Suzuki 09282-17005 Oil Seal on 2040-parts.com

VW up!: UK prices and models announced – order book open

VW up! UK prices and models announced We finally – after years of waiting – got the official reveal of the VW up! ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show.

New Lexus IS 300h, LF-LC and Lexus F-Sport all at 2013 Geneva Motor Show

We’ll get to see the new Lexus IS 300h at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show together with an Opal Blue LF-CC and extended F Sport range. Probably of most interest – because we’ve not seen it in Europe yet, is the new Lexus IS 300h, the hybrid version of the 2013 Lexus IS – revealed at Detroit last month – which Lexus hope will pick up sales from the diesel competition. Lexus will be adding the F Sport trim to the IS 300h too to show that their cars can look as dynamic as those from Audi’s S Line, Mercedes’ AMG or BMW’s M Sport which, with an expected output of around 220bhp from the electric motor and 2.5 litre engine, isn’t all that incongruous.

Official: New Alfa Romeo Spider based on new Mazda MX-5

Following a MOU in May 2012, Alfa Romeo has confirmed they will be launching a new Alfa Spider in 2015 based on the next Mazda MX-5 Back in May 2012, Fiat and Mazda signed a memorandum of understanding to produce a new Alfa Romeo Spider built on the same platform as the next generation Mazda MX-5, and that has now turned in to a solid agreement with the new Alfa Spider arriving in 2015. But this won’t be a simple badge-engineering by Fiat to roll out a new Alfa Spider that’s just the same as the next MX-5 but with a different badge and grill, but will feature different styling and engines to make sure there is real differentiation between the roadsters. That means the new Alfa Spider getting Italian styling (which we hope has more than a passing nod to the original Alfa Spider) an, it’s expected, Alfa’s 1750cc engine we’ll see in the new Alfa 4C when that arrives.