Rolls Royce Silver Shadow 1976. Carburetor Unit on 2040-parts.com

Michelin Challenge Design 2007: The not so ugly truth about rising vehicle safety standards

Can cars be safe and beautiful at the same time? That may not have been the case a few decades ago when automakers were forced to hang those big, ugly so-called federal bumpers off the ends of their vehicles.  With vehicle safety standards on the rise around the globe are designers today feeling a little '70s deja vu when it comes to meeting the challenges of making cars safe as well as more fuel efficient? "(Back then) we said it was the end of automotive styling," says Patrick Le Quement, senior vice president for corporate design at Renault and one of the world's most influential automotive designers.

Official: Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series

The new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series has been revealed ahead of going on sale in the Summer of 2013. The SLS Black Series gets the usual mix for a Mercedes Black Series model – more power and less weight – and uses the same 6.2 litre V8 as the regular SLS but with the wick turned up to 622 horses from the regular, but hardly wanting, 583 thanks to a new air intake, cams, boost tweaks and better cooling. The oily tweaks for more power – and some weight shedding (70kg) – means the SLS Black can get to 62mph in 3.6 seconds – 0.2 seconds quicker than the regular SLS – and top out at 196mph (due to the extra downforce).

Design Services: Car Menu launched

Within almost every automotive design department throughout the world, their comes a time when a junior designer is dispatched to find a picture of some new model's tail lamp, the side view of a particular class leading competitor or examples of several new cars' colour and trim packages. Whilst looking at the competition is not necessarily a healthy way of finding ideas, it is often essential to demonstrate what is feasible, check in-house proposals are not too derivative, or show how advanced a design theme is relative to the same type of cars on the market. But even if the particular aspect of a car can be found, press packs and magazines typically show cars in the flattering light of an exotic location or being drifted around a corner on opposite lock; rarely are these images particularly useful.