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Mini Vision concept: what does it say about the brand's future?

The sight of Mini design head Anders Warming presenting a holographic, 3D projection of the Mini Vision concept as if appearing in his own cartoon was certainly a new one on us, but it captured the quirky, slightly left-field image the subsidiary of BMW Group has cultivated since its relaunch 13 years ago. As the 'Vision' tag suggests, this is billed as a marker of intent for the brand's future design direction rather than a pre-production teaser of the new Mini hatchback (Cooper in most markets) we'll see later this year. However if the third-generation 'new' Mini doesn't look remarkably similar we'd be amazed, such is the level of productionized detailing on this purely digital model.

Opel/Vauxhall Astra GTC

Opel/Vauxhall has revealed pictures of the forthcoming Astra GTC ahead of its official unveiling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Virtually unchanged from the GTC Paris concept of last year, the Astra GTC will go head to head with the Volkswagen Scirocco and Renault’s Megane Coupe. The third body style to enter the Astra family, the GTC shares only the door handles and roof aerial with its siblings.

Toyota adds i-Road to urban mobility trials

TOYOTA has added its futuristic i-Road concept to its “Ha:mo” urban transport trials. It is the latest vehicle to be added to the rapidly expanding scheme, which is being held at the so-called Toyota City; Toyota’s huge presence in Japan’s Aichi Prefecture. The Ha:mo (Harmonious Mobility network) trials are an attempt to develop a sophisticated, integrated transport system for cities, making use of electric vehicles wherever possible but with the key emphasis on encouraging travellers to use the ‘most appropriate’ means of transport at all times.