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This has been a good year for the British engine manufacturing business. Despite the economic turmoil caused by the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union, this sector hasn’t been affected. In fact, The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) states that the UK has seen substantial investments in this area for 2017.

In November alone, 279,532 engines were produced compared to just 250,879 during the same period last year. Year-to-date (YTD) figures tell a similar story with 2,544,575 engines built this year compared to 2,387,044 in 2016. About 54.6% of all engines that were made in 2017, were meant for export markets.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said, “2017 has been a very robust year for UK engine manufacturing, with huge investments into new facilities and engine models delivering impressive dividends both at home and overseas.”

This is good news for the region considering that Brexit hasn’t been easy for either side, threatening to wreak havoc for several industries that rely on mutual partnerships. Many consider the UK as the technology capital of the world. Most Formula 1 teams operate from within the UK due to the unrivaled wealth of knowledge and expertise available.

Once the separation is complete however, things may not look as rosy. There is a high probability that it could cause a ripple effect that will affect other parts of the globe. The magnitude of this problem will depend on how well, British PM, Theresa May and her government are able to navigate the country past the messy divorce.

Acura, Honda’s North American luxury sub-brand will be unveiling the new 2019 RDX prototype at the upcoming 2018 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). The vehicle incorporates key design elements from the Acura Precision Concept and Acura Precision Cockpit.

Unlike its predecessor, the new RDX is designed and developed in the USA using the new Acura-exclusive platform. It’s angular contours, wide haunches and commanding presence make for an extremely appealing crossover SUV. The menacing front fascia and large LED headlamps are a welcomed edition to the 2019 model year.

This third-generation RDX gets an all-new interior design, user interface and operating system built and designed from scratch. Though the exact details have yet to be revealed, we are guessing that it should feature the automaker’s suite of cutting edge tech featured in the rest of its premium vehicles.

Acura’s RDX is one of the best selling vehicles in the premium-entry SUV segment for the US market. This particular segment has been steadily growing with each passing year, and is on a path to unseat the dominance and desirability of premium sedans.

Fans of The Fast & Furious movie franchise who aren’t happy waiting a couple of years for the release of the next installment, will be happy to know that the F&F Live show exists. During this live event, a number of supped up performance cars will be driven around the arena in a manner that closely resemble maneuvers depicted in the movies.

Mitsubishi UK has decided to partner the live show by providing several stunt and support vehicles. Cars that will perform these stunts include a Lancer Evolution that is part of a unique interactive segment of Fast & Furious Live. A fleet of Mitsubishi L200/Triton pickup trucks will be tasked with assisting the show’s production team.

“We’re extremely pleased to welcome Mitsubishi’s turbocharged presence to our live-arena production,” said James Cooke-Priest, CEO, Fast Live Productions. “The audience will expect to see this famously fast Japanese brand mixing it up in the live action, and we’re very excited at the support Mitsubishi is providing the show.”

The Japanese automaker has had a long and illustrious relationship with the movie franchise since the The Fast and The Furious first hit the silver screen. Brian O’ Conner’s (Paul Walker) Green Mitsubishi Eclipse, Yellow Mitsubishi Evolution VII and Roman Pierce’s (Tyrese) Purple Eclipse Spider, are sometimes revered more than the show’s stars.

And with Fast & Furious Live, Fast Live Productions, the maker of the show plans on rekindling some of the action packed and adrenaline pumping scenes of F&F. It aims to recreate stunts depicted in the movies with cars and locations that criss-cross the various installments. Key scenes will be recreated via state-of-the-art 3D projection mapping.

The show’s producers say that the experience will transport fans straight into an immersive extension of the Fast & Furious movies. Fast & Furious Live’s global tour will kick off in the UK in January of 2018. If you would like to know more about it, CLICK HERE.

This year has rewarded Bugatti with a decent level of properity. It’s highly-acclaimed hypercar, the Chiron has been well received by fans and customers alike. So much so, that the automaker has managed to fulfill it’s quota of selling 70 vehicles this year. This brings the total vehicles made to about 300 from a maximum of 500 Chiron cars that will ever be built.

Wolfgang Dürheimer, President of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. said, “It is a tremendous success for the entire Bugatti team that we have already reached the target of 70 vehicles in the first full year of production of the Chiron. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all our suppliers for their commitment and delivery compliance.”

So far, 43% of sales of the Chiron have come from various parts of Europe, 26% have come North America, 23% from the Middle East and 8% from the Asia-Pacific region. Production of the mind-bending Chiron started in 2016 with first customer deliveries beginning sometime in March of this year.

Bugatti’s headquarters in  Molsheim, Alsace serves as the car’s production area. And the process of building a single vehicle, takes tremendous amount of time and a number of skilled technicians working together. The vehicle is powered by an 8.0-litre W16 engine that produces 1,479bhp. Until recently, it’s performance was unrivaled, but that changed once Koenigsegg wanted a piece of the action.

The Genesis GV80 Concept SUV and G80 Sport mid-luxury sedan both picked up accolades at the 2017 GOOD DESIGN® awards. Organised by The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, this recognition lends credence to the notion that the automaker is fully able to produce some spectacular looking vehicles.

Genesis joins other transportation, electronic, consumer and lifestyle product brands at this year’s award ceremony. The GV80 Concept is the automaker’s interpretation of a luxury yet versatile SUV. It combines suave looks with cutting edge technology and performance. The G80 however is an improvement over its predecessor both in terms of power and styling.

“We believe in the power of design to seduce and inspire the human spirit,” said Erwin Raphael, General Manager of Genesis Motor America. “We’re pleased that GOOD DESIGN® is a mainstay recognition going well into its seventh decade and couldn’t be happier to accept their acknowledgement of our dedication to design.”

The GOOD DESIGN® awards is the oldest of its kind, founded in 1950 by designers, Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames, and by architecture historian and philanthropist, Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. Each year, a panel of experts get together in San Francisco and New York to review award-worthy products from 46 different countries then decides the winners.

Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury sub-brand has released a teaser image of a new sleek concept car. It will officially be unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, January 2018. The automaker says that the car will take the look of a traditional sedan to the next stage of evolution.

Based on first impressions, the car should have angular contours that builds upon Infiniti’s sporty design language. Blessed with fluidic contours that seem to be concentrated toward the front fascia, the new car is poised to be a show stopper.. Sporting a muscular stance, this Infiniti will herald in a new era for the brand.

Though details surrounding performance are a bit sketchy at the moment, Infiniti did say that it that will have smarter, more compact and less intrusive powertrains. This could lead many to suspect that the new car will have some sort of hybrid powertrain.

Whatever the case maybe, we will know for sure next month when the car graces the auto show in Detroit alongside its retro-modern cousin, Prototype 9, another special creation. If Infiniti keeps this momentum going, it could be on its way to win several awards in 2019.

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