Top Gear presenters banned from driving in France

Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond have been banned from driving in France for three months after they were caught speeding. While filming for the show’s Top Gear Christmas DVD – called ‘The Perfect Road Trip’ – Clarkson and Hammond were allegedly caught travelling at over 87mph in a 56mph limit. Jeremy Clarkson: a life in pictures Jeremy Clarkson’s most infamous quotes That means the duo were more than 50kph over the legal speed, which attracts an instant driving ban in France.

Better Place Electric Car visitor centre opens

Better Place have opened a visitor centre in Israel to demonstrate their battery swap technology for electric cars Last October we wrote about a start-up company in Israel – Better Place – that had a new way forward for electric cars by taking the purchase of battery packs out of the equation, and was developing a system for ‘Battery Swap’ stations where electric car owners could drive in and swap their battery pack for a fully-charged one in a few minutes. That story first brought to our attention our favourite quote of last year – by Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn – who said “A hybrid is like a mermaid: if you want a fish, you get a woman; if you want a woman, you get a fish.” Which probably explained why Nissan – and its partner Renault – got involved with Better Place. Better Place aims to address the main concerns of electric car drivers by making the battery packs in electric cars ‘swappable’.

Porsche 911 Carrera S Powerkit offers 424 bhp

Porsche is offering a Powerkit for the Carrera S with 424bhp and an Aerokit Cup bodykit for the faux GT3 look. The 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera has only been with us for five minutes but already Porsche are offering more power and some add-on aero bits for a bit of a faux GT3 experience for new 911 owners. On the power front, Porsche Exclusive is offering a Powerkit for the 911 Carrera S which ups its power to 430hp (424bhp) from the regular 400hp.