Lotus Elise Momo Steering Wheel - Damaged - Wall Art on 2040-parts.com

Lexus LF-A still on the cards

With the car world in turmoil, and buyers running scared of high performance cars, most of the car makers around the world are shelving their high-end projects until things settle down. Honda has announced that it has put its NSX replacement on ice (although it is apparently still going to show it at Detroit) and other manufacturers are concentrating on their frugal products. But Toyota is taking a different tack.

Infiniti EV put on hold to concentrate on volume sales

An Infiniti EV based on the Nissan LEAF (previewed by the LE Concept above) have been put on hold Nissan’s luxury arm, Infiniti, is on a global push to try and make inroads in to the dominance of Lexus in the luxury Japanese car arena, and has ambitious plans to be selling 500,000 cars a year by 2017. But Infiniti sold only a third of that total in 2012, so any chance of hitting the lofty target of 500k cars in the next five years means they must concentrate on volume cars, not niche cars like a Nissan LEAF based EV. That means the LEAF-based Infiniti LE EV Concept we saw at the New York Auto Show in 2012 will stay as a concept for the foreseeable future as Infiniti boss, Johan de Nysschen, seeks volume cars that will push the brand forward and bring proper sales numbers.

New Volvo V60, S60 & XC60 R-Design with Polestar Performance options

Volvo has revealed new R-Design versions of the V60, S60 and XC60 with R-Design body, lowered suspension and the option of Polestar Performance. All three R-Design models get a new nose with a frameless Tech Matte Black grill, a silk metal R-Design logo, DRL lights on the corners, redesigned front wheel arches, rear diffuser and R-design tailpipes. Inside, the R-Design Volvos get sports seats covered in Nubuck textile and perforated leather, Adaptive Digital Display that offers three different configurations - Elegance, Eco and Performance – contrast stitching, stainless steel tread plates and R-Design logos.