Porsche Battery – a mere £1200

The rather expensive Porsche Lithium Ion Battery Car batteries have been roughly the same shape and size – and utilised basically the same lead-acid technology – for years. They’ve got better, as you no longer need to top them up with distilled water at regular intervals (I’m showing my age now), and they are less prone to going flat. But that probably has more to do with alternators replacing dynamos than the batteries themselves.

Dacia ‘Twingo’ planned as sub £5,000 entry-level Dacia

The current Ranault Twingo (pictured) looks set to live on as the new Dacia Twingo The new Renault Twingo – which shares its underpinnings with the next Smart – arrived at the Geneva Motor Show last week, and it looks an appealing and impressive city runaround. With 3-cylinder engines, rear wheel drive and decent looks, the Twingo looks to have a decent chance of making sensible sales this side of the Channel as the budget alternative to the next Smart Car, which will be basically the same under the skin. But those plans may go a bit awry if a report from Auto Bild is accurate, as Dacia appear to be preparing to take the current Twingo and turn it in to a budget offering for the Dacia range.

Caterham Seven Supersport (2011) first official pictures

This is the new Caterham Seven Supersport, a new roadster that offers track-biased fun for less than £20k. The Seven shape is familiar, but Caterham has pinched parts from its Supersport race series cars (which sit above the Academy and Roadsport classes, but below the Superlight and forthcoming SP/300R) to create this new Supersport model.  Is the new Caterham Seven Supersport road car exactly the same as the race car? Not quite, but the pair are similar.