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New Volvo tease for Frankfurt – is it a modern P1800 Coupe? (video)

New Volvo tease for Frankfurt (pictured) Is it a modern P1800? We really didn’t have anything completely new and radical on the radar from Volvo for the Frankfurt Motor Show next month, but if this teaser video from Volvo is anything to go by, we could be in for a surprise. Volvo has released a new video to tease something new at Frankfurt which is mainly a designer sketching and Volvo’s Head of Design - Thomas Ingenlath  - standing with his arms folded.

New Honda NSX: Time to raid the piggy-bank as the order book opens in the UK

The new NSX got its first outing at the Detroit Auto Show in 2012 and is being developed by Honda in the US with the aim of producing a ‘green’ supercar with advanced environmental performance without sacrificing on-road performance. The 2015 NSX will not only be designed in the US, but built there too The new NSX gets a mid-mounted direct-injection V6 which drives power through Honda’s Sport hybrid SH-AWD system with 2 electric motors that can apply positive or negative torque to the front wheels during cornering which, say Honda, will deliver handling unmatched by other all-wheel-drive systems. Phil Crossman, Honda’s UK MD, said: We are really pleased with the interest we’ve already seen for the new NSX. We are still two years away from the launch of the car and yet we’ve received over 20 deposits and that’s before we’ve even announced prices or seen the final production car.

Ford Fiesta eWheelDrive gets wheel hub electric motors

The Ford Fiesta eWheelDrive – a driveable research vehicle built by Ford and German specialists Schaeffler – may be a regular supermini in size, but it points towards a potential future EV which is much more compact and very manoeuvrable. Ford has taken a regular Fiesta and dumped its powertrain, replacing it with a battery bank where the engine would be and fitted a pair of in-hub electric motors on the rear wheels. But the plan is to build new cars with the batteries under the floor which frees up the space under the bonnet which can then be all but removed to create a very compact urban car that still has space for four.