Concept Car of the Week: BMW Turbo (1972)

Built by Michelotti in Turin and unveiled at the 1972 Paris motor show, the BMW Turbo was built both as a symbol of the carmaker's strength after its troubles in the ‘60s and as a celebration of that summer's Olympic Games in Munich. This two-door coupe, based on a modified 2002 chassis with a mid-mounted engine, was born when BMW's design director Paul Bracq convinced the board to let him design a concept that would be part design exercise, part technology testbed. Safety had become an increasingly important consideration following a number of design summits in the early ‘70s, and Bracq used the Turbo to test out a number of safety solutions.

Mini Cooper SD (2011): the faster diesel Mini

Mini today finally went official with the high-performance diesels we scooped last year. The Cooper SD trim is available across the Mini range, on the hatch, convertible, Clubman estate and Countryman junior SUV. It's a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel generating 141bhp and 225lb ft from 1750-2700rpm.

Subaru at the London motor show 2008

By Ben Whitworth and CAR reader reporter Jacomoseven Motor Shows 22 July 2008 14:42 It's the British motor show – so we were banking on Subaru pulling off some outrageous Impreza versions. Sure enough, the UK importer didn't disappoint, with a (quite literally, we suspect) handful of madcap Scoobys aimed at those drivers for whom power is utterly addictive. What's new on Subaru's London motor show stand?