Any format but .x/3ds max formats would be great. I am making the interface my self. MS Visual C++ and will probably use .Net 3.5 frame work.
Renderer will be Direct 3D. Need AFR/Lambda, oil pressure, RPM, Boost PSI/BAR, Injector Duty. Colour and size dont matter as this can be changed to suit at run time. Screen size it 640x480 and 16-32 bit is fine.
Mountain of work????? Nah this sort of thing is pretty simple, Try rendering a massive landscape with trees and water with shadow now thats a bit of a job this sort of thing is hell easy.
RPM and injector duty will come from Consult the rest will come from a handy usb device that reads voltage.
Car PC is an Asus EEEPC running a cut down version of Windows XP.