1954 Early 1955 Chevy Truck Dash (rat Rod) on 2040-parts.com

Lexus IS (2013) more details of new 3-series rival

Lexus has pulled the cloth back on the all-new Lexus IS at the 2013 Detroit motor show, and announced more details of its new hybrid 3-series rival. This will be the first hybrid Lexus IS, and UK sales will start in summer 2013.  What do we know about the new hybrid Lexus IS?  The IS300h combines an electric motor with a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. The torque output is yet to be confirmed, but there's 217bhp and Lexus is aiming for a sub-100g/km CO2 output and fuel consumption of at least 65mpg. Figures like that are likely to grab the attention of fleet managers, as Lexus hopes to close the gap on rivals like the BMW 3-series, Mercedes C-class and Audi A4.  There's a non-hybrid model too, but this IS250 will be powered by a 204bhp 2.5-litre V6 petrol engine. It won't be a fleet favourite.  The IS250h has a six-speed automatic transmission, the IS300h has a CVT gearbox, and both cars are rear-wheel drive.

Porsche 918 Spyder to get 875bhp to take on McLaren P1 & LaFerrari

The Porche 918 Spyder – Porsche’s hybrid supercar – is to get a power boost and go on a diet to better compete with the McLaren P1 and LaFerrari. But the duo of hybrid supercars at Geneva will become a trio at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September when the Porsche 918 Spyder gets revealed in final production form before heading for a select group of customers in 2014. It does seem to have taken Porsche quite a while to get the 918 Spyder in production-ready guise  but it seems they may have been waiting to see what McLaren and Ferrari had up their collective sleeves before settling on a production specification for the 918 Spyder.

Renault TwinRun hot hatch concept (2013) first official pictures

Renault will show off this mid-engined supermini concept at the 2013 Monaco Grand prix race weekend. Called the TwinRun, the R5 Turbo-inspired creation is powered by a mid-mounted 3.5-litre V6, and will hit 155mph flat out. The TwinRun is the latest in a series of wacky Renault concept cars, following the Twizy RS F1 and Twin-Z supermini into the limelight.