1920's Model T Axle Caps on 2040-parts.com

Ferrari electric 4×4 confirmed

The next generation Ferrari 612 will be offered with an electric 4x4 option. Six months ago we reported that Ferrari were working on a four wheel drive system utilising electric motors to drive the front wheels. But Ferrari’s raison d’etre isn’t really about economy – although even they have to pass a nod to current eco concerns – rather about performance and handling.

Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid (2011) first official pictures

Porsche has released details of its updated 911 GT3 R Hybrid – the 2010 original nearly won last year's Nurburgring 24hr race before (ironically) it retired with petrol engine failure.  The 2011 Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid – the lowdown Before this report disappears in a chorus of ‘it looks the same as last year’s one’, let's outline where Porsche’s engineers have been busy. At the unfashionable end of the car remains a 4.0-litre flat-six engine producing approximately 470bhp. Up front are twin electric motors, now producing 75kW of power each (up from 60kW) and combined these give the GT3 R Hybrid a 197bhp electric boost, which can be programmed to activate automatically via the throttle pedal, or manually selected during overtaking. F1-derived hybrid tech for the 911 GT3 R Hybrid Power for the two electric motors doesn't come from batteries, but flywheel accumulator technology from Williams Hybrid Power, an offshoot of the Williams Formula 1 team. The flywheel, encased in a carbonfibre safety cell in the space where the passenger seat would be, spins at up to 40,000rpm and acts as a mechanical energy store for the electric motors. Regenerative braking feeds energy back into the flywheel system – no surprises there, as the technology is derived from Williams' exeprience with Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) in F1.

Car Finance: ING withdrawal sees Bridford & DSG merge

The withdrawal of ING from the UK car finance market has led to the merger of Bridford Financial Solutions and DSG Financial Services. The resilience of the UK’s luxury car market is, to a great degree, driven by the availability of decent finance deals to secure a sale, and much of that business was underwritten by ING. But ING has withdrawn from the UK car finance market.