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Maybach reaches end of the line

Daimler AG is set to announce the closure of its Maybach ultra luxury brand this weekend, according to reports. The underperforming 57 and 62 limousines are to be killed off in 2013, following a decision from chairman Dieter Zetsche who has elected not to invest in their respective replacements for 2014. Following a concept car preview at the 1997 Tokyo motor show, Maybach was resurrected in 2002 after Daimler AG failed to purchase either Rolls-Royce or Bentley from then owners, Vickers.

MIT develops self-transforming materials that behave 'like robots without robots'

A cross-disciplinary research lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a suite of programmable materials, including carbon fiber, printed wood grain, textile composites, rubbers and plastics, that self-transform when exposed to an external stimulus. Director of the Self-Assembly Lab, Skylar Tibbits, presented a TED talk on 4D printing in 2013, where he demonstrated how a flat sheet of material could effectively build itself when exposed to water, like a robot without a robot. Following positive feedback from industries including aviation, automotive and manufacturing, his lab has been working on developing materials that change according to different activation sources, including heat, light, and air pressure, in addition to water – all of which have automotive relevance.

Spyker confirms Peking to Paris will be a V8

Spyker confirms that the Peking Paris luxury 4x4 will be a V8 not a V12 [ad#ad-1] We brought you an exclusive the other day that Spyker will drop the planned V12 version of its uber-4×4 – The Spyker Peking-Paris D12 – in favour of a supercharged V8 – The Spyker Peking-Paris D8. But it’s always nice to have confirmation from the horses mouth and today, with a financial statement from Spyker, comes a tacit admission (or actual proof, as we like to think of it!) that our story was indeed correct. Spyker talk about the Peking-Paris in their statement, but only ever refer to it as the D8, dropping all references to the D12, which is probably as much as they’re willing to reveal until the car turns up at Frankfurt in September.