordon Murray Design – the T25 – which GMD said was a new way forward in small cars. A concept that was to be licensed to manufacturers around the world to build their own version based on the GMD concept and their simplified iStream manufacturing process. And now we have news that Gordon Murray is busy creating the T27, an electric version of the T25 concept which Murray says will be the most efficient electric vehicle on earth.

Formula 1 2012: The Cars [w/video]

Nine of the 12 Formula 1 teams have released images and details of their cars for the 2012 World Championship as the first day of pre-season testing draws to a close at the Jerez circuit in Spain. Motor sport may fall slightly outside of Car Design News' usual remit, but the big story this year is the new 'stepped nose', which all teams bar McLaren have introduced to comply with new safety regulations, much to the chagrin of aestheticists. And with designers such as Daniel Simon (he produced the livery for HRT last season) and Peter Stevens (most notable for the Brabham cars of the 1980s) involved with the sport over the years, it's always interesting to check out the season's new machines.