2013 Maserati Quattroporte night testing (video)

Maserati has released a video of the 2013 Quattroporte out night testing ahead of a Detroit Auto Show public debut. The new Quattroporte is bigger and more powerful than the current model and leaves Maserati room to introduce a smaller version – the new Maserati Ghibli – to take on the sports saloons from BMW, Mercedes and Jaguar. To be honest, the video tells us little we don’t already know about the new Quattroporte (except perhaps that it has frameless glass in the side windows), but it does indicate how keen Maserati are to keep the new Quattroporte’s PR momentum on the move ahead of its debut.

Lotus Hybrid – the Lotus Evora 414E – at Geneva

The only photo we have of the Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid Last year we reported on a range extender engine developed by Lotus for use in hybrid cars. The range extender engine was part of a joint project between Lotus, Jaguar, MIRA and Caparo in conjunction with the Technology Strategy Board and was designed to provide charge – rather than drive – for hybrid cars. A solution that seems far more elegant than the current Prius-type setups.

Mercedes-Benz B-Class

The rather unloved yet brilliantly packaged Mercedes B-Class will enter its second generation at next month's Frankfurt motor show. Gone, sadly, is the ingenious sandwich floor construction, replaced by a conventional front-drive platform. The result is a reduction in height by 48mm to 1557mm, while length has grown by 89mm and width by 11mm.