BMW will add a restyled 6-series convertible to its lineup next May, and it's pictured here officially for the first time ahead of a public premiere at the Detroit auto show in January.

The convertible is a clear evolution of the outgoing model, carrying fresh exterior styling first revealed on the four-door BMW Gran Coupe at the Beijing motor show in April, a roomier four-seat interior and an advanced, multilayered cloth roof developed in partnership with German-based roofing specialist Edscha.

The automatic structure, which retains the characteristic buttresses that extend back over the trunk lid, is claimed to open in just 19 seconds and close in 24 seconds at the push of a console-mounted button. Stowed in a dedicated compartment behind the rear bulkhead, it is covered by a plastic tonneau cover when down to preserve the car's elegant new lines. As with the outgoing model, a separate glass rear screen, mounted vertically, can be opened separately from the cloth hood.

Canadian-Austrian parts supplier Magna International Inc. is weighing a proposal to buy Italian design specialist Pininfarina S.p.A., three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Automotive News Europe.

Earlier this month, Pininfarina's quarterly earnings report disclosed that the company could be sold as soon as Dec. 31. But Magna and Pininfarina declined to comment on the likelihood of a sale.

Magna wants to strengthen its position as a global supplier of design, engineering and contract manufacturing, one source said. Pininfarina's design expertise and engineering know-how would augment the range of services offered by Magna subsidiary Magna Steyr, which engineers complete vehicles and builds cars for several automakers at its assembly plant in Graz, Austria.

A video crew has been roaming the halls at Tesla Motors Inc. interviewing executives and documenting how the electric car startup does business.

Don't look for the production on the Discovery Channel. It's for internal use only--at Toyota.

At President Akio Toyoda's bequest, the video will be shown to his Japanese employees in a bid to motivate them to rekindle the entrepreneurial spirit he says they lost long ago.

“A lot of these people at Tesla are only in their 20s or 30s and have so much responsibility,” said one Toyota official familiar with the project. “It's totally different from us.”

The motivational video is just one outgrowth of the May tie-up that saw Toyota investing $50 million in the California-based electric car manufacturer. But it highlights how Toyoda hopes the world's biggest carmaker can learn from one its smallest, as the ossified giant struggles to lift profits, differentiate its product and recover from its worst ever quality crisis.