Mazda 2's diet regime secrets

So what’s all the fuss about then?

Weight, or in the case of the Mazda 2, a lack of it. CO2 emissions are the biggest issue for the car industry right now, and governments around the globe are seemingly obsessed with one single gas. It's a problem affecting everyone - from supercar manufacturers like Porsche to volume players like Mazda. For the past decade diesel engines have seemingly held the answer, but whilst they better petrol engines on CO2 emissions, they're much pricier to build and buy. Now manufacturers are rushing to play catch-up with their petrol engine technology, and many are downsizing and turbocharging. There is a third way, of course. Mazda's new 2 supermini is among the first of a growing breed: a new car that's lighter than the one it replaces. Lighter weight brings emissions and economy benefits - and also helps handling and performance. It's the 21st century's must-have car accessory.
So what’s Mazda been up to then?

The Japanese manufacturer is one of the first out of the blocks with a significant weight reduction to the new 2 supermini. Mazda claims it has trimmed 100kg from the kerb mass. We already knew that, but now Mazda has released details of exactly where and how it has removed the unnecessary heft. All of this is promising for Ford because the Mazda 2's platform will also underpin the next Fiesta, which we’ll see in concept form at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Nissan NV200 concept (2007): first official pictures

Nissan NV200: the lowdown

Nissan loves a barmy concept car (remember the Bevel, showcased at Detroit for older bob-a-jobbing builders?). And motor shows don't come much nuttier than Tokyo's bi-annual celebration of technical innovation and limit-pushing design. So it seems natural that the Japanese car maker has saved up a special treat for its domestic show this October. It has just released teaser info on the NV200 van. Designed at its European design base in Paddington, London, the concept explores the use of space in commercial vehicles. Take a deep breath: yes, this concept is aimed at an extremely narrow demographic niche - car buyers who happen to be underwater photographers. So the NV200's boot is in fact a removable pod that swivels to the back of the van, leaving room for a mobile office; the front-row seats rotate 180deg to face backwards and a computer desk for digital editing drops down from the side of the van. There are storage areas for wet and dry items, naturally. Sounds like just the sort of vehicle CAR Online's scoop photographers could do with on their riskier assignments.

Tokyo is traditionally chock-full of quirky concepts like the NV200, and we shouldn't scoff at them. Wacky ideas beloved of the Japanese car makers can produce some fresh thinking, and some of it trickles down to production reality. CAR Online will have a reporting team live in Tokyo and we'll be bringing you the latest on cars as diverse as the new Nissan GT-R, Toyota's new supercar and the Fiat 500 Abarth.

Porsche Cayenne Hybrid (2007): first official pictures

A Porsche hybrid?

That's right, and CARS GAMES Online has just returned from a visit to Weissach - Porsche's R&D HQ near Stuttgart - where we were given the full lowdown on the Cayenne Hybrid. Porsche's hand has been forced by the current public and political climate surrounding CO2 and global warming - and the company has taken the unusual step of showing its prototypes even though they're a few years from production. Porsche, like most other manufacturers, has been reducing its emissions in recent years, but it knows it must be publicly seen to be doing something green. Economy improvements must be shouted about, especially when the next car you will launch, in 12 months' time, will be a very large four-seat super saloon – the Panamera. The Cayenne Hybrid is the antidote to Porsche's wilder excesses, and it's being developed in conjunction with VW and Audi.
Surely there is another way?

Apparently not, at least not in the short term. It is too late in the Mk1 Cayenne’s lifecycle to start making drastic weight reductions. Lightweight body panels would reduce crash strength and, more importantly, are deemed too costly. Any thoughts of making the Cayenne a more road-focused vehicle are also a non-starter because the marketing people insist the car must at least match the Range Rover on the rough stuff. And apparently having the full breadth of 4x4 abilities is a must in important markets like the Middle East and China. Why doesn't Porsche build a diesel Cayenne? Porsche reckons derv engines are too heavy, thus reducing performance and steering feel. The company believes that however you crack crude oil, petrol will always be produced, so while it is available and deemed to be superior to diesel Porsche will use it. And so we have a Cayenne Hybrid that should lower CO2 emissions and fuel consumption, but still allow the company to use combustion engines.

