Beechcraft C23 Musketeer Aircraft Rudder Center Hinge on 2040-parts.com

Bentley brings even faster Continental V8 S to Detroit

Bentley first showed the Continental V8 S at the Frankfurt Motor Show a few months ago, but the slightly more powerful V8 Continental makes its North American debut in Detroit. More horsepower is always welcome, and the handsome new grand tourer delivers precisely 21 more. While Bentley has been concentrating on W12-powered Speed models -- even suggesting that it might be an entertaining drive on a racetrack -- the V8 range has been bolstered by its own modest performance enhancements: 21 more horsepower and 15 more lb-ft of torque bring the 4.0-liter engine's figures up to 521 and 502, respectively.

Volvo S60 DRIVe & V60 DRIVe launch

The Volvo V60 DRIVe This week we’re out playing with a Volvo DRIVe model, although our car is the S40 DRIVe. DRIVe models are Volvo’s push at all things green (or all things blue if you’re German) and take a regular Volvo and eco the bejesus out of it with stuff like stop-start, low rolling resistance tyres and the plethora of eco-toys car makers use to make the headline economy and emissions unbelievable. The result is a Volvo that drives pretty much the same as any Volvo but which can – as long as you play the eco-driving game – run almost on fresh air, and because cars like this are designed to hit emissions targets on official cycles, they’re also good on stuff like VED and BIK. And if the S40 DRIVe we’ve got this week is anything to go by, you can still drive with enthusiasm and enjoy it as long as you don’t mind the economy suffering.

Infiniti's design future: where next for Nissan's BMW

Infiniti’s design language, Dynamic Adeyaka, will be turned up on the next generation of the company’s cars, the brand's design chiefs have told CAR. And there are more concepts cars coming to showcase the styling direction, as Infiniti continues to persaude buyers from their BMWs. We won’t see anything at the 2010 Paris motor show (more details of the alliance with Daimler are expected to be the news there) but the 2010 LA, or 2011 Detroit or Geneva shows will host a new Infiniti concept car to follow on from the gorgeous Essence (pictured above with design director Shiro Nakamura).  We told you the other day about Infiniti's new electric car coming in 2012.