Volvo’s KERS system improves performance and cuts fuel use.

The Volvo S60 with KERS Flywheel (pictured) boosts economy and performance As car makers continue to get bashed by more and more stringent CO2 targets from governments around the world, cleverer solutions are called for to squeeze the best performance and economy balance possible from their products. And Volvo’s new Flywheel KERS system does look promising. Volvo are currently running UK tests of a KERS flywheel system developed by Flybrid Automotive, which takes kinetic energy generated under braking and stores it in a flywheel fitted to the back axle.

Brabus at 2009 Frankfurt motor show

By Tom Sharpe First Official Pictures 18 September 2009 13:12 Mercedes tuning supremo Brabus unveiled its new 788bhp EV12 at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show – a car so powerful there’s only room for ten on the open road. Number one of ten limited-edition Brabus EV12s struck a brooding figure at the tuner’s stand – hardly surprising with a 6.3-litre bi-turbo V12 under the bonnet and a £440,000 price tag. The E-class has been transformed into a tarmac-shredding supercar-chaser thanks to the introduction of a newly developed SV12 R bi-turbo engine which, Brabus claims, was implanted under the bonnet with 'almost surgical precision'.

Latest news on Fiat's plan to gobble up GM-Europe

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 15 May 2009 10:18 With just over a fortnight until General Motors’ fate is sealed, moves to rescue GM’s European car making division are accelerating. Fiat – already named as the Obama-blessed partner for bankrupt Chrysler in the US – is now wooing Opel, Vauxhall and Saab in Europe. If successful, Fiat would overnight become the second biggest car making business in the world.