1996 Honda Fourtrax 300 2wd Frame on 2040-parts.com

Ford Fiesta eWheelDrive gets wheel hub electric motors

The Ford Fiesta eWheelDrive – a driveable research vehicle built by Ford and German specialists Schaeffler – may be a regular supermini in size, but it points towards a potential future EV which is much more compact and very manoeuvrable. Ford has taken a regular Fiesta and dumped its powertrain, replacing it with a battery bank where the engine would be and fitted a pair of in-hub electric motors on the rear wheels. But the plan is to build new cars with the batteries under the floor which frees up the space under the bonnet which can then be all but removed to create a very compact urban car that still has space for four.

Kia Carens

Kia's latest Carens compact MPV is set to debut on 27 September during the Paris motor show. The 2013 Carens, the work of Peter Schreyer and his design team, was conceived around the theme of ‘dynamic space' and features a cab-forward design with a longer wheelbase, lower roofline and chrome beltline accent. Very few other details have emerged of the Renault Scenic rival but we'll bring you full details when they do.

Alfa Romeo MiTo GTA – some proper details

I know, we do keep moaning about car makers playing tease in the run-up to a car launch. And Alfa has been playing the game recently on the MiTo GTA, releasing a couple of pointless shots of the upcoming MiTo GTA (another Geneva launch). So pointless were they that we didn’t bother with them, but now we have a proper image it’s definitely worth a show.