Data System/lexus Ls460/ls600h/air Suspension Controller/asc680l/h-087g Used on 2040-parts.com

Seat unveils electric Altea, Leon plug-in hybrid (2011)

Seat has unveiled a pair of prototype electric cars to underline its commitment to EVs: the Altea XL Electric Ecomotive full electric car and the Leon TwinDrive Ecomotive plug-in hybrid. Martorell has also confirmed plans to build hybrids in 2015 and electric cars from 2016. They'll be designed, developed and manufactured in Spain, as the VW group devolves green car centres of excellence away from Germany.

New Mercedes A45 AMG has 105 years of 4WD on its side

With the new Mercedes A45 AMG on the horizon – complete with 4WD – Mercedes chart the history of all wheel drive on their vehicles. We tend to think of 4WD road cars as a modern innovation, and certainly very few 4WD road cars hit the road in a mainstream way much before the 1980s (the Jensen FF was hardly mainstream before someone points out that was in the 1960s). But the history of 4WD goes back, certainly in the case of Mercedes, a surprising 105 years when Daimler built the Dernburg-Wagen, a 4WD vehicle that not only got all-wheel drive but all wheel steering too.

Citroen C4 (2011): first official pictures

This is the new Citroen C4, the French car company's latest rival for the ever-present VW Golf, Vauxhall Astra and forthcoming Mk3 Ford Focus. Citroen hopes to challenge the trio with a mix of class-leading interior space and a gadget-laden cabin, and the new C4 will be unveiled at the Paris motor show this September, before UK sales start in early 2011. Yup, and there’s some Megane Coupe in there too.