Lexus Is250 & Is350 F-sport Chassis Brace (ptr02-53081) on 2040-parts.com

Lexus IS 300h promises unrivalled ownership costs

The new Lexus IS - launched at Detroit in January and costing from £26,495 for the IS 250 in the UK – actually offers ownership costs that eclipse diesel offerings from the likes of Jaguar, BMW, Audi and Mercedes, say Lexus. Despite the logical assumption that the complex hybrid powerplant in the IS 300h would cost more to maintain, Lexus say the opposite is true. Because it has no clutch and the starter motor and alternator are integrated they require no servicing or replacement and Lexus has fitted a timing chain instead of a timing belt, so it won’t need regular replacement either.

Richard Hammond’s Nova heads to Beaulieu

Ever thought car museums were lacking abused Vauxhall Novas? No, us neither – but Richard Hammond’s Nova SRi from Top Gear’s recent retro hot hatch challenge is heading to the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. It joins the likes of the Hovervan from the last series, as well as the indestructible Toyota Hilux in the World of Top Gear.

Audi recruits German and Mexican students to design A0 monocycle

Audi has teamed up with German and Mexican engineering and design students for a project that has resulted in the A0 electric monocycle. Resembling a seated Segway with a hubless wheel, information about this project follows hot on the heels of the Urban Concept, and suggests Audi following the lead of BMW in seriously looking at new ways of improving mobility in cities. The project, conducted by the Technical University of Munich and National Autonomous University of Mexico, was sponsored by the Audi Design Research Center Munich, and conducted under the supervision of Klemens Rossnagel, Head of Audi Design Research Center.