Datsun 510 69-73 Hood Prop Rod Spring on 2040-parts.com

Toyota smashes electric car lap record at Nurburgring

Toyota has set a new electric car record at the Nurburgring – with a silent but speedy 7min 47.794sec lap of the Nordschleife. You can watch the record lap in our video above. Ring specialist Jochen Krumbach was at the wheel of the Toyota Motorsport EV P001 racer, obliterating Peugeot's previous 9min 1.338sec record in the EX1 concept car.

Hyundai i40 / Sonata spied

Spy shot of the front end of the new Hyundai i40 The fact is that Hyundais are rapidly becoming the match of their competitors from Europe and Japan. The build quality is great; the price point is great and they now have some real design flair to them. We reviewed the Hyundai i20 back in January and found it to be a terrific little car.

GM's Ed Welburn walks Jay Leno through the Elmiraj concept's design [w/Video]

General Motors' vice president Global Design Ed Welburn stars in the latest of the 'Jay Leno's Garage' YouTube series, running the talk-show host through some of the new Cadillac Elmiraj concept's design features and what it means for the brand's future. We get a look at all the classic Cadillac design cues such as the vertical headlamps and tail lamps as well as the central hard crease that Welburn says is "important in every Cadillac". Leno and Welburn then move onto the Elmiraj's features, such as the large doors' integrated handles and the slimmer A-pillars before a more in-depth look at one of the concept's most striking features – the grille.