Brief 5 – Sculpting: CDN–GM Interactive Design Competition

The Car Design News and General Motors Interactive Design Competition is now open. It offers you the choice of five briefs, each set by GM's design teams, and entries are invited at http://www.cardesigncontest.com/ Sculpting, the fifth and final brief, is new for this year's running of the design competition. The challenge is to explore automotive sculpting; the fundamental principles of line, form, proportion and scale.

Mercedes AMG C 63 price & specs – costs from £59,795

Mercedes AMG C 63 price & specs – costs from £59,795 The pinnacle of the new Mercedes C-Class range – the Mercedes-AMG C 63 – had a reveal last month ahead of its public debut in Paris (and got a new name, with ‘AMG’ hyphenated with Mercedes and in front of the ‘C 63′ bit instead of after) and it’s now gone on sale priced from £59,795 for the C 63 Saloon to £67,745 for the C 63 S Estate. Power comes from a new 4.0 litre twin-turbo V8 developing 469bhp in the C 63 and a more potent 503bhp in the C 63 S, with 0-62mph times of 4.1 seconds for the C 63 (0.1 slower in the estate) and a modest 0.1 quicker in the C 63 S. Not surprisingly, the C63 gets a more than adequate spec including Nappa Leather AMG sports seats, COMAND, mechanical locking rear diff, dynamic engine mounts, unique tracks front and back, upgraded AMG brakes, quad tailpipes, new front wings to cover the wider track, rear spoiler and 18″ alloys.

Toyota & Lexus news at 2009 Tokyo motor show

The vibe on the Toyota stand is subdued, yet upbeat at the same time. They're chuffed to bits with their new products on show, but we can't help remembering Japan's – and the world's – premier car maker's $4.9 billion loss last year. And it's forecast to lose a similar amount in 2009.