MG Design Centre opens in UK

The opening of MG's new design center this week at the historic production site of Longbridge, Birmingham, England was both an incredible and credible occasion. Incredible, because the brand looked dead in the water after the debacle of MG Rover's collapse in 2005 and even after various Chinese takeovers, its UK operation seemed destined to play no more than a tokenistic bit part. And thankfully credible too, because now all of MG's global design will genuinely be led from this new facility in the epicentre of England's traditional motoring heartland.

Mini wins 'Car of the Year' award

THE BRITS finally enjoyed some success this summer as the latest Mini was named Auto Express magazine's Car of the Year 2014 at a lavish ceremony in London’s West End. This third-generation version of the Mini is built in Oxford, with engines made in Hams Hall near Birmingham and body panels coming from Swindon. As well as winning the overall Car of the Year Award, the Mini was also named Best Premium Small Car.

Alpina unveils B4 Bi-Turbo at Tokyo Motor Show

It didn't take long for German tuning house Alpina to debut its version of the new BMW 4-series, and they've chosen the Tokyo Motor Show to unveil the new model. Under the hood of the Alpina B4 Bi-Turbo is a 3.0-liter straight-six engine with two turbochargers, making 410 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque. Alpina has tweaked the suspension a bit as well, installing their adaptive-sport suspension and an eight-speed automatic transmission.