289 Hipo Carter Fuel Pump Cannister on 2040-parts.com

UPDATED: Honda hints at new European advanced design studio

On the eve of the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, Honda Design's Creative Director, Toshinobu Minami, announced that the company is looking to once again open a design facility in Europe. The announcement came during a presentation at the R&D Center in Waco, just outside the Japanese capital and, while not confirmed, Minami-san strongly hinted that the UK would be a likely candidate to play host to Honda's revitalized European design operations. He cited the country's existing manufacturing and administration facilities, as well as a wealth of new talent from the Royal College of Art in particular.

R8 e-tron electric supercar will be built, Audi says

The Audi R8 e-tron is back on: Audi has backtracked on an earlier decision to cancel production of the zero-emission supercar and will now push ahead with small-scale production two-seater, Autoweek can confirm. The decision is part of a number of sweeping changes made to Audi's research and engineering operations since the arrival of its new head, Ulrich Hackenberg. Citing recent advances in lithium-ion battery technology that has reportedly increased its range from an original 134 miles to close to 250 miles, high-ranking insiders at Audi's headquarters in Germany suggest the R8 e-tron will now go into limited production during the latter half of 2014.

Suzuki refreshes Swift with five-door Sport and 4x4 model

Suzuki is offering its cracking little warm hatch, the Swift Sport, with five doors for 2013. The family-friendly model shares its powertrain with the three-door Swift CAR ran (and loved) as a long termer last year – that means a naturally aspirated, 1.6-litre engine good for 134bhp, a six-speed manual gearbox and 0-62mph in 8.7sec. Suzuki says it expects one-third of Swift Sport customers to opt for the five-door model – sales have so far averaged 1200 a year in the UK.