M20 Muncie Gears on 2040-parts.com

Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid EV (PHEV): Details ahead of Paris debut

Mitsubishi has revealed more details on the plug-in hybrid electric Outlander ahead of a debut at the Paris Motor Show. Mitsubishi has been threatening a hybrid version of the Outlander for a few years (we had the  PX-MiEV at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2009 and the PX-MiEV II at last year’s Tokyo Show), but the real production deal – the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV – arrives at Paris. Now, with a public debut imminent, and full production and deliveries planned for 2013, Mitsubishi has revealed more details of their plug-in hybrid as they try to make their reputation for tough off-roaders and bonkers performance cars a bit more fluffy-bunny.

Watch the Audi Sport Quattro tear up the back roads

Audi revealed its 700-hp Sport Quattro concept at the Frankfurt motor show in September; the car pays homage to the classic rallying Sport Quattro from the 1980s. On Monday, the automaker uploaded a video of the upcoming vehicle to celebrate 100,000 Facebook likes on its German social-networking page. The video shows the Quattro whipping and gripping through a forest/mountain stage.

MIT researchers rethink electric-car batteries

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say a new battery design for electric vehicles could be a lightweight and inexpensive alternative. The goal for the team's three-year project, launched in September 2010, is to have a functioning prototype ready to be engineered as a replacement for existing electric-car batteries. At this point in the project, the prototype uses a “semi-solid flow” to separate the two functions of a battery--storing energy and discharging it when needed--into separate physical structures.