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Opel Ampera plug-in hybrid design sketches leak out

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 19 February 2009 09:28 These pictures allegedly reveal the production-spec Opel/Vauxhall Ampera a fortnight ahead of its Geneva show debut. A Spanish website claims to have stumbled across the technical design sketches at a European patent office and – if authentic – they spill the beans on the new plug-in hybrid electric concept car that’s bound for a showroom near you within two years. The Ampera is Opel/Vauxhall’s version of the Chevrolet Volt, the breakthrough car that could just save GM if it survives its current crisis.

Gordon Murray Design T27 crash tested

The original Smart car probably did more than its fair share to persuade us that small cars needn't necessarily be unsafe. But now Gordon Murray is on the same mission: to persuade us that his titchy T27 city car is as safe as houses too. Gordon Murray Design has just issued its first crash test results, showing a T27 electric car after a crash test at the UK's MIRA industry research lab.  The crash test in question was the European-standard 40% offset deformable barrier front high-speed impact.

Former VW and Renault designer Markus Haub turns artist with 'Racing Legends' collection

Former Volkswagen and Renault designer Markus Haub has merged photography, painting and digital effects to create a 'Racing Legends' series, which focuses on racecars from the 1960s and ‘70s. Haub, a Pforzheim University graduate, who now teaches at the Barcelona campus of the Instituto Europeo di Design school (IED) when not producing his unique artwork, uses software to manipulate his photography which is then printed and made into a collage. He then works into it with paint and other artists' tools, creating what you can see here.