Ssangyong Motor unveils new Design Center at Pyeongtaek plant

Ssangyong has opened a new Design Center at its Pyeongtaek plant in South Korea. The new Design Center, which took 13 months to complete, has been opened to further integrate research and development into the company during the production process with the aim of "enabling synergies in diverse fields throughout the development process". Ssangyong designers will now be working in a facility spanning around 8,700 square meters compared to their previous building of just over 6,000 square meters in Anseong.

Range Rover Evoque Desert Warrior 3

The British Excite Rally Raid Team has taken delivery of the new Range Rover Evoque based Desert Warrior 3 off-road race car. Under the skin, the Evoque is not exactly a Land Rover but gets its power from a 3.0 litre BMW twin-turbo diesel with 275bhp (or 350bhp when unrestricted) and 479lb/ft of torque which runs through a six-speed ZF sequential ‘box. The chassis of the Desert Warrior 3 is completely bespoke and made from T45 tubes and all designed in-house and tested over the last three Dakars.

Renault designers on their interpretation of luxury [w/Video]

Renault's design chief Laurens van den Acker and his design team have stressed how the Initiale Paris concept previews how Renault design's tactics will help steer clear of its rivals within the premium segment.  The concept – the sixth to be developed in the design strategy inspired by the cycle of life, now in the Wisdom stage – heralds Renault's return to the high-end market after a number of years. It was, therefore, important that the design be a positive rejection of traditional ideas of luxury, design director of concept cars Axel Breun believes. Designer Choung Sun Oh goes to great pains to stress how the design team worked towards developing a highly original design to set them apart from rivaling brands upon re-entry.