1959 Ford Pickup Truck Dash Cluster / Ratrod on 2040-parts.com

Renault-Nissan and Mitsubishi to join forces

MITSUBISHI and the existing Renault-Nissan alliance are set to work together on a series of new cars. Discussions aren’t finished but as part of the deal Mitsubishi will get hold of a Renault chassis large enough to use as a base a full-size saloon for the North American market. The firms will also further develop an electric version of a Japan-only ‘kei car’.

Jaguar Land Rover leads UK universities to develop virtual simulation tech

Jaguar Land Rover is to lead four UK universities in a £10m ($15.5m) government scheme to develop virtual simulation technologies and processes to help improve and accelerate the car design process. The carmaker will be leading project teams from the universities of Cambridge, Loughborough, Leeds and Warwick in the Program for Simulation Innovation (PSI), developed to improve the potential of the UK virtual simulation industry. It is hoped that through its results design quality and capability can be improved through the simulation of sights, sounds and smells.

Audi SQ5 costs £43,870 in UK

The diesel Audi ‘RS’ Q5 – the Audi SQ5 – with 309bhp and 0-62mph in 5.1 seconds, will cost £43,870 when it arrives in the UK in spring 2013. That means Audi’s 3.0 litre V6 BiTurbo TDI with a healthy 309bhp and 479lb/ft of torque, enough to deliver the SQ5 to 62mph in 5.1 seconds, on to a top speed of 155mph and deliver an official economy figure (although you’ll never get it) of over 40mpg. The power goes through an eight-speed tiptronic ‘box to all four wheels and you get a sound actuator in the exhaust to give you a non-diesely roar. Audi has also dropped the suspension on the SQ5 by 30mm compared to the regular Q5 S Line for a more sporty manner, and if you opt for Audi’s Drive Select Adaptive Dynamics you’ll also get  Comfort, Auto, Dynamic and Efficiency modes (and an Individual mode too if you opt for HDD SatNav as well) which alter the steering, transmission, throttle and even the exhaust actuator to suit.