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

Toyota Auris Hybrid, Prius Plug-in Hybrid, Land Cruiser and iQ (2009): first official pictures

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 02 September 2009 13:25 Toyota has announced its line-up for the 2009 Frankfurt motor show – and it’ll be led by a new hybrid version of the Auris hatchback. The Hybrid Synergy Drive tech from the Prius has squeezed under the bonnet of the Auris to make a new, cleaner hatch and extend the Japanese firm’s lead in petrol-electric tech. It won’t be just a battery-powered Auris on show, however.

Frankfurt 2011:Rimac Concept One – an Electric Supercar

Rimac One Concept - an electric hypercar at Frankfurt Our antipathy towards electric cars – and the seeming futility of pursuing a technology that has made little progress in a century – is well known. But we do see electric cars as a fun toy for the better-off, and 23 year-old Croatian Mate Rimac has impressed Frankfurt with his Rimac Concept One electric supercar, which is perhaps the ultimate electric toy for the better-off. Perhaps, in the case of the Rimac One, we should consider it a toy for the seriously well-off, rather than just the better-off, as it’s expected to cost a quite substantial £650k for each of the 88 cars Mate intends making.

The Toyota FT-1 sure does look like the Bertone Mantide

We really liked the Toyota FT-1, which caught us off guard in the best possible way when it emerged at the Detroit auto show. In fact, we liked Toyota's “spiritual pace car” enough to call it the most fun new thing on the floor -- and we're hoping the automaker's execs take notice. Reader Dennis Liu certainly noticed the car, which seemed rather familiar to him: He feels that, coincidentally or not, it looks a lot like the Bertone Mantide.