Cequent Reflector Rectangular Amber 71-78-020 on 2040-parts.com

Geneva auto show: Mazdaspeed 3 set for debut

Hot on the heels of the recently introduced 2010 Mazda 3, the guys from Hiroshima are planning to show the performance-focused Mazdaspeed 2 version at the Geneva motor show in March. Details remain scarce, but the company has announced that the 2.3-liter direct-injection turbocharged four-cylinder will continue to power the range-topping model. No performance numbers were released.

Drayson Racing aiming for Electric car World Land Speed Record

The Drayson B12 69/EV – heading to RAF Elvington to break the EV land speed record. One of the best uses for electric car technology is to deliver copious amounts of instant torque for track cars – far more than an ICE engine manages – and Drayson Racing Technology is aiming to prove how much that electric power can help by taking its Drayson B12 69/EV to RAF Elvington on 25th June to attempt to break the land speed record for an EV. That record – 175mph – has stood since 1975 (which probably shows how little EV technology has really moved on in the last 40 years), but the low-drag version of the Drayson electric Le Mans prototype is aiming to break that down the 1.86 mile runway at Elvington.

VW will build small run of XL1 plug-in hybrid

Volkswagen will begin production of its XL1 plug-in hybrid in two years. "We want to go into series production with this car starting in 2013," VW chairman Ferdinand Piech told Automotive News Europe on Tuesday at an event in Doha, Qatar, ahead of the 2011 Qatar auto show where VW unveiled an XL1 prototype. (a href="http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130221/GENEVA/130229972">Read the latest update here announcing the XL1 hybrid's Geneva Auto Show debut).