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

Lotus appoints Swizz Beatz as Vice President of Creative Design and Global Marketing

We've become accustomed to surprising and – at times – bizarre news stories emerging from Lotus since Danny Behar became CEO. But judging from reaction in the world of social media this afternoon, even by Lotus's recent standards, the news that it has appointed American rapper Swizz Beatz as its vice president of Creative Design and Global Marketing, came as something of a surprise. Kasseem Daoud Dean, otherwise known as Swizz Beatz, has a broad creative background, having a portfolio that includes music producer, rapper, designer and painter.

Gordon Murray’s T27 Electric Car

Gordon Murray's T25 - still under wraps Back in March we reported on a new small car concept from Gordon Murray Design – the T25 – which GMD said was a new way forward in small cars. A concept that was to be licensed to manufacturers around the world to build their own version based on the GMD concept and their simplified iStream manufacturing process. And now we have news that Gordon Murray is busy creating the T27, an electric version of the T25 concept which Murray says will be the most efficient electric vehicle on earth.

UK buyers plugging into electric cars

Renault New figures suggest UK motorists are charged up about electric vehicles (EVs), with a record number of zero-emission cars now on Britain’s roads. Figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) suggest there are more than 10,000 electric cars on the road today, with as many as 1,200 EVs sold in March alone. In the midst of an EV revolution Compare that to the lowly 270 that were sold during the same month in 2013 and it becomes hard to argue that we’re not in the midst of an EV revolution, especially when you combine the figures with the 10,200 hybrid cars sold so far in 2014, up by 45% on last year.