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

Better Place EV Battery Swap business goes bust

It seemed like a good idea: take the cost of batteries out of the cost of buying an electric car and instead charge EV owners to use ‘Battery Swap’ stations where depleted batteries could be swapped for fully charged ones in the time it takes to fill an ICE car with petrol. But it’s all gone a bit Pete Tong. Better Place – which partnered with Renault in 2009 to make the battery swap technology viable – has failed to find anyone to add to the $750 million already involved in the project and has filed for bankruptcy.

Eterniti Hemera

Eterniti Motors, the new British boutique manufacturer, today released further details of its prototype super-SUV, the Hemera. The Hemera is essentially a heavily re-worked Porsche Cayenne, which features a ‘limousine-like rear cabin' that boasts a plethora of luxury additions such as Maybach-esque twin electric reclining seats, an iPad for each passenger and a drinks chiller. The carbon-composite bodied SUV will be hand-built in London and aims to deliver ‘considerable' driver appeal in addition to its limousine moniker which, according to Eterniti, offer customers the option of being chauffeured as well as being driven.

CAR tech: how to eliminate turbo lag

CAR has tested a new breed of experimental super-diesel that literally leaves current technology standing and may banish turbo lag forever. We drove an Audi A6 3.0-litre V6 prototype fitted with an electric bi-turbo system which delivers a massive dose of torque from idle. The effect is radical, firing the saloon off the line like an R8 when the driver floors the throttle.