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.

Ford Fiesta ST Concept arrives

Ford Fiesta ST Concept Just as we expected, Ford has revealed a properly hot Fiesta to take on the new wave of superminis – like the Polo GTI – and is offering up the Fiesta ST with a 1.6 litre EcoBoost lump which will deliver 178bhp. This is Ford cashing-in on its Fiesta WRC programme to price a proper little hot Fiesta, and in the process turning its back on the misjudged decision to play down performance Fords in our eco-obsessed world. Good.

Audi TT speedster 'will be built'

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 20 May 2008 12:15 Audi will build a limited production run of the TT speedster we scooped last week, CAR Online can reveal. The company is planning to make between 50-100 of the chop-top TT especially for the Middle East market. Although spokesmen in Europe have denied any production plans for the unusual open-top TT we spied on test in southern Germany, Audi's marketing director for the Middle East, Bernd Rosenbichler, told us they were planning a small production run for enthusiasts in hotter climes.'We have been asked [by Audi AG] if we could imagine bringing this car here,' he told CAR.