Audi A1 sketches

Audi A1: the world exclusive

We always knew that CAR's Georg Kacher is one of the best connected motoring journalists in the world. But even we were surprised when he rang the office with news that he'd 'obtained' official design sketches of Audi's new Mini, the A1. Forget the artist's impressions you'll find elsewhere, CAR Online has three sketches smuggled out of Ingolstadt's design HQ that show exactly how Audi's baby will look. It's been a few years since the A2 ceased production, and Audi is chomping at the bit to join the ranks of the premium superminis. You can't blame them after jealously eyeing five years of BMW success with the pricey Mini. Audi's own supermini will be a classy hatchback laced with the brand's design flourishes - and will form a crucial plank in its strategy to become the world's biggest premium car maker by the middle of the next decade. The A1 will also be among the first VW group models built around its new MQB formula (that's platform boffin-speak for modular transverse matrix). Sounds a bit dull, but the important thing is this: it will also underpin the next A3 in 2010 and other minis elsewhere in the group, and it's designed to be cheaper to build, easier to assemble and more flexible to drop in different modules to tailor the spec for different brands. Audi reckons it'll be $1000 cheaper per car than today's small-car architecture.
Wow. Describe the A1 in more detail then

Audi plans four different A1 versions: a chunky three-door hatch (revealed here in our exclusive sketches), a roomier five-door hatch, a two-door coupe and an open-top model. Will it be a four-seater cabriolet or a two-seater roadster? We don't know yet. It may be something else altogether, like an evolution of the interesting A2 Open Air concept we saw at the 1999 Frankfurt show. Former chairman Martin Winterkorn, now at VW, is very proud of his new baby. 'It demonstrates our packaging skills - this is a more attractive second car. With the new four-door Polo waiting in the wings, conceiving a structurally similar but visually very different version for Audi is not exactly rocket science.' Audi will equip the A1 with quattro four-wheel drive. That's one reason why it won't be based on the new 2008 Polo's front-drive only PQ25 architecture. Why introduce quattro in this price-sensitive segment? Because premium customers don't mind spending money on comfort and safety options - and quattro is writ through Audi DNA like a stick of Blackpool rock. All-wheel drive gives planned S1 and Q1 derivatives more kudos, too.

Audi R8 Spider (2007): first official pictures

Audi R8 Spider: the lowdown

Audi is lopping the top off its R8 supercar - and CAR Online has the exclusive proof. This official design sketch leaked from the company's Ingolstadt design studios shows exactly how the open-air R8 will look when it goes on sale in 2009. It follows our scoop on the Audi A1 yesterday, and we have more Audi news to come tomorrow. This drawing reveals the R8 targa for the first time, with twin speedster humps incorporating breathing vents for the mid-engined V8 behind the two-seater cockpit. The doors are deeply scalloped, as on the coupe, but this time there's a shortened, stumpier aluminium-look blade just ahead of the rear wheels. Tone down the cartoony feel of this sketch (just look at the liquorice-wrapped, deeply dished alloys) and this is the final production car. This picture confirms CAR Magazine's scoop (October 2006) that the R8 will have removable targa panels, rather than a space-gobbling removable fabric roof or folding hard-top. Fact is, most buyers of this £85k roadster will live in hotter climes like Florida, where a fiddly targa top won't be a problem. Powering the R8 Spider will be the same 4.2-litre V8 that you'll find in the RS4 and R8 tin-top. It's a high-revving, naturally aspirated V8 mustering 414bhp - easily enough to make the lightweight, alumnium R8 a very capable sports car indeed. And this targa version is aimed squarely at open-top versions of the 911. There's more change in store for the R8. Audi is planning to drop in the V10 from its donor car, the Lamborghini Gallardo, which will give the R8 sufficient poke (500bhp+) that its four-wheel drive chassis has always cried out for. It's all part of Audi's continuing plan to leapfrog BMW and Mercedes to become the world's biggest premium car maker by 2015. Niche-filling is the name of the game, as the company targets 1.5 million sales a year, so expect derivatives galore...

