Porsche 356 T6 Engine Lid on 2040-parts.com

BMW vs Winter: how to beat the freeze

By Phil McNamara First Official Pictures 17 December 2013 09:00 Winter: the long nights, slippery roads and punishing weather can turn driving from a pleasure into a chore. But to ensure you get home safely this winter – or merely to entertain you with our antics – we’ve created some stories and videos of us tackling wintry conditions in cars. • WINTER TYRES: we took an M3 on summer tyres and a 435i coupe on ADD LINK winter tyres to Pirelli’s Milanese test track, to pit the two cars in a wintry drag race, brake test and timed laps of the circuit • xDRIVE: Ben Barry drove an all-wheel drive 330d Touring to Sölden in the Austrian Alps, home of the inaugural round of this winter’s Alpine Skiing giant slalom.

Renault revives Gordini hot hatch brand

Renault is to revive the Gordini name, using it on range-topping versions of its Renaultsport Twingo, Clio and Megane hot hatches. The first new-generation Gordini will be based on the Renaultsport Twingo 133, and be unveiled on 25 November 2009 at Renault's premier showroom on the Champs Elysees. The new car will be called the Twingo Gordini RS, and then a Clio Gordini RS will follow in spring 2010.

Domagoj Dukec on BMW's 2 Series [w/Video]

Following last week's reveal of the BMW 2 Series Coupé, the carmaker has released a video featuring head of exterior design Domagoj Dukec, in which he talks us through the car's design. The video, which also features BMW product manager Thomas Ebner, sees Dukec explaining how the three air intakes at the front – which also integrate the Air Curtain technology – set a marker for the car's "sportivity", before he explores the way in which new design features such as the grille and headlamps differ from those of its predecessor, the 1 Series. Moving on to to the side profile, he discusses what makes the silhouette typically BMW and what separates it from bigger coupés, while identifying the DLO as a special feature of the 2er.