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Nissan design chief Shiro Nakamura talks style with AW

Nissan's design chief Shiro Nakamura stopped by One AutoWeek Tower on Friday afternoon during his visit to Detroit to share some insight on current and future styling trends for his company. Nakamura, who is best known to enthusiasts for his work on the GT-R, says the current state of design is relatively strong, and the business may be on the verge of another golden age. Nissan is also pondering the look of a version of the Leaf for its luxury Infiniti brand.

Bentley uses 3D printing to prototype new designs [w/Video]

3D printing is changing the way the world makes things by helping people of all disciplines to enhance and refine their ideas cheaply, quickly and effectively.  Bentley is the latest carmaker to utilize the technology to fabricate and prototype different parts to see how they'll look and work on the finished design. Using 3D printers, designers can produce parts from the exterior and interior such as the grille, tires, headlamps and door handles as well as combine different types of contrasting materials, ranging from hard plastics to rubbers of different tensile strengths.  The technology allows the user to create a solid 3D object straight from a digital model by printing layers of material on top of each other. This process rapidly decreases the delivery time, as parts can be printed overnight, and allows designers to be more creative in their ideas because of the reduced cost. Bentley isn't the first carmaker to use 3D printing technology. Audi announced last year it was beginning to prototype vehicle parts using 3D printers.

Audi unveils armored A8L Security

While unveiling the Allroad E-Tron Shooting Brake at the Detroit Auto Show, Audi also quietly debuted the A8L Security version of its new range-topping sedan this week, armored to the highest level of ballistic protection for passenger cars. The A8L Security is based on the facelifted version of Audi's third-generation A8 sedan, and this armored version will be available both with Audi 4.0 TFSI V8 engine and the 6.0-liter W12. Audi set out to design the current A8L with building an armored version in mind, as opposed to the first-generation A8 of the 1990s which was not offered in Security specification until very late in the product cycle.