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F1: Back in the U.S.A. 2012

The F1 Grand Prix Circus returns to the USA in 2012 The Americans have never really fallen in love with Formula One in the way the rest of the world – and particularly the Europeans – have. They have plenty of race series of their own, many arguably more exciting. Which you would think would be a good enough reason not to worry too much about the lack of a US Grand Prix on the calendar since the last one in Indianapolis in 2007.

Heuliez concept collection up for auction

A collection of coachbuilt specials and concept cars by French company Heuliez is to be sold at auction. The selection of 56 cars spans a huge spectrum from a Fiat 500 up to Le Mans racers but what really caught our eye were the oddball one-off conversions. Highlights include the Citroën BX Break De Chasse ‘Dyana', a three-door shooting break version of Gandini's classic, the 1972 Peugeot 204 Taxi H4 and the targa-roofed Citroën SM Espace.

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.