Morgan at the London motor show 2008

By James Foxall and and CAR reader reporter asp Motor Shows 23 July 2008 16:02 Considering Morgan has been making largely the same cars since the Ark was launched it’s a bit much to expect the tiny Malvern firm to have much new to shout about. The firm has actually managed to come up with a new Sport derivative of its evergreen 4/4. The £26,221 model has been stripped out so it now weighs just 800kg.

New Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive goes in to production

The first Mercedes B-Class ED (pictured) rolls off the production line in Rastatt With the BMW i3 grabbing headlines – and flying out of showrooms – as BMW’s first electric car, Mercedes need to play catch-up with a convincing EV of their own, and that’s the new B-Class Electric Drive – an EV version of the regular B-Class – which has now gone in to production in Germany. Built alongside regular ICE versions of the B-Class at Mercedes’ Rastatt Plant, the B-Class ED (Electric Drive) looks practically the same as its more conventionally powered siblings – although the front bumper does look a bit different – and has an electric motor good for 177 bhp and 250 lb/ft of torque, can manage a scoot to 62 mph in 7.9 seconds and has a range of up to 124 miles. The range – at least the quoted range – is a chunk better than the BMW i3′s and on a par with the latest Nissan LEAF, thanks to EV technology provided by Tesla, and the wrapping of an EV drivetrain in a conventional series production car could appeal to more buyers than the ‘statement’ design of the BMW i3.

Remember this twin-engine, AWD, home-brew Scirocco?

Obviously, the big problem with the VW Scirocco is that its rear wheels aren't driven. Around a decade ago, a guy named Anson decided to solve that problem by shoving a second VW motor in the rear end of his Scirocco. Sure, VW had done it before, but this enterprising do-it-yourselfer spent just $1,800 on the build.