Stratos Glovebox on 2040-parts.com

Renault 5 revival to take on DS3?

Renault 5 Turbo - perhaps the only remotely iconic R5 What have been the big successes in little cars in the past few years? Yep, recreations of bygone icons have wiped the floor with the opposition. The MINI and the Fiat 500 have ruled the roost for those who seek style and cool to go with small, chic and cheap to run.

Lotus Exige S Roadster arriving Summer 2013 (video)

So the revelation that the Lotus Exige S Roadster – which had an outing as a concept at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show – is finally making it in to production and will arrive in the Summer of 2013 is exactly the sort of Lotus news we want to hear. Lotus has revealed the Exige S Roadster as a reality in a short tease video (below) telling us the new Lotus will be ‘Ready for the Summer’, although by the time it gets in to the hands of customers summer will probably be already over (if it’s not already – we have had a few nice days in a row). The Exige S Roadster will get the same 345bhp 3.5 litre V6 complete with supercharger as the coupe which will be enough to get you to 62mph in just 4 seconds, and you’ll be able to row it along with either a six-speed manual or automated manual ’box plus, thanks to a very lightweight folding roof and the loss of the back spoiler, the Roadster will weigh no more than the coupe so should handle exactly how a Lotus is meant to.

Concept Car of the Week: Porsche Tapiro (1970)

By the late 1960s it was time for Porsche to create a new car that would replace its ageing entry-level model, the 912. Its sister company Volkswagen also needed a sports coupe to replace the Karmann Ghia and so the two brands joined together to develop what would become the Porsche 914. These days the 914 holds something of a ‘cool factor', generally considered as the ‘black sheep' in Porsche history.