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

Designing the sound of tomorrow's electric cars

By 2019, the European parliament has ordered that all new electric cars sold in the EU must be fitted with a device that emits noise to make them more audible to pedestrians. With safety legislation in America and elsewhere set to follow, this presents an opportunity to completely rethink the sound electric cars make. It's a chance to take it beyond a warning sound by considering something that harmonizes with its surroundings.

Pagani teases new C9 V12 supercar

Pagani has just released a second teaser video that previews its new supercar; currently known by the internal codename C9, the latest rumour doing the rounds is that Pagani has registered the name Huayra for its Zonda successor. Pagani will unveil the new C9/Huayra at the Geneva motor show in March 2011 – it’s powered by a twin-turbo, AMG-developed V12 engine. You can watch the videos at www.deusventi.com – there are three more to come before the new Pagani is officially unveiled.

Driven: Volkswagen Golf Mk7

Walking up to the seventh-generation VW Golf, redesigned flip key in hand, you're in no doubt that this is a) new or – perhaps more importantly – b) a Golf. It's the "200 meter test" lead exterior designer, Andreas Mindt tells us and, while we're suspicious of the idea of self-conscious ‘iconic design', you have to concede he's right. In fact the Mk7 Golf's pared-back graphics and a return to a true two-box proportion create a more accurate vision of what we imagine when we think ‘Volkswagen Golf' than either of its two most recent predecessors.