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Aston Martin One-77 (2009) wins top design prize at Villa d’Este

By Tim Pollard (photography by Mike Goodbun) First Official Pictures 27 April 2009 10:39 It’s having a long drawn-out gestation, but Aston Martin’s One-77 supercar made its world show debut at this weekend’s Villa d’Este, where it scooped the top prize for concept cars and prototypes. We’ll forgive you if you thought the One-77 had already been unveiled, but the car at Geneva was a technical cutaway rolling chassis – the first finished car is the one show in our photos above. The One-77 won more than 30% of the votes among the eight cars entered in its category.

Who's Where: Maximilian Missoni joins Volvo as exterior design chief

Maximilian Missoni has been appointed exterior design chief at Volvo Cars. He will report to exterior design director Fedde Talsma and to Thomas Ingenlath, vice president design. 34-year-old Austrian-born Missoni joins the Swedish carmaker from Volkswagen where he worked from 2002, first working in Wolfsburg as a designer before being appointed senior exterior designer at the company's Advanced Design Center in Potsdam.

A look at Mercedes-Benz future products

Are Americans ready to pay hefty prices for small, front-wheel-drive cars with features usually reserved for large German luxury cars? Mercedes-Benz is about to find out. Starting in the fall of next year, Mercedes will bring three, possibly four new compacts based on a new fwd platform to the United States.