Daihatsu Hijet 1999 Engine Computer [3e63100] on 2040-parts.com

Ford Fiesta eWheelDrive gets wheel hub electric motors

The Ford Fiesta eWheelDrive – a driveable research vehicle built by Ford and German specialists Schaeffler – may be a regular supermini in size, but it points towards a potential future EV which is much more compact and very manoeuvrable. Ford has taken a regular Fiesta and dumped its powertrain, replacing it with a battery bank where the engine would be and fitted a pair of in-hub electric motors on the rear wheels. But the plan is to build new cars with the batteries under the floor which frees up the space under the bonnet which can then be all but removed to create a very compact urban car that still has space for four.

Durheimer succeeds Paefgen at Bentley, Bugatti

Porsche R&D chief Wolfgang Durheimer has been named the new head of Bentley and Bugatti to replace Franz-Josef Paefgen, who is retiring. Durheimer, 52, also becomes head of motorsports for the Volkswagen Group, beginning in February. Paefgen, 64, has lead Bentley since 2002 and Bugatti since 2007.

From Hooniverse: Spintires is a Soviet trucker video game

If you’ve ever spent an entire workday watching YouTube clips of Soviet-era logging trucks traversing the wilds of Siberia (who hasn’t?), then you’ve no doubt spent even more time cruising Russian classifieds for vehicles with three-letter names ending in AZ. Now, you may not have to import an eight-wheeled Russian monster truck to get an idea of what it might be like to run roughshod over some pristine forest. As our friends at Hooniverse report -- in great detail -- there’s a Kickstarter on and it’s aimed at bringing Spintires into reality.