Fel-pro 35809 Water Inlet Gasket on 2040-parts.com

Lexus IS 300h promises unrivalled ownership costs

The new Lexus IS - launched at Detroit in January and costing from £26,495 for the IS 250 in the UK – actually offers ownership costs that eclipse diesel offerings from the likes of Jaguar, BMW, Audi and Mercedes, say Lexus. Despite the logical assumption that the complex hybrid powerplant in the IS 300h would cost more to maintain, Lexus say the opposite is true. Because it has no clutch and the starter motor and alternator are integrated they require no servicing or replacement and Lexus has fitted a timing chain instead of a timing belt, so it won’t need regular replacement either.

Audi A1 S line Style Edition adds value to S Line

The Audi A1 S line Style Edition (pictured) joins the A1 range Audi, as we know, likes to fill every niche it can with new car product, and it also loves to fill in any gap it perceives in its model trim lineup. So the bean counters at Audi have decided that there’s a hole in the A1 range for a car that’s a bit better equipped than an A1 S Line, but not quite as good as the A1 Black Edition. So say hello to the Audi A1 S line Style Edition.

Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive sets Nurburgring production EV record

The Mercedes SLS AMG ED (pictured) set a new EV lap record at the Nurburgring Just as Audi decides that the R8 e-Tron isn’t a production viable option, Mercedes decides to prove there is potential for electric cars at the very high end. The Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive has been to the Nurburgring and set a new lap record for a production electric car of just 7 minutes 55 seconds. The SLS AMG ED, which goes on sale very soon at more than £300k, may weigh a chunk more than a regular SLS (550kg more), but it gets plenty of help from its four electric motors – one at each corner – to overcome the weight of its batteries with 751bhp and 737lb/ft of torque on hand.