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

RCA team helps develop all-electric London taxi proposal

The Royal College of Art's Vehicle Design program and the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design have collaboratedwith Turkish car manufacturer Karsan to develop a proposal for the first all-electric London taxi. An RCA team – co-led by Professor Dale Harrow and the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design's deputy director Rama Gheerawo – has been working with Karsan and its consultancy Hexagon Studio for over a year and to develop a public transport vehicle to suit Londoners of all ages and abilities. The team analyzed a current London taxi in a ‘co-creation workshop' and conducted interviews with taxi drivers, which showed many are over 65 and frequently spend the entire working day inside their cabs.

Could the McLaren P13 get a Honda engine?

The McLaren P13 is due to arrive in 2015 and we’re expecting it to get a de-tuned version of the 3.8 litre V8 already found in the 12C (pictured above) and P1, and be priced to take on the almost empty sector (in terms of price) the Porsche 911 Turbo occupies - somewhere around £125k. It’s a sensible plan to fill a potentially lucrative sector of the supercar market with a mid-engined, rear wheel drive ‘baby’ supercar with performance of around 3.8 seconds to 60mph and stunning handling. It should give the 911 Turbo a run for its money.

The Best Diesel Car…in the World!

So when Diesel Car Magazine proclaims its winners each year it’s something car buyers are likely to take notice of next time they’re in the market for a new car, so it’s worth having a look at what came out on top. The VW Golf Mk 7 TDI took the gong for the best diesel car of 2013 (as well as best Medium diesel car), snatching the award out of the hands of Land Rover”s Range Rover Evoque, which won in 2012 (and wins best crossover diesel this year). Many of the cars that won an award have been on the list of winners before – like the Jaguar XF which is the best executive diesel for the fifth time and the Land Rover Discovery 4 which makes best diesel 4×4 for the fourth time – but there are new winners too with the Kia Cee’d Sportswagon winning best estate and the Ford B-Max grabbing the gong for best diesel MPV.