17 Polaris General 1000 Eps Front Frame Chassis on 2040-parts.com

Color & trim focus: Six of Poltrona Frau’s auto collaborations

Collaborations between the car industry and the world of product design are fraught with difficulties, are usually fleeting and all too often end in (marketing department) tears. One of the few possible exceptions is Italian leather and furniture company Poltrona Frau. Its 102-year history includes the 904 ‘Vanity Fair' chair from 1930 and the more-recent 2009 Archibald chair by Jean-Marie Massaud.

Look, Ma, no hands and no feet in the BMW training car

Race-car drivers, you may soon be out of a job. Just as IBM built a computer that could beat humans at chess and even at Jeopardy, BMW has built a car that can beat your lap time. OK, the best drivers can still beat this car, but we can imagine a time when autonomous cars will handle all of our driving needs, even the competitive kind.

VW E-Bugster convertible concept car at 2012 Beijing motor show

Volkswagen, one of the biggest players in China's swelling car market, chose Beijing to unveil its latest E-Bugster - a good look at the forthcoming convertible version of the Beetle. We saw the E-Bugster in tin-top form at the 2012 Detroit auto show; now they've gone and chopped the top fully for Beijing. It's a two-seater speedster version of the Beetle hatch, driven by an 85kW electric drive system; essentially, the powertrain of this car is what will underpin the 2013 Blue-e-motion electric Golf.