Audi A7 (2007): first official sketch

Audi A7: the world exclusive

Completing CAR Online's hat-trick of Audi scoops is this - Ingolstadt's slinky answer to the Mercedes CLS. The A7 is due to land in showrooms in September 2009 and will be previewed by a concept at the 2008 New York Auto Show. For any manufacturer to launch a successful model against the CLS, it must turn heads like a scantily-unclad A-list catwalk model. So the A7 will be a sleek, four-door based on the mechanical package of the next A6. And our world exclusive official design sketch, leaked to CAR Online by Audi moles, shows precisely how the Audi will look, with a low-slung profile and a gracefully swept-back stance. Audis are slowly garnering a reputation as better drivers' cars, after a succession of smash hits (RS4, R8... is the jury still out on the A5?) and from what we know about the new A6/7, it looks like they should be more alert handlers than today's exec. Like on the new A4/A5 family arriving this year, the A7 will get a new steering rack, multi-link suspension and a rear-bias quattro system to quell the apex-busting understeer that's blighted Audi saloons for decades. Four-cylinder power is off limits in the A7, and so is W12 propulsion. Six- and eight-cylinder power is flavour of the day, with as many as six different engines expected: 3.0-litre V6 and 4.2-litre V8 FSI petrols, topped by Lambo-sourced V10 in normally aspirated and twin-turbo form for the S7 and RS7. Prefer filling up at the black pump? Then expect 3.0-litre V6 and 4.2-litre V8 TDI units. Pricewise, the natural home for the A7 is the middle ground which separates the A6 from the A8, so the bulk of the models should be positioned in the £35,000-£50,000 bracket. Naturally, in this niche-filling, expansionist era at Ingolstadt, there could be a soft-top, too. This single image, leaked from top brass at Audi exclusively to CAR Online, suggests Audi could have an attractive big coupe on its hands. But it won't have it all its own way; Mercedes is readying a facelift for the CLS in 2008, before an all-new replacement arrives in 2011.

Mini Clubman (2007): first official pictures

Bloody hell. What have they done to the Mini?

That was pretty much CAR Online’s reaction when we first saw this picture. This is the new Mini Clubman and although we’ve been snapping prototypes testing around the world for a few years, the official photos are still a bit of a shock. The Clubman will look like nothing else on sale when it’s launched on 10 November, though you’ll be able to see it at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, and CAR Online will be there to crawl all over this intriguing small car. As this photo shows, the Mini Clubman will have van-style twin rear doors, each with their own wiper and a cut-out that frames the rear light cluster. This avoids the expensive problem that BMW encountered with damping the headlights on the first-gen new Mini.
But from this angle it looks like a regular Mini

Indeed it does, but you can just make out the 240mm longer body. And if you look closely you can also see a rear suicide door, as per the Rolls-Royce Phantom and Mazda RX-8. But like the RX-8, and unlike the Rolls, the self-styled Clubdoor can only be opened when the front driver's door is open. This is for safety’s sake, apparently. However, the Clubman has clearly been developed for left-hand drive markets, so the suicide door is on the right-hand side. This means that UK drivers get the short straw and both doors will always open into traffic for any passenger drop-offs. Mini says it couldn't engineer doors on both sides, because of the fuel filler arrangement. A shame. Like the regular Mini, the Clubman will come in Cooper D (110bhp), Cooper (120bhp) and Cooper S (175bhp) guises. All engines will also come with BMW’s brake regeneration and stop/start technology – all aimed at lowering emissions and fuel consumption.

Fiat 500 options

Half a million option combinations on the Fiat 500? Tell me more!

You can indeed spec the 500 to the skies, but apart from the odd body stripe, alloy wheel or paint colour, all the launch cars in the media have been mainstream, plain Jane spec. That's why CAR Online's rummaged through the brochures to bring you some of the edited highlights of the many options available. At the launch of the Fiat 500, bosses claimed the extensive options list meant they could make 500,000 new 500s before any two were the same. Fiat is following Mini's example, and having watched and learnt from the Germans, the Italians hope to go one better, as you can read about in the September 2007 issue of CAR Magazine. First up is this canvas car cover, designed to make your new 500 look like the original Nuovo 500. The only problem is, it’ll surely get nicked if you park on the streets...
So can I hang my coat up inside?

