Austin Healey 3000/100-6 "aluminum" Front Seat Pans on 2040-parts.com

McLaren P1 gets an Arctic shakedown (+video)

So McLaren are busy throwing the worst conditions they can at the P1 to make sure it can perform even in the harshest of conditions and be the best driver’s car in the world – even when there’s several feet of ice under its wheels. McLaren has had several XP prototypes of the P1 running round the world’s harshest climates – hot and cold – and have delivered a video of the P1 prototype playing on the ice in the north of Sweden – inside the Arctic Circle – to keep interest in the P1 bubbling along ahead of its dynamic debut in the UK at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July. Despite its enormous power – 903bhp from a combination of its turbo 3.8 litre V8 and electric motor – the P1 does look composed and capable, even with sub-zero temperatures and a surface that has zero grip.

Brian Wilson to perform at Petersen fundraiser

The annual Petersen Automotive Museum's fundraising event on May 7 promises to be fun, fun, fun when Beach Boy Brian Wilson and his band take the stage. The rock-'n'-roll icon is scheduled to play for an hour as part of the museum's largest charity event of the year, proceeds from which benefit the 501(c)(3) institution. The Beach Boys had a lot of car-themed hits, including "409," "Little Deuce Coupe" and "Fun, Fun, Fun." (AutoWeek trivia: The Deuce Coupe featured on the cover of the album of the same name belonged to Clarence "Chili" Catallo, whose son, the successful and powerful advertising executive Curt Catallo, once was a lowly editorial assistant at AutoWeek).

Nissan 2020 Vision Gran Turismo concept

Nissan is the latest manufacturer to unveil a virtual concept car for Polyphony's Gran Turismo game, appropriately based on its GTR flagship.Designed by the team at Nissan Design Europe in London, the 2020 Vision Gran Turismo takes the broad themes of the GTR and transposes them into a far more extreme expression of its character. The vertical front and circular rear lamps are familiar, while the tapered DLO and bodyside graphic are also recognizable, but its proportions are new – wildly low and wide. Wilder still is its surfacing, with extreme offsets through its body section, layered aero elements and wheel arches that incorporate exhaust outlets behind the front wheels and a Gandini-like hexagonal rear graphic.The rear of the Visions Gran Turismo is dominated by the vast lower venturi to suck it to the (virtual) circuit and an equally dominant wing pressing it down, bracketed by the iconic four round lamps.