Arctic Cat Zr Disc, Brake 0602-951, Hub, Brake 0602-952, 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.

Chevrolet Sonic turbo gets six-speed automatic

Chevrolet Sonic fans who want the turbocharged 1.4-liter engine but don't want a manual transmission are in luck. Chevrolet is now shipping the Sonic with a six-speed automatic mated to the turbo engine. Fuel economy for the turbo Sonic, despite the automatic, is 27 mpg in the city and 37 mpg on the highway, with a 0-to-60-mph time of about eight seconds, Chevy says.

Mercedes CLS63 AMG gets more power for 2013

You wait for ages for a Mercedes four-door with supercar performance, and then two come along at once. Joining the facelifted E63 AMG saloon and estate unveiled this week are uprated versions of the CLS63 four-door coupe and Shooting Brake estate - packing a revised model range, and extra power. A straight engine swap for the 2013 Mercedes CLS63 AMG?