Yes you can, and whilst your coat hangs behind you, you can look forward onto whatever steering wheel you have chosen. Although we're not sure we'd recommend the contrasting mud-brown finish on the one in our photo.

Mitsubishi Concept-CX sketches

What’s that, a Lancer hatch?

Not quite, though the front does have a strong resemblance to the four-door Lancer that will land in the UK at the start of 2008. Dubbed Concept-cX, this, show car points to Mitsubishi's possible future compact crossover in the mould of the Nissan Qashqai. However, it’s 215mm shorter than the Qashqai and only 70mm longer than a Peugeot 207. Throw in a 4wd system and a high seating position, and the marketing people will have you believe you’ll get 4x4 visibility mixed with easy manoeuvrability for urban motoring.
Will I be able to buy one?

The car seems a dead cert for production, and is bristling with production details such as a sensible 1.8-litre diesel engine with variable geometry turbocharging and a particulate filter. It also features Mitsubishi’s new Twin Clutch SST gearbox. Apparently the interior also features ‘extensive use’ of Mitsubishi’s Green Plastic, made from bamboo and plant resins. The cX runs on typically over-sized, 19in concept car wheels and has a tailgate similar to the Volvo C30's. We’ll see the cX in the metal at the Frankfurt Motor Show on 11 September.

Peugeot 308 RCZ (2007): first official pictures

Peugeot's TT: the 308 RC Z

If you're designing a mid-sized coupe from scratch, it's hard to ignore the head-swivelling, original Audi TT. Peugeot clearly thinks so - its Frankfurt show star, the new 308 RC Z unveiled today, looks like a Chinese facsimile of the Mk1 TT, especially viewed in profile. Maybe that's why Peugeot introduced a clumsy kink in the waistline (a la Hyundai Matrix), to disrupt the Germanic body language...
Ah, that's a bit less like a TT

Yes, it's just as you'd imagine a mid-sized Peugeot coupe to look: huge, sweptback headlights, inane grinning grille and bulging bonnet lines that characterise modern Pugs. The front end borrows the look of its sister cars games, the 308 hatchback and the RC Z previews a production coupe that we can expect on sale in 2009. Interestingly, Peugeot intends to fill every nook and cranny of the C-sector with 308 derivatives. We've already seen the five-door hatch, but we'll also have an SW estate, a three-door hatch and a coupe-cabriolet. That's right - Peugeot is following BMW's 3-series lead and having two separate tin-top coupes, one with a folding hard top.

Renault Latitude (2010) first official pictures

These are the first official pictures of the new Renault Latitude, a car out to steal sales from Skoda’s Superb. It's aimed at emerging markets, rather than Europe.
So the Renault Latitude isn’t a replacement for the Laguna?

No. Instead this is a completely fresh model, slotting in above the Laguna and becoming the flagship saloon in Renault’s range – think of it as a replacement for the Vel Satis.

But while the Vel Satis (and Avantime) were launched when Renault was feeling adventurous, the Latitude is much more reserved and generic. Underneath the bodywork it sits on the same chassis and the Samsung SM5, a saloon recently launched into the Korean market by Renault-Samsung Motors.

Full technical details have yet to be released, but Renault promises the ‘front-end looks mirror the power of the engines’. Result: we’re not expecting much from under the bonnet.

Renault also claims ‘a comfortable, silent ride’ and a ‘particularly precise chassis’, and tech highlights include a massaging driver’s seat, triple-zone climate control and a high-end Bose audio system.

