2005 C6 Z51 Corvette Six Speed Manual Transmission Bell Housing on 2040-parts.com

2014 Audi A8: Price from £58,800

The 2014 Audi A8 (pictured) costs from £58,800 Audi revealed its facelift for the A8 and S8 back in August but now, with first new A8 deliveries due in the UK in January 2014, Audi has managed to come up with a price for almost the entire A8 range (and the S8). The starting price for the new A8 starts at £58,800 for the 3.0 TDI quattro (the FWD A8 has bitten the dust) rising to a substantial £79,900 for the 4.0 TFSI quattro S8. So far, they haven’t come up with a price for the range-topping 6.3 W12 LWB A8.

Jaguar C-X17 concept (2013) full details on new aluminium chassis

Jaguar’s C-X17 crossover concept might have show-stopping looks, but it’s what will lie beneath the production crossover – thought to be called QX – that’s just as intriguing: an all-new aluminium platform, dubbed ‘iQ Al’. It’s a clean-sheet design, with double-wishbone suspension up front, and a multi-link axle at the rear. For more unseen location photos and an in-depth feature, pick up the October issue of CAR magazine, out Wednesday 18 September   Jaguar C-X17 crossover concept: the lowdown on the ‘iQ Al’ aluminium platform ‘It had to be a clean-sheet design to reach our goals,’ says Jaguar vehicle line director Kevin Stride.

New Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive goes in to production

The first Mercedes B-Class ED (pictured) rolls off the production line in Rastatt With the BMW i3 grabbing headlines – and flying out of showrooms – as BMW’s first electric car, Mercedes need to play catch-up with a convincing EV of their own, and that’s the new B-Class Electric Drive – an EV version of the regular B-Class – which has now gone in to production in Germany. Built alongside regular ICE versions of the B-Class at Mercedes’ Rastatt Plant, the B-Class ED (Electric Drive) looks practically the same as its more conventionally powered siblings – although the front bumper does look a bit different – and has an electric motor good for 177 bhp and 250 lb/ft of torque, can manage a scoot to 62 mph in 7.9 seconds and has a range of up to 124 miles. The range – at least the quoted range – is a chunk better than the BMW i3′s and on a par with the latest Nissan LEAF, thanks to EV technology provided by Tesla, and the wrapping of an EV drivetrain in a conventional series production car could appeal to more buyers than the ‘statement’ design of the BMW i3.