Gates 38159 Belt Tensioner Assembly on 2040-parts.com

Kode 7 and Kode 9 sports cars star at the Tokyo Motor Show 2013

One of the best things about being at an international motor show in person is coming across amazing cars you didn’t even know existed – and here at Tokyo 2013, the very best examples of this are the Kode 7 and Kode 9 on the Ken Okuyama Design stand. Absolutely stunning – but that’s hardly a surprise given the man responsible also designed the Enzo Ferrari. The Kode 7 – an evolution of the ko.7 that debuted in Geneva 2008 – appears in Exclusive (silver) and Clubman (red) guises as a lightweight track toy.

Car April Fools Stuff: BMW lead the way

BMW went to town on creating an M3 pick-up as an April Fools joke Just as we did last year with car April Fool stuff, it seems to make more sense to do a roundup of what hilarious pranks the motoring world – renowned for its sense of humour – has conjured up this year for your mirth than to run separate stories. BMW M3 pickup: BMW had one of its jolly japes for this year spoilt somewhat when spy shots of an M3 pickup were taken at the Nurburgring. But sources at BMW admitted it was part of a April Fools Day plan.

Toyota FT-EV II – it’s the Jetsons!

The Toyota FT-EV II Electric city car concept As we reported earlier, Toyota believe electric cars have no future, apart from as short-range, low power city runarounds or as commercial vehicles. So the Toyota FT-EV II is exactly what Toyota believes the EV future is – a small, slow city car. Toyota say of the FT-EV – “… (its) design and technology look to a future society where EVs will be in common use, among a range of different means of transport that will reflect user requirements, the type of energy used and the local energy supply infrastructure”.