The Latitude will initially go on sale in parts of Asia and Africa, Russia, Turkey, some Gulf states, Australia and Mexico – it will be unveiled at the Moscow motor show in August 2010. A European version will be shown at the 2010 Paris motor show in September, although Renault is remaining tight-lipped about whether the Latitude will make it to the UK market. a

VW Jetta (2011) first official pictures

This is the new, US-spec Volkswagen Jetta, and it’s part of VW’s plans to triple its annual sales in America to 800,000 units by 2018. And to help its cause, the VW Jetta no longer shares any body panels with the Golf, so the bold claim being made is that this new model is ‘just as independent as a CC or a Tiguan’.
But this new VW Jetta still looks like a Golf, both inside and out.

There are indeed strong family ties, and underneath the new Jetta is ultimately a Mk6 Golf. However, the platform has been stretched (the wheelbase is 7cm longer than before and the whole cars games has grown by 9cm overall) and it doesn’t use the full all-singing/all-dancing multi-link rear of the current Euro-spec car. Conversely, when this Jetta does make it to Europe in 2011, it will feature a multi-link rear, along with other more minor changes like clear indicators and smaller cup holders.

On the outside the new Jetta draws inspiration from the NCC concept unveiled in Detroit at the start of 2010, so it’s out with the rounded and chrome-trimmed nose, and in with a much sharper and sleeker snout.

The press release is fairly gushing, claiming the ‘quality of workmanship is pioneering’ and that the ‘new Jetta is taking on the automotive challenges of our times’. Cut the crap and you’ll discover a typically good VW interior, and some hi-tech engines, though nothing life changing.

In the USA and Canada the new Jetta will be offered with four engines – three petrol and one diesel. The latter is a turbocharged, common-rail, direct-injection 2.0 TDI with 138bhp and 236bhp, complete with a particulate filter and NOx catalytic converter to meet all of America’s stringent emissions regulations. The petrol engines range from 114bhp to a 2.0T with 197bhp.

In Europe all the engines will be turbocharged: there’s six in all, with a choice of four petrols – 1.2 TSI (103bhp), a 1.4 TSI (121 or 158bhp), a 2.0 TSI (197bhp) – and two diesels, a 1.6 TDI (103bhp) and 2.0 TDI (138bhp). Both the 1.2 TSI and 1.6 TDI come in Bluemotion Technology guise, with stop-start and an intelligent alternator, so the former achieves 53.3mpg and 123g/km, while the latter manages 68.9mpg and 109g/km.

Base-spec US models will start at just under $16k, while UK cars should cost from £17k when sales start in 2011.

Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer estate (2010) unveiled

Vauxhall has slid the covers off the new Astra Sports Tourer – a mini-me, shrunken Insignia estate for less money. The two share plenty of character and were both penned under GM Europe's design boss, Mark Adams.

Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer: the lowdown

The new 2010 Astra estate puts the ultimate accent on cool looks over practicality, and its vital stats suggest it's a bit of a slouch in the sofa-shifting game. The 2685mm wheelbase is identical to the hatchback's, so the boot space stands at 500 litres, only 30 litres more than the hatch with the seats up.

FlexFold (optional on lower models) lets you flop each 60:40 split rear seat down at the press of a button; stow all the rear seats flat and boot space soars to a more acceptable 1550 litres. While we're scrutinising the figures, GM says there's half as much stowage space inside the cabin, with an additional 25 litres of cubbies and boxes for family clobber. Plenty of scope for losing your house keys and pound coins, then.

Astra estate: the engine room

The Astra Sports Tourer comes with a choice of six engines and this marks the adoption of start-stop on the Astra. The starter engine is a 99bhp 1.4i, although diesels will probably prove more popular – choose from a pair of 1.7s or a 158bhp 2.0 CDTi, bringing 55mpg and 134g/km of CO2.

How's the Astra selling?

Very well in the UK, says Vauxhall. It's sold more than 28,000 Astra hatchbacks since launch in December 2009 – and GM types are quick to point out that they're not all rental specials. The Astra is Britain's best-selling retail car range in the first five months of 2010. That's seriously impressive: well done, Vauxhall.

The new Astra wagon will arrive in UK showrooms in late 2010, after a Paris motor show launch in September. GM says the Astra Sports Tourer will be built exclusively at Ellesmere Port and its new upper-body structure was in fact 100% engineered at the UK's Vauxhall Engineering Centre in Bedfordshire.

