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

Chevrolet Volt visits the wind tunnel

By Ben Whitworth First Official Pictures 13 December 2007 10:00 Back in January the Volt was easily the surprise of this year’s Detroit motor show. Chevrolet reckoned its radical electric four-seater was such a breakthrough that it would transform the way we drive when it arrived in showrooms by the end of the decade. And it’s just announced that the production model will be significantly more efficient at scything through the air: the Volt has been sent to GM’s wind tunnel where Chevrolet’s aerodynamicists has smoothed off some of its blunt surfaces to create a shape that is 30 percent more effective at cutting cleanly through the air at speed than the original concept.

Toyota condemns the Electric Car

Electric cars - like the Reva NXG - are not a viable mass-market option. Toyota’s head of R&D in Europe – Masato Katsumata – said in a speech that the electric vehicle won’t be a mass-market phenomenon, and that the future – at least in the coming decades – will be petrol engine hybrids. “We don’t see any short-term breakthrough in battery technology” he said.

BMW Gran Coupé

BMW has announced its interpretation of the four-door coupé. Following in the footsteps of the Audi A7, Mercedes-Benz's CLS and the Porsche Panamera, the Gran Coupé is said to offer a level of practicality missing from its premium rivals. First unveiled in concept format, back at the 2007 Shanghai motor show as the Concept CS, the concept fell foul of the global recession before resurfacing at Beijing last year – again, in concept format.