Briefs all in for Car Design Awards China 2014

It's exactly a month since the fifth annual Car Design Awards China's launch and we're pleased to announce all the briefs are in. Created to discover the latest crop of Chinese design talent, this year's contest – open to full-time students studying a design discipline of any kind in China – features briefs from Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Geely, JAC, Qoros and UD Trucks. Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz has asked participants to study the average Chinese family, their lifestyle and habits and design the most suitable Mercedes-Benz car concept imaginable for them in the future.

McLaren P1 driven by Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson (video)

McLaren P1 driven by Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson (pictured) It’s only a few days since McLaren revealed the first customer P1s are now rolling out of McLaren’s clinical production facility in Woking, and it looks like Jeremy Clarkson has bagged one to play with. The video (below) shows Clarkson behind the wheel of the new P1 which, judging by the number plate, is probably one of the first customer cars on the road. The opinionated one is preceded in the video by a pair of Range Rovers – one new, one old – at least one of which is a camera car, so this drive of the Mclaren P1 is obviously heading for a TV screen soon – hopefully on Top Gear.

Concept Car of the Week: Toyota EX-7 (1970)

Imagine the roads of today filled with colorful mid-engined two-seaters. That would make your daily commute a lot more exciting, wouldn't it? This was Toyota's optimistic vision in 1970 when it presented the EX-7 concept at the Tokyo Motor Show, a high-speed touring car designed for intercity transportation in the near future.