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

Electric car range drops by nearly 60% in cold weather

Electric cars like the Nissan LEAF (pictured) can lose 60% of their range when it’s cold We already know that the range of electric cars reduces as the car ages, with Nissan conforming that the LEAF’s range will drop by up to 28 per cent over five years. And now we have confirmation that the ambient temperature can have a big impact on range too, thanks to the AAA, America’s equivalent of the AA. The AAA took three standard EVs on sale in the US - Nissan LEAF, Ford Focus EV and Mitsubishi i-MiEV – and subjected them to test in different ambient temperatures.

Alfa Romeo teases the 4C. Why?

Alfa Romeo 4C Frankfurt Tease (click for full image) We’ve had good reason to report on the Alfa Romeo 4C since it arrived on the car landscape back at Geneva in March. The 4C is exactly what Alfa should be doing to resurrect interest in the marque. They’ve done lots of good with the cracking little MiTo and the surprisingly good Giulietta.

New Lotus Esprit still on schedule

The new Lotus Esprit - on schedule for launch in 2011 or 2012 The next Elise will probably be a development of the existing car, rather than anything radical and new. But the Esprit will be an all new V8 based on the new Evora chassis. It will be longer and wider than the Evora, but will still feature a mid-mounted engine and, in all probability, come as a convertible in time.