Dorman C92852 Rear Left Brake Cable on 2040-parts.com

Happy 80th Birthday, Syd Mead!

Take a poll among car designers to name their greatest influence, and one name is sure to appear at the top of the list: Syd Mead. The car designer, illustrator and futurist has inspired generations of the men and women who shape the cars we drive or admire. Syd has created the designs for the movies Blade Runner and Tron, while the illustrations published in his books such as Oblagon and Sentury (sought-after collector items today) depict the vision of a future dominated by superior technology and aesthetics.

Range Rover Sport SVR takes on the Nurburgring – and wins (video)

Range Rover Sport SVR takes on the Nurburgring – and wins (video) We’re not sure at what point a car actually becomes a ‘production’ car, but that’s a tag Land Rover are putting on the new Range Rover Sport SVR as it takes to the Nurburgring and comes away with a time of 8 minutes 14 seconds – the fastest by a production SUV. Land Rover are keen to tell us the lap by the RRS SVR was in a standard production car, by which we assume a car that’s built to the specification announced for the Sport SVR when it arrives next year. That means the full fat 542bhp from its 5.0 litre V8 and performance that is clearly impressive, although Land Rover still hasn’t given us specific performance figures, and certainly enough - together with suspension tweaks – to make it very impressive on road.

Vauxhall Insignia facelift (2013) first pictures of overhauled Insignia

Though you might not spot the tweaks to the new Vauxhall Insignia on the outside, there are big changes afoot under the bonnet and in the cabin. It’s also cheaper than the outgoing model, and will be officially revealed at the Frankfurt motor show in September 2013. UK deliveries start in October, with prices starting from £16,279.