Mini E Racer (2010) takes on the Nurburgring

In these days of 7min laps, rounding the Nurburgring in 10min hardly classes as electric. Unless you’re in a Mini E. A battery-powered baby BMW driven by ex-DTM racer Thomas Jäger turned in a 9m52 lap, hitting a heady – but presumably near silent – 116mph on the way.

Aston Martin Rapide at the Frankfurt motor show

Aston Martin Rapide (2009) first pictures By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 15 April 2009 00:01 Aston Martin is clearly wringing the launch of the new Rapide saloon for all its worth. This is the second batch of ‘first official photos’ of the new four-door from Gaydon – and it’s still only a tease of new information with a single image and a handful of nuggets of information. Today’s announcement does confirm a few new details about the Rapide, which was first shown in concept guise at the 2006 Detroit auto show.

Fiat 500L launches

The Fiat 500L – a larger Fiat 500 based on the Punto – has launched in Italy ahead of going on sale in the UK in early 2013. We had the official arrival of the Fiat 500L at the Geneva Motor Show in March, and now we get the 500L’s official launch in Turin – together with lots of new photos and a video – before the 500L goes on sale around the world. The 500L is actually based on the underpinnings of the Punto to create a 500 MPV and, sensibly, Fiat has done with the 500L  what MINI did with the Countryman and slapped an iconic badge on even though the 500L bears scant resemblance to its cute little sibling.