Honda back in F1 as engine supplier to McLaren from 2015

We reported that Honda were looking likely to be heading back in to F1 as engine supplier to McLaren nearly two years ago, and this morning Honda has confirmed they have formed a joint project with McLaren to supply engines and energy recovery systems to McLaren from 2015 in a joint project with the McLaren team becoming McLaren Honda. The new F1 partnership revives a very successful period for McLaren when it last used Honda engines and Prost and Senna dominated F1 with Honda powered McLarens, and fits in nicely with Honda’s return to making supercars with the new Honda NSX. Formula One engines will drop to a 1.6 litre V6 in 2015 – with a turbo – and it will be very easy for parallels to be drawn with the V6 hybrid plant Honda are using on the new NSX, which is going to do its credibility no harm whatsoever.

MINI Paceman Adventure Concept – it’s a Countryman Pickup

It’s a MINI Pickup – the MINI Paceman Adventure It’s always hard to decide if a MINI concept – and they’re not exactly as rare as hens teeth – is a real one-off or a pointer to a future production MINI. A good example of that is MINI’s April Fool in 2012 for ‘Camping MINIs’ which turned in to a fully-blown official concept in 2013 as the MINI Clubvan Camper, Countryman All4 Camp & Cowley Caravan. Now we get the MINI Paceman Adventure Concept, a pickup based on the Pacemena (itself based on the Countryman) put together by BMW students and instructors at plants in Munich and Dingolfing and built as an exercise to show the skills and talent of the apprentice programme.

New Volvo P1800 revealed by Volvo’s chief designer

Volvo P1800 re-imagined Volvo’s Chief Designer at its Monitoring and Concept Centre has recreated the iconic Volvo P1800 for the 21st century to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The Volvo P1800 is perhaps the most stylish car Volvo has ever produced, and 2011 marks the 50th anniversary of the most unlikely of Volvos; a Volvo that was to The Saint what the Aston Martin DB5 was to James Bond. Designed to be eye candy for Volvo dealers hoping for more footfall in showrooms full of Amazons, the P1800 was designed by Pelle Petterson – the son of Volvo consultant Helmer Petterson and the driving force behind the Volvo P1800 project - who worked for Italian designers Pietro Frau.