Flowmaster 17149 American Thunder Header Back Exhaust System on 2040-parts.com

BMW i8 production car revealed – costs £99,845: Frankfurt 2013

The new BMW i8 Hybrid (pictured) will cost £100k in the UK The BMW i8 jas finally arrived in production guise at the Frankfurt Motor show, neatly creating the top end of BMW’s new i-brand range after the BMW i3 underlined the starting point. Looking really quite appealing, the i8 uses the same carbon fibre reinforced plastic bodyshell and aluminium chassis construction as the i3, but whereas the i3 is built to be a city car, the i8 is the closest we’re likely to get to a 21st century version of the BMW M1. Similar in size to the Audi R8, the BMW i8 is a 2+2 with a 3-cylinder 1.5 litre engine and generator sitting at the back and driving the rear wheels and an electric motor at the front driving the front wheels, with a petrol tank at the back and the batteries for the electric motor stored in the centre tunnel.

Hyundai Veloster Turbo gets 400bhp

Hyundai in the US has created a Veloster for this year’s SEMA show – the Hyundai Velocity – with a 400bhp Cosworth makeover. SEMA show cars are always extreme and always completely over the top, but they do show just what can be done with mainstream cars when car makers are let off the leash of marketing constraints. This year Hyundai is out playing, and as well as creating a Genesis Coupe with Cosworth power they’ve also taken the new Hyundai Veloster Turbo and created a 400bhp monster SEMA car.

McLaren lock out front row in Australian F1 Grand Prix qualifying

Lewis Hamilton is on pole with Jenson Button alongside for the 2012 Australian F1 Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton is on pole with Jenson Button alongside for the 2012 Australian F1 Grand Prix after qualifying in Melbourne. Most of the pit lane thought McLaren had got it wrong with their new nose – a sleek nose instead of the stepped one almost all the rest of the field have this year – but as far as the opening qualifying of the 2012 F1 circus they seem to have got it just right. Hamilton set a stunning lap to open final qualifying, with Jenson Button managing to almost match his team mate with a lap just 0.152 seconds behind to make the front row a McLaren lock-out.