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Kia goes (dark) green

By Jesse Crosse Motor Industry 23 September 2008 11:00 Kia has unveiled a portfolio of new environmental technologies, including a 1.4-litre Ceed with stop-start (due in the UK in 2009), a Ceed hybrid and the latest version of its fuel cell-powered Sportage. The Korean manufacturer is investing heavily in research and development and will increase its spend on R&D from £2.2 billion this year to £2.6 billion by 2010, combined with a 40 percent increase in manpower at its research centres around the globe. The money is being spent on developing downsized, turbocharged engines, efficiency improvements to conventional engines such as friction reduction and the separation of accessories like water pumps from the engine.

Where is Kinetic Design headed?

Martin Smith has been guiding Ford of Europe's design efforts since he was appointed to the position of Executive Design Director in 2004, coming straight over from an illustrious career at General Motors. During his tenure as Director of Design at GM Europe, Smith oversaw the Insignia concept car as well as much of the Opel range, including the acclaimed Astra. At Ford, Smith spearheaded the automaker's 'Kinetic Design' strategy and has since presented this vision in both concept and production car form.

BMW i8 heading up the Goodwood Hillcimb in June

The BMW i8 is heading up the Goodwood Hillclimb The Honda NSX won’t be the only green supercar heading up the hillcimb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in June – the new BMW i8 hybrid supercar will be too. BMW has announced that the i8 will be seen in action in the UK for the first time at the end of June when it too takes on the 1.16 mile Goodwood Hillcimb during the 2014 Festival of Speed. It’ll be the first time we get to see just how capable the i8 is, and even with a paltry 1.5 litre 3-cylinder engine it promises impressive performance as that little 3-pot churns out 228bhp oin its own and 356bhp when its electric motor joins in.