AutoWeek Design Forum: McLaren evolves with carbon fiber

McLaren Automotive design boss Frank Stephenson detailed his company's transformation from strictly racing to producing road-going models on Thursday at the AutoWeek Design Forum. McLaren is launching the highly anticipated MP4-12C this year, and the company has been hard at work refining the use of carbon fiber, which it pioneered in the iconic McLaren F1. The company cut the amount of time required to design a carbon-fiber tub from 3,000 hours for the F1 to a mere four hours for the MP4-12C.

Land Rover Range_e: Walks on water. Apparently.

Land Rover Range_e - Walks on water What can you do when you’re a resurgent maker of high-end off-roaders in an age when the world expects nothing but fresh air to come from exhaust pipes? Simple – you play the hybrid game. Unlike Jaguar – who are going the range extender route with their hybrid cars – Land Rover are opting for the traditional hybrid route, either as a plug-in or a regular Prius-like hybrid setup.

Renault Captur compact SUV prices revealed – costs from £12,495

But by the time Renault had run their Captur Concept through the inevitable watering down concepts from mainstream car makers suffer, it turned in to a Clio with rufty-tufty bits and a higher ride height. Enter the production version of the Renault Captur at the start of 2013 and its subsequent debut at the Geneva Motor Show. Now Renault has revealed prices for the Captur, and its costs from £12,495 for the entry-level Expression trim with the TCe 90 engine, rising to £18,895 for the Dynamique S Media Nav with the dCi 90 engine and auto ‘box.