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

NLV Quant – née Koenigsegg Quant – at Geneva

The Quant - back at Geneva as the NLV Quant Last week we ran a story on Koenigsegg taking somethig new to Geneva after we’d had a chat with them. But part of that story was on last year’s Koenigsegg Quant, a four-seat electric supercar we saw at Geneva 2009. At the time it was billed as a Koenigsegg Quant (although, as Koenigsegg pointed out to us, it was always a commission project) but now it’s set to return to Geneva 2010 as the NLV Quant.

Jaguar hybrid cars due in 2013-14

Jaguar will launch its own hybrid vehicles soon after Land Rover, CAR can confirm. Parent company Jaguar Land Rover is developing battery-assisted hybrid versions for both brands but its strategy puts part-electric Land Rovers first on the launchpad in 2013.Hybrid Jaguars – set to include the XJ and XF, but eventually every model – are therefore likely to be on the market by 2013-2014, using a similar eight-speed ZF hybrid transmission to petrol-electric BMWs.The staggered roll-out of battery Jags and Land Rovers makes sense: heavy 4x4s have come in the firing line from green protestors who label them Chelsea Tractors. Hybrid Land Rovers will trim emissions and – in plug-in hybrid mode – enable even big bulky Range Rovers to drive in zero-emissions mode into central urban areas emitting nothing more unsaintly than an electric whir.So which Jaguars will go hybrid first?It's likely that the largest models such as the XJ will receive the hybrid power packs first; large cars reap the greater benefit and can more easily swallow the additional cost, put at around £10,000 in today's money.JLR's Midlands engineering bases in Whitley and Gaydon now employ 100 engineers in the expanding hybrid powertrain business unit launched 18 months ago.

Michelin Challenge Design 2009 preview

Michelin is continuing to profile the work of some of the leading contenders for its annual Michelin Challenge Design competition, which asks the design community to come up with proposals for "America's Next Iconic Vehicle". All 11 of the scale models and 24 two-dimensional drawings in the running will be exhibited at the 2009 NAIAS in January. Earlier this month, we featured three of these scale models following their selection by a jury of top automotive designers.