Range Rover (2011): first pictures, new V8

Land Rover might only have revised the Range Rover last summer, but there’s now a new version, complete with a bigger and better 4.4-litre TDV8, plus it's available as a limited-run Autobiography Black special edition to celebrate the car’s 40th birthday.
Facts and figures about the Range Rover’s new 4.4 TDV8 please...

For a start the engine has grown from 3.6 to 4.4-litres, but still retains the twin sequential turbochargers. That means 309bhp (up from 267bhp), while the torque figures climbs from 472lb ft to 516lb ft. But the new engine is cleaner and more economical too, thanks in part to a new ZF-sourced eight-speed auto that replaces the six-cog ‘box; the Rangie’s CO2 output drops from 294g/km to 253g/km, while the fuel consumption improves from 25.4mpg to 30.1. It’s the first time the Range Rover has achieved over 30mpg.

Performance, of course, improves too, with the 0-60mph time dropping 1.1sec to 7.5 seconds, and the top speed is up 5 notches to 130mph. And to match the performance, the new TDV8 gains the same Brembo braking kit as the supercharged 5.0 V8, so there’s 380mm discs up front and 365mm discs at the back.
Anything else?

The Range Rover’s big, chunky Command Shift gearstick has been replaced by a Jag-style rotary selector, and to avoid confusion the rotary Terrain Response dial has been swapped for some switches. Terrain Response also gains a Hill Start Assist program, and a Gradient Acceleration Control program to ‘provide safety cover on severe gradients when the driver does not have Hill Descent Control engaged’

Other tweaks include the option of more exterior colours, more optional alloy wheels, and a new exterior design pack, that’s imaginatively called Exterior Design Pack – it consists of a different front bumper and grille, revised side vents and sills, a new rear bumpers and stainless steel exhaust finishers.

Finally there’s the Autobiography Black, a special edition built to celebrate the Range Rover’s 40th birthday. Only available in black, its gets unique 20-inch wheels and lots of black trimmings, and just 700 will ever be made.

Jaguar XKR 75 (2010) first official picture

This is the 75th birthday present Jaguar has wrapped for itself: the new XKR 75. It’s a tweaked-up version of the supercharged XKR, massaged to produce 523bhp (up 19 ponies) and 483lb ft (and 22 pounds).

The XKR 75 is a very low-volume special; only 75 will be built and you’ll soon understand why when you notice the chunky £85,500 price tag. First customer cars land in October 2010.

Wooah. That’s serious money for a Jag!

Indeed it is. But the Jaguar XKR 75 has a series of mechanical revisions to accompany the higher-boost engine.

The torque converter and Active Differential Control are beefed up to cope, while the suspension is fettled too. Springs are around a third stiffer front and rear, the ride height is dropped by 15mm at the front, 10mm at the rear.

The new Jaguar XKR 75 will be unveiled for the first time at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on 2 July 2010. That’s when we’ll first hear the effect of the new sports exhaust, as it rips up the hill with one lucky CAR reader onboard.

Remember our Goodwood competition a few weeks ago? It was won by reader Archie Robertson from Harpenden, who will accompany Jag’s chief test driver Mike Cross up the Goodwood hill on Friday 2 July.

Jaguar XKR 75: the body kit

The Stratus Grey paint job comes with optional stickers for the Max Power brigade. That front splitter, side sills, subtle spoilers and rear diffuser complete the package. And those 20in rims are diamond turned with a smoked finish.

Shouldn’t be hard to spot at Goodwood – with one very smiling CAR reader alongside.

Audi A1 by Damien Hirst (2010): first official picture

British artist Damien Hirst has helped Audi produce this art car: an Audi A1, which sold for €420,000 (£350,000) at a charity raffle.

The Audi A1 Damien Hurst was shown at pop star Elton John’s White Tie and Tiara Ball and the money raised goes to his AIDS foundation.
Elton John on the A1

‘That’s the most exciting object we’ve ever had on auction at the White Tie,’ said Sir Elton. Well, he would, wouldn’t he? Hirst painted the A1 at his Gloucestershire studio at the same time as a 1.8m high canvas, which was sold at the auction.

