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

Better Place Electric Car visitor centre opens

Better Place have opened a visitor centre in Israel to demonstrate their battery swap technology for electric cars Last October we wrote about a start-up company in Israel – Better Place – that had a new way forward for electric cars by taking the purchase of battery packs out of the equation, and was developing a system for ‘Battery Swap’ stations where electric car owners could drive in and swap their battery pack for a fully-charged one in a few minutes. That story first brought to our attention our favourite quote of last year – by Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn – who said “A hybrid is like a mermaid: if you want a fish, you get a woman; if you want a woman, you get a fish.” Which probably explained why Nissan – and its partner Renault – got involved with Better Place. Better Place aims to address the main concerns of electric car drivers by making the battery packs in electric cars ‘swappable’.

Mugen Honda CR-Z Hybrid – but don’t get too excited

The Honda CR-Z Hybrid gets the Mugen treatment Honda are trying to tell anyone who will listen that the Hybrid Honda CR-Z is a modern version of the Honda CRX. You know, all fun and sporty and nimble and on the right side of warm, but with all the green goodness people think they have to want. We haven’t actually come across anyone who buys in to the idea, but Honda aren’t giving up on the marketing pitch of the Honda CR-Z as the first ‘Sporty’ hybrid with the production version of the CR-Z debuting at Geneva next week.

Koenigsegg One:1 – 1400 hp & 280mph

Koenigsegg One:1 (pictured) 1400 hp & 280mph In a wide ranging interview – in which Bloomberg compare Christian to a benevolent Bond villain – Christian reveals that plans for the One: 1 have moved on in the last year, and what he has in store is impressive indeed. The Koenigsegg One:1 will come with 1,400 horses – more than we imagined – and it will indeed boast one hp for every one kilogram. But that weight is a weight including all fluids and even the driver.