Half Wrap Steering Wheel - Bsp30445 on 2040-parts.com

New Audi Q7 (2013) to shed weight. But no Audi Q9 planned.

The 2013 Audi Q7 will be much lighter than the current Q7 The Audi Q7 was rather late to the SUV party of the noughties, not hitting the road until 2005. That meant the Q7 had a bit of an edge when it launched, as it was newer than its competition, but it also means the Q7 is still soldiering on when its competition has already launched newer, shinier models. But Audi are working on fixing that, and fixing the biggest criticism of the Q7 in the process – its sheer weight and size.

Lotus to invest £500 million to build Esprit, Eterne, Elite & Elan. 1900 new jobs

The new Lotus Esprit Dany Bahar – Lotus boss – revealed plans at last year’s Paris Motor Show to turn Lotus in to an East Anglian Aston Martin. Those plans included one car we knew about – the new Lotus Esprit – and a number we didn’t – the Lotus Eterne, Lotus Elite, Lotus Elan and a new Lotus Elite. But the plans seemed to be nothing more than a wish list, and although it was intimated that Lotus owners Proton were going to provide a war chest of £770 million to fund the development, that later appeared to be an intent to provide Lotus with funds to develop a new range of cars, rather than an actual commitment.

Electric cars to be powered by AA-style batteries

A NEW COMPANY is claiming its new design of battery could see future electric cars powered by batteries no bigger than the current AA size. LipraLoof Techologies Ltd, a new start-up, has teamed up with City Car Club to trial the new technology in its fleet of vehicles. The new batteries use a complex mix of metal hydrates to create a quad, or 4A battery, which produces far more power than a standard battery.