Umea Olme Spyder project

While Swedish automaker Saab was going through tumultuous times and Geely was in the process of buying Volvo from Ford, first year MA students in Transportation Design at Sweden's Umea Institute of Design were busy creating a one-off roadster for an independent car maker: the Olme Spyder. Created in collaboration with Ove Bengtsson, an engineer with a personal passion for building his own vehicles, the students were asked to design their own interpretation of a progressive and innovative roadster, developing the concept from a sketch into a full-scale model. Based on an Opel Agila donor car, the concept's 650kg steel monocoque chassis was created by Bengtsson himself to accommodate a mid-mounted engine.

Jaguar C-X75 adds Louis Vuitton Award to collection

Adding to its collection of trophies, the Jaguar C-X75 was last night awarded the Louis Vuitton Classic Concept Award 2010 by a panel of luminaries from the worlds of design, fashion and luxury. Set up in 2009, the annual Louis Vuitton Classic Awards Ceremony took place in Paris on February 1st and recognizes both a classic car and a new innovation within the automotive industry. The Louis Vuitton award is the latest accolade for the C-X75, since its unveiling at the 2010 Paris motor show.

Toyota sets Nurburgring record... for fuel economy

WHATEVER else you might say about Toyota, it seems the brand has a sense of humour. Driving enthusiasts will hand their (petrol)heads in shame after Toyota completed the 12.9-mile German track at an average of 698mpg. The embarrassingly pedestrian time of 20 minutes and 59 seconds was set by motor journalist and Japanese car expert Joe Clifford, and since Toyota is the first to shame itself with a fuel economy run at the heart of performance car testing, it automatically sets a new efficiency record.