Clearly one massive publicity stunt, and we can’t imagine Audi taking his vibrant paint splatter as a palette for future models. That said, the A1 Hirst may be seen on UK streets, as it’s road registered and you’re hardly going to miss it.

We’re not sure who was rich or mad enough to splash out six figures on an A1, but the buyer’s identity will surely be made public soon enough.

Ford Mondeo facelift (2011): first news and photos

Ford has just issued these first pictures of the new, facelifted for 2011 Ford Mondeo. The revised Mondeo will be shown at the 2010 Moscow motor show in late August and will arrive in UK showrooms in October 2010.

What's new on the 2011 Ford Mondeo?

This is the first time we've seen the full-fat 237bhp 2.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine in the Mondeo; a 200bhp version of the same turbo four will also be offered; and a new 198bhp 2.2-litre Duratorq TDCI engine also joins the ranks.

The range-topping 237bhp EcoBoost engine has a CO2 rating 179g/km of CO2 and comes with only one transmission option – Ford's twin-clutch Powershift 'box. Finally, Ford is catching up with the rampant roll-out of DSG gearboxes at rival mass-market specialists Volkswagen.

Mondeo styling is fettled all round, too, with a more modern iteration of Ford's kinetic design borrowing cues from the S-Max et al for a crisper look. The grille is reprofiled, the bonnet recontoured and there are now LED day running lights and rear lamps. An obvious facelift? Hardly. You'll be needing your Observer Book Of Anoraks to tell these on the road.

Anything new inside the facelifted Mondeo?

But of course. There's a new 'flow-through' centre console, fresh door cards and ambient lighting in the overhead console. Sat-nav is new and improved to stop you getting lost and an ear-beating 265-watt, 17-litre subwoofer is available too. Shame they've not yet issued an interior photo to show us all the change inside.

Gizmos include the adoption of lane departure warning, auto-dipping and glaring main beam and a new active grille shutter to tweak the aerodynamics according to speed and thermal requirements.

The Ford bigwig speaks!

'The Ford Mondeo is already a very strong package and, with the significant design changes and in particular the comprehensive array of new technologies we are introducing, we have no doubt that the new model will strengthen Mondeo's position as the flagship Ford model in our European line-up,' said John Fleming, Ford of Europe chairman and CEO. 'This is the smartest, safest, most environmentally friendly and best quality Mondeo we have ever launched, and it completes the regeneration of our CD segment range in 2010.'

Gordon Murray Design T25 (2010) first official pictures

This is Gordon Murray's new city car games, the T25. Although previously scooped by CAR as long as two years ago, these are the first official pictures of the Gordon Murray Design T25 that its makers claim will revolutionise car design, manufacturing and even the way we drive.
Doesn't Gordon Murray build super-expensive hypercars?

He did indeed design the seminal McLaren F1 and still hopes to build another one, but in the meantime the T25 is designed for the more humble motorist.

Gordon Murray Design is keen to promote itself as a leader in downsizing, both in terms of the physical footprint of the car and engine size. So the T25 is only 1.3m wide and has a turning circle of 6m, yet still fits in a driver and two adult passengers in an F1-inspired central driving position.

The two back seats can be folded down into a 'shopping mode', allowing 720 litre of storage space.
Is the Gordon Murray T25 powered by a 6.0-litre V12?

Of course not. The T25 will use a 600cc three-cylinder motor producing 51bhp and 42lb ft of torque, going through a five-speed semi-automatic gearbox. This propels the car to 62mph in a sadly un-F1 sounding 16.2 seconds, however due to the low kerbweight of 550kg it will do 74mpg on the combined cycle, emitting 86g/km of CO2 in the process.
How will the GMD T25 change the way I drive?

