557659 Kawasaki Pro Racing Sticker Pack on 2040-parts.com

Mitsubishi i-MiEV (2011) electric car to cost £39,000

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 24 March 2010 09:46 We always knew electric cars would be pricey, but we were slightly taken aback by the cost of the new Mitsubishi i-MiEV coming to the UK in January 2011: it's going to cost £38,699. The i-MiEV will be one of the first battery cars on sale here, as opposed to the small-scale lease projects such as the Mini E, and will arrive around the same time as the Nissan Leaf EV. Help is at hand to trim that £39k on-the-road price tag.

Jaguar F-Type lands in the lap of the 2013 Playboy Playmate of the Year

It does seem like Jaguar have decided that association of the F-Type with high-profile public faces is a good way to get the F-Type a few headlines, so we’ve had Lana del Rey singing her heart out in the F-Type cause, Damian Lewis acting his socks off for the F-Type’s Desire film and a plethora of faces associated with Jaguar’s Mille Miglia outing this year, where they’ve managed to get the F-Type front and centre and firmly bolted on to Jaguar’s Heritage outing. Now it’s the turn of Raquel Pomplun to raise the profile of the new F-Type a little higher, as Hugh Hefner has gifted her $100k and the use of an F-Type for a year as part of her prize for being crowned Playmate of the Year. Ms Pomplun may have preferred the F-Type as an outright gift – rather than a year long lease – but at least she’ll have the chance to parade round sunny California with the top down for 12 months.

BMW 5-series is in line for the company's new triturbo diesel engine

Details leaked from a dealer conference held in Holland this week suggest that BMW's upcoming 550dX will be the first recipient of the German carmaker's new high-tech triturbo 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder diesel engine. The new engine, which also is destined for the new X5 xDrive50d and X6 xDrive50d models, is claimed to produce 376 hp and more than 516 lb-ft of torque--some 70 hp and more than 74 lb-ft more than the most powerful version of BMW's existing twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder diesel engine, as found in the X5 xDrive40d. The radical new engine, which is rumored to use two traditional exhaust-blown turbochargers in combination with an electrically driven turbocharger to add low-end response, is planned to be offered exclusively with an eight-speed automatic gearbox and four-wheel drive.