Porsche® 911/914 Rocker Arms, 1965-1994 on 2040-parts.com

Jalopnik and Drive host 'Livesketching with J Mays'

Ford's Chief Creative Officer, J. Mays is the subject of a 'Livesketching' interactive video, co-hosted by Drive on YouTube and Jalopnik. The Q&A, presented by designer Jason Torchinsky (himself no slouch with a Sharpie and a flip chart), gave the rare opportunity to quiz the creator of the Audi Avus concept, modern VW Beetle and Mustang and one of the major influencers behind Ford's design strategy.

New Audi Q7 (2013) to shed weight. But no Audi Q9 planned.

The 2013 Audi Q7 will be much lighter than the current Q7 The Audi Q7 was rather late to the SUV party of the noughties, not hitting the road until 2005. That meant the Q7 had a bit of an edge when it launched, as it was newer than its competition, but it also means the Q7 is still soldiering on when its competition has already launched newer, shinier models. But Audi are working on fixing that, and fixing the biggest criticism of the Q7 in the process – its sheer weight and size.

Aston Martin DB9 4WD Plug-in Hybrid revealed by Bosch (video)

Bosch has built a plug-in hybrid Aston Martin DB9 We’ve always believed one of the best uses for hybrid powertrains is to provide extra performance on high-end cars, something Bosh has demonstrated by fitting the Aston Martin DB9 with a hybrid setup. The hybrid DB9 hasn’t been built to preview a production hybrid DB9 (although it probably should) but to demonstrate what Bosch can do with an existing car. Aston Martin donated the DB9 to Bosch for the hybrid project, and Bosh has fitted the DB9 with three electric motors – one at each front wheel and one next to the Aston’s V12 – which gives the DB9 something in the region of an extra 250bhp to play with.