Steve Davies

Electric-powered cars have only recently begun lapping Germany's Nürburgring Norschleife and even then it was more to prove that their ability to lap the 20.8 km Green-Hell on a single charge. That was certainly the aim of the MINI E in April 2010 when it scorched around the lap in a record-breaking 9 minutes 51.45 seconds. No, we didn't think that was terribly quick either, but at least it made it back to the pits before running out of charge. Ha ha!

Alfa's 4C Concept will be exhibited at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month in a new and exclusive ‘fluid metal’ exterior colour that is said to enhance the smooth and sinuous lines of the car.

Group Lotus has announced this morning the appointment of Gordon Murray to the Lotus Advisory Council. Murray will work alongside other automotive industry luminaries including Bob Lutz, Tom Purves, Prof. Dr. Burkhard Göschel and Frank Tuch to advise Group Lotus on current and future development activities.

Formula 1 came to the heart of Manchester city centre yesterday, as the McLaren Mercedes team and F1 driver Jenson Button performed to packed crowds of fans lining the streets.

By Peugeot's own admission their HX1 is a prospective concept car, so there's not the slightest change that you'll see it on the roads anytime soon. It is designed to help envisage future solutions in architecture, aerodynamics, modularity, equipment, interior materials and the environment, plus not forgetting, of course, powerplants.

Last week we saw the video of reigning Formula One World Champion, Sebastian Vettel together with Infiniti's Shiro Nakamura as they cooked up something special for the Frankfurt Show, and now Infiniti have released the first image of their collaboration.

As we approach next month's Frankfurt motor show, Audi has released a batch of new images showcasing their quirky 1+1-seat Urban Concept. Described as a technical study into the future mobility needs of city dwellers, the Urban Concept employs the strict principles of lightweight construction, efficiency and sporty performance.

BMW's New 3 Series is due to go on sale towards the end of this year, so these will surely be amongst the final spy shots before the production car is exposed. As we've seen from previous pictures the F30 3 Series looks almost like a scaled-down 5 Series - a sensible looking saloon.