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Car Design News Contest

As one judge, Geert Jan Schellekens, Principal Automotive and Industrial Designer at SABIC Innovative Plastics, said; "From several hundred entries to 20 finalists in a day's time - what could have turned out to be a cumbersome process, if not a bureaucratic nightmare, actually became an intensive yet fun session with many intriguing and interesting interpretations of the contest brief - fuelling some lively discussions!" Another strong impression from judges was also of the variety of design entry and the effort that had been put into them, as Dale Harrow said: "I'm very impressed with the standard, and particularly with the diversity of entries to the contest". Derek Buckmaster,Global Market Director, Body Panels & Glazing for SABIC Innovative Plastics, said: "I was surprised by the depth of thought which the entrants had put into their designs to meet the diverse needs of the three 'milenniumites' described in the design brief. The designs displayed numerous approaches to meeting the environmentally-friendly and light-weight goals." All designs were considered relative to the Assessment Criteria a critically important part of the contest, created to ensure as much fairness in the process as possible and detailed in the Contest part of Car Design News.

BMW 3-series convertible (2006): first official pictures

By Phil McNamara First Official Pictures 24 October 2006 10:03 BMW 3-series convertible: the lowdown Here's the car BMW said it wouldn't develop: a 3-series convertible with a folding hard-top. Although condemned by the R&D team for being too heavy, raising the centre of gravity and sapping dynamic ability, BMW has been forced to listen to the market and introduce a glass and steel-roofed cabrio. With a large boot and easy access for luggage, the 3-series convertible promises to be practical, and the extra glass compared with a fabric cabrio should make it airy too.

McLaren's latest P12 teaser video

McLaren has followed up its announcement that its Paris-bound P12 hypercar, teased with an image last week, by releasing a video that suggests the shape and aerodynamics we can expect from the car. The video shows a series of lights passing over an invisible object – the P12 – and using the lightshow it is possible to imagine the general shape of the car, without any detail of course. If the P12's unveiling is anything like the light show in the video, it should be a fantastic experience in Paris.