Fuller 4000240 Shift Lever on 2040-parts.com

Mini debuts four new design lines for 2014 Cooper

Mini Coopers really come to life when finished in the marque's signature appearance packages, such as Union Jack roofs and checkered flag mirror caps, and for the third-generation three-door hardtops debuting this spring the automaker is debuting some new designs. Minis have always been about personalization, and since the brand's relaunch under BMW's roof owners seemed to appreciate the cheeky designs that included roof graphics, grille-mounted headlights, racing stripes for the hood, and mirror caps. All those features are coming back for the new 2014 three-door Hardtops, and along with them the company is introducing a lineup of four Mini Characters, called Vivid Green, Speedwell Blue, John Cooper Works Pro, and Essential Black.

Audi TT GT4 concept (2010) first official pictures

Audi has unveiled the new TT GT4, its latest racing machine, available for a cool €120,000. The Audi TT GT4 concept, based on the production TT, got its first shakedown at DTM season finale race in Shanghai at the weekend, with five-time Le Mans winner Frank Biela at the wheel. This TT is the work of the Technical Development and the Production divisions of the German firm's Quattro division.

Volkswagen XL1 Super Efficient Vehicle (SEV) spy video

Volkswagen XL1 caught on video The Volkswagen XL1 – a super efficient diesel hybrid – caught on video winter testing and undisguised. The VW XL1 arrived at the Qatar Motor Show in 2011, a two-seater diesel-electric hybrid with a design that looks like it came from a 1920s view of the future, and claims of a gazillion miles to the gallon. At the time VW debuted the XL1 we reckoned there was as much chance of it going in to production as McLaren’s latest Formula One car making it in to a showroom, and that the XL1 was just a test bed for all the future tech that might just find its way in to Volkswagen’s road cars.