Ford Eaton 3.8l V6 Supercharger on 2040-parts.com

AutoDesign Prague 2013: Design from the Heart of Europe

Charismatic designers, inspirational speeches and beautiful cars in an informal and friendly atmosphere was the order of the day at the third edition of the international automotive design conference AutoDesign Prague, which once again highlighted the importance of car culture and tradition's strong roots within the Czech Republic. In recent years, speakers have included prominent figures from the world of automotive design such as the Geely Group's Peter Horbury, Dassault Systèmes' Anne Asensio, Pininfarina's Fabio Filippini and design consultant Peter Stevens. This year's conference was themed ‘Design from the Heart of Europe' and so featured many Czech and Slovakian speakers.

Audi A3 g-tron revealed

Audi has revealed the A3 g-tron Sportback ahead of the Geneva Motor Show, an A3 that runs on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and petrol. The A3 g-tron is powered by a tweaked version of Audi’s 1.4 litre TSI petrol engine which can run on both -gas and petrol, with the A3 g-tron normally using the petrol just for start-up and switching over to e-gas as soon as it’s running. Audi has provided two fillers under a common fuel flap – one for e-gas and one for petrol – with the A3 g-tron producing a total of 108bhp with the dual-fuel setup, enough to power the A3 g-tron to 62mph in 11 seconds.

Rolls Royce Wraith Convertible planned & the Wraith hits Harrods

That means the Wraith gets a stiffened suspension setup to stop it rolling too much and more weight to the steering so you have a chance of knowing where the front wheels are at any given moment. It’s a promising offering from Rolls Royce, but it looks as though the Wraith won’t be a stand-alone model but will be joined, in due course, by a convertible version for those who find the Wraith Coupe not quite ostentatious enough. Who’d have guessed?