Gordon Murray points out that the T25's diddy size could revolutionise town planning. Imagine a world with single-lane overtaking, parking three-abreast in a regular parking space or even two next to each other in a regular garage. All made possible by the vertical-opening door, allowing the driver to exit either side of the car, although we're not quite sure how the cabin will survive in the rain...
The clever iStream manufacturing part

Underlying the entire T25 project is Gordon Murray's iStream manufacturing process. This aims to reduce the complexity, capital investment and energy intensity of the traditional assembly plant. All key manufacturing operations will take place outside of the factory, including all metal pressings and panel painting.

When will we see the T25? Sadly, GMD are still seeking investment partners and until the funds and contracts are fully in place for actual production, the T25 remains a teaser for what could be.

Mini: the 2011 facelift news and pictures

Mini has facelifted its range of hatchbacks, Clubman estates and Convertible soft-tops for the 2011 model year. There's the subtlest of design upgrades – mainly to the lights, front and rear – plus a family of new diesel engines.

The new 2011 Mini goes on sale in August 2010. Here's how you'll spot the new ones from the thousands of Minis already out there.

Mini facelift: the design story

All Minis sport a new front bumper, designed for pedestrian protection reasons. But it's marked out by new foglamps either side of the air intake – and Cooper S models get wedgy air intakes to cool the brake discs. There are new elements in the front headlamps, the side indicators are new and the rear bumpers and lights are redesigned too (the latter distinguished by concentric rings that are particularly noticeable at night).

Inside, the Mini family is spruced up by some of the learnings from the new Mini crossover. The brittle shiny plastics of today's Mini have been replaced by softer, more sophisticated materials that design boss Gert Hildebrand said researched better on the Countryman. He singled out the silvery-effect plastic on the old car's centre console as one thing that owners will really appreciate.

The new diesel engines on the Mini

A new diesel engine is now available on the Mini, bringing 99g/km of CO2 for the first time. It's a 1.6-litre four-cylinder, sharing the same bore/stroke ratio, aluminium construction and common-rail diesel tech as BMW's 2.0-litre diesel from the 320d et al. With that provenance, we could expect great things from Mini's new diesel.

Two variants are available, but both the Mini One D and Cooper D achieve an identical 74.3mpg and 99g/km thanks to stop-start, gearchange advisories and a part-time alternator control. The 111bhp/199lb ft Cooper diesel sprints to 62mph in 9.7sec, while the boggo derv mixes 89bhp/159lb ft for a 11.4sec sprint time.

The Mini rag-top is available for the first time with this new diesel engine.

Mini Connected

A new multimedia system, dubbed Mini Connected, is launched with the 2011 facelift. It is an option that lets iPhone owners (surely most Mini owners?) use web radio, Google, Facebook and Twitter from the centre console. Messages can be read out on a text-to-speech function, so cool urbanites can witter on about their lifestyle dahhling 24/7.

Other new options available for the first time on the Mini include active headlights and auto-dimming rear-view mirrors.

Think City EV Cup Edition (2010) first official pictures

Manufacturers have been trying to make their racers more economical for some time now; Audi and Peugeot have produced diesel Le Mans winners and CAR reviewed the Porsche GT3 R Hybrid in the June 2010 issue, but this the most recent fully electric offering from Norwegian company Think. 
Is the Think City EV Cup Edition really a hardcore stripped-out racer?

Think has followed the traditional road-racer conversion for this one-off prototype, by stripping out most of the interior and space for the passenger, using Perspex instead of glass in the windows, installing a solitary lightweight bucket seat and lowering the centre of gravity.

The company claims the diet reduces the Think's weight by nearly 70kg; that's the same saving as a Lamborghini Gallardo Superlegerra, remember.
Racing through a Congestion Charge zone near me soon then...

Think insists this is merely a working prototype and that bigger, more powerful batteries are still in development for next year's actual 2011 race car.

This prototype uses lithium ion batteries capable of reaching 'highway' speeds and making it crack 31 mph in a not insignificant 3.5 seconds. Think claims a range of a tad under 100 miles before it runs out of juice; not quite a Le Mans competitor yet then...

Electric city cars are often dismissed owing to their toytown dimensions, but Think believes this concept points the way towards a zero-emission racing future.

The technology and the intent is there, but if this is the future of racing, the sound of screaming engines and smell of burning petrol will be sorely missed.