09-12 Zx-6 Zx6 Front Fender on 2040-parts.com

Electric cars must get noisier, ICE cars must get quieter

Electric cars will have to make a noise to protect pedestrians It’s four years since the Lotus solution for making electric cars noisy raised its head, since when the US has had a go at the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act in 2010 to do the same thing, the Japanese are playing too, and Toyota revealed the Prius Vehicle Notification System, and now the EU has decided its time to act to make EVs emit ‘noise’. Despite the most appealing part of an EV being that it makes our cities quieter, legislators worry about the blind, partially sighted and distracted pedestrian (think earphones and a Smartphone) being mowed down by a stalking electric car and feel the need to act. So the European Parliament has decided that by 2019 new models of electric vehicle will have to make a noise in cities, and that by 2021 all new hybrids and electrics must be noisy too.

Gibbs Sports Amphibians launches the Quadski

Gibbs Sports Amphibians has unveiled the Quadski, an amphibious all-terrain vehicle that, according to company founder Alan Gibbs, obliterates the distinction between land and water transportation. The 1,300-pound, 10.5-foot-long Quadski looks a bit like a jet-powered personal watercraft sitting on top of a single-seat ATV, but it's what's underneath the vehicle's molded composite body that separates the high-speed Quadski from larger, slower amphibious predecessors. The Quadski draws power from a BMW K 1300 Motorrad motorcycle engine capable of producing 175 hp.

McLaren P1 tests in Arctic, MP4-12C at drag strip

McLaren has produced less than a handful of road cars in its 50-year existence, and they've all been hits. The company currently sells two cars for the street: the P1 and the MP4-12C, and they both require the “super” moniker. The McLaren P1 made its debut at the Paris motor show in September, and has been the subject of many analyses ever since.