GM disbands unit that creates high-performance vehicles

General Motors, focusing on mainstream products in a battle to survive, has scrapped a unit that produced high-performance vehicles. GM on Wednesday disbanded High Performance Vehicle Operations, which is based at the company's suburban Detroit technical center, and redeployed its engineers, spokesman Vince Muniga said. "All high-performance projects are on indefinite hold," Muniga said.

Top 5 most important cars at the 2013 Frankfurt motor show

The five most important memorable cars in attendance at the world’s biggest motor show Nothing is as controversial as irritating your core enthusiasts, and the Audi Sport Quattro concept risks doing just that. Its name and styling riff off one of the most iconic cars in Audi’s back catalogue – and in WRC history – yet the new yellow version unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt motor show has abandoned the five-cylinder engine, manual gearbox, and respectable kerbweight of the 2010 Quattro concept. In its place, we’ve an RS7-based coupe with the power of a Lamborghini Aventador (691bhp), twice the claimed economy of a Golf GTD (113mpg), but only because of a twin-turbo V8 mated to a hefty hybrid powertrain, and that means this new Sport Quattro weighs as much as a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport (1845kg).

Renault Twin’Z Concept previews 2014 Renault Twingo

The Renault Twin’Z Concept, designed by British designer Ross Lovegrove, is an electric city car previewing the 2014 Renault Twingo. The Renault Twin’Z Concept is a small, just 3623mm long, urban runaround with a small electric motor good for 67bhp and 167lb/ft of torque  and weighing in at 980kg, complete with a fairly sophisticated double wishbone suspension and relatively long wheelbase with a wheel at each corner stance. The Twin’Z is very much a concept car - designed by British designer Ross Lovegrove – and comes complete with the usual concept fripperies like electric suicide doors, cameras instead of rear view mirrors, sweeping LED lights, a solid crystal rear spoiler and big, complicated alloys.