Mercruiser 454 502 Mechanical Fuel Pump on 2040-parts.com

Electric cars must get noisier, ICE cars must get quieter

Electric cars will have to make a noise to protect pedestrians It’s four years since the Lotus solution for making electric cars noisy raised its head, since when the US has had a go at the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act in 2010 to do the same thing, the Japanese are playing too, and Toyota revealed the Prius Vehicle Notification System, and now the EU has decided its time to act to make EVs emit ‘noise’. Despite the most appealing part of an EV being that it makes our cities quieter, legislators worry about the blind, partially sighted and distracted pedestrian (think earphones and a Smartphone) being mowed down by a stalking electric car and feel the need to act. So the European Parliament has decided that by 2019 new models of electric vehicle will have to make a noise in cities, and that by 2021 all new hybrids and electrics must be noisy too.

Peugeot and Philippe Starck design bicycle for Bordeaux scheme

Peugeot and accomplished designer Philippe Starck, have developed a unique bike for the city of Bordeaux as part of their continuous promotion of cycling in the city. The new concept of bike-scooter, proposed by Starck and adapted for production by Peugeot, will help in the city's ongoing efforts to improve mobility within Bordeaux. In 15 years the number of cyclists has tripled after a number of initiatives came into effect, two examples being limiting traffic and developing the tramway within the city.

Koenigsegg can take the P1, LaFerrari & Huayra with the Agera R

Koenigsegg believe that the Agera R has more than the measure of the new toys at Geneva – LaFerrari and McLaren P1 – and Pagani’s Huayra lap at Top Gear was a farce. But a car that was also at Geneva was the Koenigsegg Hundra, Koenigsegg’s one-off special to celebrate 100 Koenigseggs built since Christian von Koenigsegg started bolted his immense supercars together in a shed in Sweden a decade ago. So we thought it would be interesting to chat to Koenigsegg people – including Koenigsegg’s UK dealer Supervettura –  and get their thoughts on the new batch of supercars that could perhaps take some gloss off the offerings from Koenigsegg.