Manley Performance 221444-16 on 2040-parts.com

Daimler and Renault-Nissan strike a global partnership

Daimler today struck a wide-ranging partnership with the Renault-Nissan alliance, in a deal that will usher in new jointly developed cars, shared technologies and a multitude of cost savings.  Cars such as the new 2014 Smart Fortwo will now be twinned with the next Renault Twingo, while the Forfour is set for a comeback and we can expect plenty of shared combustion engines and electric motors, borrowed platforms and jointly developed SUV tech across all three parties. And that's only scratching the surface of the possibilities opened up by this wide-ranging deal.

Saab SOLD to National Electric Vehicle Sweden

The Swedish press are reporting this morning that Saab administrators have agreed a deal to sell Saab to National Electric Vehicle Sweden. The Saab Saga has been going on so long it’s hard to think of it is a car maker any more. But that may be about to change.

BMW i8 production car revealed – costs £99,845: Frankfurt 2013

The new BMW i8 Hybrid (pictured) will cost £100k in the UK The BMW i8 jas finally arrived in production guise at the Frankfurt Motor show, neatly creating the top end of BMW’s new i-brand range after the BMW i3 underlined the starting point. Looking really quite appealing, the i8 uses the same carbon fibre reinforced plastic bodyshell and aluminium chassis construction as the i3, but whereas the i3 is built to be a city car, the i8 is the closest we’re likely to get to a 21st century version of the BMW M1. Similar in size to the Audi R8, the BMW i8 is a 2+2 with a 3-cylinder 1.5 litre engine and generator sitting at the back and driving the rear wheels and an electric motor at the front driving the front wheels, with a petrol tank at the back and the batteries for the electric motor stored in the centre tunnel.