1977 Mercedes 450sl R107 Antenna on 2040-parts.com

Kia Soul EV revealed at the Chicago Motor Show

The new Kia Soul EV (pictured) has been revealed in Chicago The Kia Soul EV is Kia’s first effort at a proper mass production EV, and if you’re looking for an electric car it does look promising. Due to go on sale later in 2014 in the US – initially in California, New York and Oregan because of their charging infrastructure – and, Kia promised, the UK and Europe later in 2014 or early 2015, the Soul EV offers a real world driving range of 80-100 miles from a recharge taking half an hour for 80 per cent on a rapid 50kW charger or up to 5 hours for a full recharge from a UK 240 volt supply. The range is helped by Kia’s third-generation regenerative braking system which manages to capture 12 per cent of the car’s kinetic energy, feeding it back in to the battery as electricity during braking and coasting, with four different regeneration modes.

Volvo drops plans to compete in the luxury F-Segment car market

In fact, at the Shanghai Motor Show in 2011, Volvo delivered the Concept Universe car which we all though was pointing the way to what could be a Volvo S90; Volvo’s luxury car for Chinese plutocrats. It sported a rather strange ‘East meets West’ design language with a very odd nose and lots of curves, and it wasn’t exactly showered in plaudits. But that didn’t stop Volvo coming back at Frankfurt in 2011 with an altogether more convincing concept – the Volvo Concept You – that sported a much clearer vision for a future luxury Volvo.

Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Bicolore (2011)

This is the new Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Bicolore, just unveiled at the 2011 Qatar motor show. The bicolore bit – essentially this is a Lamborghini Gallardo available with a two-tone finish. The roof, pillars, engine hood and rear spoiler are painted black, while the body is available in a choice of five colours: Giallo Midas (yellow), Arancio Borealis (orange), Grigio Telesto (grey), Bianco Monocerus (white) and Blu Caelum (blue).