Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Whos Where: David Wilkie joins Mindset

Design Director, David Wilkie, announced last week that he is leaving Bertone to take up a full time position at Mindset AG. Mindset is a new company run by Murat Günak, previously head of Design at Volkswagen, that is developing the electric ‘Commuter' car previewed by Car Design News in February this year. Car Design News spoke with Wilkie about the move, who explained that he'd been working for Mindset part time, leading the design of the Commuter interior for several months now, but "I decided that for the good of Bertone, and for Mindset, that I needed to commit full time to one position; and the appeal of having my hands-on as a designer was very strong; and it's a project I really want to see through properly!" Wilkie is still committed to carrying through several projects at Bertone over the next few weeks as he makes the transition to working with Günak with whom he studied at the Royal College of Art.

New Kia Picanto 3-door (2011) arrives

The new sport Kia Picanto 3-Door The Kia Picanto of old was a dreary little thing, best thought of as disposable motoring flotsam; so cheap you could throw it away when you’d finished with it. But the new Kia Picanto – revealed at Geneva this year - is a different kettle of fish altogether, and now we’re to get treated to a ‘Sporty’ version too – the 3-door Kia Picanto. Already in a different league in the looks department, the 3-door Picanto raises the bar again and is starting to look almost as good as stuff like the Fiat 500 – but from only £7,795.

Volkswagen e-Golf goes on sale – price from £30,845

The Volkswagen e-Golf (pictured) is now on sale in the UK The Nissan LEAF has almost had the market place for proper family EVs to itself until recently, but the arrival of the impressive BMW i3 -especially when specced with a range extending motor – threatens to make a dent in LEAF sales, and another dent could come courtesy of the new Volkswagen e-Golf, which goes on sale today in the UK priced from £30,845 (£25,845 after taxpayer bribe). In most of the ways that matters, the e-Golf is a regular Golf MK 7, but lurking under the familiar exterior lies a thumping great bank of batteries weighing 318kg (about the same as a car full of passengers) and an electric motor driving the front wheels and good for 113bhp. Range for the e-Golf is up to 118 miles from a full charge, a charge that will take 13 hours from a regular 3-pin socket, a more acceptable 8 hours if you use the optional 3.6 kW wallbox you can spec (for free from British Gas) and a quick charge of up to 80 per cent in 35 minutes.