Mazda held the global unveiling of the all-new Mazda BT-50 compact pick-up truck at the 2010 Australian International Motor Show during a press conference on 15 October 2010. The all-new BT-50 was centre stage on the Mazda stand throughout the show.

The all-new Mazda BT-50 is presented as an ‘active lifestyle vehicle’ that overturns the conventional image of a compact pick-up truck with modern and refined styling. Developed from the ground up as a brand new type of vehicle, the all-new BT-50 is designed to suit a wide range of customers who lead active lifestyles, including families, workers and pleasure seekers. It is a global model that will also be sold in Europe.

The latest 3.0-litre TDV6 variants of the Land Rover Discovery 4 and latest Range Rover Sport HSE can now enjoy extra performance, thanks to Superchips Ltd.

Superchips optimisation of the 3.0-litre TDV6’s engine management settings has resulted in a remap for Land Rover/Range Rover 3.0 TDV6s with power output increasing by over 30bhp at 3632rpm, equating to a maximum of 282bhp (compared to 247bhp as standard,) with gains from 1500rpm.

This Superchips ECU remap improves torque output, increasing it to 465lb ft at 2520rpm. For off-road use, towing or relaxed cruising, 438lb ft is available from 1600–3200rpm.

Members of the Trail Riders Fellowship: the organisation that promotes the use of legal carriageways by road-legal motorcycles; are reporting an increasing number of encounters with deliberately scattered nails and concealed nail boards on Byways Open to All Traffic (BOATS) in England and Wales.

Such devices will normally only cause a temporary inconvenience to motorcyclists (their tyres are often tough enough to roll over such obstructions without damage, and punctures are easily fixed) and 4×4 owners, but they do have potential to cause possibly lethal injury to walkers, horses and horse riders, plus great inconvenience to cyclists.

Landowners should be alert to the placing of such devices on rights of way crossing ‘their’ land, as they may be liable under law for any injury or loss caused whether such devices were placed with their knowledge or not.

TRF members and any other users are asked to report all such devices they encounter to the police and RSPCA, so, to avoid trouble, landowners should arrange regular and frequent inspection of rights of way crossing their property.

A photography student who won a seat on an overland expedition says it was the experience of a lifetime. Josh Horwood travelled in a Toyota Land Cruiser and Range Rover deep into the Alps along mountain tracks, taking pictures to add to his portfolio: “It provided a base of images to create a portfolio which I can then use to approach potential employers,” said Josh, a third-year student at London College of Communication.

Sponsored this year by 4×4 tour company Atlas Overland, the trek was Josh’s reward for beating off a challenge from 30 other students, shortlisted to seven. Eventually, Josh found himself in the fi nal three, and his attitude and samples of his work won over the judges.

Unichip Europe has announced the launch of a ‘U-Connect’ plug and play performance ECU upgrade for the 2.2-litre Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4.

Designed as a DIY fitment via its plug and play ‘U-Connect’ wiring loom, the Unichip is fitted (and removed) in minutes. It leaves no electronic footprint and is ‘invisible’ to main dealers during servicing. To ensure it is totally tamperproof, the ‘U-Connect’ unit can only be remapped by a qualified Unichip agent.

Post installation, peak power increases by 20bhp over standard to a measured 180bhp at 3164rpm, while torque rises by 52lb ft to 362lb ft at 2346rpm.

As part of a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of driving habits, seven motorists aged between 19 and 76 re-sat their driving tests. Only two of the seven participants in the first round of the experiment passed their test: Anna Dunlop (23) and Alan Hamilton (50). Those in their teens, 30s, 40s, 60s and 70s all failed to impress the examiner. The oldest participant, 76 year-old Robert Wright, failed after driving through a red light.

Tunit Diesel Performance has now revealed that for the last three years it has been the product of choice by the British Armed Forces. In 2007 Tunit was approached to help in solving an issue of power and reliability that the forces were having in hot climates. After several months of research and development Tunit provided one of its modified products and solved the issues of many hundreds of vehicles in the field.