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Concept Car of the Week: DeTomaso Zonda (1971)

Not satisfied in producing one of the most astonishing sports cars of the ‘60s with the Mangusta, Italian carmaker DeTomaso asserted its ambitions in 1970 by presenting an even more striking sports car, the Pantera, alongside the luxurious Deauville four-door sedan, both powered by the same Ford V8 engine. Those new gorgeous models were the work of Dutch-born Tom Tjaarda, then head of design at Ghia. Despite those amazing cars, the styling house was struggling to make a profit and that same year, Alejandro DeTomaso sold Ghia along with a large chunk of his company to Ford, which was looking for that exotic Italian touch.

Ford Iosis X concept

With an abundance of small SUVs entering the European market, Ford has been conspicuously absent from this segment, something that the Iosis X will hope to quell. Using the same 'kinetic design' theme as the Iosis concept from last year, the Iosis X puts a coupe-like window graphic and roofline upon thick sills, similar in this respect to the Opel Antara concept. But while Opel will have their model on the road imminently, those wanting the Ford equivalent will have to wait until early 2008 for the forms to be toned down and put in showrooms.

Mini factory celebrates its 100th birthday

A bastion of the British car-building industry, Mini’s ‘Plant Oxford’ in Cowley, Oxford celebrates 100 years of building cars today (28 March 2013). Currently responsible for producing the second-gen BMW Mini range, Plant Oxford has been the birthplace more than just trendy city cars: it’s stamped out over 11.5 million cars since 1913, including legend like the Morris Minor and Frogeye Sprite, and clunkers like the Morris Marina. It also contributed to the war effort by repairing damaged RAF fighter aircraft during the Second World War.